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A Survival Guide for Black Gay Youth

INTRODUCTION

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About the Author

     Why am I writing this book? So many people would ask me this question. But aside from the obvious dissenters in the outside �straight world� who have their own biased reasons for this book not being published, there were many within the Gay community who questioned this book�s need to be created. There is already a bunch of books in the Gay market that talk about growing up Gay, they said. In fact there exists a virtual mountain of biographies, novels, films, videos, music, and more - all having to do with the tough process of coming into one�s own sexuality as a Gay man. This is correct, I admitted. But then, I drew from a memory that I gained when I was the President of my university�s Gay organization. My task was to compile a Gay media library for college students who were questioning their sexuality, or needed reaffirmation. I was to find a list of movies books, albums, etc, that would cater to the Gay individual � because it was important for us to see movies, read books, and listen to music that we could relate to. It was important that the characters in these art forms be Gay so that we understand that we have a meaningful existence in the world.
     So I began with a search to fill up our video library. On a randomly-chose video search engine, under the category �Gay & Lesbian�, 27 pages with 16 movies each, returned � which is 432 movies that specialize in Gay cinema. Of course there are more Gay movies in existence than these, but I decided to start with this collection, because surely this list would contain the best, most popular movies among Gays and Lesbians. As I browsed through famous titles like �The Birdcage�, �Wild Reeds�, �In & Out�, and �Billy Elliot�, I suddenly realized that most (about 90%) of the people on the movie covers were White.
     Therein lied the irony � I was given the task to find people who I could relate to, people who looked like me, and was unable to find even one. These movies � supposed representations of American Gay life - had very few minorities in them. I thought, what if someone were to take these images as a depiction of the actual Gay community? Or worse, what if a young Gay person of color looked for affirmation and acceptance through media (often where youth turn for confidence) and is unable to find a role model or a respectable figure who resembles himself? What a tragedy this would be.
     At looking at the larger society�s perception of the Gay community, the image that comes to their mind when our name is mentioned is of a white Gay man. Much credit should be given to the white men, and women, who have fought valiantly to establish civil rights for Gays in this country: Harvey Milk, Elton John, Sir Ian McKellen. But the Gay community as a whole is comprised of more than just our Gay white male mascot. Our community is inclusive of women, bisexuals, transgenders, the intersexed, and minorities � all which have seldom been represented on the forefront of the civil rights struggle for Gay equality. The Gay Flag is a rainbow of six colors, expressive of how dynamic our community is.
     When I was first trying to understand my homosexuality, my natural reaction was to identify what it was I was feeling internally. Always one to look for the answer in a book (I had a reputation as a nerd to uphold) the first place I went to for answers was the public library. And of the small archive they held on Gay culture, I remember that none of the pictures in the books looked like me at all, and for a while, I grew up thinking that in my small town of a black population, I was the only Gay person there. I was lost and had no place. And so, this returns me to the overall purpose for my writing this book: To let young Black Gay men know that, YES, YOU DO HAVE A PLACE.

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