Quote:
Their reaction seems to me in direct proportion to their sense of feeling cheated of the advantages which accrue to white people in a white society. There's an element, it has always seemed to me, of bewilderment and complaint. Now that may sound very harsh, but the gay world as such is no more prepared to accept black people than anywhere else in society.
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This is an excerpt from James Baldwin, a writer, poet and activist as the Civil Rights Movement was taking place, during a 1984 interview with the
Village Voice.
I have to say this makes sense; a lot of white gays are very adamant about fighting for their rights, but seem to downplay and even dismiss the problems within the "gay community". Within said "community" they've place themselves on the top with everyone else coming second to the white gay male. Examples include all the media representations of gay males being white and privileged trendy gays living in posh lofts. The HBO film,
The Normal Heart, which narrates the emergence of AIDS, deals with, again, privileged more than well off white gays demanding to have their voices heard. The issue I had most with it was how well connected the main character was. He could easily get the best doctors, snatch up interviews and even coerce the Mayor, at the time, to lend a hand. This leads me to ask: Was the rage, felt by these men, caused by them feeling cheated out of the promised advantages they were born with? White gays, do you feel cheated, because you have been categorized as the "other", instead of enjoying your whiteness to its full extent? And, because of this, do you make it a priority to fight to have you become no different than the rest of white society?