Episode Details

In this intriguing episode, Dr. Mark Broomfield, author of Black Queer Dance, Gay Men and the Politics of Passing for Almost Straight,  explores the complex intersections of race, queerness, masculinity, and identity. It's a deep dive into the realities queer men of color face in dance, performance spaces, academia, and everyday life, including the pressure to “pass,” racial surveillance, and the politics of being “almost straight.” Mark and Rick share deeply personal stories that reveal how culture shapes expression, safety, and authenticity. This conversation shines a critical light on representation, lived experience, and what it truly means to embody queer identity in a racialized world. Key take aways from this episode

1. Learn the cultural pressures Black queer men face around masculinity, performance, and the expectation to “pass” in different social environments.
2. Discover how identity is strategically navigated, sometimes for safety and sometimes for self-preservation, especially for queer men of color.
3. Learn why representation in dance and performance matters, and how history, stereotypes, and lived experience shape the queer Black artistic journey.

About Mark

Mark Broomfield, Associate Professor of English, Founder and Director of Performance as Social Change at SUNY Geneseo, holds a PhD in Critical Dance Studies from the University of California, Riverside, and an MFA from the University of Michigan, is a London-born award-winning scholar, artist, and performer of Jamaican heritage. His book Black Queer Dance: Gay Men and the Politics of Passing for Almost Straight, is a groundbreaking exploration of black masculinity and sexual passing in American contemporary dance that examines core themes about the freedom of movement, freedom of expression, and sexual freedom and what they reveal about how we all move through the world. Watch for Broomfield’s soon to be released Danced Out documentary.

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