Down-low (sexual Slang)
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Down-low is an African-American slang term specifically used within the African-American community that typically refers to a
sexual subculture Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of people who have shared experiences, backgrounds, or interests due to common sexual or gender identities. Among the first to argue that members of sexual mi ...
of
Black men Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
who usually identify as
heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
but actively seek sexual encounters and relations with other men, practice gay cruising, and frequently adopt a specific hip-hop attire during these activities. They generally avoid disclosing their same-sex sexual activities, even if they have female sexual partner(s), they are married to a woman, or they are single. The term is also used to refer to a related
sexual identity Sexual identity is how one thinks of oneself in terms of to whom one is romantically and/or sexually attracted.
''Sex ...
. ''Down-low'' has been viewed as "a type of
impression management Impression management is a conscious or subconscious process in which people attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object or event by regulating and controlling information in social interaction.Sanaria, A. D. (2016). ...
that some of the informants use to present themselves in a manner that is consistent with perceived norms about
masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...
attribute, attitudes, and behavior".


Origins

The term originated within the African-American community, and was originally used to describe "any kind of slick, secretive behavior, including
infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and riva ...
in heterosexual relationships". According to a study published in the ''
Journal of Bisexuality The ''Journal of Bisexuality'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published quarterly by the Taylor & Francis Group under the Routledge imprint. It is the official journal of the American Institute of Bisexuality. It covers a wide range of topics ...
'', " e 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". In this context, "being on the ''down-low''" is more than just men having sex with men in secret, or a variant of
closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other (LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and human ...
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
or
bisexuality Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...
—it is a sexual identity that is, at least partly, defined by its "cult of
masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...
" and its rejection of what is perceived as
White American culture White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...
(including what is perceived as White American
LGBT culture LGBT culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), while the term gay culture may be used to mean "LGBT culture" o ...
) and terms. A 2003 cover story in ''
The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...
'' on the ''down-low'' phenomenon explains that the American Black community sees "homosexuality as a white man's perversion." It then goes on to describe the ''down-low'' subculture as follows:


Social context and American sexual subcultures

In his book '' Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America'', Keith Boykin states that secret homosexual relations are not unique to African-American men, and in fact occur in many societies and among all races. In "Power Plays, Power Works" John Fiske suggests that closeted homosexuality may be more common in American communities suffering from widespread
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
, in which members reportedly depend heavily on traditional family networks (and often religious institutions) for financial and emotional support. The term quickly became conflated with an eroticization of homosexual activities among Black and
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
men. Throughout the gay pornographic industry and internet networks, ''down-low'' quickly became a marketing term used to publicize pornographic movies, models, sex-clubs, and social gatherings that included Black and Latino men.


