Black, Gay, Here to Stay: Unpacking the Experience of Black Gay Men in Politics

• In Event: Intersectional Identities and Politics within LGBTQ Communities

Abstract

A burgeoning literature in political science examines the politics of those who identify as LGBT. In the years since the founding of the LGBT Political Science Caucus in 1987, scholars have produced a wealth of research about LGBT people, analyzing LGBT and public support for policies such as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, marriage equality, and same-sex adoption (Acklesberg 2017). In a similar timeframe, theories of intersectionality- the study of the interaction of various oppressions and identities, have entered the canon and grown in popularity. However, scholars have refrained from researching the interaction of race and sexual orientation in political behavior. A mere .91% of the LGBT politics literature examines both sexual orientation and race/ethnicity. This begs the following questions: how and in what ways does one’s racial identity and sexual orientation shape their political identity, policy opinions, and political behavior?
Extant literature finds that independently, race and sexuality both have effects on political behavior. The copious amount of research on race and ethnicity in political science undeniably demonstrates that race is central to one’s politics (Whitebread 2018; Transue 2007; Simien & Clawson 2004; Harris-Lacewell & Junn 2014). Similarly, scholars have also noted that sexual orientation can affect political behavior. Brettschneider, Burgess and Keatings’s LGBTQ Politics: A Critical Reader emphasizes this, presenting a number of articles detailing sexual orientation’s effects on policy opinions, mobilization, and more. That being said, we are largely ignorant to the experiences of those with both of the aforementioned identities in politics. Although the intersectionality literature asserts that individuals have multiple, intersecting identities that create a unique experience emerging from various interlocking oppressions, the multifaceted experience of black gay men in politics is mostly unknown. Other disciplines have focused on the interaction of race and sexuality with regards to mental health outcomes, involvement in one’s community, and potential identity conflicts (Alexander 2004; Hawkeswood 1996; Han 2017). Thus, while it has been empirically demonstrated that race and sexuality will interact to create unique outcomes, we are presently unaware of their effects on political behavior.
In this paper, I conduct in-depth interviews and focus group studies to understand how these intersectional identities, being both black and gay, shape one’s politics. This study will argue that race and sexual orientation will interact to create unique experiences for black gay men, leading to changes in policy opinions, political identity, and political behavior compared to those with only one of the aforementioned identity categories. Participants for this study will be recruited from city-centers containing large amount of LGBT African-Americans, such as Washington D.C., in which 4.48% of the entire population in African-American and LGB (Gates and Kastanis 2013) and Philadelphia. By employing a strong qualitative methodology, this study will foray into the experiences of black gay men in politics and provide the field with a solid foundation for which other studies may grow out of.
This study will answer some important questions and begin to fill large gaps in the black politics, LGBT politics, and intersectionality literature. It is my hope that this study will spark more research in these fields and serve as useful to individuals in the political realm seeking to learn more about the politics of gay black men.

Authors

• Nicholas Charles Damico, Villanova University

• Camille Danielle Burge, Villanova University