Using words like ‘beastly’ to not only describe African men – but also African love – gives a clear insight into European patriarchal ideals. Way back in the sixteenth century, Epprecht writes, Europeans did report sexual relationships between African men-generally in horrified terms an English traveler wrote that the Imbangala of Angola were “beastly in their living, for they have men in women’s apparel, whom they keepe among their wives.”
In the article ‘Anthropologists Hid African Same-Sex Relationships’, Livia Gershon states the following about how Europeans viewed Black male love: This includes having to deal with sexual violence and being forced into the binary thinking, and behaviour, that characterise white supremacy. The Black community has a different relationship with sexuality and its politics, which has been heavily influenced by the European colonial history. There’s so much to dissect in videos for songs like Montero and Industry Baby – namely that he’s an openly gay young male showing his femininity and being dark skinned all at once. News Blog Culture, media & sport I’m usually not one to follow the latest music videos, but Lil Nas X has changed that.
