Down Low Is Secret Heterosexual

Down Low is secret heterosexual behaviour specially associated with Black men. Down Low or DL men are usually married or have sexual partners but they tend to sleep secretly with men. Here DL culture should not be confused with gay lifestyle. Gays are usually open about their sexual habits. They (white gays) campaign for their right to live according to their will and often demand their recognition as a community. DL men, on the other hand, do not like to be labelled as gay due to the stigma and prejudice for Black gays. They pose to prefer straight sex behaviour in public but have same-sex relation in their personal life. They do not consider themselves or like to be labelled as gay for the fear of violence and discrimination.

J.L. King (author of on the Down Low: A Journey into the Lives of "Straight" Black Men Who Sleep with Men.) appeared on Oprah talk show and said,

Why do I have to label myself to make you comfortable?...The act of the sex is homosexuality, but I don't want to get caught up in the whole gay culture, because the media and people look at gay people as being less than a man [in the black community]. The media has let white gay people feel more comfortable in their skin and it's accepted. The greatest taboo is to be black and homosexual, and I refuse to be labelled and classified that folks will look at me as something different. I am a man."

Men living on DL also cite loss of social contact, disapproval for Blacks in gay culture and other social institutions and prefer to live on DL. It might not be wrong to say that DL culture has emerged as a reaction against gay culture in white men, poverty and homophobic family networks.

Though this unusual sexual behaviour has been prevalent in all cultures and all times, but it has taken new dimensions because of health risks that are recently highlighted, especially AIDS. In 2000, AIDS was among the top three causes of death for African-American men ages 25 to 54 and African-American women of ages between 35 and 44. It might not be possible to determine exactly how many of them were directly or indirectly living DL life. However, it is considered that DL men are contributing to the spread of AIDS. According to the latest statistics 67% of black women with HIV contracted it from heterosexual sex. Similarly, Black men are almost nine times more likely to be infected with AIDS than white men. Many of these men are infected by sexual contact with another man, through injecting drug use, or by other women. They not only carry the disease but also transfer it to others unknowingly. There is also a concern that the DL culture is not responding to safer sex messages.

There is another conception parallel to the one explained here that the DL phenomenon is nothing more than a hype created by media. There are no evidences to prove how many men in general are living on low down and how many of them are Black. Moreover, nobody has an idea as how many of these men carry HIV. Similarly, there is no clue to prove that the men living on DL or their partners are engaged in unsafe-sex habits.

Men on DL, however, protest against this misconception that they are DL men who are spreading AIDS. They insist that black is not the colour of AIDS. This seems true especially when we do not have sufficient evidences to prove DL as the chief contributor to AIDS. There are no tangible facts to support this misconception. However, studies done do far indicate the frequency of high-risk behaviour with all partners among young Black men who have sex with men and women.

The practical part of the whole discussion should be "what to do about it?"

Firstly, DL men should not be isolated. Media should initiate a dialogue on DL lifestyle and help Black community understand the changes that are occurring in today's society. Other communities should learn to tolerate differences in race, gender, culture, as well as sexual orientation. Media should initiate open-minded and non-judgmental dialogue instead of following the policy of "blame, shock and shame." Rather than placing blame, media should teach people to have sex safely and responsibly.

Secondly, the fears of discrimination at work, violence in public and unequal treatment in hospitals, public places, churches and meetings should be removed. This can be done by educating people and giving respect to the sufferers.