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Black Sexual Politics (2004)
Patricia Hill Collins

"Even more rarely are relationships that fall outside the scope of acceptable societal norms validated in mass media space. For example, with the exception of the HBO series The Wire that debuted in 2002, representations of Black lesbians in committed coupled relationships remain rare. This show is unusual in that, unlike the characters of Ella Farmer and Lieutenant Van Buren who also work on behalf of law and order, the character of Shakima Greggs, an African-American / Korean-American female narcotics detective, is in an openly lesbian relationship. Culturally Black, Kima is shown on the job, often engaged in the everyday chitchat with her male colleagues about her 'woman.' She is also shown at home with all of the conflicts that were denuded from characters such as Claire Huxtable. Kima argues with her Black lesbian partner Cheryl, who fears for Kima's safety on dangerous narcotics details and wishes that she would place more emphasis on her law school studies. Kima and Cheryl are shown in sexual situations, a rarity in mass media. On The Wire, the committed love relationship of this Black lesbian couple is treated as no different than any other relationship in the series. This oridinary treatment thus provides a mass media depiction of middle-class Black women that remains highly unusual." (146)

"In addition to its depiction of a Black lesbian couple, the first season of HBO's original series The Wire introduced the character of Omar, a gay Black male gangsta who seeks revenge on the drug dealers who brutally murdered Brandon, his gay Black lover. Again, the treatment on The Wire breaks with stereotypes. Omar is dark-skinned, violent, and in no way appears to be the stereotypical 'sissy.' Moreover, the gay Black male relationship is between two working-class Black men, thus challenging the association of gay sexuality with Whiteness and / or with middle-class men." (176)