Media interest

The first known person to use the term ''down-low'' in a homosexual context was George Hanna, who used the term in the 1930 song ''Boy in the Boat'' about
lesbian women A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
. The term was popularized in the late 1990s and after by a series of mainstream media reports emphasizing the danger of Black men transmitting HIV/AIDS to their unsuspecting female partners. The first mainstream media account of the ''down-low'' as a subculture of closeted homosexuality or bisexuality was reported in the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' on February 7, 2001. By the end of the year, numerous major media outlets had reported on the down-low. They included ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' (11 February), ''
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'' (March 15), ''
Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 1 ...
'' (March 19), ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...
'' (April 1), ''The New York Times'' (April 3), ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' (April 22), ''
Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' (June 3), ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' (June 4), ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
'' (June 6), ''
VIBE ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...
'' magazine (July), '' Jet'' magazine (September 8), ''
Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
'' magazine (October), ''
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'' (December 2), and ''Los Angeles Times'' (December 7). Nearly all these stories connected the ''down-low'' phenomenon to the HIV/AIDS epidemic within the African-American community. In the summer of 2003, ''Village Voice'' contributing writer and NYU professor Jason King published ''"Remixing the Closet: The Down Low Way of Knowledge"'',"Remixing the Closet: The Down Low Way of Knowledge"
. June 2003, www.villagevoice.com
in the newspaper's June 2003 "Queer Issue," a controversial
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
piece that questioned the relationship between HIV/AIDS and men "on the down low". The article was the first mainstream piece to openly criticize negative mainstream media depictions of ''down-low'' Black men and evaluated the ''down-low'' phenomenon from a different perspective. King argued that the use of the term ''down-low'' was a way for many African-American men to admit to having sex with other men without necessarily identifying as "
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
" in the traditional sense. On the heels of that article, ''San Francisco Chronicle'' contributing writer Frank Leon Roberts published ''"Stereotypes and Sexual Orientation: The 'down-low' – Coming out your own way in ack clubs''" in the newspaper's July 23, 2003 issue. Then in August 2003 ''The New York Times Magazine'' ran a cover story called ''"Double Lives on the Down Low"'', written by
Benoit Denizet-Lewis Benoit Denizet-Lewis is a writer with ''The New York Times Magazine'', a ''New York Times'' best-selling author, and a tenured professor of writing, literature and publishing at Emerson College. Background A citizen of both France and the United ...
. Several episodes of ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
'' were also dedicated to the subject including an episode aired 16 April 2004 and titled ''A Secret Sex World: Living on the 'Down Low' ''; the show featured
J. L. King J.L. King is a New York Times best selling author, publisher, and HIV/STD activist. Subjects of his work include the nature of human behavior, effects of health issues on minorities, and sexual orientation and its impact on schools. King's first ...
discussing his book '' On the Down Low: A Journey Into the Lives of Straight Black Men Who Sleep with Men''. The ''down-low'' subculture was also part of story lines on episodes of the television shows '' Law and Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''
Homicide Hunter ''Homicide Hunter'' (also known as ''Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda'') is an American crime documentary television series which aired on the Investigation Discovery (ID) television network for nine seasons, totalling 144 episodes. The series show ...
'', '' The Starter Wife'', '' ER'', and '' Oz''. In 2003 Jeffrey Q. McCune, Jr. wrote a full-length play entitled ''Dancin the Down Low'' that he directed and produced at
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
in April 2004. In addition, McCune has dedicated a dissertation on this topic. His study examines discourses on the ''down-low'' subculture closely, while also exploring how ''down-low'' Black men face the issues of masculinity and sexuality. In 2008, writer Terrance Dean published his memoir, '' Hiding in Hip-Hop: On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry—from Music to Hollywood'', where he discusses his own experience being down-low in the industry as well as others in the industry who are also down-low. He distinguishes the difference between being down-low and being down-low-gay. Someone who is down-low is on the receiving end of homosexual sexual pleasure and for that reason does not view themselves as gay, while down-low-gay is someone who is a
closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other (LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and human ...
gay man. Using a content analysis of more than 170 articles written between 2001 and 2006, sociologist Richard N. Pitt, Jr. concluded that the media pathologized Black bisexual men's behavior while either ignoring or sympathizing with White bisexual men's similar actions. He argued that the ''down-low'' Black bisexual is often described negatively as a "duplicitous heterosexual" man whose behaviors threaten the Black community. Alternatively, the "Brokeback" White bisexual (when seen as bisexual at all) is often described in pitying language as a "victimized homosexual" man who is forced into the closet by the
heterosexist Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of female–male sexuality and relationships. According to Elizabeth Cramer, it can include the belief that all people are or should be heterosexual and that heterosexual ...
society around him.


