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Down-low or on the down low is a slang phrase. It is often used to refer to something that is secret or hidden.

Contents 1 Origin 1.1 Similar uses 2 Media interest 3 Perceived connection to HIV/AIDS 4 Existence in various cultures 5 Fictional and popular media references 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

"The Down Low" or "DL" or "on the DL" is an urban phrase used in the United States for "secret information," as in "Keep it on the down-low" (meaning "Do not make it known"). It can be used between two people, as in "let's keep this between the two of us." More commonly, however, it is used in a group context - as in to hide information from a public, authoritative, management, or establishment group by those that are considered "trustworthy," "on the inside," or "in the know."

"Downe" is a term similar to Down-low. Derived from the definition of "down low", and "Are you downe?," Its origin may be from California or Hawaii as a type of "surfer" or ski-bum type speak. "Are you down?" could be effectively translated to "are you trustworthy?" or "can you keep the secret?" or "are you in?"

The first known person to use "down-low" in a homosexual context (meaning "secretly having sex with members of the same gender") was George Hanna, who used the term in the 1930 song Boy in the Boat about lesbian women.

The first mainstream media account of the down-low as a homosexual or bisexual phenomenon was reported in the Los Angeles Times on February 7, 2001. By the end of the year, numerous major media outlets had reported on the down-low. They included The New York Times (11 February), USA Today (15 March), Columbus Dispatch (19 March), St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1 April), New York Times (3 April), Chicago Sun-Times (22 April), Atlanta Journal-Constitution (3 June), San Francisco Chronicle (4 June), Village Voice (6 June), VIBE magazine (July), Jet magazine (8 September), Essence magazine (October), San Diego Union-Tribune (2 December), and Los Angeles Times (December 7). Nearly all these stories connected the down-low to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African-American community.

In the summer of 2003, two black gay cultural critics published controversial op-ed pieces that questioned the relationship between HIV/AIDS and men "on the down low". Village Voice contributing writer Jason King published "Remixing the Closet: The Down Low Way of Knowledge" in the newspaper's summer 2003 (June 2003) "Queer Issue"; and San Francisco Chronicle contributing writer Frank Leon Roberts published "Stereotypes and Sexual Orientation: The 'down-low' -- Coming out your own way in black clubs"in the newspapers' July 23, 2003 issue. Both writers criticized negative mainstream media depictions of down-low men. They argued that the use of the term "down low" was a way for many African American men to admit to having sex with other men without necessarily identifying as "gay" in the traditional sense.

In August 2003, the New York Times Magazine ran a cover story called "Double Lives on the Down Low", written by Benoit Denizet-Lewis. On April 16, 2004 J.L. King, author of On the Down Low appeared on Oprah to discuss his life on the down-low, a month before the release of his tell-all book about the subject. The down-low was also part of story lines on episodes of the television shows Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and ER. Several episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show were also dedicated to the subject.

In 2003, Jeffrey Q. McCune, Jr. wrote a full-length play entitled, "Dancin the Down Low," He directed and produced this play at Northwestern University in April 2004. In addition, McCune has dedicated a whole dissertation on this topic. His study examines DL discourses closely, while also exploring how DL men "do" masculinity and sexuality.

The theory behind many of the media reports on the down-low was that men who were unable to confront their sexual identity were not responding to messages promoting safe sex. Because of the secretive nature of being on the down-low, it was thought that they didn't generally use condoms with their male partners or to protect their female partners.

Despite the numerous media accounts attempting to link the down-low to the occurrence of AIDS in the African-American community, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has never cited men on the down-low as a factor. No extensive research has ever been published about men on the down-low, in part because of the difficulty of identifying the targeted population. A 2003 CDC study of 5,589 men who have sex with men found that black men who have sex with men who disclose their sexual orientation were more likely to be safe in some of their sexual practices and more likely to be HIV negative than black men who have sex with men who do not disclose their sexual orientation. The existence and proliferation of "down low" behavior in Latino communities is also documented, but receives less media coverage, even though this behavior is as prevalent among urban Latinos as among urban black men.

The hype over the down-low has created an additional problem for HIV prevention efforts, because many women have focused on determining whether male suitors are bisexual or gay instead of simply using protection during every sexual encounter. The result is that men who may have been infected through heterosexual sex or drug use may have unprotected sex with women who feel reassured that the man is not on the DL.

