So, MaJo -wait, that’s what we call him, right?- the MaJo has come out of the closet with a gay son. Magic Johnson has a gay son. Mr. HIV (I’m sure that’s not what he calls himself) has a gay son. Not extraordinary. Many people have gay sons. What is amazing is how MaJo handled the situation. He says, “he knew his boy was gay since he was 12.”
Johnson went on to say, “I don’t care if my son is gay, only that he loves himself.”
All paraphrases, but all hitting the sentiment pretty accurately.
The blacks and the latinos have been the last groups (in our country) to be swept up by the gay rights movement. I believe that is because there is A LOT of machismo in the black and latino cultures.
The interesting thing is (back when I used to date men) the men I used to date were blacks and latinos. Sure, there was a brave white guy or two in there, but they weren’t the majority. Ultimately, I had been drawn this way because black and latino men can handle strong women.
Yep, you heard that right.
They often have strong mothers and (IN MY OPINION) can often handle strong women as a result.
The other side of my theory is that smart men (smart men who don’t want their boats rocked) tend to date mail-order-brides or off-the-boat, asian women.
Is that a harsh theory? Maybe. But, there also just might be something to what I’m saying.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule (or better said – generalization). There are the Hillarys for the Bills of the world. There are the… wait, that’s the only white-couple example that I can think of.
Back to the MaJo. Coming from a half latina background myself, I know how macho the latino society can be and I think the black culture is similar. I remember having an argument with my male (hispanic) cousin where he said, “We are not a misogynist society. Women in our country can do whatever men can do.”
To which I said, “Yeah, but do they? The anti-woman vibe in your country is subtle, but it’s there.”
“Bullshit,” he said.
“Alright,” I responded. “Go around this American bar we’re in right now and ask the men to name 10 female professional or famous athletes off the top of their heads.”
“So…,” said my cousin.
“Name me ONE Colombian female athlete,” I answered.
He couldn’t. That was the litmus test for me. Sure there are many other factors that lead to less female athletes in Colombia, specifically. One would be less population than the United States, but that isn’t the only reason. Unfortunately, one of the other factors is also going to be machismo.
Take the women’s soccer team in Brazil. There was no Brazilian women’s soccer team to speak of in Brazil UNTIL the American women started to win all the world cup soccer matches. Then Brazil went – “Oh feck, I guess we have to let the women play.” In Brazil soccer is a MUST for every young boy. But, it wasn’t always a must for every young girl. In fact, it was more of a mustn’t for girls, even for the ones that LOVED soccer.
Hold up now. Back to MaJo and for real this time, I promise. If black and latino (men specifically) can be more accepting of homosexual males – in two cultures that have the image of a super strong male at their center – then for me that says they will also become more accepting of women. So, it’s a double acceptance of sorts.
Accept the gays and it would be hard NOT to accept the women.
Have a black figure, like MaJo, who is a picture of black strength and athleticism and celebrity come out and say, “gay is okay” and you really have taken a big step forward as a society.
I believe acceptance is the foreplay of equality. What about you?
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Photo creds:
brazil-soccer, magic-family, magic-son
Sweet Mother 