Breaking the Silence

The intersection of race and sexuality is a primary focus of both Tongues Untied (1990) and Black Macho Revisited (henceforth BMR): Reflections of a SNAP! queen, by Marlon Riggs.
The black gay man, as analyzed by Riggs, is essentially seen as an outlaw and abomination because of his sexuality. He is emasculated and thus his sexuality becomes a statement of his weakness, passivity, absence of real guts (BMR, 254). He is a triple negation: Black & Gay & Man, compared to the tenets of his heterosexual counterpart-who is strong, adept, empowered, superior. He is regarded as the lowest of the lows, from which the image of the strong black man can be redeemed in comparison. Any straight black man is more man than the gay “black” “man”, more than the “other” of his community. Black gay men are not only ostracized but are ridiculed, degraded, beaten, and bashed, emasculated by their own community. The effects of this is especially powerful in a scene of Tongues Untied, in which Riggs narrates the story of passing another black gay man and neither acknowledging each other because of the known pain and anger which would be reflected in each other’s eyes: a product of being the pariahs of the black community. It goes without saying that these portrayals of the black gay man strongly oppose those of the white gay man. This is obviously a primary function of race, given that when race enters the equation with sexuality, it takes on new meanings. It seems as though being of color and being gay is a double whammy. This same sentiment is expressed in Trujillo’s piece “Fear and Loathing in the Chicano Community” when Trujillo analyzes how chicana lesbians are seen as traitors of their culture because of the strong emphasis on motherhood.

With regards to the black gay man and white gay man, yes there is the commonality that they are both outlaws within their respective communities; but the ideal image of the black man within the black community is that of a strong, “macho” man, and is greatly emphasized. Referencing back to Trujillo’s piece, the ideal woman or a “true” woman is one who is a mother. For black gay men, the strong and superior straight man is the ideal by which they are compared. I wonder whether the relationship to the opposite sex is also a factor for black gay men. For example, Chicana lesbians upset the power play between Chicano men and women…I’m curious as to whether some power is distorted for black gay men. Perhaps in crossing race lines? i.e. between black and white communities?
Watching Tongues Untied and reading BMR plays a very powerful role in illustrating to the reader, the effect of silence: another main theme in both the film and BMR . “Silence” is described in the movie as “a way to grin and bear it”, as a shield (that crushes), a cloak (that smothers), a sword (that cuts), as the deadliest weapon, and as suicide. It’s worth noting how effective Tongues Untied is in making sure that silence does not occur since throughout the film, given that there is a constant flow of interjections consisting of narratives, poetry, sounds etc.

Another important aspect of both Tongues Untied and BMR is the function of the SNAP! In the film, Riggs identifies the various SNAP(s): there is the point SNAP!, mini SNAP!, maxi SNAP!, classic SNAP!, grand diva SNAP! and sling SNAP!
In BMR, Riggs comments that the SNAP! can be as emotionally and politically charged as a clenched fist, can punctuate debate and dialogue….but instead of being a symbol of communal expression or cultural defiance, it has become a signpost of effeminate, cute, comic homosexuality and therefore descends to stereotype and is stripped of its political and cultural dimension (BMR, p. 255).

In seeing Tongues Untied and reading Black Macho Revisited, I think that the messages of the effect of silence, the consequences of black gay sexuality and the stereotypes of the black macho man are very strong and both sources function as a medium through which the silence is undoubtedly broken.