Okay, there was some L&O:SVU thing going on this weekend and in one episode someone was murdered and everything eventually led to this all black male “Poker Game” that didn’t involve cards.
The WTF moment comes when Ice-T confronts one of the “brothers” about their all male sex parties. He goes back and explains to everyone in the office and the explantion goes something like this:
“They view homosexuality as a white man’s perversion. For them it’s just sex and doesn’t mean anything.”
Can someone verify this and then explain if it has any basis in reality?
This seems very, well, odd is the nicest word I can come up with. Where did this come from?
I didn’t see the episode, but I would imagine this is what he was talking about. The term became popular because a book written by J.L. King, and his appearance on Oprah. In the linked article he says the following:
I think it would be fair to say that some people have the opinion Ice-T presented in the episode.
It’s not something that they made up for the show. It does have a basis in real life, but I can’t tell you how wide spread it is or anything. There was a thread about it awhile back.
The show is another “ripped from the headlines”. I have heard about being on the “DL” for a couple of years now. They didn’t make anything up for the show. How prevelant the attitude is in real life I couldn’t tell you.
Ice-T had a nice quote in the ep. The famous black sports star says that he’s not gay, he has sex with men and “relationships” with woman. Ice-T replies “I got news for ya, that means you’re gay”.
He had another great line. After explaining the concept of being “On the Down Low” the rest of the cast are giving him funny looks. When he realised what’s going on he states “Don’t look at me, I just know things.”
Really, Otto, don’t feel you have to hold back, let it all out.
This is fascinating, in it seems to me to be almost a pathologically cultural denial of something. Like a group rationalization.
I mean, does anybody really buy this, or do you think the Ice-T line, “I got news for ya, that means you’re gay.” line speak out for more people than not?
Well, no matter how you look at it I’m on the outside, I just was stunned by it as it is WAAAAAY outside my sheltered experience.
Thank you all for responding – and especially for the thread link.
It’s just another example of one of the consequences of a homophobic society. Men who feel such urges feel they must conform to society’s expectations, so they play “by the rules” on the surface of their lives and take their sex into the closet.
Luckily, it only happens with black guys. Never with white cowboys or anything.
Hey, herding one cow…or maybe even a couple…doesn’t make you a cowboy. Especially if it was only in college. What if you herded a cow or two, but didn’t enjoy it and never inhaled?
Just a WAG, but I’m not sure it’s caused by homophobia. I mean, if you asked Alexander the Great if he were gay - if you asked the Spartans - what would they say? Ancient Helenic culture had a different attitude towards homosexuality then we do. Perhaps you could say the same about some blacks?
Yeah, but they wouldn’t say they’re on the down low either; they’d say they’re normal. Today, society doesn’t consider gay normal, although it’s beginning to consider it a benign abnormality. But people on the d.l. presumably believe their social networks won’t even go that far, so they stay in the closet. So being on the down low is in a sense the opposite of being a member of an ancient culture with socialized homosexuality.
