Black prison gay

The Life of an Incarcerated Black, Male lover Male

When I first entered jail, I was painfully conscious of my gayness. I was told this environment operated 20 to 30 years in the past – not a safe place for a Shadowy gay male.

Of course, this fear was not exactly modern. Everyone in the LGBTQ+ community, out or not, lives with an acute awareness of our existence in relation to the spaces we occupy. As a teen, I wrestled with my sexuality and endured both taunts and assaults from those who often just assumed I was gay. In response to the external, as well as internal, pressure, I worked hard to conform, as if I could “pray” away my true identity.

So, since I was already adept at suppression, I entered the DC jail prepared to blend in and fly under the radar. Although I didn’t have any tattoos, didn’t express the dominant slang and walked without “swag,” I hoped that over moment, I’d internalize the mannerisms and cadence of those who fit in. I was silent and observed closely. But it wasn’t until I was moved into the “general population” of the jail that I fully grasped my new normal.

The fresh normal

Jail is a space that is saturated in toxic masculinity and phobic reactions. The demand

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Being Black and from Phoenix, Arizona, I wasn’t afforded the similar opportunities as other kids.

I was born and raised in south central Phoenix, surrounded by a vibrant Black community. But the area, in my experience, was heavily influenced by homophobia within churches, which were pillars in preserving strong Black families.

My family attended Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, and as a kid I was sent to a youth summer camp where the pastor told me I was possessed with demons and then lay his hands on me to “release” me from the “curse” of homosexuality.

I was told I was abnormal. I was going to hell. My dad said I would not be anything but a “fag.” And, in turn, that meant to me that I was unloved and unworthy. So for the greater part of my life, I have been engaged in a war within and against myself.

I have been suicidal since I was 12 years old, and have struggled with low self-esteem and severe depression. And after m

How Prison and Police Discrimination Affect Dark Sexual Minority Men’s Health

Incarceration and police discrimination may worsen psychological and physical health, Rutgers led study finds

Incarceration and police discrimination may contribute to HIV, depression and anxiety among Black lgbtq+, bisexual and other sexual minority men, according to a Rutgers led study.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, examined associations between incarceration, police and law enforcement discrimination and recent arrest with Black sexual minority mens’ psychological distress, risk for HIV and willingness to take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention.

“Evidence suggests Black sexual minority men in the United States may face some of the top rates of policing and incarceration in the world,” said lead author, Devin English, assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Universal Health. “Despite this, research examining the health impacts of the U.S. carceral system rarely focuses on their experiences. This study helps to address this gap.”

“We examined how incarceration and police discri

Sex in Prison Is Ordinary Among Black Male Inmates

Black men make up a large proportion of HIV-positive men in prison, where sex between inmates is common and concern about the spread of the virus is limited. This is according to a Columbia University School of Nursing study presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Boston. The topic is of interest not only for the risk of HIV passing between inmates, but also for the risk to the general public upon their release.

Researchers took a survey of 63 shadowy inmates at one of the largest maximum-security prisons for men in the country, where two-thirds of the prisoners are shadowy . Many of the inmates described how the depravations of prison life fueled sex between men. While prison rape takes place, the men said, most of the sex is consensual. Some of the men had negative things to say about men who have sex with men.

“These are people who can benefit from knowledge and outreach while they’re in prison, but there’s also a much larger public health issue at stake here,” Tawandra Rowell-Cunsolo, PhD, an assistant professor of social welfare science at Columbia and the st