Rejecting a gay culture they perceive as white and effeminate, many black men have settled on a new identity, with its own vocabulary and customs and its own name: Down Low. A 2003 cover story in The New York Times Magazine on the Down Low phenomenon explains that the Black community sees 'homosexuality as a white man's perversion.' It then goes on to describe the Down Low culture as follows:
In this context, 'being on the Down Low' is more than just men having sex with men in secret, or a variant of closeted homosexuality or bisexuality-it is a sexual identity that is, at least partly, defined by its 'cult of masculinity' and its rejection of what is perceived as white culture (including white LGBT culture) and terms. Īccording to a study published in the Journal of Bisexuality, 'he Down Low is a lifestyle predominately practiced by young, urban Black men who have sex with other men and women, yet do not identify as gay or bisexual'. The term originated in the Black community, and was originally used to describe 'any kind of slick, secretive behavior, including infidelity in heterosexual relationships'.
