Pigmented Taboo

Dark Rooms, Black Bodies

What really happens behind the doors of a Black gay sex event? In this episode, we enter the dark room with the anonymous owner of DL Plug, London’s longest-standing and only Black-owned gay sex event. We discuss why he created the space, the realities of running it while remaining on the DL, and what its success reveals about sex, masculinity, identity and discretion within the Black gay community. We also explore who attends these events, why some men are comfortable having sex with men but reject gay or bisexual labels, and whether Black-centred sex spaces offer freedom, or reinforce existing divisions. Nothing is off limits.

• Transcript

Gay Self-Esteem

In this episode, we explore how identity, body image, dating culture, social media, rejection, and community expectations shape confidence and self-worth. We discuss where these insecurities begin, why external validation so often becomes addictive, and what it actually takes to build lasting self-esteem. Joining us are two guests with very different perspectives. ROM-1 is a pop artist and former RuPaul's Drag Race performer, who shares his personal experiences navigating confidence, visibility, and authenticity. We also celebrate his latest single, Haymaker! Also joining us is Andrew Akuruka, author of The Gay Blueprint, who offers practical insight into developing healthier relationships with yourself, building confidence beyond appearance, and creating a more intentional life. Whether you've struggled with comparison, confidence, dating, or simply feeling "good enough," this conversation offers honest perspectives on one of the most important and often overlooked topics affecting the LGBTQ+ community. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

Black Women, Let’s Talk Homophobia

Black women have been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ advocacy, culture, and community building for decades. So why do many queer people still experience homophobia within their own communities? This week on Pigmented Taboo, we’re joined by Mide Oni for a candid conversation about the complex relationship between Black women and homophobia. From religion and cultural expectations to family dynamics, respectability politics, and generational trauma, we explore the factors that shape these conversations and their impact on Black LGBTQ+ people. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

Forbidden Swirl

Interracial dating always sounds simple until race, validation, fetishisation, and power enter the room. This episode unpacks the uncomfortable truth behind “preferences,” who gets chosen, who gets hidden, and why so many people confuse desire with proximity to whiteness. We talk dating politics, internalised bias, sexual currency, and the emotional mess of trying to separate genuine connection from social conditioning. Because sometimes your type says more about your wounds than your taste. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

Taboo in Our Own House

This month, Pigmented Taboo welcomes our first ever guest, Guh Deh Philipp, for a conversation many avoid but all recognise. In this episode, we confront homophobia in the Black community directly. We examine where it originates, how it manifests, and who it impacts most. From family expectations and masculinity to cultural conditioning and respectability politics, we dissect the tension between identity and belonging. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

Code Switching

In this episode, we talk about code switching in the way gay men actually live it. How we change how we speak, move, soften, harden, flirt, joke, or stay quiet depending on who’s in the room. How behaviour shifts around different races, genders, sexual dynamics, and social spaces without anyone consciously deciding to do it. We unpack where those switches come from, when they feel protective, when they feel exhausting, and what it costs to keep adjusting yourself to be understood, accepted, or left alone. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

Looking 4 Now

In this unfiltered episode, we unpack the realities of hookup culture. From the fun and freedom to the very real risks. We talk candidly about the importance of regular STI and STD testing, the stigma that still lingers around sexual health, and the ways shame can sabotage safety. Then we shift the lens to Africa, where a disturbing trend known as kito sees straight men posing as gay to entrap, blackmail, and assault queer men. It’s a raw conversation about pleasure, protection, and the peril that still shadows queer intimacy across the world. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

What's The Date

From first dates to long-term love, dating as a Black man comes with its own stages, rules, and battles. We dig into how other races approach dating, the double standards in desirability, and the stereotypes that shape how we’re seen. Beyond the surface, we get real about the politics of who gets chosen, who gets fetishised, and how Black men navigate connection in a world that keeps trying to box us in. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

Masc4Masc

We unpack how Black men are often boxed into rigid roles within queer spaces. From being fetishised by other ethnicities, to how femininity in Black men is policed within our own community. We challenge the weight of “masc4masc” culture and ask what it means for desire, freedom, and authenticity. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

In The Shadows

We get into the world of down‑low culture. The secrecy, the double lives, and the unspoken rules. From hookups in hidden corners to the toll it takes on mental health, we unpack why some men stay in the shadows and how it shapes Black queer spaces. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

Pray It Away

From Bible verses to backhanded blessings, this episode dives headfirst into the holy war between religion and queerness. We unpack growing up in churches and mosques that preached salvation but handed us shame, the haunting reality of conversion therapy, and how colonialism exported homophobia dressed as holiness. Can you really pray the gay away, or was it never a sin to begin with? Tune in to find out. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms

Dear Diana

In our debut episode, we get personal. From kitchen-table confessions to silence that said it all, we unpack the mess, magic, and madness of coming out as Black queer men. We talk family, faith, fear, and the million-dollar question: is being gay really a choice? Welcome to Pigmented Taboo. We speak your thoughts @pigmentedtaboo across all platforms