Angry Black Hoemo

Just a guy, striving to be a good person and an even better bottom

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It’s Past Time To Raise Our Standards for “Allies”

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At the 2019 GLAAD Media Awards, held last Thursday, Beyoncé and Jay-Z were presented with this year’s Vanguard Award. This is an award is meant to annually acknowledge people who don’t identify as LGBTQ, but are considered to have made great strides towards promoting the acceptance of LGBTQ people (in other words, it’s an award for LGBTQ “allies”). When I first learned that GLAAD was planning on presenting them with this award a couple of weeks back, I…immediately had questions.

In doing a little digging to figure out what all, exactly, Bey & Jay have done to help advance the plight of LGBTQ people, the answers that I found largely just reaffirmed what I’d long figured. That their advocacy is cool, but nothing particularly risky, threatening to the status quo or revolutionary. Look, y’all know I love me some Beyoncé (and Jay-Z is cool too, or whatever). But let’s be honest. This award is just…not it. [Read more…]

Pride Colors on Police Cars Do Not Make Them LGBTQ “Allies”

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I was just browsing Twitter, minding my own business (prolly browsing thirst traps), when I came across this:

…first of all, who’s their graphic designer? These decals are fucking hideous

This is just the latest in an ongoing trend of police departments showing how “down” they are with the Gays.

 

Keep in mind…Philly’s LGBTQ scene, in particular, has been in the news throughout 2017 pride month

(If you’ve followed my work for any length of time, you likely know what’s coming)

Granted, this really isn’t much unlike any other performative showing of solidarity or “allyship.” But there’s something especially insidious about police adopting this display. Let’s break it down, shall we? [Read more…]

Queerness and Personal Autonomy: Why I’m No Longer Calling Malcolm X Bisexual

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The topic of Malcolm X’s sexuality is one that comes up every now and again on social media. The most recent resurgence of the topic came about amidst the peak of the magical hashtag #BlackGaySlay. Some tweets came up giving a shout-out to Malcolm X with the hashtag, citing his alleged Bisexuality. Predictably (because this happens every time the topic comes up), this sent the homophobes into a tizzy (example). Initially, I was largely in on going at the bigots about their biphobia and homophobia, asserting Malcolm X’s Queerness. But after spending some time sorting it out in my head, I had to come to realization that that’s kinda bullshit. Here’s why I’m making the personal call to bow out of claiming Malcolm X as Queer or Bisexual…

It’s known that Malcolm X did make a living as a sex worker for male clients in his younger years, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to an actual attraction to men. Regardless of what Malcolm may have done, he never actually said he was Bisexual. One of the more crucial aspects of sexuality and gender identity is having the autonomy to ID oneself as they feel comfortable doing. I think one thing Queer people can, virtually unanimously, agree on is we don’t like having others try to define our sexual identity for us…and it’s something most all of us have had to deal with at some point. So, why would we turn around and define someone else’s sexuality for them—especially when he’s not alive to accept or decline it? It feels a bit hypocritical. [Read more…]

The Loneliness of Activism: Feeling Like You’re Being Tolerated Instead of Embraced

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Can I fast-forward to the point where I’m fully surrounded by people who find my heightened interested in activism and justice to be an asset instead of a hindrance? Does that point even exist?

I’ve touched on this before, but as someone who might jokingly be called “newly woke,” I’m finding myself in a place where I’m owning how much I value social justice and activism in a way that I hadn’t, previously. Truth of the matter is, I’ve felt strongly about social justice and liberation for myself as Black, Queer person, even before I knew what the term “social justice” was. But just after the last year or so, I’m finding myself more fully invested in advocating for justice in more substantial and far-reaching ways.

I didn’t grow up immersed in the intersection of Blackness and Queerness…nor did I grow up in social awareness and activism. They’re all things that I had to go out and find and/or stumble upon on my own. And moving to Chicago played a big factor in that, as did finding my way back to spaces in social media like Twitter. I feel like I’ve grown a great deal in a very short time (I would NOT have been cool with calling myself “Angry” just a year ago…even in jest). It’s given me a much greater sense of clarity in how I view the world, but it’s also come at a price. [Read more…]

LGBTQ Pride Parades & Protesting

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This is originally from an entry on my Medium blog

Another round of Pride Parades took place this weekend, including one in Toronto. This one, in particular, has made some waves due to a protest that was held by the Toronto Chapter of Black Lives Matter. Their motivations behind said protest were outlined in a list of demands.

 

Similarly to other Pride protests — including “BlackOut Pride,” which took place here in Chicago, last year — the response to this has, predictably, been mixed and polarized. While many (myself, included) support the actions of BLMTO, many others are pulling out the predictable rhetoric of it not being the right time, or they could’ve asked more nicely, or (my favorite) it was “too divisive.”

[Read more…]