4 Reasons Why ‘Gay IS the New Black’
Published by Travers on Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 3:27 pm.Posted by TRAVERS for BET’s YOU(th) VOTE
Last week I did a post (Click here to read it) about a magazine cover I saw on a newsstand recently that boldly proclaimed that “GAY IS THE NEW BLACK.” The issue of gay rights is all over the news these days from the outrage over Obama’s choice of pastor (and anti-gay marriage advocate) Rick Warren to pray at his inauguration, to the recent passage of Proposition 8 in California which outlaws gay marriage in the state. All of this has led some activists to parallel the struggle for gay rights to the Civil Rights Movement.
I can see both sides of the issue, so this week and next week I’m going to present some reasons to support each side. Today: 4 Reasons Why Gay IS the New Black
1. Face it: Gay people get discriminated against
While race and gender have historically been the most obvious reasons for discrimination in this country, discrimination based on sexual orientation is also very present. In some states a person can be fired from their job just for being gay.
2. It’s “acceptable” to discriminate against gays and lesbians
Even in a world where a person can lose their job and have their reputation ruined for a racist or sexist remark or action, people aren’t equally ridiculed for discrimination against gays and lesbians. In fact, in many ways it’s socially acceptable. Think about it. How often do you hear someone say “that’s gay” or use the word “faggot” ? Now, how often do you hear of someone getting ridiculed for saying these things?
3. It’s not just about marriage
Gay rights, like the black Civil Rights Movement, is not just about one issue. While gay marriage is the primary issue (just like school integration was with the Civil Rights Movement), gay people are fighting for job equality and many other basic human rights. Did you know that a gay couple doesn’t have the right to see their partner when they’re dying in the hospital?
4. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”–Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK said it best. Just because the discrimination faced by gay people may not affect you personally, that’s still no excuse for you to ignore it. If the government can take away one minority group’s rights, it could certainly do it to another.
So what do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Is Gay the New Black?
Hit me up to break it down, and check back next week as I state my case for why “Gay is NOT the New Black.”
TRAVERS
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The problem is everybody wants to be or play the role of GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No One has the right to do this, ONLY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a brother who is gay and is by far the sweetest and good hearted person I ever knew, he would give you the clothes off his back and I love him, stand by him and will always be there for him when he needs me, I don’t understand it fully because he’s handsome and could have any woman he wants but just don’t choose to, it’s his choice, I accept it because I love him and I wonder why would a person make their life harder than it already is, so with that being said, this is why I do think a person can be born like that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And at first I disagreed with GAY being the new black, but reading all other comments, NOW I understand why they say this,with all the un justice and cruel things that blacks endured and had to overcome, I totally understand and respect that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I do believe and know there’s a GOD from all the blessings I received in my life and the only reason why myself, kids, and family is still here today.
I feel like this, why is gay rights even talked about anyway, how did it get THIS FAR???????? Why is someone so worried about who another person sleeps with, love, or is in a relationship with, WHY??????? What business of it is yours and why should someone decides if a gay couple can marry one another or not????? With all the crazy shi…………… going on in this world, trying to stop two people who love eachother from marring eachother because they are the same sex is ridiculous and stupid, when the goverment should be helping the president to get this economy back on track. No I personally don’t agree with being gay, that’s just my fuc…..opinion and it’s just that. Someone opinion’s should NOT in NO FUC….. way vaildates on someone’s esle life, WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lLike one comment said, sin is sin and no sin is more or less than the other. It’s NOT up for YOU to judge a person who sins, everybody FUC….SINS, NO ONE IS PERFECT, BUT GOD, if you are, I like to met you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you NEVER in your entire life made a mistake or done ANYTHING WRONG and PERFECT, maybe you can judge alittle, but I can assure there’s no one in this world like that, but GOD, SO SHUT THE FUC……………UP IF YOU ARE QUICK TO JUDGE GAYS, OR ANYONE/ANYBODY FOR THAT MATTER, and when you are ready to judge someone, just think long and hard, ask yourself am I perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gay is the new black. To all those religious zealots, there was a time that you could not pray at all or even think about being open about your religion. To those black people who want to deny a gay person their rights-remember from whence you came and to those gay and lesbian brothers and sisters like myself: Hang in there, because just like in previous history-change is coming. It came many times before and it will come again.
