In order to participate in social, sexual activity, Black gay men often have to subject themselves to some level of degradation. As this is supported by smartphone apps and socially encouraged, many Black gay men find themselves subjected to one-word messages of “BBC” (Big Black Cock) or completely rejected from entire dating pools simply for their race.
Sexual fetishization of Black gay men has intensified in recent years through an ever-expanding hookup culture. The “bad” archetype has been beaten to death in interracial pornography, specifically in gang bangs by one race over another. Black male bodies were either “good,” meaning sexless and subservient, or “bad,” negatively sexualized, and equated to rape of white bodies. The reduction of Black men, specifically, to vectors of sexual gratification for other races stems from slavery propaganda. Often assumed to be aggressive, insatiable, and dominant, Black people encounter varying degrees of fetishization when dating interracially. Hypermasculinity tropes have plagued both Black men and women’s navigation of romance and sex.
