At the Huffington Post, Clay Cane muses about how much has changed for gay men of color between 1995's and 2012's artistic depictions of their experiences.
The voices in For Colored Boys represent empowerment, which isn't always beautiful and sometimes laced with grit. We colored boys are slapping flesh onto a monolithic image of black LGBT people, who are usually regulated to being accessories for heterosexual women in campy reality shows. With President Barack Obama stating his support for same-sex marriage and Frank Ocean making pop-culture history as the first mainstream R&B/hip-hop artist to come out, For Colored Boys is relevant, regardless of the reader's gender, race, or sexual orientation.
I go back to that line in Invisible Life, which the main character, Raymond, writes in a letter to the woman he deceived for years: "There is no longer dignity in telling the truth." But in 2012 there is dignity in truth. Out of the 42 authors in For Colored Boys, you will not read one story about a tragic homosexual who secretly sleeps with men while his victimized wife twiddles her thumbs. Our diverse stories are unique, powerful, painted with every color, and untold until now. Today, there are rewards for living authentically: freedom, success, and, hopefully, love. For Colored Boys proves we no longer need to live an invisible life.
Read Clay Cane's entire article at the Huffington Post.
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