The divisiveness of homophobia is tearing away at black folks and our community. We have people who are gay, hiv positive and gay youth without homes because of this ignorance. I was born gay and knew it at age 8 so what do you say to that. You can perm your kinky hair but it will be kinky non the less. And you can force yourself to be straight when you are gay but you will be gay nontheless. Get use too it!!!!!!!!!!
I just had a cousin come out and there is NO WAY I am going to stop loving her just because who she chooses to share HER love with. Though I guess I ride the fence, because we all have been raised to know two of the same sex is not supposed to marry. So just my opinion since this lifestyle is NOT going anywhere why don’t they make a (more suitable) Man Law that will allow them some kind of recognition of the commitment in their relationship if that make any since..
Gayness is Crazy !!!!!!!
fool please yall can hide being gay but we cant hide being black hell to the naw dont equate your problem to our
I posted the same thing on “4 Reasons Why ‘Gay is NOT the New Black’”…
Come on people… I think that we are getting this whole slogan mixed up… Saying that “Gay is the new Black” is saying that being gay is “in”. In the fashion industry, many people say that a certain popular color or style is “the new black” since black is such a popular color in fashion. The slogan has little or nothing to do with civil rights or the fight for gay rights. It is just saying that being gay is becoming more accepted and popular.
I hate to see that Black people, who have a legacy of discrimination, have the awe to discriminate against gay people. Especially when there is a great population of Blacks in the gay community. We are discriminating against our own race once again. It is such a shame… We learn to hate homosexuals from society, just as we learn racism and other prejudices. While we are busy hating and killing each others are taking advantage of the education and financial gains that our forefathers fought and died for. Is it really that serious to focus on who is sleeping with who?
The hatred that I have read here the towards gay people is the reason why there are so many Black men on the DL and why gay men and women find it hard to be honest to themselves, their families, and friends. This is why gay people have to hide in fear of becoming disowned, beaten, or even killed. And some people think that it is a choice…
Who wishes to choose to be something or someone that is ridiculed and hated by society? What sense does that make? Gay people do not choose to be gay. I may be a mental or hormonal thing from birth or something. Bad relationships with the opposite sex, trauma from same sex $**?, natural curiosity, and other factors may spark or increase the chance of homosexuality. I personally think that it is possible for anyone to have a homosexual experience once the situation deems it fit and right button is pushed.
ok if God wanted gay ppl to get married, he woud have said so or sumthin.
dats crazy how ppl tink its all gud to be gay. go ahead, but see wat happens to you in the long run. you will go to hell for dat…. its some serious stuff man.
w.e. oh well.
i think black ppl and gay ppl deal with different kinds of discrimination and nothing makes those discrimination right. i can’t say gays are the new blacks bc gay people can actually hide it if they really wanted to (even tho i dun think they should have to) whereas blacks can’t hide that they black. but gays have been killed/ abused/ fired from jobs/ kicked out of military etc etc juss for being gay..
and for the ppl who say that gay ppl choose to be gay, how ignorant r u?? did you choose to be straight? did you one day wake up and say to urself oh i wanna be attracted to girls wit big asses? its a natural instinct what ur attracted to u dumbasses. did you choose to be attracted to what you’re attracted to??? why would gay ppl have chosen to be gay knowin damn well that majority of the society dont approve of them? ?
i aint gay buh i have gay friends, and ppl who use the bible to talk sh*t about gay ppl, did you read the whole Bible? I have, and ya it DOES say being homosexual is an abomination but yall need to kno, there is NO ONE that will NOT go to hell if you really wanna talk bible, everyone sins! it also says if you get divorced and remarries while ur ex-spouse is still alive, you commit adultary as well- same sin as homosexuality according to the Bible. It also says you will be the first one to be judged by God and sent straight to hell if you judge and condemn others before yourself. Let God be the judge, you dont got no right to judge others whether they are going to hell or not.
k . thx 4 reading
I am not Gay. Nor do I care what Gay people do. As a preachers daughter Ihave been spoonfed the bible all my life.
