Odell Beckham Jr. is most known for being the wide receiver for the New York Giants.
He is also known for being (almost) every girl’s MCM. Recently, Odell’s reputation has been plagued with gay rumors. What makes Odell gay? Did he come out? No. Does he have a boyfriend? No. Most people assume Odell is gay due to his fun-loving everyday antics. A video surfaced online of Odell having a dance off with a stripper, with it arising claims that his dance moves were “gay”. In the video he was voguing, made famous by Paris is Burning: a documentary about the 80’s and 90’s LGBT+ ballroom scene. Additionally, another video surfaced of him dancing with a team member. The issue here toxic masculinity —society’s preconceived notion that black men should act a certain way.
All men are effected by toxic masculinity; but in this instance we will focus on black toxic masculinity. In black culture, it’s a bit more strict for boys. My brother is only nine, and when he cries over minuscule things, my mother tells him boys don’t cry. Making statements like this is harmful to the development of young boys, crying is a natural part of life. Young black males are told not to cry and always be strong no matter what, leading them to often hold in emotions, which can negatively effect mental health and further perpetuate toxic masculinity.
Toxic masculinity—where you’re supposed to be aggressive and violent to prove you’re a “real” man. Boys are encouraged to participate in sports like football, basketball, and wrestling, sports that are deemed as “manly.” They don’t dare to ask if they can do dance or gymnastics because those sports aren’t “masculine” enough. Boys who do such sports are seen as “gay”. Boys who show emotions are seen as “gay” or feminine. Black males aren’t given the liberty to step outside the masculine box. Imagine we live in a world that if a black male says they are a fan of Beyonce’s music, people automatically assume he’s gay. Music is music, what we like doesn’t define our sexuality.
The idea of toxic masculinity that is ingrained in black males perpetuate domestic abuse and aggressive behaviors. Young boys will grow up thinking that men are supposed to be dominant. You see young girls preferring men who are abusive and controlling over young men who are thoughtful and delicate. Men like that are deemed too “soft.” Girls want these hyper-masculine men who are dangerous. Toxic masculinity is the reason why so many black males think it’s okay to be abusive to their significant other, many don’t see the issue with putting their hands on women. Countless videos on Twitter show black men pushing a girl, or hitting them. It’s shocking that they don’t see the error in this behavior.
We see a video of a white athlete dancing, and the comments are filled with “wow that was awesome” or “cool”, nobody questions their sexuality at all. White males have more freedom when it comes to expression, they do odd things and no one questions it. You see vine videos of white males putting firecrackers up their butts, without even one comment questioning their sexuality. They’re 100% straight in our eyes until they state they are not. White boys can literally kiss each other and state they’re not gay, and people would call it a bromance.
The black community contributes so much to this harmful way of thinking. We place so much emphasis on the macho man. That’s what we are witnessing with Odell Beckham Jr. He openly loves to have fun and dance in ways that aren’t “masculine.” In return, his mannerisms are seen as gay. There is no reason to believe he’s gay other than him stating it. Even then, it is nobody’s business whether he is gay or not. Things like this deter black males from living the life they truly want to. They’re scared of being labeled as gay by others–in the black community, being gay is almost a sin by many. We need to encourage more black males to live their life and stop putting labels and connotations on everything. It’s 2016, not the 1900’s.
Evelyn is 18 years old and a freshman in college. She loves traveling, binge watching Netflix shows, and writing! She loves to look at tweets and laugh all day. She hopes to go to law school and become a human rights lawyer. She was featured in Business Insider’s Most Impressive Teen Graduates of 2015.
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