Books by Jesus G Smith
Home and Community for Queer Men of Color: The Intersection of Race and Sexuality, 2019
In this introduction to the anthology Home and Community for Queer Men of Color, Jesus Gregorio S... more In this introduction to the anthology Home and Community for Queer Men of Color, Jesus Gregorio Smith discusses the ways queer men of color are marginalized from both their communities of color and queer communities based on their race as well as gender and sexual identities. Using the controversy surrounding Kevin Hart and statements from Michael Sam, Jesus details how Black gay males might feel rejected from heterosexual Black communities in one scenario and rejected by gay communities in another. He then describes how in these marginalized spaces, queer men make a space to call home.
This edited volume examines how and where gay men of color find “home” and what kind of home they... more This edited volume examines how and where gay men of color find “home” and what kind of home they find, how they make sense of race and sexuality, and how their experiences reflect what it means to be “raced” and “sexed” in America. The contributors argue both racially and sexually marginalized groups all confront levels of racism and heterosexism that is practiced by the larger ethnic and sexual communities that use white heterosexuality as the “norm” to which all others are compared. They further argue that despite different constructions of race and ethnicity, there are similar themes for racialized groups that need to be explored.
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles by Jesus G Smith
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2022
As research on race and racism in the USA has suggested that it now takes a more subtle and neoli... more As research on race and racism in the USA has suggested that it now takes a more subtle and neoliberal form, one of the areas in which race and racism are most explicit is in dating and sex. When finding dating and sexual partners, people tend to be explicit about their rejection of potential mates along racial lines while claiming that these preferences have no connection with racism. Callander et al.'s (2015) study was the first to provide the evidence that these expressions of sexual racism, or racebased rejections of partners in sexual contexts, were in fact related to cultural racism perpetuated in society at large. Despite all of this, the study has never been replicated. We aimed to partially replicate the study in the USA, using a sample of 616 gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men. Using the Quick Discrimination Index and online sexual racism surveys referenced in the original paper, we find a correlation of − 0.129, between the two measures. This suggests that respondents who demonstrate more openness and less racist beliefs in general are also less likely to be accepting of forms of online sexual racism, a finding that is consistent with prior research. Still, the correlation between these measures is not nearly as strong as that observed in Australia in the original paper (− 0.56), raising questions that require further exploration.
Porn Studies, 2021
With media attention highlighting the murders of unarmed Black men at the hands of police, questi... more With media attention highlighting the murders of unarmed Black men at the hands of police, questions have risen regarding pornographic films that eroticize White ‘police’ abuse of Black ‘suspects’. Nonetheless, few performers of colour continue to participate in race play pornographic films and arguably some people of colour watch and enjoy these films. This led us to ask how can such erotic performances of racial abuse by White ‘police officers’ on Black male bodies be read for pleasure? And if the performances can be read in such a way, how should pleasure be read in these performances? Using a pornographic method in our data collection and a transgressive reading of the Black male performances in our visual analysis, as well as grounding our findings in a politics of perversion and an erotic (sexual) autonomy, we find that the performances can be read for pleasure. The pleasure is revealed in three ways: modes of resistance at the onset of the films, temporal agency in the Black male performances throughout the films and shifts in power from the White ‘cops’ to the Black ‘suspects’ by film’s end. This results in the Black ‘suspects’ taking back control by reclaiming their own racial-sexual pleasure.
Humanity & Society, 2021
The militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border, criminalization of immigrants and migrants, and hum... more The militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border, criminalization of immigrants and migrants, and humanitarian emergency surrounding the border has negatively impacted students and schools. Responding to the impact of U.S. border politics on education, we taught a week-long institute for local teachers to learn about the histories and lived experiences connecting the Central American, Mexican, and U.S. borders. During the institute we asked participants—who were predominantly white K-12 teachers—to reflect on their learning experiences in personal journals. The aim of this study was to investigate the racial politics of emotion when confronting border issues in a classroom setting. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to our analysis, we conducted qualitative content analysis and close readings of twenty-one teacher’s journals to determine patterns in the emotional response’s teachers had to the histories, testimonies, audio, and visual accounts to which they were exposed through readings and seminars. The results of our analysis reveal that emotions were used by participants to maintain racial boundaries and reinforce race-based notions of national belonging, but also to challenge injustice both in and beyond classroom settings. The findings have significant implications about the impact that ethnic studies programs and critical race theory curriculum may have on teacher education.
