A lot of folks are talking about Down Low brothers, black men who are secretly bisexual and supposedly cheat on their female partners with other men. They've been blamed for anything and everything wrong with the black community and black women's love lives since the early 2000s. All thanks to Oprah and a former Down Low dude who grew a conscience. They've given bisexual brothers everywhere a bad rap. As a black woman who loves bisexual black men, I'm here to address this rather egregious oversight. My name is Amina Fatimid and I'm a Muslim woman of Somali and French Canadian descent living in the City of Ottawa, Ontario.
A lot of people who meet me are surprised that I'm all about sex and kinky experimentation. And why shouldn't I be? I'm five-foot-nine, curvy but sexy, with a cute face, wide hips, thick and sexy legs and a nice round butt. My skin is light brown, my eyes are hazel and I have long, straight black hair that's all mine. I've got Somali DNA and ladies from my corner of the world are known for their gorgeous faces and fabulous natural hair. I'd like to think I inherited the best of both worlds from my Somali father and French Canadian mother. I'm smart, sexy, feisty and a hard-worker. I respect everyone but I don't take shit from anybody. Yup, I'm fearless. That's why I get so pissed when people assume the opposite about me because of my Islamic faith.
Apparently, Hijab-wearing Muslim sisters like me are supposed to be sexless, repressed and dull. Oh, and we're supposed to be submissive to boot. I wish they'd stop making assumptions without getting to know me. I was born on October 31, 1986, in the town of Edmonton, Alberta, to a white Canadian mother and Somali immigrant father. My parents, Ahmed Fatimid and Elisabeth Gagnon met while attending the University of Alberta. I'm the one of three brats. My twin brothers, Abdullah and Omar came into the world three years after me. As the oldest, I've gotten used to doling out orders and taking responsibility. I guess that's why I'm so bossy, eh?
After graduating from the University of Calgary with a bachelor's degree in business administration, I felt like leaving provincial Alberta for a while. I moved to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, and enrolled at Carleton University to study for my MBA. The venerable Sprott School of Business rocks, man. Anyhow, while in Ottawa, I got involved in GLBT activism because a lot of young men from the Muslim communities were catching AIDs left and right. Something had to be done about this. Knowing the Ummah, a lot of important issues were being neglected. I had to step in. There were far too many lives at stake.
That's why I started volunteering at the Community Center. I wanted to educate Muslims from the recent immigrant communities about gay and lesbian rights along with sexual health. It wasn't easy since sex is very taboo in the Muslim world, but since I was in it to save lives, I refused to allow myself to get deterred. I fell in love with a guy I met there. Arthur Saint-Vincent was six feet two inches tall, broad-shouldered and athletic, and he was oh so fine. Born in the City of Montreal, Quebec, to a French Canadian father and Haitian immigrant mother, the dude was simply one of the most beautiful men I'd ever seen. With his light brown skin, curly black hair and dreamy green eyes, Arthur looked mesmerizing.
Far from being just a pretty face, Arthur had a bachelor's degree in accounting from Carleton University and was working on his Master's degree. Unfortunately, Arthur was gay. He mentioned his boyfriend Ali the first time we met, and I remember smiling politely at him and nodding while inside, I seethed. I did not see that one coming. Arthur looked and acted like a normal, masculine guy. You couldn't tell he swung the way he did by looking at him. The dude was built like an NBA player. Why are so many good-looking, educated black men going frigging queer these days? As the volunteer coordinator at the Community Center, Arthur was my boss. Great, I'm working for a gorgeous guy who will never hit on me in a gazillion years. Yay me! Can you smell the sarcasm?
Arthur and I became friends, and one day, I met his boyfriend completely by accident. One fine Friday evening, I went to my favorite Masjid in Vanier, and one of the brothers accosted me after evening prayers as I exited the sisters entrance. He asked me for directions to the Saint Laurent Mall. Since I was headed there and it was starting to snow, I offered the brother a ride. He was tall, broad-shouldered and dark-skinned. I am Ali Zerezghi of Ethiopia, he said to me with a polite nod. I smiled and told him my name, offering my hand for him to shake. After a brief hesitation he shook it. Ali told me a bit about himself. He was a newcomer to Canada by way of Gondar City, Ethiopia. Oh, and he's studying computer science at the University of Ottawa. Good for you brother, I said with a smile. I was starting to like this guy already. He was tall, good-looking, educated and a fellow Muslim. Masha'Allah, not to sound thirsty but I wanted this one for myself.
As luck would have it, fate apparently had other plans. I parked in the mall parking lot and headed to the Fair Weather store since I needed a new jacket. Ali was heading downstairs to catch the bus to Ottawa U so we walked together. Imagine my surprise when we arrived near the escalator and ran into...none other than Arthur Saint-Vincent. The tall, light-skinned stud looked at us, smiling. I waved him hello and went to give him a hug. Arthur hugged me politely, then looked at Ali. Smiling, Ali looked at Arthur, and next thing I knew, they were kissing. Meet my boyfriend Arthur, Ali said proudly, looking at me. I smiled politely and sighed inwardly. Small frigging world!
