The "Down Low" Isn't Just a Black Issue

Last month, controversy exploded over an episode ofThe View, in which the hosts made inaccurate and irresponsible assertions about black gay and bisexual men. Namely, they argued that HIV is a serious presence in the black community because "down low" black men have sex with other men and don't tell their wives or girlfriends, thereby allowing HIV to spread.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has called for ABC to retract these comments, which support misleading stereotypes about HIV and black men. We’re still waiting.

For a thorough run-down of why The View's statements were so inaccurate, check out Michael Jones' coverage on Change.org's Gay Rights blog. In the meantime, I wanted to delve a little deeper into some background about supposed "down low" men in the black community.

To begin, the down low (DL) is not a new concept. Whenever it surfaces in the media, the term has been used to reiterate assumptions about black women’s naïveté, rampant homophobia in black communities, and the maliciousness of black men. Instead of focusing on the important issues at hand — the devastating effects of HIV on communities of color — people like the hosts on The View insist on perpetuating damaging assumptions about black men.

But before The View, of course, there was Oprah, who similarly helped stir up such notions. In 2004, for example, Oprah hosted J.L. King, author of On the Down Low: A Journey into the Lives of ‘Straight’ Black Men Who Sleep with Men. The title of the show was"Men Living on the D.L.," and hyped the phenomena of black men who identify as heterosexual, partner with women and secretly have sex with men as well.

To be fair, however, in the audience was Phil Wilson, founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute, who tried to counter what was being said. Wilson clarified that the DL was neither new nor unique to black men, and that women also play a role in assessing their sexual partners. But in a sea of sensationalism, Wilson’s words came as an afterthought. After all, Wilson was in the audience and not on stage.

Before Oprah’s DL episode, public health officials had already begun targeting dollars toward DL prevention campaigns. After that episode, though (I was a health educator at the time), I saw how whites found it easy to point their fingers specifically at black men, and neglect to have DL conversations in non-black communities. Black men made convenient targets to blame for the spread of HIV. Since then, instead of addressing the undergirding homophobia and sex-negative norms that permeate all of our communities — not just black ones — we've continued to scapegoat black men.

But blaming black men for HIV is reminiscent of the way society blamed gay men for the disease in the 1980s. In the 80s, blaming gays was a homophobic act. Today, blaming black men is both a homophobic and racist act. And unfortunately, the latter is a perspective that non-black gay men are embracing as well.

That fact was illustrated quite clearly by comments made by The View’s openly gay guest co-host, Thomas Roberts, that night. Responding to a question about whether he had sex with men while dating women, Roberts said: “No. But I’m not a black man on the down low,” while the audience sat and laughed.

Photo Credit: See-ming Lee