Outside the XY: Queer,
Black and Brown
Masculinity is an anthology of more than 50 stories, memories, poems,
ideas, essays and letters--all examining what it looks like, feels like,
and is like to inhabit masculinity outside of cis-gendered
manhood as people of color in the world. Read these passionate, complex
autobiographical glimpses into the many layers of identity as the authors offer
olive branches to old and new lovers.
The ground-breaking anthology was the
brainchild of the bkyln boihood collective who brought together the unique voices
of a movement to share often neglected experiences across queer and trans
masculinity.
Morgan Mann Willis, the lead editor on the
anthology, explained how the book came about. “Images have always been our
primary vehicle of storytelling for bklyn boihood. We produce an annual
calendar, manage visually-driven social media platforms and build archives of
visual art from our community. But the way we connected and grew was born out
of words and stories. This anthology is a web spun of words that explore love,
sadness, regret, sex, support, hard questions, ideas and dreams for black and
brown bois of color all over the world.”
bklyn boihood, now in it's sixth year, is a
collective that champions the healthy, engaging and transformative identities
of black and brown queer bois, transmen, AGs, studs, butches, doms, masculine
of center lesbians, third gender and gender non-conforming people. "We are
a collective and a family who works really hard to make room for the fullness
of who we each are and how we identify. Masculinity and the way we've had to
navigate it is a huge part of our lives. Most of us found each other
pre-tumblr, pre-twitter, pre-instagram. Pre-androgyny as fashion. We
connected with one another through words and stories. They weren't always
eloquent or pretty," says Morgan Mann Willis, the anthology's lead editor,
"but they were ours to tell."
The commitment to the collective's roots
ensures that the anthology does not read like a textbook; more like a
confessional. It reads like a bunch of bois got together and started sharing
the experiences of their lives. "This collection is the resource we wish
we had access to growing up. It just continues the tradition of building real
connections through vulnerability and honesty--and makes us accessible to one
another and we need that desperately. This book is a part of ensuring we are
never erased from the consciousness of this earth," says Ryann Holmes,
co-founder of bklyn boihood and an anthology contributor.
The goal of the anthology was to be uplifting,
to consider and explore the authors’ various masculine identities as non
cis-gendered males, or those traditionally born with the "XY" chromosome,
which the collective considers “a radical act of self-love and affirmation.”
Said the editors, “Outside the XY has
been a labor of love, honesty, writing and representation in ways that as a
collective, we never dreamed possible. We are excited to share this book with
the world and grateful that the contributors shared their world with us.”
About Bklyn
Boihood
bklyn boihood is
Brooklyn-based, national collective that organizes events, collaborations,
workshops, media projects dedicated to embracing the diaspora of masculinity in
queer and trans bois of color. Our mission is to support ourselves and our
communities as we collectively redefine queer masculinity through storytelling,
community-building and adventure crafting. Core members (2016): Chino Hardin,
Van Bailey, Morgan Mann Willis, Ryann Holmes and Zahyr Lauren .Learn more about
our work: www.bklynboihood.com
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