Article Review 2

Tayler Thornton

WGST 202

T/Th 9:30-10:45

Professor Currans

Blog Topic: Masculinity and Hip Hop

Article Review #1

Jeffrey Q. McCune Jr (2008) “Out” in the Club: The Down Low, Hip-Hop, and the Architexture of Black Masculinity, Text and Performance Quarterly, 28:3, 298-314, DOI: 10.1080/10462930802107415

 In the article, “Out in the Club: The Down Low, Hip Hop, and the Architexture of Black Masculinity”, written by Jeffrey McCune Jr., he studies African American men on the down low, and the club and the connection between black masculine performances. The author looks mainly at two points in his article; the first being “The Gate” a gay club, and the other exploring “Homoerotic Activity in a Heteronormative Playground”. The author also focuses on one case study and also looks at the lyrics of some known rapper to further explain his point and view. Overall the author examines an African American man being on the DL and looking at things in a different perspective and getting some understanding of what “The Gate” really means.

What does being on the “down low really mean”? The article describes it as a man who has discreet sex with other men, who engage in low-key queer activity. “DL offers a new school remix of the old-school closet, an improvisation on the coming-out narrative that imagines a low-key of being in the world”. (McCune 298) McCune first explores his article by talking about him growing and “The Gate”. Growing up McCune believed that African American men quieted themselves from down low activities and experienced very little sexual freedom. The thought of a gay black male was slim to none, but McCune soon found in college that it was more than he thought. He quoted from scholar Dwight Conquergood, “that sometimes… you do have to go there to know there” and McCune would soon be there.

“The Gate” is a Friday night black gay club in Chicago, it is a space where down low men can go and be somewhat free from the chained world they live in and fulfill their homo desires. The club is not only know for doing this but it is also known for displaying two type of music: house and hip hop music. House music is more high fashion, where designer and looking fabulous is more important, where as hip-hop music is more laid-back and uniform. Some would say that a persons clothing tells who they are and makes them feel free and comfortable with their self. The author states that the club hip hop side has a bit of a “coolness” to it, meaning that it is a way of survival where black men make do with what they have. The author’s talks about how hip-hop music and coolness play hand in hand to each other. Stating that hip-hop music is a part of the down low world and its history. Hip Hop music at the club provides black men a way for queer men to grip on to queer fantasies. As a man Robert stated in the article, “he can feel the body of another man without feeling ashamed and that there is no need for hiding and hushing”, these are the type of things that “The Gate” does for men. But it also “blends hip-hop and queer roots on the route to non-normative desire and pleasure”. Also meaning that it making black men go down a path that is not normal in society.

The author then actually goes into “The Gate” to fully understand what really happens inside. The author explains is his walking up to the club and paying the cover to get in. He goes inside and sees all sizes, ages, shapes, and colors take up the hip hop side of the club. As McCune makes his way through the crowd he hears a song by the rapper 50 Cent with lyrics that go, “You can find me in da club, With a  bottle full of Bub, But, mama, I got the X, If you into taking drugs, I’m into having sex, I aint into making love, So come give me a hug, if you into getting rubbed”. He then started focusing on the crowd and realized that the lyrics in the song go along with what the people in club were doing. After while McCune ran into Shawn, the man he did his case study on about being on the DL, and remembered that Shawn said he would never be caught in a queer club. When they bumped into each other they spoke and Shawn grabbed McCune’s hand and put it on his private part. Shawn’s actions inside the club did not match his actions outside the club and that hit a bell in McCune’s head. Shawn is in a fraternity at college and plays the ladies man role and pretty boy role as a mask for what he really is. McCune then looks at Shawn’s outfit and sees that his clothing and sees that he has cap on his head, signifying that hip-hop is cover up for queer desire. Hip Hop portrays a very masculine affect on men which means that a man can listen and follow the steps of hip-hop to hide them being on the down low.

McCune ties all of his points together by stating that DL men do not desire to “come out” but they “come in” at “The Gate”. The gate is a home where they can come and be free and honest. They can fellowship with other people like them and fulfill desires they have. But outside the gate they live different discreet lives and aren’t them self. No matter where these men are in a hip-hop club, on the internet, on a chat site, DL men will always find a place where they can just be them and have to hide. The Gate gives them a place where they can come in and not come out. McCune focused on the this one club to show how hip hop provides masculinity for DL men and how it plays a role in a mans life. But not matter how long a DL man stays in the gates of a dark night club, the light will soon come on and they can be free from their self.

This article conveys good information about my blog topic, which is masculinity and hip-hop. McCune provides good evidence about hip-hop and men and hiding how they really are. McCune focuses on DL black men coming into “The Gate” and freeing themselves from the social norm of the world. This article to me also ties into the article written by Michael Messner called, “Becoming 100% straight. McCune explores men being on the down low and hiding behind clothes and hip hop music to be more masculine and not to let anyone find out their secret, but Messner focuses on athletes hiding behind sports to look masculine. In my opinion they both do a great and thorough job of examine sexuality in men and look at it in different ways and two different characteristics of it. McCune takes a more personal approach to the topic and talks about his experience entering “The Gate”. But hip hop will always a part in the masculinity of black men and it just goes to show you that you only know and see what people want you to see.