Today, there are a number of queer black men to inspire others. After years in the hip-hop group Odd Future, and frequent criticism for controversial lyrics, Frank Ocean broke barriers in hip-hop, a genre long marked by homophobia and hypermasculinity, by releasing a 2012 letter that said his first love was a man. Since then, Ocean has artfully expressed his queerness in a variety of ways, whether in his music, with tracks like “Thinkin Bout You,” or his 2016 letter expressing his anguish after the Pulse massacre. In similar fashion, Kevin Abstract, a black rapper from Texas, has been redefining assumptions about boy bands and rappers as a founder of musical collective Brockhampton. Abstract incorporates his queerness into his music with honesty and finesse, crafting lines such as, “My boyfriend saved me / My mother's homophobic / I'm stuck in the closet / I'm so claustrophobic,” while refusing to champion himself as a “queer icon.”

“I’d see negative comments and forget [being gay] was a big deal to some people," Abstract said in a 2018 interview, "that some people hadn’t heard it before. My goal is just to normalise it." He continued, “Straight rappers talk about their sexual relationships without warning me. And they are more explicit and violent. I have to express myself and who I am.”

From its rise in decaying 1970s New York City, hip-hop music has always broken barriers, under the weight of rampant drugs and a financial crisis, and with bold statements on race, police violence, and its unapologetic blackness. But as a genre, hip-hop has largely fallen short for its sexism and homophobia. Today the presence of out and proud figures, like Ocean and Abstract, confront this problematic past and demand space without asking permission, as queer people have done historically.

The film Love, Simon inspired actor Keiynan Lonsdale to come out as queer on Instagram. Known for acting on the CW’s Flash, Lonsdale has talked about how others in the entertainment industry encouraged him to stay closeted and has worn gender-fluid attire to notable events.

Lonsdale is powerful because he has shown that coming out as a queer black man today is not a career-ending decision, as opposed to decades past when celebrities in his position would likely have chosen to remain closeted; and that queer, black men are worthy of representation in mainstream cinema that isn’t defined by queer or black tragedy. Onscreen and offscreen, Lonsdale is a vision of hope for young, queer black men.

As a queer black man, I’ve found solace in recent years from seeing many of my own experiences fearlessly reflected by those like Lonsdale and Abstract. This is not only because such representation helps queer black men feel affirmed and powerful in their queerness, but because it also creates a reality where we are allowed to live outside the confines of black hypermasculinity and the whitewashing of the queer experience. From the often hidden, queer black men of the past to the inspiring figures of today, there is hope for the future of queer black men in this new era.

Related: Love, Simon Star Keiynan Lonsdale Has Some Important Advice for Those Still in the Closet

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