
Dean, bestselling author of 'Hiding in Hip Hop,' doles out sage and sassy advice for women on some of life's most challenging issues, including when to leave a relationship, how to stay in the dating game and how to realize that you may not be that into him.
'Straight From Your Gay Best Friend' is a must read for any woman looking for a different perspective on love, life and spirituality.
Dean, who moved to Los Angeles from New York last spring, is happily dating and working on his juicy debut novel, 'Mogul,' about the life of one of New York City's most beloved hip hop producers that is due out in June. BlackVoices.com caught up with the former MTV staffer. Excerpts of the conversation are below.
BlackVoices.com: Why did you decide to write 'Straight from your Gay Best Friend'?
Terrance Dean: There were two reasons. First, while I was on tour with 'Hiding in Hip Hop,' women were lining up to ask how they could tell if their men were on the down low. Second, they also were lining up to seek relationship advice. They wanted to know how to maintain their relationships and why men do certain things. So I found myself giving women relationship advice. And then when I started my advice column, 'Straight from Your Gay Best Friend,' I had hundreds of e-mails from women. A lot of women want to get advice from a man who is nonthreatening opposed to a man who might have an ulterior motive. I give advice lovingly, but with a little sass and humor.
BV: What qualifies a gay male to give relationship advice to women?
TD: We are men. We know how men think. We act like men. We know the behaviors of men. And as I said before, we don't' have ulterior motives. We are not trying to sleep with you. If anything, we want you to continue your relationship and to be fabulous. When I counsel women, I'm reminded of my grandmother, my mother, my aunts and my sister. I see a woman's beauty and I want them to maintain it.
BV: Are you always on target with your advice?
TD: Yeah, because when I listen to the questions from women I hear the pain and sadness in their voices. They are missing the joy that was there when they started the relationship. I remember the games I used to play with women before I realized I was gay. It was easy to tell women how much I loved them and how they were the only one in my life. I would buy flowers and cards to manipulate them to let them to let their guards down. Men know how to manipulate so well. Some women may never have been treated this way before. It makes them feel loved. So many of them rush into relationships without getting to know the person. So three months later when he's not doing the same things he used to do to woo you and you don't' feel that flutter in your heart and stomach, you begin to feel manipulated.
I'm here to tell you he always was that way. It's just that you were not patient and did not see him for who he really was. I have a chapter in the book called "Patience," where I encourage women not think of every man they meet as being "the one'' because, honey, men are thinking, "oh, I'm just having fun. I like hanging out with her.''
And girls, you better listen to that man. He will tell you who he is in the first five minutes of the conversation. You can't listen to he's tall and fine opposed to what he is really saying. He's told you a thousand times he doesn't want to be in a relationship. If he says that, let him go. A man already has left the relationship before he tells you. They are just waiting for the right moment to tell you. And if he tries to come back, don't let him because nothing has changed. He is still that same old man. He told you who he was from the beginning, but you didn't listen.
BV: How can sisters make better choices when so many men are "out here wrong?''
TD: Get back to who you are. Do not let anyone steal your happiness, your peace, or growth. If they are not inspiring or encouraging you, then that person doesn't deserve to be in your life. If you think you are not worthy, you will keep meeting people who are not worthy of your time. So, go out and be a fabulous diva!
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
BV on Books' Hot List for This Season
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
In 'The Porn Star Guide to Great Sex' (St. Martin's Press, $24.99), porn star veteran Mr. Marcus pens a guide that will set the house on fire. Yes, the whole house, honey! He does not just recommend tricks in bedroom; the Guide comes complete with illustrations and gives tips on how men and women can be better lovers and mates.
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
In 'The Cheating Curve' (Dafina/Kensington, $15), Paula T. Renfroe spins a captivating yarn about marriage, infidelity and friendship. Can a friendship survive when a woman, whose husband's infidelity nearly tore her apart, learns that her best friend is cheating on her husband?
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
In 'Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris' (Kensington, $15), Terrance Dean, James Early Hardy and Stanley Bennett Clay join forces to write moving tributes to the celebrated best-selling novelist with hot tales of sex and the search for love by gay black men.
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
In 'Black is the New White' (Gallery, $15), Paul Mooney, the talented comic presents a sobering memoir about growing up in the Deep South and moving to Hollywood and New York City to write for some of television's most successful shows, including 'Chappelle's Show,' 'In Living Color,' 'Saturday Night Live,' 'Good Times,' and 'Sanford and Son.' But his formidable talent for making jokes about race propelled him to the forefront of the comedy scene as if he were a comedian himself.
