Urban Thought Collective

I’ve never had much use for “tell-all” books. Now, if you’ve got a legitimate story to tell, and if telling that story requires you to reveal unflattering facts about someone, then that’s perfectly valid. But putting somebody else’s business in the street for the purpose of embarrassing them, getting revenge – or worse yet – making yourself rich and famous, is pretty despicable as far as I’m concerned.

Terrance Dean claims that he doesn’t want to “ruin anyone’s dreams or careers” with “Hiding in Hip Hop,” his new book about “down low” black men in the entertainment industry. Dean states in an official press release: “What I’m truly hoping for is the start of a real conversation about why, in this very contemporary day and age, we as black people are still made to feel that we cannot be comfortable in our skin?” Sounds like a noble aspiration, but I’m skeptical. Since his book provides detailed descriptions of several known entertainers, Dean’s lofty mission statement seems disingenuous.

If Dean truly wants to get folks talking about anti-gay bigotry, then why does he cheapen the subject by teasing readers into a tawdry game of “guess who?” This salacious approach might sell books, but it cheapens any serious discussion about an important and dead-serious topic.

It might also put a few careers at risk, which Dean claims is the last thing he wants to do. You don’t end bigotry by putting its victims in the line of fire. You end it by challenging the social conditions that turned them into victims.

Terrance Dean should also be reminded that black entertainers aren’t the only ones keeping their sexuality hidden. Dean claims that “there is a sizable community of gay and lesbian white business leaders and celebrities in Hollywood, and they are not ostracized from the industry.” Really? Who? How many white pop stars are openly gay?

Lindsay Lohan’s mom recently told “Extra” that “it really hurts” when people suggest that her daughter and Samantha Ronson are romantically involved. Hurts? Why? Because in the straight world, being labeled gay is an insult that could threaten one’s social standing and livelihood.

Given the wild lives that so many entertainers live, society’s attitude toward homosexuality is perplexing. We live in an age when entertainers have no shame about being alcoholics, drug addicts, drug dealers, gang members and sex fiends. But, call someone gay and the world turns upside down.

Homophobia is the last, socially-acceptable form of bigotry in America, but it will eventually go the way of Jim Crow (California’s recent Supreme Court ruling upholding same sex marriage is a positive sign). For now, however, the struggle for equality continues. But tell-all books that indirectly “out” people don’t really help the cause.

Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.

THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!

Cameron Turner is a Los Angeles-area native whose editorials, entertainment news features and audio documentaries have appeared on national radio networks, online and in print for over 20 years.