Black MAP Community
Evidence of the Black MAP Community is incredibly hard to locate online. This is despite the fact that (in line with the world population) around 1 in 7 MAPs globally is likely to be of Sub-Saharan African descent, and ample anthropological evidence of recent Sub-Saharan cultures permitting a variety of minor-adult relationships.
A number of reasons have been given for the relative invisibility of this demographic:
- The social stereotype of MAPs as being predominantly white and middle-aged, thus alienating black people.
- Longstanding social taboos on queerness among some black people, and the myth that MAPs are predominantly queer-identified.
- The media portrayal of black males as sexually predatory.
The first evidence of Black MAP Communities (as explicitly defined) can be traced to federated IRC (Matrix) in 2023.
Afro Mapness Matrix Server
One early initiative in 2023 was Afro Mapness - an invite only Matrix server made primarily for MAPs who are of black or mixed African heritage. The space's creation took inspiration from past organizations such as the Black Panthers, who have specifically influenced the server to create its own mutual aid network designed to financially support its members in times of need. The server runs a fund that is also open to supporting black kodacon artists inside and outside of the MAP community, as well as MAP Activist Projects & Organizations in general. Its creation was said to have been out of a need to feel safe from both racism and pedophobia in society and a way to make the MAP community feel more welcome and accessible to people of color who would like to join a friendly & supportive environment.[1]
References
- ↑ By way of communication with Newgon.net, a server member relayed on 25 Feb, 2024: "Since its official launch on October 25th 2023, the ideology of Afro Mapness include but are not limited to 1. Reparations for the descendants of the transatlantic slave trade and to the countries impacted by colonialism. 2. MAP Rights including the legal recognition & protection of Mapness as a sexual orientation. 3. Support for Black LGBTQ+ people and their rights on the African continent. 4. Positive & realistic portrayals of both their sexuality and race, and an end to negative stereotypes enforced on them by the media. 5. Supporting and protecting the rights of Black Kodacons both socially and financially against discrimination & stigma. 6. Pan-African Economic Empowerment for all people in the African diaspora"