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
In 'Butterfly Rising' (Create Space, $15), Tanya Wright, who portrays the recurring role of Deputy Kenya Jones on HBO's hit drama 'True Blood,' writes her debut novel, which tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two women, a grief-stricken young singer and the town's seductress. The two end up taking a road trip that transforms their lives forever in this heartwarming story.
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
In 'Luke Cage Marvel Noir' (Marvel Comics, $14.99), artist and illustrator Shawn Martinbrough brings dark comic book character Luke Cage to life with his colorful and striking drawings in this absorbing tale about a "bad, bad man.'' Even if you're not a big fan of comics, you will be hooked on this story. In the fourth of the series, Cage returns to Harlem after 10 years behind bars, hoping to find his old flame, but he gets drawn into a complex web of murder and darkness.
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
In 'Foxy: My Life in Three Acts' (Springboard Press/Hachette Book Group, $24.99), by Pam Grier with Andrea Cagan, the iconic actress, who immortalized roles such as Foxy Brown, Coffy and Friday Foster, reveals the darker side of what appeared to be a glamorous life in this heartrending memoir about love, survival and restoration.
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
In 'My Father's House' (St. Martin's Press, $24.99), posthumously released by E. Lynn Harris, the author weaves a powerful story of love, desire, deception, murder and absolution around the life of Bentley L. Dean III, who takes a gamble on losing his family inheritance when he reveals his homosexuality.
BV on Books: Hot List for This Season
In 'Till You Hear From Me' by Pearl Cleage (One World/Ballantine Books, $25), the award-winning author highlights her unique storytelling ability by capturing the heartbeat of America with the tale of Ida B. Wells Dunbar, a 35-year-old presidential campaign worker who wins a job at the White House. The story underscores the difficulties of parlaying hard work into fair game in the shifting world of politics. It also intersects with a post-Obama America and the civil rights movement.
Comments: (34)
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By: The Truth on 10/05/2010 8:50AM
Sounds like advice for those with inexperience and above all LOW self esteem.
Don't get sucked in ladies...
A gay man cannot give advice to straight women about heterosexual relationships just as he cannot give advice on how to walk down a runway.
His perspective comes from being on the down low playing games with a gender he had no love for in the first place.
He says he knows because he's a man and knows mens ways. No offense and more power to your gayness, but most heterosexual men I know do not have sleeping with other men in their repertoire.
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By: djkut on 10/05/2010 10:02AM
Great post The Truth !
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By: Helen Thomas on 10/05/2010 11:55AM
You told the Truth, Truth.
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By: shaniqua on 10/05/2010 1:04PM
You speaking the truth girl!
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By: Eclectic Thinker on 10/06/2010 12:13PM
Are you really sure that most of the heterosexual men you know are truly "heterosexual" men??? Would you truly bet your life on it???? When dealing with most black men in today's society, you must be cognizant of the fact that the VAST majority of gay black men either date women or marry women to conceal their true sexuality due to extreme homophobia in the black community fostered primarily by ignorance and the black church.
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By: DeePDX on 10/06/2010 5:16PM
Why does his opinion not count? Because he's gay? See, this is why when black men are gay, they don't tell anyone or anybody for the simple fact they are not counted as real people. So what do they do? They go ahead and that mask as a "straight" person so that they are included in a dialogue, amongst their own people.
I'm getting real tired of black folks not owning up to the their own narrow-mindedness, and their responsibility in maintaining this silence and secrets.
Maybe if you'd listen to him instead of judging him solely on his sexuality you can see the truth in the matter. And yes, a gay man who was on the DL will probably be a bit more truthful about what goes on in minds (both in the head and in the jeans) of black men.
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By: dee on 10/05/2010 9:14AM
I agree with the first posting,I have a lot of gay friends and based upon their sorry lives, I wouldn't take an ounce of advice from them. Gay men, no matter how much they wish they could be, can never ever be a women.
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By: Eclectic Thinker on 10/06/2010 12:24PM
Dee, how could you EVER confess to having lots of gay "friends" and then go on to castigate them by referring to them as having "sorry lives?" Just think about your comment for a few moments.
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By: rdw on 10/06/2010 1:01PM
@Dee
Now you sound sorry, uninformed, uneducated and ignorant with that statement just like the so-called "The Truth" above. NEWS FLASH: Most gay men do not, I repeat DO NOT WANT TO BE WOMEN!
The majority of gay men are very masculine and enjoy their "Manhood" so get a clue Dee and I seriously doubt you have a lot of gay friends (if at all), because you wouldn't had made an imbecile comment like that.
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By: ralph on 10/18/2010 2:09PM
All gay men don't have sorry lives. Eventhough a gay man can never be a woman, some gay men are still prettier than some women!
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