This is my interpretation:
*Treat others as you would have them treat you.
*Gay or Straight or Bi sexual we are all people given the grace of making our own decisions. God is our Judge. not Man.
*Sin is Sin, whether you are robbing someone or lusting after someone.
* How do we know that there is not a chemcial embalance that gives “men” that are actualy women the physical appearance of something they truly or not or vice versa ?
*we were given the delicious treat of sex to reproduce. if we can not reproduce?? I don’t know. There are women that cannot reproduce. Maybe it is not meant for certain people to have children?
These are all questions that should be left up to God himself to decide because he is the creator.
I feel if we paid more attention to actual issues such as poverty , equal rights and making each other laugh smile, and reach for the highest goals in life possible there would be less room for bullsh*t.
HOW TH HELLO ARE GONNA COMPARE BEING GAY TO BEING BLACK? That’s just wrong and stupid!
Gay is NOT the new black and that is a VERY insane comment to make….Gay is a psycological disorder and NOT a race of any kind….Yes “Gay” and “Black” are both adjatives in the English language BUT is definitely not the new BLACK…..”Gays” are just people that are weak to the human flesh and we bet NOT ever let the GAY marriage pass beacuse it will a BIG insult to God himself and also a open door to all the other human beings that want to let us know they to are weak to temptation and sin…AMAN!
First of all Gay is no way the New Black……………..Blacks do not choose to be Black but Gays choose to be Gay, you need to justify your being black and gay some other way.Why must it always be an issue (black ,gay,poor,light skin,dark skin,short hair,long hair) get GOD in you life because you are living a life that surley gonna bring damnation to your soul……………..HELL will be you home at the end and all this won’t matter
To all the people shouting out about homosexuality being a sin.. have you actually read the bible? Do you wear mixed fabrics on your skin? Do you eat pork? Do you women go around other people when you’re on your period? Because those, according to this bible you’re so ready to quote, are also sins that should equal death. I’m a Christian. I believe in the teachings of Jesus. Kindness, tolerance, doing good to others and helping those less fortunate than yourselves.
Oh and the old testament also makes it perfectly A-OK to own slaves and sale people of a different race.
Did you know that a couple of months ago an elderly gay couple were murdered in cold blood because they were gay? One of them was in a wheel chair. A young boy was murdered by a classmate for giving him a valentine. That is hate.
I don’t care if you disagree with homosexuality or gay marriage – you don’t have to accept it or believe in your heart that it’s OK. That’s your choice.
BUT it is WRONG to deny people rights according to YOUR personal belief. It is WRONG to discriminate against them. It is WRONG to hurt them. And in our society it is seen as perfectly OK to hurt them or hate them. It ISN’T is the point.
All of you people going on and on about it being a sin.. judging people is the sin. Or have you read that book that you so love to quote?
I wonder how many of you are living the Bible to perfection, and not going out and getting your premarital sex on.
People do not choose to be gay, you might choose to have sex, but you don’t choose who you’re attracted to. Even if a gay person was celibate, they’d still be gay, just like a straight celibate person would still be straight.
The only person that can judge any of us is God himself, so shut the hell up.
Thanks for writing this! The Black Gays Appreciate!
For all the haters, some spoken word:
ThisLoveHasAlwaysExisted
(originally written for the black community, from an African-american queer)
Once was a dude named Saul, in the Bible look him up under Paul. Raised Jew, he made it his business to pursue Christians right after Christ died and left for the sky, he even stood by and watched Stephen, the first “official” martyr die.
But one day on the way to Damascus came a light and the Lord, and he fell to his knees.
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?!!!
I am not a threat to the Jews, I fulfill all you hold true.
And Saul was struck blind, yet Paul’s sight was restored!
“… I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy has been found trustworthy.”
Jotted down by the apostle who wrote to Rome and told them to stop sleeping with their own sons, it’s a favorite moment of mine, a time tested version of ultimate conversion, a point I hope will illuminate a true existence of love, finding a way to stop the hate.
