darkjez:

blackacrylic:

I AM MAN: Black Manhood & Sexual Diversity

This is a very important documentary covering black masculinity and homosexuality within the black community in America - with a little insight into Africa too. Black masculinity has been constructed and deconstructed by white supremacist schools of thought as something that is a dangerous threat to the wider public. You only had to listen to the remarks David Starkey made about black masculinity on the BBC this week to know these attitudes are present here in the UK. As Dr Marc Lamont Hill rightly says even the black male body itself is considered something not worthy of dignity and respect and this is very clear in the culture of police brutality directed towards the male African-American community.

I also wanted to highlight Esther Armah’s comments on sexuality in Africa. I’m an African woman myself and I can relate to her comments about seeing young men in Africa hold hands and that not being sexualised in anyway. In Uganda boys hold hands all the time and because I have spent most of my life in London I always found it odd to see and even a bit uncomfortable because I was socialised into homophobia. I was at a dinner a couple of weeks ago and I was talking to a friend of mine from the Congo who now lives in London and then his friend came and sat down next to us. This other brother is originally from (North) Sudan and started rubbing his knee. I was asked ‘Why are you rubbing his knee??’ and the brother from Sudan read my discomfort and replied, ‘You’ve been in this country for too long’. And he was right. People always assume that the African is the violent homophobe, but as rightly pointed out in this video there are also external factors that have led to tragic cases such as that of gay rights activist David Kato being murdered in Uganda. For example, homophobia in Africa is funded hugely by fundamentalist Christian groups from America. Our legal systems that have criminalised homosexuality are also relics from our colonial past. All of these factors have to be addressed if people are going to be re-educated on sexual diversity. Sadly, progress is hindered by constant threats to black masculinity that leave a lot of black men feeling they have to affirm their manhood by living up to stereotypes in order to be accepted by their communities. Even if it leads to their emotional and physical destruction.

Please share this video and share your thoughts with me too. I’m always learning and this short documentary taught me some things.

*Bold+Italicized section is my doing