These oppressions can lead to very intense psychological issues. Throughout this paper there will be discussions on numerous angles of the psychological issues homosexual black males are being faced with on a daily basis. In addition to psychological issues homosexual black males develop; we will discuss how gender masculinity and appearance has a major influence over discrimination among these males. To discover our identity in a world where discrimination occurs on a normal basis makes it hard for some people to accept who they really are. “Individual qualities and experiences that constitute the unique makeup of every human being are often overlooked as a result of social stereotyping.” Whether these stereotypes are about religion, race, or even gender, it doesn’t help society prosper.
Despite common expectation, that members of such a community should "know better", various forms of racism in the community have become so normalized that they are simply brushed off. Racism however is prevalent in the LGBTQ community and as a result Black Gay males suffer from the invisibility of a black gay voice as well as conflicting social identifiers, and even worst black gay stereotypes. In this essay, using the works of Rinaldo Walcott, Audre Lorde, and Ron Simmons, I will identify and analyze instance of racism in Toronto’s LGBTQ community, How stereotypes and the conditional acceptance within the community are the cause of black gay males being marginalized, excluded, and suffering while living with inequality on a regular basis. I will also explain how improving the current state of racial communications between individuals in the community can change the lives of the community and society. Within the LGBTQ Community, there are several instances of racism, that are swept under the rug.
Somebody can be labeled a homosexual, and somebody can be diagnosed with black lung. That can have a heavy burden on an individual. No matter whom the person is and what they are labeled, it’s hard to know what they are feeling. From the homosexual stand point, they might be dealing with thoughts such as “why me?” and “is this normal?” When considering the thoughts of somebody diagnosed with black lung, you can expect one to be thinking “this isn’t fair” or “is there anything I can do?” Both sides of the comparison have heavy emotional issues. When homosexuality “made a public appearance” in history, it was known as a “sickness, relabeled, medicalized, or morbidified by Kraft-Ebing, Havelock Ellis, and their less famous European and American colleagues.”(Hansen, 14).
He has smiled his way into people’s hearts; I have been obliged to fight my way.” Booker T. Washington made this powerful statement about one of the most controversial African Americans in history, Edgar “Bert” Williams. Bert Williams is an incredibly influential person in the history of acting. Many people may disagree with this statement. Instead of viewing Bert as influential, they might see him as controversial. Both Williams’ use of black stereotypes and participation in the “blackface” type of acting were considered negative and racist ways of portraying black people during this time period.
Therefore rap came to be the main way of expressing social oppression in black communities. Rappers best represented lives that lacked love ,fewer opportunities, and disgust with law enforcement. Dyson argues his beliefs on rap and its representation “Representing history is within reach of those who seize the opportunity to speak for themselves, to represent their own interest at all cost. Therefore gangsta rap is always involved in controversial representation. Constant attacks on homosexuals and women show the battle between cultural differences in many of gangsta rappers.
Macklemore starts his argument relating gay rights to the civil rights at (2:28) where he purposefully puts clips of a significant black women in history, the American flag flowing in the wind, a burning cross, a clip from war, and a young African American holding a sign stating “we believe in the supreme court”. These clips are playing to the lyrics “A culture founded from oppression, yet we don't have acceptance for 'em, call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board, a word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it, gay is synonymous with the lesser, it's the same hate that's caused wars from religion, gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment, the same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins, it's human rights for everybody, there is no difference!” The significances of the American flag going with the lyrics is there to show that the USA was founded when trying to free itself from the religion and government pressure in England. In addition he uses the African American female, the burning of the cross, war image, and the young girl
According to Du Bois the prejudices of white people elicit “self-questioning, self-criticism, and lowering of ideals” among black people. The internalization of anti-black sentiment from the outside world thus begins to shape the black American experience. Through the concept double consciousness DuBois becomes better able to explore the social problems he studied in his earlier work “The Philadelphia Negro”. Double consciousness also creates an element of conflict within the black American, as they struggle (often unsuccessfully) to reconcile their identity as a black person and as an American citizen. Dubois cites the example of the black artisan in “The Souls of Black Folk”.
Anger is conceptualized as an instinctual drive (Hall, 1899) and Blacks are often stereotyped as angry and out of control with regard to their feelings and emotions (Franklin, 2004). Anger and its manifestations have been widely documented as a response to racism related experiences (Wade, 2006). Johnson and Greene (1991) found that for young Black men who were faced with a number of race-related anger-provoking situations; their feelings of anger were suppressed because of fear of negative consequences. Mabry & Kiecolt, (2005) have found that although Black Americans are consistently faced with situations that might provoke anger, they are more likely to suppress their anger for fear that the expression of strong emotions such as anger could have a potentially detrimental effect on their lives.
Mentality concerning homosexuality includes popular attitudes, social customs, response to Church teachings, reaction to law, as well as beliefs, customs, and concerns of homosexual and bisexual men (Nesvig, 2001) The long-cherised assumptions of patriarchy and male-dominated sexuality have guided the historiography of homosexuality in Latin America. Two theoretical models inform this classification. First, the honor-shame paradigm of Latin America and Mediterranean society suggests that sexuality is a key component of the system of honor and shame. The second model on which numerous scholars rely for theoretical guidance is the infamous hijos de la chingada mythology proffered by a Mexican writer, Octavio Paz. Nearly half a century has passed since he penned the much-debated essays that comprise El Laberinto de la Soledad, suggesting mentalities and universal characteristics of mexicanismo (Nesvig, 2001).
Today, the discrimination still goes on, with women who are objectified as sexual symbols in the media and minority groups who are stereotyped and profiled. In Catherine A. Mackinnon’s book Feminism Unmodified: Discourses of Life and Law, she states,” The law has been a male sphere. The values and qualities of these pursuits have defined both the male role and public life… I call this the dominance approach, and it is the ground I’ve been standing on in criticizing mainstream law.” MacKinnon argues that because men have traditionally created laws, there is no true gender equality (MacKinnon, 1987). According to her outlook, our laws were not designed for the other gender or others races, making the legal order discriminatorily in favor of the creators themselves. When considering this “standard legal order”, issues with race can also be considered.