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If you're black and gay and live in Leeds, your experience of the city might not be as carefree as it apparently is for your white counterparts. Unlike in other many other cities, the Leeds gay scene offers little to nothing for black men. Kay'e Balogun and Danny K look at the experiences of black, gay men in the city
Names have been changed..
Roy is 30 years old. He moved up to Leeds from Leicester in 2004.
‘I would like to be heard on the issue of racial prejudice and ignorance towards people, for whatever reason,’ Roy says. ‘When I moved to Leeds and went out on the gay scene, I couldn’t believe it! I heard so many racist comments, comments about black men and their genitalia and all that stuff. People would come up to me and I’d be happy that someone liked me but then they’d come out with stuff like “Oh, I really love black guys!” I’d be like, what about liking me for me? I was in another bar not too long ago and a guy went up to someone I was with and for no apparent reason, asked him if he knew that “there was no black in the Union Jack”. On another occasion, I was in another bar with a friend and as we came out together, some guy shouted out to my friend: “Don’t take him down any dark alleys. You might not be able to see him!” I mean, what are we in, 1972? When I first came out on the scene I thought Leeds was a great place to be. Maybe I was naïve but I didn’t think that there would be any racism. We have this “gay pride” thing and we’re all for equality and against discrimination. I just didn’t think it would happen.’
Shaun is 27. ‘I have been going out for about seven years and the amount of black people on the scene is increasing but we are still very much a minority,’ he says. ‘Back in 2000 there was a vast difference to how it is now. I was special,’ he says. ‘I would sometimes be the only black person in the club, so I got a lot of attention. I have to say, I don’t remember ever feeling aware of my skin colour in a negative way; it was what attracted other people to me to begin with.’
As time went by though, Shaun noticed a change. ‘People were suddenly comparing me to black stereotypes. I would be asked with alarming regularity if I was a drug dealer. My reply of “no” would always get a confused response. Nobody ever dared utter the words but you knew what they were thinking - “But you're black?” - as they murmured a “sorry” while disappearing off into the crowd.'
Even if they do manage to make it into a venue, black men can experience racism in its ugliest and most blatant forms. Shaun says: ‘I've found that my colour comes into issue mainly with bouncers at gay or gay-friendly bars. Many a time I've been with a group of my friends (all white) and I've been the only one searched or not let in. Usually I've been denied for some bogus reason. “It's students' night” or “We're not letting any more guys in tonight” or “You look too casual” even though all of my friends have walked in seconds before me. I've even been asked if I'm gay several times and have found myself having to try and convince the doorman!'
Olaolu* is 45 and he moved up to Leeds from London in 2002. ‘When I moved up here, my partying days were behind me,' Olaolu says. ‘I'd moved on to a different phase in my life and while I was immediately aware that Leeds was a bit lacking compared to London, it really didn't bother me that much. If I feel desperate for a night out, I pop over to Manchester or go to a straight venue here in Leeds like Townhouse. I'll be honest though: if I had moved up here five or ten years earlier than I did, I wouldn't have even lasted five weeks. Not one gay establishment plays soul, r&b, hip-hop or jazz and by and large, these are the kinds of music black men enjoy listening and dancing to,' he says. ‘I've heard talk of an underground gay scene that caters to black men but I've never seen any evidence of it. As far as I'm concerned there is no such thing as black gay scene in Leeds.'
Roy has heard of this underground black gay scene. According to him, it's known to operate out of the Chapeltown and Hyde Park areas of Leeds. ‘They have house parties or “blues” parties but they're strictly for black gay men. I've been invited to one but I wasn't able to make it.'
‘In many respects I often feel invisible in this town,' Olaolu says. ‘In my experience, white gay men tend not to have much use for black gay men unless they are potentially sexually available to them. Once it becomes clear that you're not - which I'm always quick to do - it's like, whoosh! All of a sudden, it's like you're not even there.'
Ash, who is a community development worker with the ABC Group (Asian & Black Community Group) with is supported by Yorkshire MESMAC, says: ‘There's no support out there. Even as a worker, I've often struggled to feel supported. Everyone pays lip service and plays at being politically correct but there's a lot of racism out there. This is the main reason why there are so few black or Asian gay men or lesbians on the gay scene anywhere in Yorkshire. They're there but they don't come out and who can blame them?'
So what's the way forward? ‘Integration in the gay scene,' says Roy. ‘People who run the scene need to recognise that it's there for everyone; people of all races and cultures, and they need to encourage more diversity by playing a much wider range of music. Leeds is a multicultural city after all and there needs to be less of this ignorance. The white gay community has very strong feelings about being discriminated against but sometimes don't seem to realise that they discriminate against others just as freely, using the very same stereotypes they find so offensive.'
Stories from the magazine this month:
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