Down-low (sexual slang)

Down low or DL is a slang phrase used in English of the United States for "secret information," as in "What's the down-low?" or "Keep it on the down-low" (meaning "Do not make it known"). It originated in African-American slang.

Sexual Meaning

Down low is also a term used for men who have sex with men, but who identify themselves as neither homosexual nor bisexual. Some have argued that being openly gay may lead to considerable stigma in the African American community, thus leading men to engage in male-to-male sex in secret while keeping up heterosexual relationships for public consumption.

Among some sectors of African-American male sub-culture (called "men on the DL" or "down-low"), same-sex sexual behavior is sometimes viewed as solely for physical pleasure. Men on the "down-low" may engage in regular (though often covert) sex acts with other men while continuing sexual and romantic relationships with women. These men often shun the more commonly-known "gay" as a term applying to stereotypically flamboyant and effeminate men of European ancestry, a group from which some may wish to distance themselves.

Down Low in Popular Culture

The term "down low" entered the mainstream of black popular culture in the early 1990s. In 1993, Salt-n-Pepa recorded a song called "Whatta Man" that mentioned the down low. In 1994, TLC recorded a song called "Creep" about a woman on the down low. In 1995, Brian McKnight recorded his song, "On the Down Low," about a woman named Maxine on the DL. Then in 1996 and 1998, R. Kelly recorded two songs about the down low. All the songs referred to the down low as a heterosexual activity.

Media Interest

The first mainstream media account of the down low as a homosexual or bisexual issue was reported in the Los Angeles Times on February 7, 2001. By the end of the year, numerous major media outlets had reported on the down low. They included: The New York Times (Feb. 11), USA Today (Mar. 15), Columbus Dispatch (Mar. 19), St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Apr. 1), New York Times (Apr. 3), Chicago Sun-Times (Apr. 22), Atlanta Journal (Jun. 3), San Francisco Chronicle (Jun. 4), Village Voice (Jun. 6), VIBE magazine (July), JET magazine (Sep. 8), Essence magazine (October), San Diego Union-Tribune (Dec. 2), Los Angeles Times (December 7). Nearly all these stories connected the down low to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African American community.

In August 2003, the New York Times Magazine ran a cover story called "Double Lives on the Down Low," written by Benoit Denizet-Lewis.

On April 16, 2004 J.L. King, author of On the Down Low appeared on Oprah to discuss his life on the down low, just days before the release of his tell-all book about the subject. The down low was part of the story line on an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and on the television show "ER".

Connection to HIV/AIDS

The theory behind many of the media reports on the down low was that men who were unable to confront their sexual identity were not responding to safer sex messages. Because of the secretive nature of their male-to-male sex, it was thought that they would not use condoms with their male partners.

Despite the numerous media accounts linking the down low to the black AIDS epidemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has never cited men on the down low as the cause of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African American community. No extensive research has ever been published about men on the down low, in part because of the difficulty of identifying the targeted population. A 2003 CDC study of 5,589 men who have sex with men (MSM) found that black MSM who do not disclose their sexual orientation were more likely to be safe in some of their sexual practices and more likely to be HIV negative than other black MSM who do disclose their sexual orientation.

Existence in Various Cultures

Some journalists and commentators have suggested that the down low is a mostly African-American subculture that may have come about because of stronger stigmas against same-sex behavior in African-American communities, and, due to more widespread poverty, a possible greater dependence on traditional family networks for support.

Other researchers believe that this covert bisexuality occurs in all races, especially in the area of gays cruising for sex, which is thought to be practiced by covert homosexuals or bisexuals.

Although the term has been widely used to apply to blacks, some have challenged the notion that the down low applies only or primarily to African Americans. In his book, Beyond The Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America, author Keith Boykin argues that the down low (1) has numerous meanings, (2) is not specific to African Americans, (3) is not specific to bisexual or homosexual behavior, and (4) is not the cause of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in black America. Boykin argues that the down low debate demonizes black men, stigmatizes black women and encourages an unhealthy "battle of the sexes" between black men and black women that distracts the community's attention from the issue of HIV prevention, personal responsibility and condom use.

Downe is a term similar to Down-low. Derived from the definition of "down low" and "Are you down?," this term was brought in by the "Filipino American" and in the "Asian American" male & female LGBT community. Its origin may be from California or Hawaii. Downe eventually became an all encompassing term for those who identify as gay.

References

Williams, Jeffrey Lee Jr. (2004) The low-down on the Down Low. The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, 11(6), 6.

Appearances

George Hanna used the words "down low" in the 1930 song "Boy in the Boat" about lesbian women.
Salt-n-Pepa recorded a song called "Whatta Man" that mentioned the down low in 1993.
TLC recorded a song called "Creep" about a woman on the down low in 1994.
Brian McKnight recorded his song, "On the Down Low," about the down low in 1995.
R. Kelly recorded in "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" in 1996.
Botched (as "low-down") in the 2000 comedy film, Meet the Parents when Ben Stiller's character attempted to use hip jargon to promise to keep secret his fiancée's brother's sneaking in.

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