HIV/AIDS epidemic

Men who have sex with both men and women are a "significant bridge for HIV to women", a
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
study suggested. The CDC's Young Men's Survey shows that about one in 10 men reporting sex with men also have sex with women. And more than one in four of these bisexual men have unsafe sex with both kinds of partners. "Men who also have sex with women have similar levels of HIV and STDs s exclusively homosexual menand higher levels of many risky behaviors." A study by Glenn and Spieldenner uses the CDC as a source to report the following:
"This issue continues to be stigmatized and connected to HIV/AIDS research, particularly how it connects to risky sexual practices influencing its transmission to partners, controversies regarding social awareness and acceptance of Black male sexuality, as well as disclosure or nondisclosure of those practices and behaviors."
The CDC report that analyzes the above-mentioned survey states that "many men who have sex with men (MSM), especially young and minority MSM, do not disclose their sexual orientation" in order to avoid "social isolation, discrimination, or verbal or physical abuse." The report connects non-disclosure to an increased risk of HIV by stating: "Young MSM who do not disclose their sexual orientation (nondisclosers) are thought to be at particularly high risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection because of low self-esteem, depression, or lack of peer support and prevention services that are available to MSM who are more open about their sexuality (disclosers)." The CDC added a note to their report stating, in part:
"The findings in this report are consistent with previous research suggesting that among MSM, nondisclosure of sexual orientation is associated with being a member of a racial/ethnic minority group, identifying as bisexual or heterosexual, having greater perceived community and internalized homophobia, and being less integrated socially within homosexual communities (1—3,6). Although this study did not find that nondisclosing MSM were at higher risk for HIV infection than MSM who are more open about their sexuality (1—3), the data suggests that a substantial proportion of nondisclosers are infected with HIV and other STDs and are at high risk for transmitting these infections to their male and female sex partners. The finding that more than one in three nondisclosers reported having recent female sex partners suggests that nondisclosing MSM might have an important role in HIV/STD transmission to women. This might be particularly true for Black nondisclosing MSM, of whom approximately one in five was infected with HBV and one in seven was infected with HIV."
The CDC cited three findings that relate to African-American men who operate on the down-low (engage in MSM activity but don't disclose to others): * African American men who have sex with men (MSM), but who do not disclose their sexual orientation (nondisclosers), have a high prevalence of HIV infection (14%); nearly three times higher than nondisclosing MSMs of all other races/ethnicities combined (5%). * Confirming previous research, the study of 5,589 MSM, aged 15–29 years, in six U.S. cities found that African American MSM were more likely not to disclose their sexual orientation compared with white MSM (18% vs. 8%). * HIV-infected nondisclosers were less likely to know their HIV status (98% were unaware of their infection compared with 75% of HIV-positive disclosers), and more likely to have had recent female sex partners. In '' Beyond the Down Low'',
Keith Boykin Keith Boykin is an American TV and film producer, national political commentator, author, and former White House aide to President Bill Clinton. He has made much of this public in his 2022 memoir, ''Quitting: Why I Left My Job to Live a Life of ...
denied this connection, attributing the media claim to
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
, racism,
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
and
classism Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...
. Boykin stated that despite the numerous media accounts linking the down-low to the occurrence of AIDS in the African-American community, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
has never cited men on the down-low as a factor. Boykin claimed that no extensive research has ever been published about men on the down-low, in part because of the difficulty of identifying the targeted population. In his book, ''Beyond The Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America'', he wrote that men on the 'down-low' are not the cause of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Black America. Boykin argued that the down-low debate demonizes Black men, stigmatizes Black women, and encourages an unhealthy "battle of the sexes" that distracts the community's attention from the issues of HIV prevention, personal responsibility and condom use. The authors of a study of the down-low on Craigslist.org also argue that the discourse about the down-low is about pathologizing Black sexualities. These authors found that white men also claim to be on the down-low as much as Black men; however, society and the media still only attributes the down-low to Black people and their sexual behaviors. The authors maintain that by only focusing on Black people's sexual behaviors, larger structural issues such as poverty and drug use are ignored in the discussion about rising HIV rates in certain Black communities. A cross-study analysis that reviewed 24 articles (and published in the Journal of the National Medical Association) found that "Black MSM are more likely than MSM of other racial or ethnic groups to be bisexually active or identified; and, compared with white MSM, are less likely to disclose their bisexual or homosexual activities to others." The authors concluded that:
"The high prevalence of HIV in the Black community and the greater likelihood of bisexuality among Black men place heterosexual Black women at risk for HIV infection. However, the contribution of high-risk heterosexual Black men to the rising HIV caseload among Black women has been largely ignored. Future research must evaluate the relative contributions of bisexual men and exclusively heterosexual Black men to HIV cases among Black women."
Additionally, a qualitative study, published in the Medical Anthropological Quarterly, concluded that:
"... covert and unprotected sex among bisexually active Black men was commonplace for reasons that included prostitution, habituation to same-sex relations during incarceration, and the desire to maintain a facade of heterosexuality in homophobic communities. It was concluded that bisexual activity is highly correlated with secrecy and unprotected sex. The risks of bisexuality among Black men are exacerbated by incarceration, homophobia, drug use, and the prison and public health focus on surveillance rather than prevention."


