Getting "Down" on the Low: An "Out" in the Open Discussion About Homosexuality in the African American Community

We are all familiar with the term "Down Low" brother thanks to J.L. King who took us on a "Journey of In the Lives of Straight Black Men, Who Sleep With Men" back in 2005 on the Oprah Winfrey Show. And while it has been some 8 years since light was shed on a phenomenon that is said to aid in the demise of the black community and the declining health of African-American women due to HIV/AIDS, the concept of "Down Low" is still very prevalent and just as much a taboo subject within the black community now as it was then. Over the years the term "Down Low" has been attached to a negative connotation...much like most things used to classify, stereotype, and place African-Americans in a box. Executive Producer of the web series, No More Down Low TV, Earnest Willborn states that the term "Down Low" vilifies black men who aren't given an "Out" to be who they are. While, I agree that being "Down Low" is a coping mechanism to being in barless prisons, to say that sometimes we help with making these moniker's stick by exhibiting behaviors associated with the definitive would be an entirely different discussion and will be saved for another blog.

Reality TV is on the rise to being a game changer in the issues discussed and how those issues are being portrayed. It has provided a platform to address serious, well deserving issues that plague the black community and this nation. MTV's next documentary series True Life Presents: Living On The Down Low: Secrets, Lies, and Sex will introduce to us two young, black men and detail their struggles with their sexuality because of fear of loosing the very system that they will need for support. According to an exclusive interview provided to The Advocate Tarrodd is a vivacious, pansexual 23-year-old club promoter living in Akron, Ohio who recently got engaged to his girlfriend of six years. I presume that you will find it strange that his long time girl friend has never been to his home because he share his home with his boyfriend. The interview reveals that both found out about the other during the shows filming and thus has given Tarrodd a feeling of relief. "By mainstream standards, Tarrodd had very much lived life “on the down low.” He’s a young, urban black man terrified that coming out will separate him from his family, his friends, and everyone he holds dear. That fear led Tarrodd to hide his sexuality and pursue multiple partners of different genders without telling his fiancee. And while the so-called down low reached the height of public attention years ago, it hasn’t just faded away." (The Advocate)

The first show in the series is the story of a young man that goes by the name Coke. While Tarrod and Coke both share similar stories, Coke's story is far more heart tugging. The soon to be father was living with his mother at the beginning of filming. The documentary will show the intensified shame that Coke endures after coming out to his mother and girlfiriend who did exactly what he expected them to do: ostracize him.

The beautiful part of this documentary is that again, it forces our community, our nation to have conversations about forbidden issues that we all have or had. AIDS/HIV continue to spread in our community. Families are being destroyed and lives are being lost because noone is talking. To have your life placed inside of a box is suffocating when all you want to do is live. It is my hope that the concept of LGBTQ because synomymous with humans in the eyes of mainstream America and its conservatives. The MTV Series airs Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Check your local listings for show times.

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