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^{[citation needed]} Life on the "down low" may be most common in communities suffering from widespread poverty, in which members depend heavily on traditional family networks (and often religious institutions) for financial and emotional support^{[citation needed]}. This description applies to the American-American and Latino communities, in both of which homosexual behavior is strongly stigmatized.

Other researchers believe that these secret homosexual relations occur among all races^{[citation needed]} and point to the practice of cruising for sex, which is thought to be practiced by closeted homosexuals in general^{[citation needed]}.

Although the term has been widely used to apply to black men, some have challenged the notion that the down-low applies only or primarily to African Americans. In his book, Beyond The Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America, author Keith Boykin writes that the down-low has numerous meanings, is not specific to African Americans, is not specific to bisexual or homosexual behavior, and is not the cause of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in black America. Boykin argues that the down-low debate demonizes black men, stigmatizes black women, and encourages an unhealthy "battle of the sexes" that distracts the community's attention from the issues of HIV prevention, personal responsibility and condom use. In his book, Down for Life , author J. Perez advances that society has created an environment that does not encourage men who are living on the down low to come out of the closet. He points out that the military penalizes men who acknowledge they are gay. This encourages them to marry women in order to deflect and discourage inquiries into their sexual behaviour.

The term does not describe BGM(black gay men), who are comfortable with and open about their sexuality.

• Several novels by black gay writer E. Lynn Harris, among them Invisible Life (1991), Just As I Am (1995), and And This Too Shall Pass (1997)
• Invisible, 2006 independent film directed by Bill Duke
• Laketta Singleton made a guest appearance on the UPN sitcom Girlfriends, in which she portrayed a woman infected with HIV by a boyfriend who was on the down low.
• Law and Order: Special Victims Unit featured the phenomenon on the episode "Lowdown", episode 111 airing April 6, 2004.
• in The Rundown, The Rock tells a character that he will "..keep it on the low-low...".
• The rap song "On The DL" by The Pharcyde from the critically acclaimed debut album "Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde"
• In a rap song "Outta Control" by Mobb Deep and 50 Cent: "I go down low, I'm lyin I'm tryin my best to let you know"
• "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)", a popular rap song/video by R. Kelly released in 1996, also notable as the debut of Ronald Isley's "Mr. Biggs" alter ego. Note, however, that the song's lyrics and video deal with a secret heterosexual relationship.
• An independent feature film entitled On The Downlow is released in 2004. Directed by Tadeo Garcia and written by Roger B. Domian the film follows the lives of two Latino gang members hiding a special secret within a Chicago gang. Released on DVD through Image Entertainment on January 9, 2007.
• In mid 2007, on the NBC Soap Opera, Passions, Chad Harris is having a secret Rendezvous with Vincent Clarkson, another Black man he met while visiting a gay bar in the fictional town, Harmony, whose clientele is multi-ethnic.
• Channel 21, Alt Nation, on Sirius Satellite Radio has a music news segment called The DL. Madison, a Sirius DJ, hosts the DL, which is aired at regular intervals during the day on channel 21 and has a runtime of approximately two minutes. Alt Nation's official page on the Sirius website describes The DL as "... [keeping] you-up-to-date on the latest news, rumors and gossip in the world of [alternative rock] music and entertainment." ^[1]
• NOFX's 2006 album Wolves in Wolves' Clothing features a song titled "Getting High on the Down Low".

1. ^ http://www.sirius.com/altnation

• Boykin, Keith (2005). Beyond The Down Low. Avalon. ISBN 0-7867-1434-4. 
• King, J.L. (2004). On the Down Low. Broadway. ISBN 0-7679-1398-1. 
• Jones, Jonathan W. (2005). Get By: A Survival Guide for Black Gay Youth. Booksurge. ISBN 1-4196-2333-8. 
• Williams, Jeffrey Lee Jr. (2004). The Low-down on the Down Low.. The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide. , 11(6), 6.
• Hubbard, Thomas K. (2003). Homosexuality in Greece and Rome. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23430-8. 
• Roberts, Frank Leon (2003). The 'down-low' -- Coming out your own way in black clubs.. San Francisco Chronicle. , July 24, 2003.
• Williams, Craig A. (1999). Roman Homosexuality : Ideologies of Masculinity in Classical Antiquity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512505-3. 
• Perez, J (2007). Down for Life.. Vida Publishing. , January 03, 2007.

• The closet
• Transsexuality

• New York Times article abstract (Backup copy)
• San Francisco Chronicle article
• 10 Things You Should Know About the Down Low
• The Black Closet