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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2005)
42 JUSt «Hit • may 6.2DQ5 BOOKS .................▼................. Comer of Sandy Blvd. & NE 64th 3106 NE 64th Portland, OR 97213 True colors 503-280-8080 Authors explore vast viewpoints on the fantasy and reality of black gay male sexuality til, My by J emiah J efferson gifts for Romance in an Elegant Setting CALL NOW TO RESERVE YOUR AD SPACE IN THE JUNE 3 JUST OUT SPECIAL PRIDE ISSUE. BO3-236-1SS3 OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY. I Bill Clinton’s staff, as a young man coming out efining “black gay erotica” is about as in the early 1990s and dealing with the other easy as defining “black,” “gay” or “erot scholars of the phenomenon who are not ic”—these labels are just launch points always in agreement with the author about for a vast fractal universe of individual “facts.” But then again, who do you want to experiences. One man’s “hot” is another believe —the Centers for Disease Control and man’s “ew!”, there’s that matter of a single defin Prevention or USA Today I Boykin calls for an ing drop of blood and a continually shifting cul end to the demonization of black men who tural identity, and then there’s the men “on the have sex with other men and an increase of down low” who engage in sex with other men, information, care, understanding and tolerance and sometimes also with women, while resisting in an increasingly conservative and blinkered any definition whatsoever. Four new books pro vide a necessarily incomplete but well-rounded political environment. set of viewpoints on the fantasy and the reality of American black gay male sexuality. D Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Diack America gfeast and ^Benefit for T he W omen ' s C ommunity E ducation P roject ier W ords W omen ' s B ooks and R esources Thursday, May 19, 2005 5:30-8:30 p.m. Governor Hotel 611 SW 10th Avenue, Portland Silent auction with offerings from many local artisans and business people, bidding starts at 5:30. Delicious feast begins at 6:30. Tickets are available for $50 at In Other Words 3734 SE Hawthorne Blvd or call 503-232-6003 ... by Robert Taylor; Southern Tier Editions, 2004; $14.95 softcover hose Eye Is on Which Sparrow?, a blatantly marketed interracial gay romance novel, features a protagonist on the down low—but Dr. Brendan Garrison happens to be white. eith Boykin’s finely researched book Beyond A married, successful doctor, son of a beloved the Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black conservative politician and father of two, he America attempts to get to the final truth about falls in love with the thrilling, talented and altruistic Jonathan Miles after giving him a prostate exam. And if the names give you any indication, the book is as filled with over whelming emotions, instantaneous attachments and stolen moments as any Fabio-jacketed checkout line impulse buy. Surprisingly enough, author Robert Taylor injects quite a bit of moral ambiguity into the proceedings and refuses to flinch from the reali ty of the issues he is discussing—infidelity, the coming-out story and the difficulty of simply living as a black person in America—even if the character names come straight out of Harlequin. Taylor, author of several novels about gay experiences with no easy answers, has written a frothy, moody and engaging soap opera that is difficult to resist and certain to evoke debate. Is true love always the answer, or n\erely a gateway to other, thornier questions? And despite the characters’ cookie-cutter natures, I can’t help but want those crazy kids to work it out so they can be together. by Keith Boykin; Carroll & Graf, 2005; $25 hardcover K Whose Eye Is on Which Sparrow? W Dless the Thugz and Lil' Chil'rins black American men who have sex with other men, but often pursue heterosexual roles with women and with their families and communi ties and, in the process, generally piss off every one except themselves. Black men on the down low have, in recent years, been roundly blamed for causing a rising number of reported HIV diagnoses among the African-American population, especially among women. However, the truth behind this media-hyped scare tactic is a lot simpler—and a lot more complex. It is not black men having sex with other men responsible for the spread of the disease, but risky sexual and drug-use behavior Rime of a complex web of self-decep tion, social desperation and willful ignorance of the facts. Boykin brings his experience and idealism to this detective mission, fleshing out the text with examples and anecdotes from his own experiences in Washington, D.C., on President by Fredryk Traynor; GLB Publishers, 2004; $14.95 softcover uthor, songwriter, musician, rapper, street hustler and convicted bank robber Fredryk Traynor creates a universe completely untrou bled by the down low: gangsta thugs openly in love with each other—as well as with guns, expensive cars, hip-hop music and robbing banks—in his first novel, the unfortunately named Bless the Thugz and Lil’ Chil’rins. There is no time and no place for shame when living in and for the moment for a life time, although, magically, there is room for compassion, loyalty and true affection. Bless the Thugz is touted as being the creation of a new genre—the gay gangsta novel—with an amoral- ity chilling to any taxpaying, responsible citizen who has anything to lose, and thrilling to any one young, angry and frustrated with the estab lished stams quo. A
