So today at school a teacher asked me "Why do Black men seem to be more homophobic than men from other cultural groups?" My reply was "although there is quite a bit of homophobia in the Black community, both here in Canada and abroad, there are also very strong homophobic sentiments in the Middle East, Southern Asia and Eastern Europe. It's not just Black men that are homophobic. Perhaps, the homophobia in other communities or other parts of the world are not highlighted or noticed to the same extent because individuals from these cultural backgrounds are not producing and influencing media in the same way that the Black community is.
Homophobia is quite rampant in both hip hop and reggae music. The music from both genres is widely consumed and as a result people are well aware of the homophobia that exists amongst African-American and Caribbean men. The music also acts as a reinforcement for preexisting cultural values and social norms in the Black community.
"It's bigger than hip hop"
With this said, the issue is obviously bigger than hip hop and dancehall music.
Watch this clip - Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding speaks on homosexuality in Jamaica:
Explanations of homophobia in the Black community often fall into one or more of these categories:
1. Religious traditions
- literal interpretation of scripture is often cited as a justification for homophobia
2. Historical Sexual Exploitation
- stems from white exploitation of Black sexuality
- slavery, stereotypes and the media have caused trepidation in the Black community when it comes to discussing sexuality and being sexually open. The Black community is not open when it comes to discussions about sexuality out of fear that this openness might be used to support existing stereotypes of Black men and women
3. Race Survival Consciousness
- in many ways, Black masculinity is a response to white domination
- whiteness and homosexuality are seen as weak and feminine and Black heterosexuality is seen in hyper-masculine terms
Masculinity and Homosociality
I feel as if there is more pressure on Black men to be hyper-masculine than there is for other groups. We could spend forever and a day discussing the roots of hyper-masculinity in the Black community, but let's focus on the topic at hand, homophobia. In my opinion, a great deal of the homophobia in the black community comes from homosociality, which is simply male-male relationships/friendships or male bonding. Basically, men are socialized to please other males. That is, they grow up learning that being a man means earning respect from their father, male friends and other men in their lives. Most men learn that you earn respect by being "manly" and as a result begin to dislike anything "non-manly" or "feminine". Both misogyny and homophobia come from men's desire to be masculine and go against all things feminine.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
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