AIDS and Behavior, 2021
Despite the promises to end HIV infection rates by 2030, several factors continue to contribute t... more Despite the promises to end HIV infection rates by 2030, several factors continue to contribute to rising HIV infection rates in sexual minority communities. In fact, the CDC predicts that more than half of gay and bisexual men of color will be infected in the coming years if an intervention is not staged. While much focus has been placed on PrEP access, less has been given to the social environment online, which many men who have sex with men use to find sexual partners. This environment, facilitated by the anonymity afforded to men online, is infected with anti-fat, anti-femme, anti-Black bias aimed at men constructed as less desirable and summed up in the phrase, “No fats, No femmes, and No Blacks or Asians.” Considering this online environment and the fact that past research suggests a relationship between weight and condom use, sex position and condom use and race and condom use, the researchers test all three pairings as well as a fourth hypothesis predicting if men who embody all three variables are also more likely to go condom-less. Findings from the analysis were mixed with men with “ideal body types” (slim, athletic and muscular built) and bottom men being more likely to have bareback on their profiles for sex behavior while men of color were more likely than Whites to have safe sex only. Most strikingly, regardless of body-type, sex position, or HIV status, Whites were more likely to have bareback on their profiles.
Issues in Race and Society: An Interdisciplinary Global Journal, 2018
The manner in which racism and racial construction operate is under-examined in gay communities. ... more The manner in which racism and racial construction operate is under-examined in gay communities. This study asses how race and colorblindness influence desire among men who have sex with men (MSM). We expand upon Eduardo Bonilla-Silva's (2002a) Latin Americanization Thesis (LAT) of tri-racial stratification by examing the intersection of race/ethnicity with sexuality. The study is based on sixteen in-depth interviews with MSM of various racial/ethnic groups along the El Paso/Juarez border. Findings suggest that not only does LAT describe a common phenomenon, but it contributes to understanding racial hierarchies of sexual desire. To justify this hierarchy and defend against accusations of sexual racism, white and "honorary" white MSMs use both covert and colorblind racism. In conclusion, we expand upon the LAT of racial construction in the United States by illustrating how sexuality influences the social construction of race, which in turn has implications for mate selection and sexual identity in gay communities.
Journal of Porn Studies, 2017
Debates over the production and consumption of pornography have divided scholars into two main ca... more Debates over the production and consumption of pornography have divided scholars into two main camps: anti-porn and sex-positive or pro-porn. Correspondingly, research about pornography has largely focused either on its negative social impacts or on its promise of personal sexual liberation. Very little work has explored the way in which pornography can be both repressive and freeing in the same instance, offering opportunities for excitement and titillation that may reify systemic oppression while also empowering marginalized subjects to disrupt these systems in unique ways. Grounding our work in the everyday life of erotic racism, we utilize Weiss’s notion of performative efficacy and Nash's racial iconography in order to conduct a deep reading of a well-known gay BDSM pornographic film. The analysis demonstrates how porn actors may find racial pleasure in their work by appropriating gendered racial stereotypes to counter standard racist narratives.
Peer Reviewed Book Chapters by Jesus G Smith
Male Femininities, 2023
While much has been written regarding queer men and gender, scholarly analysis has often been foc... more While much has been written regarding queer men and gender, scholarly analysis has often been focused on White men and masculinity; men who are seen as more masculine than White men, such as Black men; or men seen as less masculine than White men, such as Asian men. Less explored are the experiences of Latinx men, particularly queer Latinx men, and discussed even less are the ways members of this group understand femininity, or the embodiment of male femininities. According to scholar Mimi Schippers, male femininities are the “characteristics and practices that are culturally ascribed to women, do the cultural work of situating the feminine in a complementary, hierarchical relationship with the masculine, and are embodied by men.” By focusing on Latinx queer men and their relationship to preconceived notions of masculinity and femininity, gender performances, and their insights on possible structures beyond the gender binary, we argue that their gender roles and performances are strongly influenced by context in specific ways.
Gender, Sexuality and Race in the Digital Age, 2020
In 2016, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced, in a first of a kind stud... more In 2016, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced, in a first of a kind study that estimated lifetime HIV risk based on race, that “half of gay and bisexual Black men and a quarter of gay and bisexual Hispanic men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetimes.” Left out of the possible reasons for infection were how certain social locations may increase the chance of HIV risk. One such location is where men who have sex with men (MSMs) and gay men often meet each other, which is online. Also, left out of this discussion is how marginalization in the online gay community based on body type, gender performance and race can limit the ability for certain MSMs to negotiate sexual health behaviors. In fact, it is often publicly expressed via the profiles of users on dating sites, through the popular moniker, “No Fats, Femmes, or Blacks/Asians.” These marginalized men are then forced to either be willing to engage in more risky behavior to increase their pool of potential partners, or be shunned and limited in finding a sexual and romantic mate. The goal of this chapter is to add to the discussion on HIV/AIDS risk by examining the role of different marginalizations on condom use online. Based on past research, we argue that the online environment that fosters marginalization among gay men based on body type, gender performance, and race, contributes to the increase of HIV/AIDs. To support this argument, we explore the website adam4adam.com (A4A), a popular gay men’s dating site and mobile app. We then collect data from user profiles and run a binomial regression with the variables for race, sexual positioning and body type onto condom use. We conclude by presenting the results and discussing the findings below.
