Same-gender-loving, or SGL, a term coined for

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

and African Diaspora use by activist

Cleo Manago Cleo Manago (born September 21, 1960). is an African-American activist and social architect who coined the term '' same-gender loving'' (or SGL) as an alternative for African-descended or black people who do not wish to identify as gay or lesbian ...

, is a description for

homosexuals Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

in the African American community. It emerged in the early 1990s as a culturally affirming African American homosexual identity. SGL was adapted as an Afrocentric alternative to what are deemed Eurocentric homosexual identities (e.g.

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 ...

and

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. 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 nouns with female homosexu ...

) which do not culturally affirm or engage the history and cultures of people of African descent. The term SGL usually has broad, important and positive personal, social, and political purposes and consequences. SGL has been described as "an anti-hate and anti-anti-Black identity ..movement, philosophy and framework". In a 2004 study of African American men, most of whom were recruited from black gay organizations, 12% identified as same-gender-loving, while 53% identified as gay. Men attending Black Gay Pride Festivals in nine U.S. cities in 2000 responded similarly, with 10% identifying as same-gender-loving, 66% as gay, and 14% as bisexual. Recent studies indicate that African-American disadvantaged youths are less likely than Euro-American youths to self-label as gay male, lesbian, or transgender youths. The National Black Men's Xchange is the oldest and largest US "community-based movement devoted to promoting healthy self-concept and behavior, cultural affirmation and critical consciousness among same-gender loving (SGL), gay-identifying and bisexual African-descended males and allies".

References

{{LGBT , culture=yes Afrocentrism LGBTQ African-American culture LGBTQ terminology Sexual orientation 1990s neologisms

See also

References