It was jarring, to say the least, when I first glimpsed this ad on the side of a telephone kiosk in the West Village.

                “I love my boo.” It was sweet, catchy, straight forward. And, it was a mere accompaniment to the image that lay under the bold face type. Two men dressed in attire typical of a rough-neck, hip-hop-listening Brooklynite with a gangsta lean. To my chagrin, with their North Faces and fitted caps cocked to the side, they were leaning in to each other for a kiss.

                The I Love My Boo campaign, launched this March by non-profit organization Gay Men’s Health Crisis(GMHC), addresses young men of color by recognizing their relationships without shame. The campaign shows everyday images of young men embracing, kissing, and expressing their love for each other in public spaces.

By emphasizing trust, respect and commitment, it shows that with love and self-love come responsibility — the basis for safer sex and HIV prevention.

With the 100% flamboyant guys that roam Christopher Street on a daily and considering that the Village is home to one of wildest Pride parades in the country, I thought – if anywhere - this was an appropriate spot for a PSA of this nature – as unusual as it was.

But, when it popped up again on Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn – home to the largest population of Caribbean immigrants in the country, I was floored.

They can’t be serious, I thought. Do they know the kind of crazed anti-gay Nyabinghi Rastas and homophobe Jamaican rude boys that run these streets? Is this more political propaganda than an audience-specific ad?

But, apparently, the campaign is as strategic as any. Billboards and panels on phone kiosks have been posted in locations throughout Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, with a focus on neighborhoods and zip codes where HIV infections are disproportionately high among women and young men of color.

According to recent data from the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, while total numbers of new HIV diagnoses in NYC decreased by 5% between 2005 and 2006, during the same time period, new HIV diagnoses increased by 6% in two key groups:

• Males aged 13-29, especially black or Hispanic men who have sex with men (MSM). Young males also showed a 33% increase in HIV infections since 2001.
• Females ages 13-29, 90% of whom were black or Hispanic

"We hope these campaigns bring messages of HIV education through empowerment to the communities where individuals at highest risk live and socialize," said Marjorie J. Hill, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of GMHC. "We want to continue the dialogue at a community level, and involve families, friends, neighbors, community leaders and elected officials in creating support and fostering HIV prevention."

If locations such as the one in Brooklyn are prime spots for an ad promoting the safe sexual behaviors of male couples who don’t fit the normal Louis Vuitton-toting, skinny jeans-donning flamer description, then this proves the rise of a new descriptor in this community – the homo-thug.

A homo thug is defined as a Black or Latino homosexual who dresses hip hop and does not act "gay." He maintains relationships with women, and may keep his gay sex on the down low or clandestine.

Blogger and critic Darian Aaron commented on the campaign, “I'm not sure where you've been the last few years, but hip-hop culture invaded the gay community a long time ago. Straight brothers are not the only ones wearing fitted caps and baggy pants.”

The I Love My Boo ad targets the hip-hop "homo-thug" audience because they are harder to convince of the ills surrounding unsafe sexual practices and they engage in the riskiest behavior. Some sentiments are that Black gay men – specifically the homo-thug group – are not as inclined to be monogamous.

So, while this group is on the rise, who would have thought that that lifestyle had invaded a neighborhood that is home to foreign nationals who can’t stand the sight of anything “two hard back man hugging up”?

“They’re trying to desensitize our community,” said Ebony Reid, a 26-year-old Brooklyn native of Jamaican descent. “For the young boys in Brooklyn who are hip hop and may have entertained a thought or two are now saying, ‘well, it might be okay to swing that way, he looks like me in that poster’.”

While the GMHC is on a crusade to "fight homophobia and affirm the individual dignity of all gay men and lesbians," they have certainly forgotten that this campaign may offend members of the community on account of culture and religious conviction.

To make your voice heard about the campaign or for more information, please visit www.gmhc.org.