However, many critics like to deny his bisexuality saying that it was all rumor and speculation, the same way they would later do for individuals like Freddie Mercury. But what does it take for his bisexuality to be recognized? For him to rise from the dead and proclaim it to the world?
We don’t look for distinct proof of other sexualities as much as we do with multi-sexuality. Somehow the concept of liking more than one gender is too much for most people to grasp without the bundles of receipts to prove it and even then it’s still under fierce speculation.
Malcolm X is no different and without him being alive to defend himself it is easy to bury his sexuality in an ominous cloud of heteronormativity.
It’s easy to see why Malcolm’s sexuality could be erased. For one he would later marry his wife, Betty Shabazz and which for most would cement that he was straight. But add on the fact that bisexuality is often shoved into a false binary anyway, many would take his marriage as him “picking a side”. Lastly, much of the Black community is uncomfortable with recognizing that one of the most notable Civil Rights leaders was queer.
Homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, etc. all run rampant within the Black community and prevent us from coming to terms with the Black LGBT+ side of the community that fights for Black rights daily. Modern Civil Rights leaders or advocates can’t claim to be Pro-Black or for Black lives if they hate queer people or trans people because newsflash a lot of those people are black. Those intersections do exist and they affect people daily.
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