I was among the 12,500 people at the march in Silverlake, a gay-friendly neighborhood on the east side of Los Angeles (not to be confused with East Los Angeles), on Saturday, November 8. Among the many different signs and slogans held by marchers, I was struck by the sight of people, white and black, holding signs which declared: “Gay is the new Black.”
I understand where this sentiment comes from, but I cannot say that I agree. I find this slogan problematic: it fosters the idea that racism against the African American community is a thing of the past and it appropriates the narrative of a struggle that is still very much going on, our President-elect notwithstanding. When I first read the reports of voter statistics and saw the overwhelming percentage of African Americans who voted for California Proposition 8, I was immediately concerned about the effect this would have within the LGBT movement; a wounded community would start looking for scapegoats. Seventy percent is a huge number, but people (specifically white gay men) have been far too quick to say “well it’s because of Obama,” as though gay rights were sacrificed for a step forward against racism. There seem to be people who are intent on blaming African American homophobia for Tuesday’s results instead of recognizing the fact that LGBT movement has largely ignored people of color and made queer people of color nearly invisible. As a queer Cambodian woman, I empathize with black gays’ & lesbians’ sense of being ignored and uninvolved by mainstream LGBT activism.
The repercussions of this invisibility and lack of outreach are becoming apparent. A UCLA student wrote to Rod 2.0 that someone at the protest in front of the Mormon temple in Westwood shouted at him: “YOU NIGGER. . . If your people want to call me a FAGGOT, I will call you a nigger.” It is appalling that white people would target black people who are actually participating in a protest against Prop 8 and, worse, that they seem to think that experiencing an act of discrimination is license to discriminate against others. This is not acceptable and only shows that the LGBT community needs to deal with the issue of racism as much as people of color must deal with homophobia.
I did not witness any blatantly racist behavior at the march on Saturday, but I was very aware that there were few black people in crowd. That in itself is symptomatic of the invisibility of black gays and lesbians in both communities. It’s arguable that the black gay community faces some of the most difficult challenges with homophobia, racism, and the inevitable clash of both.
One man at the march held a sign with the 7 of 10 statistic and the words “We supported ur rights.” I couldn’t articulate to him at the time why his sign made me so uncomfortable, but I realize now that it was because of the language. When I read “we supported your rights,” I immediately questioned who constitutes that “We”? The sign implies that racism isn’t a problem in the LGBT community and to say “your rights” is to suggest that there is a distinction between the rights of Black people and the rights of LGBT people–it divides the overlapping communities and plays King Solomon with Black gays and lesbians. The point of civil rights activism is that there are rights which belong to everyone and language like this isn’t going to help the cause gain allies.
Yes, civil rights for gays is the movement of the moment, but let us please not forget that the movement to end racism is far from over, and let us not further victimize each other in this process.
Paul M Davis
9 Comments
R.John
Black is the new Jew.
and
Jew is the new Gay.
and we are back at the beginning.
11 Nov 2008 12:11 pm
Chanda
Thanks for covering this important story! Shame on the racists who are setting back civil rights for everyone.
11 Nov 2008 02:11 pm
nancy
Thanks for this excellent piece — I think you are right on point.
I’m curious though what you (and other readers) think about drawing comparisons between miscegenation and gay marriage in order to further ‘the cause’? Is it ignorant to think that such a comparison is not only apt, but useful? (And I mean useful to all people, not as a way to target language at a particular population.)
11 Nov 2008 02:11 pm
Chanda
I think when Deval Patrick sought to end the Massachusetts law that prevented people who were from out of state and from places where their marriages were illegal from getting married in Mass, the connection with miscegenation was aptly made. Barring gays from getting married is the same as barring Blacks from getting married during slavery and barring interracial marriages until the late 60s.
That said, I don’t think saying “Gay is the new Black” really draws that connection. What it does is minimize the ongoing experience of racism that Blacks (amongst others), gay and straight, experience daily. “Gay is the new black” suggests that Blackness is no longer an issue, which is total bullshit (there is no other word for it, really). Anyone who thinks that homophobia manifesting in a way that racism no longer does indicates that homophobia has overtaken racism as a problem needs to take a course on logic! They also need to spend a day in the shoes of a person who experiences racism regularly.
And what about this competition for who has it worse? It’s crazy.
11 Nov 2008 03:11 pm
nancy
I *absolutely* agree — I also think it absurd to to imply that racism isn’t still a palpable and vigorous force in America and around the world. (As is homophobia.)
I wasn’t implying the statement “gay is the new black” draws that connection with miscegenation. It was a tangential idea up for debate, because I do think there are pitfalls (as well as benefits) in drawing comparisons between different forms of oppression in particular historical moments (not the least of which is the ‘pissing contest’ to which you refer).
Thanks for your thoughts -
11 Nov 2008 04:11 pm
Narinda
I think that it is definitely relevant to draw parallels between anti-miscegenation laws and gay marriage– we can’t forget that this is not the first time people have worked to gain the right to marry, that there is a precedent to changing marriage laws. It is useful to remind people that this has happened in our recent history: it wasn’t until 1967 that all anti-miscegenation laws were deemed unconstitutional. “Separate is not equal” is another argument that has been used against Prop 8, based on the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
We just need to remember that these are examples and models for “the cause” and avoid language that makes it sound like we think it replaces any of the ongoing struggles, e.g., racism.
11 Nov 2008 05:11 pm
Chanda
Narinda, I like your way of putting it.
12 Nov 2008 10:11 am
trish
i love your words, narinda! plus i get the extra bonus of hearing you speak in a british accent as i read
13 Nov 2008 04:11 pm
laura
well put. i got so mad at those comparisons. LGBTQI communities have soooooo much work to do. A friend of mine pointed out that maybe a positive aspect of the passage of prop 8 is that it gives LGBTQI communities an opportunity to take a good honest look at where we are in our movement(s). If this is not any indication of how divided along racial, class, and gendered lines (not to mention ability and many other isms) our community is, I don’t know what is.
14 Nov 2008 12:11 am
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