Homophobia in Professional Sports

Tomorrow night at UGIMA (United Gay Informed Men of African-descent) we will be visited by Hairat Agbaje of the Phoenix Suns/ Phoenix Mercury who will talk with us about the exciting upcoming season of the Mighty Mercury and fill us in on the various opportunities that are available if you’re interested in attending any games.

Following Agbaje’s presentation we will immediately go into our topic for the evening – homophobia in professional sports. The recent array of mixed messages were receiving from the NBA has created an interesting dialogue that is happening around the country. What role can LGBT individuals have in professional sports? Do you have be closeted to be successful? When homophobia rears its ugly head - should a league address it or ignore it and pretend like it doesn't exist?

Kobe Bryant was recently fined 100,000 for using a homophobic slur on the same day that Grant Hill was creating a public service announcement that painted the NBA as an LGBT inclusive organization. Several days later Joakim Noah would make the same homophobic slur in a game.

A few years ago the very first NBA player would come out as openly gay. Shortly after retirement and on the verge of releasing his autobiography, John Amaechi announced to the world that he was a gay man. Tim Hardaway’s reaction was swift and point blank. Hardaway’s reply to Amaechi was “You know, I hate gay people, so let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."

Please join us as we address homophobia in the arena of professional sports. Would the decision to come out for an athlete be career suicide? Do sports organizations (i.e. NBA, WNBA, NFL, Major League Baseball) have a responsibility to support out LGBT individuals? Is it okay for a transgender individual to compete in an all female sport? These questions have many searching for answers that have political correctness and empathy for all involved.

Big Freedia - The Queen of Bounce

I'm still celebrating Pride Month and Black Music Month.  I love being black and gay.  And love celebrating everything that emcompasses both, celebrates both, and elevates both.  If you are a fan of bounce music then you need to know about the "sissy" artists that are taking this genre to the next level.  Bounce music a.k.a. Booty Music is a product of th Dirty South.  It originated in New Orleans and some of the biggest names in Hip Hop made it to the top with Bounce Music.

Meet Big Freedia . . .

Big Freedia and other sissy artists like Sissy Noby and Katey Red are claiming their spot in the world of Bounce Music. Having grown up in the South myself I know how deeply rooted this music is. It's wonderful to now see LGBT artists picking up the mic and putting their own unique twist on this phenomenon. There's something wonderful happening in New Orleans and nobody down there cares that these artists are gay. Their music is great and people are just enjoying what they're hearing and not spending any time focused on the sexual orientation of the artist.

I swear I can't hear this music without bobbing my head and shaking my ass.  And that's a good thing.  Unfortunately we still have a whole lotta people hating on Bounce music.  It's often referred to as Ghetto and I gonna assume that supposed to be a bad thing (cause there are some great things that come out of the ghetto).  If you look at the videos you will find lots of girls scantily dressed and dancing prevocatively but seriously isn't that something that we condemn on each new generation.  I will continue to support Bounce music.  Now that I've discovered Big Freedia and other same gender loving artists within this genre of music I will love it even more.

Check out more Big Freedia here . . .

LGBT Month and Black Music Month - What Should You Do?

Most people within the LGBT community are aware that June is Gay Pride month.  Many people are unaware of this but June is also Black music month.  Do these celebrations have to be done exclusive of each other?  No, I don't think so.  This is the perfect opportunity for us to focus on the interesting intersections where these two different paths collide.

There are two documentaries that immediately come to mind that allow one to enjoy African-American music and simulatenously vast in the same-gender loving experience.  Pick Up the Mic and U People are two wonderful films that I encourage everyone to check out.

PICK UP THE MIC

Pick Up the Mic is fantastic. It is a film that explores the world of gay hip-hop. Yes I said it. GAY. HIP HOP. Two words that many assume should never go together. What I find so spectacular about the film is its ability to touch on so many issues that are universal to the LGBT experience. This film touches on trans issues, LGBT youth suicide, and social stigma. But the primary reason you should watch this film is for the amazing music these individuals are creating.

U People

What can I say - this film was simply unbelievable. A group of black same-gender loving women came together at a brownstone in Brooklyn to shoot a music video. What came of this was a documentary that everyone should see. This documentary is the result of magical moment that just so happened to be captured on film. These beautiful, creative, successful women came together to shoot a video for Hanifah Walidah and some brilliant person decided to capture the entire experience on film. The result is an interesting kalieascope of characters and stories and relationships that is a must see.

To all - Happy Pride Month and Happy Black Music month. Please take the time to pick up a copy of either or both of these films. I promise you will not be disappointed.