The Low Down...

My sister and one of her friends thinks that doing a post on down low men will be interesting. I have been putting it off for awhile because I'm sure that someone will assume I'm on the down low. But since I am comfortable with my manhood and sexuality I have decided to write something and get a good conversation going.

Being a man of high morals I view any type of cheating deplorable. Stop laughing. I'm serious. I think cheating on a person is extremely cruel. Just let the person know that you want out. Of course you need to be tactful so as to not cause a domestic disturbance but if it's got to be done then it's got to be done. Feel me?

Now we all know that the term down low usually references black men who appear to be heterosexual but have a secret life of homosexuality. Why has this phenomenon gotten so big in the last few years? It is my opinion that the high number of young black males in prison is the root cause of the problem. There are so many young black men in jail right at the time of their sexual peak that this is going to cause issues.

A lot of these males are completely gay while in jail but never touch a man on the outside and they don't consider themselves to be gay. But some however can't kick the habit and that is where the down low lifestyle starts.

This comes as a shock to many heterosexual women who up to now only worried about their mates cheating with other women. However, as the focus and attention given to men on the down low increases, more and more women will review their relationships for signs of homosexuality.

This is bad all the way around. The good men who don't cheat on their women with males or females, such as myself, are unjustly suspected of banging "Tyrone" if we hang out with our boys more than once a week. A lot of them try to go to the extreme and act "overly macho" so no one ever perceives them as gay and this can lead them down the wrong path and land them in prison and when they are released they are sometimes stimatized as potential homosexuals. Then the rise in the number of black women with HIV/AIDS is unfortunately linked to this phenomenon which is just a new spin on the old "all gays have AIDS" thing from the 80's. And it adds to the ridiculous assertion that there is a shortage of good black men.

I have seen the advertisement for the B.E.T. special about this subject and although I haven't seen it I think that all this media attention on the subject is bad. Giving women tips on how to spot men on the down low. Promoting ideas such as these are nonsensical and encourage foolish behavior. In exchange for high profits, these advisers encourage women to become detectives who monitor and accuse their men of being homosexual. This results in a personal attack on black manhood. Which starts this viscious cycle all over again. I'm not a conspiracy type of person but who has the most to gain by making it seem that a large number of black men are gay, and or violent or that there is a shortage of good black men? Think about it.

Oprah talking about this and B.E.T. doing specials on it isn't going to stop it. Me writing this post isn't going to stop it. We all just need to be more aware of the men or women we lay down with and marry. Be open and honest in our relationships and continue to promote safe sex, especially to our kids.