|
He was well into college when he finally admitted to himself
that he was attracted to men; still, the “daily taunts” from
his more athletic, more self-confident peers and the absence
of a father haunted him for many years. To counteract it,
Neal joined a gym and worked out tirelessly, until he
realized that he’d never have a body like He-Man. He was
never going to make a living with his physique.
Instead, Neal knew that he had to write.
It was “write or die,” he says, though he’s been told that
his style is “either too black of too gay” and he once
assumed that “as a boy I wasn’t supposed to care about
books…” Even so, he devoured the works of gay men –
particularly those who were black. That voracity for books
led to a teaching career.
In his essays here, Neal discusses the dearth of gay black
men in films and television, and he decries the lack of
interest by white readers in the works of black authors. He
looks at the sexuality of gay black men who, like most
African-American men, live under “sexual stereotypes” that
cause “a tremendous onus… to live up to…” He writes about
black men (some, gay) who have made history and changed
perceptions within their neighborhoods or industries. And as
a black man married to a white man, he notes that racism
within the gay community is as big a problem as it is
anywhere else.
Author Jarrett Neal is not shy.
There’s no waffling inside this book, and nothing held back.
Neal discusses gay porn as blithely as he does modern
literature; he remembers his childhood with the same passion
as he does coming out. Such power and force in writing
serves to give readers – straight or gay – a solid
understanding of the points he tries to make. We might laugh
or raise our eyebrows but we also empathize or, as the case
may be, sympathize.
What mars this otherwise well-done collection of essays is
its sloppiness. What Color is Your Hoodie? is riddled
with misspellings and punctuation mistakes which, because of
the frequency, almost made me want to quit this book too
many times.
If you can forgive that distraction, then this unusual book
is a good read that may actually change minds. Truthful,
blunt, and thought-provoking, regretful mistakes aside,
What Color is Your Hoodie? should be seen.
|
