‘No homo’

A man is engaged in conversation with his buddies. They are the fist-pumping type, known for boasting of sexual prowess and admirable alcohol consumption. The man listens as his friend challenges him to game of flip cup and then replies with an energetic “I’m gonna be all over your ass!”

Realizing what implications this statement may possess, the man quickly chuckles and adds “no homo.” Now having done this, his sexuality cannot be questioned.

Sadly, this newfangled colloquialism has invaded the public lexicon. An utterance of “no homo” can act as an easy punch line, turning the seemingly innocent preceding sentence into something lecherous and sexual, much like the phrase “that’s what she said.” It can also serve as a homophobic slur, revealing the speaker’s anxiety about homosexuality and gender conventions.

For some who spout this disclaimer, I’m sure the phrase is as offhand as “that’s so gay.” But then there are those who are so uncomfortable being associated with anything resembling homosexuality that, like an OCD  patient, they must constantly neutralize the potential homosexual content of their statements.

The phrase “no homo” originated in East Harlem in the early 1990s and quickly made its way into hip-hop’s glossary (it was first bandied about by rapper Cam’ron). The rise of this adage coincided with the popularization of the “down-low brother” phenomenon.

A “down-low brother” is a term used to describe a black man who may outwardly lead a heterosexual life but secretly has sex with other men. Writer Jonah Weir says “saying ‘no homo’ might have started as a way for rappers to acknowledge and distance themselves from the down-low phenomenon.”

The world of hip-hop is plagued with showy displays of hyper-masculinity and chesty bravado. But “no homo” has strayed from its roots and become ubiquitous in youth culture. This homophobic meme can be heard from frat boys and hipsters, gangsters and preppies. But why get so riled up about this? It’s simple really.

I believe that persistently validating your heterosexuality means that you feel there is something wrong about homosexuality. Every time I talk about stuffing and mounting a snow leopard, I don’t follow it up with “no taxidermist!” And I don’t think I’ve ever said “no Christian!” after wishing someone a Merry Christmas.

But I’ll be darned if there’s not something about homosexuality that causes the synapses of many male brains to misfire in nervous alarm. They can hardly be blamed, though.  Our society has spent centuries rigidly constructing specific gender roles that, by now, are both explicitly and implicitly ingrained in almost every facet of life. Needless to say, it’s going to take a lot of work to demolish these conventions.


E-mail: joskraus@indiana.edu