Beyond the Down Low

Keith Boykin, who once worked as an aide in the Clinton White House and has written a syndicated column and done AIDS activism, takes a close look at the phenomenon known as the down low. Rather than adding more sensational commentary, he offers a measured account that the public discussion of the topic has largely lacked.

Boykin argues that the down low is best understood not simply as gay and bisexual men hiding their lives and putting women at risk, but as a symptom of a wider reluctance within African-American communities to talk frankly about sex. He traces how public silence from black leaders has pushed some gay and bisexual men toward living two lives.

He also examines the harm in how the subject has been debated, including a divisive battle of the sexes, a failure to recognize the complicated realities of being closeted, and the demonizing of gay and bisexual people. He points out that the response has shifted blame away from women's own responsibility to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections and has directed public money and attention toward condemning down low men.