Home and Community for Queer Men of Color: The Intersection of Race and Sexuality, 2019
Previous gender scholarship has suggested that Black males are vulnerable in society based on the... more Previous gender scholarship has suggested that Black males are vulnerable in society based on their race but privileged based on their maleness. This take arguably is a-historical in its vantage point of Black maleness. I instead argue that Black males are vulnerable for their race and gender combined, as it is seen as a threat to the white male patriarchal society. To support my assertion, I analyze the case of Michael "Tiger Mandingo" Johnson, the black college wrestler who was sentenced to life in prison for infecting his sexual partners with HIV. Drawing on the Man-Not Thesis and a Queer of Color Critique as my theoretical grounding, and utilizing the concept of Phallicism, I reveal how the injustices visited upon Michael Johnson's black body demonstrate Black Male Vulnerability for all Black males.
The Psychic Life of Racism in Gay Men’s Communities, 2017
Arguments regarding sexual racism in the gay community have been frequent, with many scholars exa... more Arguments regarding sexual racism in the gay community have been frequent, with many scholars examining the role of individual preference in sex partners and others examining the role of the internet and other social contexts on partner selection. In this book chapter, I use the White Racial Frame to investigate the emotional and cognitive reactions in white people, gay and straight, when they are accused of being sexually racist. Findings suggest Whites must be able to define racism in their own terms so that they can control the arguments around it, that they reject political correctness in discussions around sexual racism, that they will use false equivalent arguments between sexual orientation and sexual preference, and make claims of biological essentialism. People of color counter frame these claims by suggesting sexual racism is racist.
Handbook of the Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations, 2018
Within different sexual fields, different characteristics are given more erotic “worth.” Individu... more Within different sexual fields, different characteristics are given more erotic “worth.” Individual actors within a given sexual field attempt to maximize their erotic capital by highlighting those characteristics that are considered desirable within the sexual field in which they compete for sexual partners. Largely ignored in studies about sexual fields are examinations into the ways that sexual desires are racialized. So, while these theories and concepts have brought us far in our understanding of the ways that race and sexuality are intimately linked and how social structures influence sexual desires, there is still a lack of perspective when it comes to the ways that race and racism influences sexual desire for, and among, gay men of color. We argue that while different sexual fields produce different erotica specific to that field, sexual racism is nonetheless persistent across all sexual fields, resulting in Black men still accruing less erotic capital, even when they possess all of the qualities that should make them desirable within a given sexual field.
Sex in the Digital Age, 2017
Claims of racial progress and racial unity have been plentiful thanks in part to changing technol... more Claims of racial progress and racial unity have been plentiful thanks in part to changing technologies and political victories in the U.S. Despite these declarations of racial progress and the belief that the internet would exacerbate positive racial relationships, racial identities and racial boundaries have been reconstructed and maintained online in different ways. Whites have maintained racism by engaging racial performances online in front of multiracial audiences publicly that appear non-racial or “colorblind,” in order to not be seen as racist. To further complicate the matter, race and racism may have more intricate relationships in particular communities and spaces. For example, in the case of online dating and hookup sites, are racial preferences and racism conflated or distinct? That is, are racial preferences in partners for love or sex, racist? Is the online environment considered a multiracial space or does the anonymity afforded to individuals online mean the internet is a private space where people can be more honest? In this chapter, I attempt to explore and answer these questions by investigating an online hookup and dating site called adam4adam.com. Here, I ask several men who use the site their thoughts and beliefs regarding race, sexuality, partners and behaviors in order to assess how race and racism materialize online and if this, in fact, is maintained by two-faced racism. The goal is to understand whether racial preferences in lovers and racism are viewed similarly.
Illuminating How Identities, Stereotypes and Inequalities Matter through Gender Studies, Apr 2, 2014
Understanding the social construction of gender and gender performance within online communities ... more Understanding the social construction of gender and gender performance within online communities is imperative for social science researchers as the coming decades become increasingly more technological and the cyber age more expansive. The aim of this study is to analyze how race/ethnicity influences gender performance among men who have sex with men (MSM) on and offline. One of the unique aspects of this study is the examination of race, gender, and sexuality online and how it affects the lives of gay men of color, a group studied comparatively less then gay white men.
The data is based on content analysis on internet websites and 16 in-depth interviews with men who have sex with men representing various racial/ethnic groups (African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Mixed-race, and White-Americans). Results from the in-depth interviews revealed the prevalence of sexual racism online and the ways in which it affected how the participants identified online in terms of gender performance and racial and sexual stereotypes. Specifically, many of the participants found ways in which to navigate the sexual marketplace of desire online via the creation of their profiles and allowing the profiles to either play on sexual racialized performance pertinent to their race or manipulate their profiles so that they increased potential mates.
