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"Will the big boys finally love you": The Impossibility of Black Male Homoerotic Desire and the Taboo of Black Homosexual Solidarity in Thomas Glave's "Whose Song?"

Problematizes the role of male compulsive heteronormative behavior in Thomas Glave's short story. The short story focuses on the portrayal of a crime, the gang rape of a young black lesbian, Cassandra, committed by three young black men, Robbie, Bernard, and Dee. The article argues that while the three men appear to commit the atrocity instead of embracing their own varied homosexual identities, Cassandra's gang rape actually functions as their covert homoerotic bonding ritual. In a society that views black gay identities as one of the biggest taboos, the three criminals choose to veil their true identities by acting like and as stereotypical black rapists. Faced with contemporary identity politics, they find it easier to conform to the stereotype rather than challenge the taboo and live in solidarity with each other and Cassandra. The article underlines that Glave's sustained focus on the perspective of the perpetrators (rather than the victim) heightens his critique of the social effects of compulsive heterosexuality within and beyond the black community.