This is interesting. As someone who has frequently lived abroad through my academic and professional life, I do believe that black gay American men have a completely different experience traveling the world especially in places like Europe and Southeast Asia. I do think there are a lot of instances of fetishism but I also think that a lot of men do have genuine interests is one's blackness, and Americaness. For example, as a 23 year old, I spent a year living in Geneva, Switzerland where I was an intern at the United States Mission to the United Nations there. In many ways, I was a star there, there was never a shortage of European men (black, white, whatever) that was interested in me. On my days off, I would frequently travel to Switzerland's border countries too, Germany, France, and Italy and in each of those places there were plenty of male suitors. The American accent works wonders in many ways.
With respect to these guys, I think that commentary is poignant. The video that was posted is a bit weird because I think the commentary gets lost in his presentation of being "frank." I think the comments on not being sure how to respond to being gay in a foreign land is something that I work on each and every day. There are many places around the world that I would definitely use extreme caution. On the other hand, particularly in Europe that is not the case. I think there are drastic cultural differences between how European and Asian men interact with one another gay and straight than we get in the United States. I use to play the game, is he gay or just European all the time. I haven't lived in any Southeast Asian countries for any extended period of time to comment on gay culture with any real level of confidence but I think that what this guy and his partner are doing does have an effect of how Americans are perceived. I use to get upset when people I would meet couldn't fathom that I was black and American and a diplomat charged with protecting and promoting America's interests. I remember my first time crossing the border into Italy where I was awakened by 4 police officers with guns who thought that I was an illegal African refugee/immigrant. Thank god, I can speak Italian well enough to say, "don't shoot, I am American."
There is a big world out there and the more representation we get to exchange with other cultures the more we become humanized especially as black and LGBT. I am preparing to depart to France for the next two years, which is a culture that has a long history with America and Americans but I also think that me and my husband will probably be able to shape perspectives as soon as the meet us because we don't look or talk like the average American diplomatic family and that is something that is worth a whole lot.
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