Black Gay Man: Essays

The landmark book that established Robert Reid-Pharr as one of America’s most exciting and challenging left intellectuals

At turns autobiographical, political, literary, erotic, and humorous, Black Gay Man spoils our preconceived notions of not only what it means to be Black, gay, and male but also what it means to be a contemporary intellectual. Both a celebration of Black gay male identity as well as a powerful critique of the structures that allow for the production of that identity, Black Gay Man introduced the eloquent voice of Robert Reid-Pharr in cultural criticism.

At once erudite and readable, the range of topics and positions taken up in Black Gay Man reflect the complexity of American life itself. Treating subjects as diverse as the Million Man March, interracial sex, anti-Semitism, turn-of-the-century American intellectualism, as well as literary and cultural figures ranging from Essex Hemphill and Audre Lorde to W.E.B. Du Bois, Frantz Fanon, and James Baldwin, Black Gay Man is a bold and nuanced attempt to question prevailing ideas about community, desire, politics, and culture. Moving beyond critique, Reid-Pharr also pronounces upon the promises of a new America.