There seems to be a new trend emerging in Hollywood and spreading outward. “No labels” is the concept of removing the stigmas and barriers that we as Black LGBT people are placed under. Theoretically, we are supposed to strip ourselves of these labels to explore our sexuality and individuality. There’s no subscribing to an identity that we feel as though we do not fit in with. Instead, we are allowed to just stand as ourselves completely.
The idealistic approach of “no labels” within the context of the Black LGBT community partly first caught attention when Frank Ocean penned the now-famous letter about his relationship with a man that inspired his 2012 debut album, “Channel Orange.” While the letter was regarded as a brave moment at the time, Ocean also dealt with a considerable amount of dissent due to him never proclaiming his sexual orientation. Not to say, that being attracted to a man automatically makes you gay but it does remove you from the confines of being straight. Ocean refused to let the letter, his music or the relationship he spoke of define him, remaining in a grey space separate from the Black LGBT movement.
Since then, this grey space has slowly spread, thanks to “No Label” advocates like Keke Palmer, Raven Symone and Jussie Smollett. In an interview with Ellen last year, Smollett proclaimed that there was “never really a closet to come out of” for him and although media took their own initiative and declared Smollett as gay, Smollett’s declaration of his sexual orientation wasn’t actually all that clear within the interview. If you weren’t familiar with his previous work, his most prominent role in recent years before “Empire” in the Patrik-Ian Polk Black gay-centric film, “The Skinny,” his orientation would still be legitimately unclear. It was just another instance of blurring the lines and making us question if somebody Black and prominent would declare themselves proudly as being apart of the LGBT community.
In a recent OUT interview, Jussie obviously felt the aggravation from the public at his previous announcement – or lack thereof – and emphatically repeated how he considered himself to be a gay man. Unfortunately, he zeroed back on the “no labels” perspective without calling it as such, stating how if he loved a woman, he would be with her. His statement of being born this way yet falling in love with a woman was a clear contradiction. Being born gay means you’re only attracted to the same sex, boo.
Honestly, it seems as if his acknowledgement of the possibility of falling in love with a woman is more of wanting those around him to feel as though he can be more than just Jamal, the gay character on “Empire.” Gay men and women in the bedroom probably aren’t happing unless it’s Beyoncé. We may have been with them before but for most, it was just a tunnel we had to traverse through to get to the boys club.
Clearly, “No Labels” isn’t a malicious attempt to erase the LGBT community from the public discourse. Its promotion of it may be but the people who feel as though they are apart of it are just trying to fit into a space of sexuality fluidity that already opens itself up to a variety of spectrums. Currently, there’s an array of titles including pansexuality, omnisexuality and asexuality.
What’s also not recognized is that all of these labels are also powerful.
Labels don’t seem powerful on the surface. There’s a long withstanding attack on Blackness and homosexuality, especially when they are combined. There are expectations and perceptions that society enacts on us like large stone boulders on our back that we carry as young children into maturation. But once we are able to accept ourselves, the boulders – the label – affixed on us becomes our strength and our gold. Wanna know why gays are so talented and can make ugly things look so beautiful? It’s all the shit we’ve been through.
While Hollywood may appear to be a progressive world, for a Black gay kid in the suburbs, there’s no place for “no labels.” The title of being “gay” is slapped on you before you even know what it truly means. The amount of oppression faced cannot be removed with some progressive, new age terms or hopes that people’s perceptions will change based on you being straight-acting. It’s a constant battle.
Straight people rarely speak on living a life with no labels. They don’t have to worry about the stigmas and expectations. There’s nothing to run from because they are satisfied and privileged with loving exactly who they want to love.
Smollett also has plenty to face. White LGBT celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris and Jim Parsons can play straight men and a variety of other roles without the pressures of only having major roles regulated to their orientation. That’s why Smollett’s thoughts are disappointing. His arrival into the mainstream would have been more gratifying if he had done what Ocean hadn’t, and stood in his sexuality as strongly as he did when he was trying to find work a few years ago. This would have been encouraging to those who actually did have closets to come out of. Maybe Smollett is worried that due to his sexual orientation, he could have a hard time finding roles separate from his sexual orientation. That’s understandable but not an excuse.
Sure, the argument has been made that Smollett owes us no explanation or understanding of his sexuality. But that would be laughable at best considering he made the decision to “come out” on television. If you’re going to do something, do it all the way.
If this was a more effeminate celebrity such as Derek J or Miss Lawrence, his statement of being gay but also finding love with a woman and being accepting of that would have been laughable. The reality of “no labels” only seems to be clear when someone who can’t play the part decides to take it on. Our attempt to progress shouldn’t only be for the more heteronormative of the LGBT community.
Separating ourselves is apart of the culture. We are avid users of binaries, taking down one another and separating each other by “bottoms” or “tops” and “studs” or “fems.” These terms are okay in personal description but are often used to force someone into submission or deny someone’s right to explore their own identity as a gay woman. Things like “Broapp” or “Brojob” communicate that we can’t stand securely in having our own sexuality identities because the straights are watching and judging. What we’re not realizing is the multitude of ways you can be gay.
There are Black gay nerds, Black gay construction workers, Black gay mothers, Black gay fathers, Black gay barbers, Black gay ballroom dancers, Black gay beauticians and so many other variations of us. None of us are the same yet we are all connected by these titles and these boxes. We find unity through our pain and to strip ourselves from these titles would be leaving behind the work we’ve done.
As a community who is largely looked at monolithically, a lot of us aim to separate ourselves from the pack and be our own individuals. But we weren’t actually put on Earth to do such. We’re so similar in nature with so much common ground. Yes, our experiences are different but the foundations of it aren’t. Imagine not being able to communicate with someone who is similar to you. Imagine Jack’d with no filters and even more people since we’d all be “no labels.” Our ability to connect and influence would be empty. We need to be recognized ourselves as who we are and not what they believe we are and who we think we should be because of how they perceive us.
My hope is that with the next Black gay actor, they stand firmly in being Black and gay. They don’t remove the label but help to re-define it as being more than anyone’s expectations. If they are attracted to the same sex, they recognize that as bisexuality or pansexuality. If they want to star in an action film, they recognize themselves as being a Black gay action star and not just an action star who happens to like the same sex. It is up to us to redefine and break down the stigmas that persecute us. Not run from the shadows of a closet.
