Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies, and Denial in Black America

Thoughtful, intellectual, compassionate, and soulful describe Keith's Boykin's new book, Beyond The Down Low. The book is filled with interesting examples that support Keith's point that the down low is only new to the cult-like group now embracing it. Many of us have known about the down low long before it became popular. In fact, what is now considered down low is not really that at all -- at least not in the way it was previously used. Back then, no one would ever acknowledge being on the down low -- it would defeat it's purpose. Using history, politics, and everyday people, Keith inspires us as a culture to look within ourselves enough to open up about HIV/AIDS and the down low. He asks us consider the plight of black gay and bisexual men and how society has groomed the very down low behavior it now condemns. This book is truly inspirational, and after you finish reading it, you will have grown.

"Part of what concerned me [about King and the "Down Low" phenomenon being publicized in the media] was that the connection between the down low and black women seemed a bit illogical. There were two ways to look at it. Either the down low was new or the down low was old, but either way it did not make sense. If the down low was new in 2001, it could not have been responsible for an epidemic that was twenty years old. On the other hand, if the down low was old in 2001, then we should have been alarmed about HIV infection rates among black women ten to fifteen years earlier when the epidemic was raging out of control... "The AIDS community of funders, researches, activists...had a problem...some activists [in the early 90's] decided to market the epidemic for Middle America... 'There was definitely an effort to make AIDS more compelling to the Black community' [Phil Wilson] recalled, 'and that process entailed a de-gaying of the epidemic'..." Keith Boykin BEYOND THE DOWN LOW From Chapter Five "When a Disease Becomes an Excuse" "Governor McGreeley [of New Jersey]'s wife must have been going through a full range of emotions the day she stood next to her husband at his press conference...McGreeley also admitted to 'an adult consensual affair with another man' which he said 'violates my bonds of matrimony'. That was the real bombshell...dropped that day...By announcing his affair with another man, Governor McGreeley...proved that the down low is not just a black thing...We should have known that black men were not the only ones who cheated on their wives. Or had we bought into the myth of black male identity that constructs black manhood solely as pathology?" Keith Boykin BEYOND THE DOWN LOW From Chapter Four, "It's Not Just a Black Thing" "I believe the recent trend toward demonizing those who are HIV positive for failure to disclose their HIV status sends the wrong signal. It stems from our need to blame other people for our own failures, and it is based in an unhelpful concept of victim-based morality that takes away our personal responsibility and assigns all the blame and puts all the responsibility on those who are HIV positive. Blaming someone else for our own actions will not change our actions, nor will it change the past. By the time you get to the point of blame, you have already passed the point of responsibility." Keith Boykin BEYOND THE DOWN LOW From Chapter Twelve, "Let's Talk About Sex" Keith Boykin's heartfelt book BEYOND THE DOWN LOW: SEX, LIES AND DENIAL IN BLACK AMERICA is a scathing critique and passionate love letter to the Black community simultaneously. Simply put, Boykin analyses the structural hypocrisy, denial and irresponsibility that lie at the core of the African-American conversations about class, sex, sexuality, honest communication & true intimacy in relationships, racism and AIDS. It is his profoundly logical belief that these structural hypocrisies--concretized in Black culture by their

Black men historically were portrayed as sexual predators. Harper Lee's classic novel 'To kill a mockingbird' after all had a black man standing trial in a deep south courtroom for allegedly assaulting a white woman, also realizing that his fair trial was a long-shot. The father, Atticus Finch became a town pariah only for believing that his client deserved justice. Yet, America likes to believe that we have moved beyond this and 'Willie Horton'. In our schools, mass media, and pop culture, we desperately want to believe that people are being treated fairly. This and the black community's historic memory of 'savagery/respectabilty' portrayals are not helping the intended audiences. Keith Boykin clarifies that America is still hung up on the intersection of sex, sexuality, and ethnicity. He also argues the hang-up prevents black men and communities from having a needed dialogue about sexuality and civil rights. Black people who find themselves outside the heterosexual binary are being attacked by the dominant society, but also face resistance from within their own communities. Some black churches who easily grasp (and were in the forefront for) racial equality are silent on sexuality, or worse---promote hatred. Boykin also takes on the recent inroads which white conservatives are making to black churches to downplay their past support for segregation. Because these same people have attacked and/or are attacking civil rights, Boykin is skeptical of their motives. He believes that the white conservatives are only trying to divide black communities and thus prevent real equality for all communities from being realized. Boykin argues that Black churches should not support movements which argue on behalf of discrimination. Boykin's book is responding to an earlier work by another author, but this publication is soothing in tone. It wants people to understand that differences have always divided Americans. Such differentiation occurs ironically when the need for unity is especially pronounced. Silence and closed-minds prevent communities from overcoming discrimination in the present and working towards a better future for all. Boykin's book is a provocative read for all people. For a challenging sex education get this title today!

As an African-American woman who had a 2 year serious relationship with a man whom I later found out was on the "down-low", I was excited to have the opportuntity to read Mr. Boykin's latest book.I felt that the book was provocative, eye-opening and didn't pander to the media hype that has been directed to this subject that so many have identified with the "Black Community" solely. Mr. Boykin has done the research and asked the hard questions that others have ignored ---as to why "straight men" have sex with men or anyone else that may not be true to themselves or those that they love. I find it interesting that the previous review was more of a "personal attack" on the author instead of a critical anaylsis of the book itself and what it states. I have read Mr. Boykin's previous 2 books as well as DL King's book ( which was written in all actuality by Karen Hunter)and can say that Mr. Boykin's success can be based on merit and not on the coat tails of those before him. Congratulations on Mr. Boykin for making NY Time's Bestseller's List for the past several weeks and for giving back to his community by creating open and honest dialogue about the down-low, sexuality , HIV/Aids and recognizing what are the "truths" and "myths" of the black community.

After a year of media hype about the down low, Keith Boykin's book finally gets it right. Mr. Boykin tells his own story, including being wrongly fired from his high school job at Sears, and uses it as an example to show how black men make easy targets to blame for everything that is wrong in our community. But he doesn't just stop with his own story. He also gives us real facts and figures based on research and reliable information about the down low and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He not only quotes men and women dealing with the down low, he also quotes doctors and researchers who have studied the issue carefully. This is the first time I've seen a book that deconstructs the media frenzy about the down low. Yes there is a down low, but is the down low responsible for the AIDS epidemic? No other book has ever answered that question as thoroughly as this one does. As a black man, I'm glad to see a brother who doesn't use his writing to attack and vilify other black men. Instead, Boykin encourages us to stop blaming one another and start figuring out solutions to end the down low and the AIDS epidemic. Best of all, he suggests concrete solutions about what we can do in our own lives to protect ourselves and to stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Finally, someone is talking about the down low without all the hype and the sensationalism. This is a very important book that is long overdue!