Thank you. I've been so infuriated by all of this. The cover of the new Advocate is horrendous. "Gay is the New Black: The last great civil rights struggle" I'm nauseous just thinking about it. Though, to be fair the article inside counters the idea that the cover uses to sell itself.

I think it's a great slogan. Gets people talking, which is exactly what it should do. And judging by the comments in this video, people are fully capable of recognizing it as an oversimplification (which all slogans are) and discussing its implications rationally and with nuance.

For the record I get annoyed whenever a black person tries to downplay the similarities between different civil rights struggles. The mentality seems to be that groups of people are individual entities. "Our group had it worse historically". Well even if that's true, that doesn't mean jack shit on an individual level. Tell that to a vulnerable white gay teen living in the middle of the bible belt, growing up with fundamentalist parents, constantly being bombarded with anti-gay messages and with absolutely no one to turn to. History means nothing to an individual living in a dangerous situation. All they know is what they are going through.

Actually someone like that probably has it a lot worse than most blacks living today. At least most people have the benefit of growing up in a family that shares their genetic traits. Black people have a lot to deal with, but at least they can struggle through it with family members who look like them and are going through the same trials. There's an entire community of support. But many young gay people are totally and utterly alone.

We know the suicide rate for gay teens is disproportionately high. How many black teens commit suicide because they are depressed about being black?

I think we also need to realize there are several types of gay person. Some are gender typical. They can blend into a crowd and be relatively safe from violent attack (though the psychological trauma of hiding who they are may ruin their life anyway).

Then there are gender atypical gays. Effeminate gay men and masculine women. I'm sure their struggle is not much different than any person of color. Their stigma is visible, thus they are at the same risk of being visibly detected and targeted. And again, they don't have the benefit of being automatically born into an entire family that shares those outward traits. They are alone and defenseless, until they actively seek out safe spaces and communities that will accept them (which may be readily available in urban areas, not so much in rural areas).

In general there are plenty of similarities and plenty of differences. Anyone who says they are exactly the same, or that they're totally different, has their head up their ass.

Either way equality for all people is the goal.

Michael
You looked great, better than your still photo on Bilerico.
Which is more important to you ? The African American civil rights struggle or the equal rights struggle of LGBT's. Are you at odds with other ethnic groups of LGBT's, whites, latinos, and asians? If you had to choose communities, which one would you feel deep in your heart that you really belonged ? I would say African American due to childhood indoctrination. Am I right ?

Gay is NOT the new black. Here's why:

1) Gaybashing ain't nothing new- Gays have been bashed, burned, beaten long before there was an african slave trade.
2) There is no match for the psychological devastation gay people have endured for centuries. No straight person- black or white- is born a pariah in their own home or amongst their own people.

We have our own historical narrative. We don't need to piggy-back on someone else's.

Here are my views on the subject:
The struggle for gay rights is equivocal to the struggle for civil rights in the 60s only on the level that the power to discriminate is all encompassing then and now, as well as the struggles are equal in that populist ideas tend to oppose both of the rights then and now. In other words, the struggle itself is comparative--not the people; and the opposition and its ideology are comparative--not the effects.

I agree with the belief that on an individual level it doesn't mean jack shit namely because on an individual level there can be no equivocation--you are simply a grain of sand on the beach. In unity, it means a whole lot because the collective mentality is what hurts one, hurts all.

What I truly don't seem to understand is the divisive ideas put forth about being a blak gay teen, a white gay teen, an asian gay teen, etc etc. All this seems to do is to separate, divide, and make the struggle all that harder, weaker, if you will.

Reading the comments and the ideas set forth from this entire subject seem to contradict, in a way, the fundamental truth that gay rights, like the civil rights, should be color blind (or in this instance, should be "chasm-blind"). Take it this way, if every gay person were to unite into one belief, under one call to action regardless of sex, age, race, nationality, etc...what you become is one entity. And collectively, as well as individualy, what happens to that one entity affects you individualy, and affects all collectively.

Maybe I am not reading the comments right, but it seems to me there is a lot of derison and division between a lot of the comments on particular reasons. Is this really something that the gay rights struggle needs?
-Cameron