Written especially for
**THE NEGRO DIGEST**

Langston Hughes
Sept. 15, 1945

EIGHT TO TWO

by
Langston Hughes

In the popular mind all over the world, wherever I have travelled, French women and Negro men have the reputation of being very great lovers. They are famed as skilled and desirable companions of passion. Their boudoir acclaim from here to yonder is international.

In both the underworld and the upper world, this esteem for the French female on the one hand and the black man on the other holds true. In fact, in some countries the sex prowess of the Negro male has become a folk legend, magnified beyond the possibility of physical truth. And from Shanghai to Cape Town the amorous charms of Gallic women are, certainly among men, held to be of the highest. Folk beliefs, no doubt, have made these charms seem greater than they are.

Catering to this world folk belief from Helsingfors to Havana, Chicago to Canton, the underworld of prostitution often attempts to palm off as French, women who are no more French than an Eskimo is Italian. But for business reasons ladies of the evening often pretend to be French, and their tariff is correspondingly raised to cover the extra charms with which la

EIGHT TO TWO

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française is popularly endowed. For instance, in Mexico City, the "French" houses have the highest prices.

In his book, THE ROAD TO BUENOS AIRES, Albert Londres writes of the fame and desirability of the French *demi-mondaine* in South American cities, and of the pre-war traffic in women from Marseilles to the Latin American countries.

Londres also says that these women often make enough money from their bodies in a year or two in the Argentine to return to France for life and settle down in bourgeois comfort as small business women or bar owners. That is, he says, if they do not fall under the influence of the *creolos* whose dusky powers often induce these fair female *artistes* in love to give up their all, including the hard-earned cash they had meant to take back to Europe. Once they fall for such créole lovers, it seems they are usually lost, and forget all about going home.

J. A. Rogers, in his volumes on SEX AND RACE, has much to say about interracial love around the world in all countries and all ages. Many distinguished and serious writers on sex such as Havelock Ellis, comment on the extraordinary powers of the Negro male and his sustained capacity for physical dalliance. It would seem that American Army statistics would bear this out, if what I was told at army prophylaxis centers is true.

During my tours of army camps and USO clubs in these World War II years, I was frequently shown throughout camp installations from motor pools to hospital operating rooms and VD control centers. At more than one camp I was told by attendants or physicians that prophylactic station records indicated greater sex activity per man among Negro soldiers than

EIGHT TO TWO

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among whites, according to those who registered for prophy-
laxis to prevent the development of disease following sexual
contacts. Indeed, one source reported the over-all figures
racially as being eight to two per month per man---eight rounds
of love for the Negro male out of camp on pass or furlough, as
compared to two rounds of love for the white male a month.

This, of course, applied only to those reporting to military pro-
stations after contacts presumed to have been largely illicit
or commercial.

Eight to two---reduced to four to one---puts the Negro GI well in the lead as a more frequent physical love maker. This is on local soil. Unofficial word of mouth reports coming back now from overseas with each returning Negro unit, indicates that the world folk belief of Negro prowess in amours has been ably upheld by dark GI's from Burma to Rome, Melbourne to Marseilles. In years to come, the facts will be gradually be embedded into legend, re-enforced, no doubt, by that summer of 1945 newspaper story of the weeping and wailing English girls at Bristol standing all night in the rain to bid farewell to their beloved chocolate soldiers about to sail for home.

That British farewell will probably become one of the famous
stories of World War II that will go down through the ages, in-
cidentally helping to immortalize the song, DON'T FENCE ME IN.
Because that is the song the lassies sang to their Negro sweet-
hearts behind the barbed wire of the embarkation camp. And the
dark soldiers finally no longer able to stand being fenced in,
tore the barbed wire down and rushed across the line to clasp
the English lassies in their arms as rain and tears mingled

EIGHT TO TWO

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with their kisses.

That old saying that "being born black is to be born
behind the eight-ball" hardly applies to love.
Not when you have a eight to two!

E N D

Written especially for
THE NEGRO DIGEST

Revised August 1,
1961

Langston
Hughes

EIGHT TO TWO

by
Langston Hughes

In the popular mind all over the world, wherever black men have travelled, French women and Negro men have the reputation of being very great lovers. They are known to us, skilled and desirable companions of passion. Their boudoir acclaim from here to yonder, is international.

In both the underworld and the upper world, the esteem for the French female on the one hand and the black man on the other holds true. In fact, in some countries (the sex prowess of the Negro male has become a folk legend, magnified beyond the possibility of physical truth. And from Shanghai to Cape Town the amorous charms of Gallic women are, certainly among men, held to be of the highest. Folk beliefs, no doubt, have made these charms seem greater than they are.

