Joshua Karl describes what it was like to come out as black and gay in London.
Although many white, Hispanic and Asian celebrities publicly identify themselves as part of the LBGT community, within the black and Muslim population it can still be more difficult to come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
If you are white then there are role models such as Elton John, Alan Cummings and Tom Daley, but there are less black celebrities who openly identify with being L, B , G or T.
One influential member of the underground black LBGT community is Joshua Karl who gave Rising East an exclusive insight into being a gay man in London.
“Growing up in inner London was a struggle. Secondary school and college were particularly bleak – more so for me than my heterosexual counterparts. I recall thinking I was the only black gay person in the UK! I didn’t expect to find anyone like me and was frozen in awe at my first club experience to be in the company of so many others like me. I wasn’t searching for anything up until that point but I definitely found something! There were a number of regular parties within the black LBGT community. That is how most people … built relationships. At the time people in the scene formed cliques. I was fortunate to be a part of a diverse number of cliques.
My first crew was called The Benetton Crew, which consisted of three gay guys. We were all similar in height and build and we were all black with different shades of melanin. We wore the clothing brand Benetton as a statement hence the name. Our archrivals were a crew called The Nicey Nicey Crew. We would compete against each other with fashion and dancing – mainly to dancehall music. After having a series of silly arguments we realised that both crews were more alike than we expected. We actually got along with one another and we had so much fun… Merging the two cliques together was my idea and we became the first gay super group of the underworld, called The Teen Royals. We became closer as friends and … we became leaders in what was hot and what was not.
With age I grew out of defining myself, or my friends, as a group or a clique. However by this time many of these friends I now considered as family. We are the celebrities of our community. I remember I used to be called a “flying a teenage cockroach” which was a popular name for new young gay men – in particular by the Jamaican gay men. I then blossomed into Miss Attitude with a capital A and further graduated as The African Princess.
The LBGT community has helped me build my confidence as a young black gay man. Finally, after 16 years on earth I had met people that were like me. I listened and learned from other people’s hardships and tribulations. It hurts to know that some of my friends within the LGBT community have suffered from mental and physical abuse. Some of my peers lived in the closet to hide their sexuality from their family members and friends.
One of my closest friends came to the UK as an asylum seeker due to the constant threat of violence. He removed himself from … Jamaica. He chose to leave behind his family and friends just so they are not murdered for his sexual preference.
Recently I volunteered to be a cast member for a breakthrough documentary called Out and Bad. The documentary is featured on Noisey Films, the music segment for the broadcasting company Vice. The documentary involved members of the infamous LBGT community within Dancehall. Dancehall is a term used to signify a Jamaican style party. In other terms it’s a rave that plays all types of music but focuses on bashment music which I adore. Making the documentary was a blast. It was very easy for me to engage in scenarios as I was very confident in the producer who is also … part of the dancehall scene and LBGT community.
As an adult, I am grateful to be an individual like no other. I enjoy standing out in a way that was once frightening for me as an adolescent. I am a strong black gay man and I am proud to play an influential part in the LBGT community.”