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Black Like Me
A Rebuttal/Reply to Janis Ian's Advocate column, "Black
like you", March 18, 1997
by John Bernard Jones
I was riding on the No. 212 bus, reading this big ole gay
& lesbian newsmagazine with San Fran mayor Willie Brown
on the cover and I got to Janis Ian's column on page 63. It
was called "Black Like You." My eyebrows raised and I
thought, Well, it certainly can't be about her. And so it
wasn't. It was about a "conversation" between Ms. Ian's
sig-nif, Mr. Lesbian, and some uncredited black woman known
only as something like "the well-known songwriting closeted
lesbian negress" (aka WKSCLN) or some such. In it, Mr.
Lesbian berates WKSCLN about how the latter publicly talks
about the trials and tribulations of being black in a racist
music industry in particular and society in general, but how
WKSCLN remains in the closet about her sexuality in the
homophobic music industry in particular and society in
general. Despite WKSCLN's "reasons" for remaining closeted,
most notably her fear of losing her connectivity to the
black community of which she not only is a part but which
she claims as her own, Mr. Lesbian proceeds to
self-righteously invalidate WKSCLN's concerns all the while
Madame Ian apparently wrings her hands in dismay. In short,
it took all of about an 800 word column to call WKSCLN
nothing less than a hypocrite.
There I was sitting on the bus, literally shaking with
dismay. I read the article again to be sure I hadn't
misinterpreted the bullshit. Yep. Right there in glorious
black 'n' white was the same old hoary Black versus Gay
argument, neatly dressed up as a parable. Once again, Black
gays and lesbian people (you know, the ones like "us") were
outright being told that our concerns about being black in a
racist society are invalid, that we have an "obligation" to
come "out", and that if we don't march down the street with
our fists raised high in homo-solidarity with our gay
"brothers and sisters," then we are cowards. Cowards! Midway
through the column, Mr. Lesbian asks, "...why don't black
gays come out?" Perhaps I have one answer among many.
A great many Black gays don't come out, precisely because
of the attitude that Mr. Lesbian and other gays have toward
us. The demand that Black gays and lesbians realign our
concerns, priorities, lifestyles, and lives to fit into the
misty-eyed conformity of an ill-defined gay "community" is
arrogant condescension at best and racist moral
grandstanding at its worst. It is arrogant because it
assumes we do not know for ourselves what is or is not good
for us on the individual level as issues affect us from day
to day.
The demand is racist because it uses a specious argument
to assert the superiority of one identity over another. In
this case, the argument is to come out. But the question
remains, to come out where? Will the gay and lesbian
community automatically embrace our songwriter and elevate
her to k.d. lang goddesshood on Mr. Lesbian's say-so alone?
And the implication that "coming out" will negate the racial
indignities and oppressions most people of color must deal
with day in and day out is the height of racist absurdity.
While I'm at it, let me admit that I assume Mr. Lesbian is
not black; how disingenuous of Ms. Ian to not let us know
whether or not Mr. Lesbian spoke from a position where she,
too, has to deal with the triangularity of identity 'black,
gay, & female' as our songwriter must. Mr. Lesbian, will
not personally make up lost income that our closeted
songwriter may lose if she does come out in her industry.
Mr. Lesbian cannot replace a mother that could disown her or
pay the mortgage on the condo she could lose.
One more thing: I find it curious that a white lesbian
making an argument to blacks about owning up to one's "true"
identity would refer to her female lover as "Mr." Smacks of
a certain kind of hypocrisy in its own right.
I am not making arguments in favor of staying in the
closet. What I making an argument for is reason and choice.
Reason dictates that everyone is not in the same space,
place or circumstance that we may be. Choice as a vital
component of a diverse community must be respected even if
we do not respect the choice itself. In our songwriters
case, the choice is hers as to her status in or out of the
closet.
As a Black gay man who has never seen the interior of a
closet, I am out all the time. I am secure enough in all of
my identities that I am myself everywhere I go. But my
sexuality is not my primary concern. Nor is my race. Nor is
my gender. Sometimes I'm just a writer and other times I'm
just a science fiction fan. Each has their turn as
circumstances, mood, and priority dictate, sometimes in
combination. I don't wear rainbow rings. I don't watch a tv
show simply because a gay character is featured or might
come out. Sometimes I read gay magazines on crowded buses
traveling into the heart of the black community and
discreetly cruise a fine brother sitting two seats to the
left of me. But I don't ask anyone to read the magazine or
for the brother to respond to my attentions. Does this make
me a coward, too?
John Bernard Jones Copyright
1997
Send comments and submissions to:
Chuck
Tarver chuck@blackstripe.com
Last updated: 21 March 1999
by
Chuck Tarver
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