Catering to this world folk belief from Hamburg to Havana, Chicago to Conakry, the underworld of prostitution often attempts to palm off as French, women who are no more French than an Eskimo is Italian. But for business reasons ladies of the evening often pretend to be French, and their tariff is correspondingly raised to cover the extra charms with which la

EIGHT TO TWO

- 2 -

(2)

In fact, in THE ROAD TO BUENOS AIRES, Albert Londres writes of the French desirability of the French demi-mondaine in South American cities, and of the heavy traffic in women from Marseilles to the Latin American countries. Londres also says that these women often make enough money from their bodies in a year or two in the Argentine to return to France for life and settle down in bourgeois comfort as small business women or bar owners. That is, however, if they do not fall under the influence of the creoles whose dusky powers often induce these fair female artistes of love to give up their all, including the hard-earned cash they had meant to take back to Europe. Once they fall for such creole lovers, it seems they are usually lost, and forget all about going home.

J. A. Rogers, in his volumes on SEX AND RACE, has much to say about interracial love around the world in all countries and all ages. Many distinguished and serious writers on sex, including Havelock Ellis, comment on the extraordinary powers of the Negro male and his sustained capacity for physical dalliance. It would seem that American Army statistics would bear this out, if what I have been told at army prophylaxis centers is true.

During my tours of army camps and USO clubs, in the World War II years I was frequently shown throughout camp installations from motor pools to hospital operating rooms and VD control centers. At more than one camp I was told by attendants or physicians that prophylaxis station records indicated greater sex activity per man among Negro soldiers than

["4 carbons", "Written especially\nfor THE NEGRO DIGEST", "EIGHT TO TWO\nby\nLangston Hughes", "Wherever I have been all over the world, French women and Negro men have been in the popular mind the reputation of being very great lovers. They are famed as skilled and desirable companions of passion. Their boudoir is international.", "In both the under world and the upper world, this esteem for the French female on the one hand and the black man on the other holds true.", "In fact, in some countries the sex\nother holds true...\nprowess of the Negro male has become a folk legend, magnified\nbeyond the possibility of physical truth. And from Shanghai to\nCape Town the amorous charms of Gallic women are, certainly\namong men, held to be of the highest. Folk beliefs, no doubt,\nhave made them seem greater than they are.", "MXMXM THE underworld of SEX, PROSTITUTION, ALTERATION, COERTION, THIEVERY, MURDER, AND ALL THOSE THINGS THAT MARRY CAN DO. X IS FOR THE UNDERWORLD. X IS FOR ALL OF US. X IS FOR THE PROSTITUTE THAT SITS IN HER CHAIR, GRABBING THE HAND OF THE NEW COMER. X IS FOR THE NEW COMER THAT BECOMES A PROSTITUTE. X IS FOR THE ONE THAT TAKES THE MOUTH OF THE PROSTITUTE AND KILLS IT. X IS FOR THE TWO THAT LOVE HER, BUT DONT LOVE ENOUGH TO STAY WITH HER. X IS FOR THE ONE THAT GOES AWAY IN FEAR. X IS FOR THE TWO THAT STAY WITH HER. X IS FOR THE TWO THAT DONT STAY. X IS FOR THE NEW COMER THAT BECOMES A PROSTITUTE. X IS FOR THE NEW COMER THAT BECOMES A

2.

in South American cities, and of the prewar traffic in women from Marseilles to the Latin American countries. Londres also says that these women often make enough money in a year or two in the Argentine to return to France for life and settle in bourgeois comfort as small business or bar owners. That is, he says, if they do not fall under the influence of the colored men there whose dusky charms often induce these famous female artistes in love to give up their all, to said colored men, including their hard earned cash that they had meant to take back to Europe. Once they fall for such swarthy lovers, it seems that they are usually lost, and forget all about going back home.

J. A. Rogers, in his volume on SEX AND RACE, has much to say about interracial love around the world in all countries and all times. Many distinguished writers and serious writers such as Havelock Ellis, on sex comment on the supposed powers of the Negro male and his sustained capacity for physical dalliance. It would seem that American Army statistics would bear this out, if what I was told at one army prophylaxis center is true.

During my tours of army camps and USO clubs in the States
World War II years, I was frequently shown throughout the
camp installations from the motor pools to the hospital
operating rooms and VD control centers. At more than one
camp I was told by attendants or physicians that prophylaxis
station records indicated greater sex activity per man
among Negro soldiers than among whites, according to those
who registered for prophylaxis following sexual contacts.
Indeed one source reported the figures as being eight to two
per month per man---eight rounds of love for the Negro male