As a black woman, I have experienced discrimination two-fold.

There have been many times when I was excluded from participating in a group because I wasn’t of the right ethnicity. I have also seen the invisible “boys only” signs hung up not on doors, but etched on the hearts of those who still believe it’s a man’s world.

My identities as being a woman and African American have greatly shaped many of my viewpoints and the way I perceive the world. This is not a bad thing.

I also know discrimination can come in multiple forms. As someone who is not of a major social group, I can see why some people might equate being black with being gay. Or even say gay is the “new” black.

From the outside looking into this viewpoint, here are some reasons why I strongly believe gay is not and never will be the new black.

An ethnicity cannot, and never will be a valid comparison to a sexual orientation.

I am black. I am heterosexual. My ethnicity and preference for men are two separate categories that do not relate to each other. For example, it doesn’t make sense for me to say, “being heterosexual is the new white,” just because a majority of a population is heterosexual; like the majority of the population is white.

I cannot change myself from being black to another ethnicity while, with homosexuality, sometimes people can choose to become heterosexual.

The argument also can be raised that with bisexuality, is that still the new black?

I have an understanding of both sides of this issue of gay being the new black and why this statement is logical to some people. What I do not understand is that when I hear arguments about why being gay is the new black there are claims that, “black people should know where we are coming from, especially with them always being discriminated against.”

I have empathy for anyone discriminated against, whether they are gay, straight, black, white or blue.

But because of reasons beyond my control, I cannot relate to sexuality as being the same as an ethnicity, or the new version of black.

Of course I do not speak for all black people when I say gay is not the new black. And I am pretty certain not all gay people feel that they are the new black. With this sensitive subject in mind, there may be wrong or right answers but, for now, just let the data speak for itself.

That is the most important thing.

E-mail the author: Sherri Keaton