28 Jul Southern Gay Men and Interracial Dating. A definite smell of tobacco smoke fills the atmosphere when I enter a tiny bar that is gay in just one of the less desirable areas of Jackson, Mississippi.

Smoking had been banned in Mississippi pubs several years back, nevertheless the fragrance nevertheless lingers just like a stain that may never ever quite turn out.

It really is another evening with similar crowd that is friendly give and take a few faces. The jukebox plays another Dolly Parton track as a couple of acquaintances is deeply within their fifth game of pool. It is simply those types of low-key regional pubs for which you visit enjoy a glass or two with buddies, nevertheless the clientele is all homosexual guys. The drama and decadence for the homosexual nightlife scene are lost with this audience.

Then again we spot the all-too-familiar hums of gossip from the part. Their whispers and stares don't attain a known degree of subtlety. It is a feeling burned into my mind after growing up into the Bible-bound wardrobe of the Southern state that is red. And though it is not unusual for gay dudes to evaluate one another, this right time varies. Their gossip is directed at the interracial few whom simply strolled through the doorway.

Racism is a hot-button issue that is widely frowned upon, even yet in the Deep South. However the social codes in this region nevertheless hold a veiled standard of "separate but equal." I attended were prominently white when I was growing up, the churches. In twelfth grade we had been perhaps not permitted to print pictures of interracial partners within the college paper's Valentine's issue because the school wanted to avoid controversy day.