The Construction of Racial Identity among Same Gender Loving Black Male Characters in Contemporary Film and Television

Abstract

The mainstream media has historically characterized Black male sexuality with hypersexual images of violence, promiscuity, and insecurity. While traditional representations of Black male sexuality contains elements of dehumanization and objectification, the recent introduction of Black same gender loving ( sgl ) male characters to film and television has been branded by stereotypical notions on Black masculinity. The modern American Gay Rights Movement’s lack of influential Black male leaders has catalyzed the production of one-dimensional Black sgl male characters without extensive racial identities. The foregoing study examines the link between Black sgl men and their racial identities through analyzing the representation of homophobia and the downlow, the portrayal of interracial homosexual relationships involving Black men, and the depiction of intraracial Black sgl male relationships and their expressions of cultural norms.