For who can say that gay people today are not by the Lord’s mercy, trustworthy? Police profiling, infighting, lack of community kindness, straight people’s license to kill, corporate ill will, crystal meth, a new black death…Many of us have LOVED without even picking up the phone to call home. We have wished we would be asked to tell and survived.
Now, before you get up from your seats and wander away, take a second to consider what change means today, we have internet, millions of books and time to look—seen past sinners become saints: divorcees, Joan of Arc, haters and interracial daters.
Didn’t know that’s an abomination to? According to the Bible only 7 or 8 exist…Interracial marriage was one tossed into the mix, women wearing gold jewelry or men’s clothing, check. And now we come to… gay sex.
THAT sex is SO NASTY you say…funny, last time I checked isn’t all sex that way? Wasn’t your first time a mess of wetness, slapping sounds a mix of pleasure and pain? Isn’t all sex the same? Love IS TOO and here we find the righteous and true course. When one loves but cannot say, hey that’s my wife after 30 years and many tears… something’s gone horribly wrong, hear?!!! To not be able to say goodbye before you die? To never feel safe and comfortable in school, to be a lil black boy who’s breaking all the rules?
I’m telling you, you know who we are. You seen us as kids, see the parents desperately trying to put back the lid, boys a lil too “sweet” or girls too sour…now you see us behind makeup counters shouting “girl power”, we’re the women on softball teams with 10 up, the drag kings holding court, we’ve also got soldiers in every fort! Some of us even become actors, but please believe that being closeted and ??@*$ is totally a factor.
This Love exists. The past knows this truth, who knows how well, as Brother Huey of the Black Panther Party so eloquently put it, “Quite the contrary, perhaps a homosexual could be the most, revolutionary”. They are now never alone as they wait for you: Bayard Rustin who led the March for the Dream with Martin Luther King, Langston Hughes still perched on a crystal stair waiting for YOU to know what it’s like to be really disappeared. James Baldwin, up in Giovanni’s room listening to Billie sang ??@*$ blues…they turn to tell you this love has always existed.
All the way back to African times, where there were women warriors and boy wives before Christ came and was battered into our brains. Don’t get me twisted, I’m not dissing Christ or saying we should give ‘em up. I’m just wondering why no one is listening to the SON OF GOD crying out to us from our communion cup?
Love one another! Love one another! Love one another!
It’s never been a riddle, ain’t no missin jot or tittle.
He said, I am the vine and you are the branches, so stop leaving your fruit on the tree!
So sad, that for some black folk an invisible closet has instead been key. And I’m finally here on the other side, finding it locked, kicking it down, letting you have it and opening your ears to the tragic w\ word magic.
So speak to your pastors and wonder aloud…ask yourself what to do now. Do it before your son or daughter starts showing the trait and before “your best friend” asks for a date. We can all be delivered if you vote to turn the tide against hate, your voice has much weight so use it and tell others for we are your sons and mothers, brothers and daughters, baby’s mamas, sisters, father’s brothers, grandmothers, your baby boys and girls. We are the love that exists.
It was by the Lord’s Mercy that I was found trustworthy…and hence suffered and suffered, like Paul I was once even beheaded and put back together…all because one day on the way to Damascus came a light and the Lord, and we fell to our knees. I am not a threat to you, I only fulfill all you hold true. I am the love that has always existed.
Except that when, you know, black people were denied high-paying jobs, the right to go to a good school, the right to SIT ON A BUS WHEN IT WAS COMPLETELY FULL OF WHITE PEOPLE, the right to be sentenced the same as a white person, the right to sit down and EAT at a decent establishment, and I can go on.
You know, that marriage thing? Black people dealt with it too. It happened to manifest itself in a procedure called “Jumping the Broom”. Miscegenation? Also illegal in some states until the 1960s.
Gays are simply miffed over Prop 8 and a few other things. Blacks were miffed about being treated as subhuman. NEVER have gays been compared to be a fraction of a human being.
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No…Gay Is Not Tha New Black….there for other people will look at us black people as being gay..and thats not right,…..gay is “Gay” and black is “Black”…