Book Reviews by Jesus G Smith
Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 2020
The Black Scholar, 2019
The book’s central thesis, that Black men are constructed as incapable of humanity and worthy of ... more The book’s central thesis, that Black men are constructed as incapable of humanity and worthy of rape and murder at the hands of white men and women, resonates not only in Curry’s personal life but also in the larger Black community. Curry’s book is not only a necessary read for those interested in the study of racism, gender, and sexuality; it is also a call to build a field of study dedicated to Black men, their lives and vulnerabilities in a way that restores their humanity.
Encyclopedia Entry by Jesus G Smith
Latinos in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Latinos as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders, 2019
Public Sociology by Jesus G Smith
Latinx talk, 2020
Now, I am a 34-year-old adult living in Appleton, Wisconsin, a majority White town in middle Amer... more Now, I am a 34-year-old adult living in Appleton, Wisconsin, a majority White town in middle America. Focusing on my sexuality at the expense of my race is a luxury I can no longer afford. The police killings of cis and trans Black men such as George Floyd and Tony McDade, as well as the murder of Latina US soldier Vanessa Guillen and Black woman Breonna Taylor, have weighed heavily on my mind. When Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, was shot several times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin (two hours south of where I live), the racism directed towards Black and Latinx people was inching closer and closer to my doorstep. I knew the time was now that I needed to fight for change, but how would my identities and experiences as a gay, mixed Black and Mexican man from El Paso, TX impact my organizing on the ground in Appleton, Wisconsin? My experiences in EPT shaped me into becoming the man that I am today, they gave me the compassion and understanding as well as the knowledge necessary to collaborate on a Pride Black Lives Matter protest in a way that was inclusive to all of us being harmed by systems of oppression while still focusing on the plight of Black lives in the U.S.
As Oyèwùmí states, the “difficulty of applying feminist concepts to express and analyze African r... more As Oyèwùmí states, the “difficulty of applying feminist concepts to express and analyze African realities is the central challenge of African gender studies.” Similarly, the “fact that western gender categories are presented as inherent in nature” and “operate on a dichotomous, binarily opposed male/female, man/woman duality in which the male is assumed to be superior and therefore the defining category, is particularly alien to many African cultures.” I learned I need to move beyond solely US-based feminist concepts in order to teach my students of color the complexities of gender, that feminist theorists who expand the geographical boundaries of our inquiries could help challenge narrow notion of gender hierarchies that lead to unfruitful debates and Oppression Olympics.
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Books by Jesus G Smith
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles by Jesus G Smith
Peer Reviewed Book Chapters by Jesus G Smith
The data is based on content analysis on internet websites and 16 in-depth interviews with men who have sex with men representing various racial/ethnic groups (African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Mixed-race, and White-Americans). Results from the in-depth interviews revealed the prevalence of sexual racism online and the ways in which it affected how the participants identified online in terms of gender performance and racial and sexual stereotypes. Specifically, many of the participants found ways in which to navigate the sexual marketplace of desire online via the creation of their profiles and allowing the profiles to either play on sexual racialized performance pertinent to their race or manipulate their profiles so that they increased potential mates.
Book Reviews by Jesus G Smith
Encyclopedia Entry by Jesus G Smith
Public Sociology by Jesus G Smith
The data is based on content analysis on internet websites and 16 in-depth interviews with men who have sex with men representing various racial/ethnic groups (African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Mixed-race, and White-Americans). Results from the in-depth interviews revealed the prevalence of sexual racism online and the ways in which it affected how the participants identified online in terms of gender performance and racial and sexual stereotypes. Specifically, many of the participants found ways in which to navigate the sexual marketplace of desire online via the creation of their profiles and allowing the profiles to either play on sexual racialized performance pertinent to their race or manipulate their profiles so that they increased potential mates.
compose 16% of the total U.S. population, making them the largest minority group in the
country; growing from 13.5% in 2000 and is projected to reach 25% of the total U.S. population
by 2050. It is now more important than ever to develop an area of expertise in Latinx studies as
they are reshaping the United States, the Americas, and beyond. Familiarity with the diverse
cultures and histories of Latinx and other underrepresented groups is important in virtually
every sector of society. An understanding of diversity in the United States and fluency with a
range of Latinx histories, cultures, and current issues will equip the student with a unique body
of knowledge and service ethic to make a difference for their own lives, for Latinx
communities and for society at large. This course will explore the history, migration and
racial/ethnic experiences of the different groups (Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, Cubans, Dominicans,
Central and South Americans) that compose the Latinx category.
Guests:
Ashley Fetters, staff writer, The Atlantic
Reuben J. Thomas, associate professor of Sociology, University of New Mexico
Jesus G. Smith, assistant professor of Ethnic Studies, Lawrence University