The enigmatic Frank Ocean quietly released his long awaited second album “Blonde” to the quite fanfare of little media coverage. The Twitterites’ tweeted ‘#gaymediasowhite because the largest gay media publications failed to acknowledged Ocean presumably because he is black. Frank Ocean broke onto the scene four years ago and disrupted the heternormative boundaries with his destruction of the gender binary. Ocean challenged the assumptions of sexual identification with his frankness about sexuality.
Yet the question remains why would followers of Ocean become upset when predominately white sponsored media outlets refuse to cover his music? Are we that naïve to the facts that racial discrimination is rampant even in the Gay Communities? This isn’t the first time that there was an outcry about #gaymediabeing so white and this undoubtedly won’t be the last!
This latest snub should serve as a reminder to the African-American gay community that you are not guaranteed a fanfare celebration for your achievements just because you are a celebrity. The Oscars and the American Music Awards has repeatedly demonstrated that either you are too black, or too gay to get a nomination. What are you going to do? BOYCOTT? No, you get your own!
Diversity and inclusion is not guaranteed nor seemingly welcomed by evidence of recent Black Pride celebrations around the United States. This divide is much deeper than Ocean’s current situation; it is rooted in our racist history where white privilege is the rule of thumb.
International reviews indicate Ocean delivers soundly with his esoteric style. It should be noted that Ocean has comfortably spoken about his gender fluidity and should be heralded as paving the way for dismantling “labels” for us all.
I encourage all fans of Ocean to support his music especially the LGBTQ Community and I encourage all concerned readers to support other media outlets who support you. So, the next time your favorite “colored artist or actor” is snubbed by white control media visit a black owned media and just maybe you’ll find what you are looking for! Black Gay Media to the RESCUE!
“Blonde” is now available on iTunes and is currently streaming in Apple Music.
#GayMediaSoWhite “Snubs” Frank Ocean “Blonde” Album Release
#If Gay Media So White! Why Are You Supporting Them?