#ILoveGay

In the 2017–18 TV season, GLAAD counted 77 LGBTQ characters on original streaming media. Almost 80% of them were white. “Racial diversity of LGBTQ characters,” says the report, “remains an area of concern.” It’s well-known that mainstream media is overwhelmingly cisgenderand white. Racial diversity is slowly increasing. Gender and sexuality diversity is also starting to catch up with the real world. But the intersection of the two is still remarkably deficient. Anthony Bawn set out to change that in 2017. After moving from Los Angeles to Atlanta (the city he calls the “black gay mega capitol”), he launched Bawn TV.

Recently, I traveled to Puerto Rico with a group of eight gay and bisexual men. Some of them I knew well, the others I had either just met or knew in passing. The trip was a celebration for a friend turning 35; and let’s just say the week-long vacation was epic. For the most part, we all got along and enjoyed getting to know one another on a deeper level. But through conversation, the trip brought to the surface elements of black gay life and culture that mainstream media seem to either overexpose or de-emphasize. And that is where the problem lies: fighting for the visibility of all black gay men.