A Lawsuit’s Unusual Question: Who Is a Man?

What is a man? For El’Jai Devoureau, this is not a rhetorical question. Mr. Devoureau, who was born physically female, is a man at the Motor Vehicle Commission, at the Social Security office, at home, at job interviews. But what about at the urinal? In a case with a truly unusual set of factors, Mr. Devoureau filed a discrimination lawsuit on Friday that could break new ground in New Jersey and across the country, turning on the question of who is or is not a man. An employer fired Mr. Devoureau because it said only a man was allowed to do his job: watching men urinate into plastic cups at a drug treatment center.

Using blacks for “saving America from the bondage of gay marriage”

As an African American lesbian, I thank God that I am not in slavery. But I am certainly in a civil war with Garlow and national white anti-gay Christian groups and ministers who are now drumming up a manipulative and exploitative campaign to thank Christian conservative African-Americans for saving America from the bondage of gay marriage.

Kobe Fined for Antigay Tirade

The NBA will fine L.A. Laker Kobe Bryant $100,000 for using antigay words toward a referee Tuesday night. Bryant was caught yelling at the referee after he punched a chair on the sidelines. Video showed him mouthing an antigay slur at the referee, but audible confirmation from the bench was not immediately available.

Bi-phobia is the New Black

In 2009, I unknowingly fell in love with a bisexual man. He was my best friend, a dynamic community leader, and passionate about tackling social issues related to communities of color. His energy was infectious, re-inspiring my activism, and elevating my thoughts to the real potential of social change. Like an Audre Lorde quote, our friendship went from personal to political and I found myself reaching deep down and touching the terror of difference. My best friend loved men and women.

Hate, Homophobia & Hip Hop

I asked Big at the time, in January of 1997, if his friend bringing his boyfriend back to the hood bothered him. Big told me “Whatever, that’s still my n—a.” The remembering of that moment between me and Big, who in 1997 had been one of my closest friends for six years, was unpacked in three or four tweets. Those tweets were captured as screen shots and used by Bossip and then allhiphop with sensational headlines that apparently poor readers took to mean I was questioning Big’s sexuality. Even if read correctly, it became an opportunity to speculate about Big’s sexuality, offering his lyrics as evidence. As I wrote in Tuesday’s column about Cee, digging in hip hop’s closet is a pitiful sport.

Category: Week in Review