Thursday, March 18, 2010

Gay Men of Color

An interesting topic came up in my gender class that has bearing on our discussions. The situation of gay men of color is described as a "matrix of domination." Depending on the individual, some of them relate as a person of color, while others as a homosexual, and still others as both. The article, entitled "They Don't Want to Cruise Your Type: Gay Men of Color and the Racial Politics of Exclusion," discusses how in their communities these men are subject to racism, sexual discrimination, and homophobia. They experience racism in both hetero and homosexual society. They experience a unique form of discrimination as many people don't believe that a man of color would be homosexual, and are treated awkwardly even at gay bars. On top of all of this, they experience the same type of homophobia that all gay men experience when they are accepted as being homosexual. I thought this was interesting because it truly illustrates a complete "matrix of domination," or the idea that you cannot merely look at one single act or picture, but must view the complete experience of a person to see just how much they are oppressed. Think about that the next time we talk about individual racist actions and oppressions, there's always more to it.

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