Black people in the glass closet

In ''Nobody Is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low'' (2014), scholar
C. Riley Snorton C. Riley Snorton is an American scholar, author, and activist whose work focuses on historical perspectives of gender and race, specifically Black transgender identities. His publications include ''Nobody is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on th ...
contends that Black sexuality operates within the glass closet, a space "marked by hypervisibility and confinement, spectacle, and speculation." Down-low men have been subjected to demonization and criminalization by the media, health officials, as well as the general public, especially during the early to mid-2000s. This type of hypervisibility reinforces the confining space of the glass closet, and continues to position Black men as subjects of regulation and surveillance. Therefore Black masculinity is perceived as "dangerous, prone to trickery, promiscuous, and contaminated while also framing white masculinity and sexuality as less susceptible to such problems." The glass closet represents the immobility of Black people and sexuality. Down-low men are racialized, sexualized, gendered, and classed. Snorton describes:
The (meta)physics of the glass closet are like the physical properties of glass, sometimes liquid and sometimes solid, located in the slippages of categorization. If we understand the closet as a racialized metaphor, then we must fully consider what it means when Black bodies enter the illuminating space of the closet. It resembles the phenomenon of peering into a lit window at night—the contents inside captured by the glass frame.
Despite the hypervisibility of the glass closet, there is still potential for the performative tactic which Snorton calls "ignorance". This ignorance "relies on the subversion of knowledge and a deft manipulation of spectacle." Thus, the glass closet can also function as a space of willful invisibility for down-low Black men.


See also

*
African-American culture and sexual orientation Homophobia in ethnic minority communities is any negative prejudice or form of discrimination in ethnic minority communities worldwide towards people who identify as–or are perceived as being–lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), kno ...
*
African-American LGBT community The African-American LGBT community, otherwise referred to as the Black LGBT community, is part of the overall LGBT culture and overall African-American culture. The initialism ''LGBT'' stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. A lan ...
*
Banjee Banjee (as in: "banjee boy" or "banjee girl") is a term originating in the house system and ball culture of New York City which seem to be "from the hood" or embodying an urban, tough swagger. The term is mostly associated with New York City and ...
*
Cognitive dissonance In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the perception of contradictory information, and the mental toll of it. Relevant items of information include a person's actions, feelings, ideas, beliefs, values, and things in the environment. ...
*
E. Lynn Harris E. Lynn Harris ( Everette Lynn Jeter; June 20, 1955 – July 23, 2009) was an American author. Openly gay, he was best known for his depictions of African-American men who were on the down-low and closeted. He authored ten consecutive books th ...
*
Ego-dystonic sexual orientation Ego-dystonic sexual orientation is a highly controversial mental health diagnosis that was included in the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM) from 1980 to 1987 (under the name ...
*''
He never married "He never married" was a phrase used by British obituary writers as a euphemism for the deceased having been homosexual. Its use has been dated to the second half of the 20th century, and it may be found in coded and non-coded forms, such as when ...
'' *
Labeling theory Labeling theory posits that self-identity and the behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. It is associated with the concepts of self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping. Labeling th ...
*
Men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men (MSM) are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex. The term was created in the 1990s by epidemiology, epidemiologists to study the spread of disease among all men who have sex with men, r ...
*
Minority stress Minority stress describes high levels of stress faced by members of stigmatized minority groups. It may be caused by a number of factors, including poor social support and low socioeconomic status; well understood causes of minority stress are in ...
*''
No homo "No homo" is a slang phrase used at the end of a sentence to assert the statement spoken by the speaker had no intentional Homosexuality, homosexual implications. The phrase is also "added to a statement in order to rid neselfof a possible homo ...
'' *''
Not Gay ''Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men'' is a 2015 book by Jane Ward, in which the author details the phenomenon of straight-identifying white men seeking out sex with other straight-identifying men despite not identifying as gay, bisexual, ...
'' *
Same gender loving Same-gender-loving, or SGL, a term coined for African American and African Diaspora use by activist Cleo Manago, is a description for homosexuals in the African American community. It emerged in the early 1990s as a culturally affirming African A ...
*
Stigma management Stigma management is the process of concealing or disclosing aspects of one's identity to minimize social stigma. When a person receives unfair treatment or alienation due to a social stigma, the effects can be detrimental. Social stigmas are def ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * , 11(6), 6. * * , July 24, 2003. *


External links


New York Times article abstractBackup copy

San Francisco Chronicle article


{{DEFAULTSORT:Down-Low (Sexual Slang) African-American-related controversies African-American slang HIV/AIDS in the United States LGBT African-American culture LGBT and society LGBT slang Male homosexuality Passing (sociology)