One More Myth/One More Burden
Via Slate, Ta-Nehisi Coates on the dangers of the Down Low Myth:
Yet another myth about black people that needs to debunked once and for all.
In the face of all the skeptical science, why is the belief in the Down Low menace so entrenched? For starters, there's the phraseology, which hints at some carnal secret society, and is catchy to boot. It also helps that the Down Low is the sort of threat that white commentators of all political stripes like to condemn. Conservatives get to disparage black people's inherent amorality (a band of men is endangering their families to have sex with other deceptive men), liberals can attack our inherent homophobia (the black community is so thuggish that the men can't even admit to being gay), and everyone gets to agree that black America is, in a nutshell, a nuthouse. In short, shaking your head over the DL is the perfect way to shake your head over how awful it is to be black.
Yet another myth about black people that needs to debunked once and for all.
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