On August 12, 2004, New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey announced that he was resigning from his position due to a scandal regarding an extra-marital affair and a sexual harrassment scandal. Unlike most revelations of its kind, which typically require a public apology, a few tears, and skillful public relations work, Governor McGreevey’s confession required a resignation because his affair was with a man.

Nearly two years later, McGreevey is back in the public eye as he prepares to release his tell-all memoir “The Confession.” According to sources, he’s prepared to travel the country promoting the book in major media outlets, including CNN and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Despite all of the public conversation about McGreevey, little has been said about one glaring fact: He was on the Down Low.

Like the “Brokeback Mountain” buzz last year, much is being made of the idea that married men engage in secret same-sex relationships. Unlike when Black men are the topics of such conversation, however, there has been none of the pathologizing discourse that accompanies our public analysis. Keith Boykin recently acknowledged this double standard:

“When white men do it, we just call it what it is and move on. When black men do it, however, then we have to pathologize it, analyze it, and find out what’s wrong with the black man, the black family or the black community.”

Like Keith, I’m not interested in subjecting gay white men to the dehumanizing Down Low discourse. Instead, I’m hoping that we acknowledge the differences in representation and learn that it is possible to discusss Black men with equal care, compassion, and critical understanding.