In light of the resurgence of homophobia and transphobia over the past year, it can be hard to ignore the hypocrisy of marginalized communities hopping on the hate train of the queer community. Homophobia and transphobia in the black community baffles me because, other than queer people themselves, black people are the group most affected by homophobia and transphobia.
Black people--especially black women--are over-masculinized in society. This is one of the most plaguing social features of the black community and the basis behind many forms of violence, both physical and mental. This often manifests itself through aggressive homophobia and strong emphasis on gender roles. However, eurocentric ideals for gender roles have never benefited the black community. Black women have always had work to support their children, and black families have always been separated because of racism. Even after slavery was abolished, black men were separated from their families because otherwise, the family wouldn’t qualify for section 8, leading to generations of absent fathers. Many queer people looking to create families are told that children need a mother and a father to be raised healthily, but when black families have needed community support for generations, this ideology only works negatively against the black community, as well as the queer community. Single mothers are villainized for not having a man in the household, and queer parents are villainized for not having the presence of the opposite gender in the household.
Atlanta Child Abused on Instagram Live for Being Gay, Family Shaves "Gay" in his Head as Punishment
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Due to hypermasculinization, black men often feel as though they have to overcompensate for their masculinity, ultimately rejecting any behavior that is associated with femininity because that would make you “gay.” Unfortunately, this leads to repressed emotions and heightened aggression, which elevate the rates of domestic violence and child abuse. Many young black boys are violently punished for displaying signs of femininity or homosexuality. Coincidentally, this also goes back to the demonization of single mothers, because now black men blame single moms for there being no man in the household and for making her sons “feminine” and “soft.”
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This aggression toward femininity has also led to the brutalization of many trans women. Transphobic straight men can get very angry when they find themselves attracted to trans-women because, in their mind, that makes them gay. Rather than acknowledging that trans women are women and that there's nothing wrong with being attracted to them, black men either act violently towards trans women or date them in secret (only to act violently if they get “caught”). This is often referred to as being “DL,” which is a derogatory term used to make men feel bad for liking men or trans women. If there wasn’t such a negative connotation with homosexuality, there wouldn’t be a need to feel ashamed about liking the same gender.
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Some black women feel the need to overcompensate their femininity in order to be of value to black men, so they put significant emphasis on being submissive, modest, and always put together. Some black women channel this overcompensation through transphobia. For example, comedian Jess Hilarious made a video a couple months ago denouncing transwomen, saying they will never be real women, and they only try to imitate the “originals” like her and other ciswomen. However, if you look further into her content, most of her highest viewed videos are of her being called a man by her male co-stars on the show “Wild ‘n Out,” most of them being black men.
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Michelle Dionne Peacock was allegedly killed because she was thought to be trans
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Unfortunately, many black women are often considered to have manly features and are compared to men, when in actuality, these are just common black features. Rather than channeling these frustrations against the oppressors who over-masculinize them, many black women turn this frustration towards trans women, putting trans women down to affirm their own gender and status as the “originals.” However, transphobia only negatively affects black women. When there were campaigns to keep trans women out of women’s sports, multiple cisgendered black women were banned from competing due to high levels of testosterone. Additionally, when trans women were painted as dangerous pedophiles and body mutilators, there were cis black women who were murdered for being suspected of being trans. In an attempt to protect their womanhood, many of their own were treated just like the people they’re trying to oppress.
The black community’s perpetuation of homophobia has done more to harm the black community than to help it. While black people are worried about the queer community ruining black men and being unnatural, black men and women have been abused, killed, and chastised. Rather than promoting abuse in the name of the Lord, the community could put energy into normalizing queer identities and self expression. Even if other communities continue their hatred for the queer community, it would serve no weight on us because you can’t insult someone for something they don’t perceive as being wrong.
ANgel Cal
