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No Solace in the Glass Closet: Lgbtq Activists Struggle for Human Rights in Jamaica

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No Solace in the Glass Closet: Lgbtq Activists Struggle for Human Rights in Jamaica NO SOLACE IN THE GLASS CLOSET: LGBTQ ACTIVISTS STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN JAMAICA By SARAH E. PAGE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2018 © 2018 Sarah E. Page To all those who have suffered oppression and still choose to repair the world ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The list of individuals and organizations who have assisted me in bringing this dissertation into existence is extensive. First, I must thank my dissertation supervisor Faye V. Harrison, with whom this journey has been long. The very first time I met her as an undergraduate, I was in awe of her presence, her fierce intellect, and her dedication to decolonizing anthropology. She remains an inspiration to me. Even as I doubted I could reach this milestone, she insisted I could. I would not be here were it not for her. I wish to thank Leanne Brown for her long commitment to this project, as well. Her course, Crime and Governance in Jamaica led to a summer internship in Montego Bay, and the first observations that would eventually become this research. Her unflagging support of me has always managed to bolster my spirits. I offer my sincere appreciation to Dr. Abdoulaye Kane for continuing to work with me. He has been present in my graduate education from my first semester of graduate school. Under Dr. Kane’s tutelage, I had the opportunity to learn about many more African diasporas, and to expand my understanding of Afrodescendants worldwide. I am grateful to Maria Stoilkova for her insights on the anthropology of the state as well as anchoring my dissertation committee as its co-chair. She has been a patient listener of fears and triumphs, and her compassion and good advice must not go unmentioned. I owe a deep debt to my research consultants and their organizations. One unfortunate legacy of the discipline of anthropology is that it has historically exploited the wisdom of its subjects. It is my fervent hope that I avoid the same fate. I cannot even hope to repay the time, kindness, bravery, or solidarity shown me during my field visits to Kingston. If nothing else, I hope these words honor the struggle of the lesbians, bisexuals, gays, trans— and queer folk who shared pieces of their lives with me. 4 This research was made possible by two grants at the University of Florida. Without these important sources of funding provided via The O. Ruth McQuown Scholarship and the University of Florida Graduate School Doctoral Research Travel Award, my fieldwork would never have taken place. I am extraordinarily grateful for these opportunities. Finally, I wish to thank my family and friends for keeping me afloat during this time. To my parents, Thomas and Elisa Page, I am always grateful for the innumerable modes of support: moral, financial, reading drafts, and always having the spare bedroom ready. I thank my brother Stuart Page for calm technical advice and unwavering encouragement. My thanks to Lucy Kinsley for offering her home as a place to write, and her company when I needed a break in her beautiful hometown of Newport, Rhode Island. I thank many other family members (who cannot all be named here, for brevity’s sake) for continuous good wishes and appeasing various deities on my behalf. It is with fondness and gratitude that I remember the camaraderie of Judy Anderson, Camee Maddox-Wingfield, Camille Feanny, Lesley-Gail Atkinson, Rashalee Mitchell, and Felicia Anonyuo (may she rest in power), for allowing me to sound ideas off and occasionally, to collaborate during our time together as graduate students. I am appreciative of the fact that no coffee blights occurred during the time of this writing, and that a steady supply was available in many forms to facilitate the late evenings and early mornings of writing needed to complete this project. From budget coffee to arguably-the-world’s-finest: Jamaica Blue Mountain, and homemade to 5 barista-made, this life-sustaining gift from the ancestors has played a central role in completing the dissertation. Coffee, I could not have done this without. I give my utmost thanks to my partner, Brian Kinsley, for keeping a roof over my head, a well-stocked bar (especially on tough days when I needed to decompress), and for his willingness to jump in and solve any problem I presented (even those that did not offer any immediate solutions). Ultimately, though, it was his sense of humor in equalizing perspectives during trying parts of this arduous process that made the biggest difference to completing this important milestone. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... 10 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 11 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... 12 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 1 STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE: IS PEACE WITH THE SEXUAL OTHER POSSIBLE IN JAMAICA? .......................................................................................................... 16 Jamaica Is Not All Sun, Sand, and Sea .................................................................. 16 Accessing Diffuse Communities ............................................................................. 18 Human Rights: Who’s Right, Whose Rights? .......................................................... 20 Worldviews Shaping Experiences ........................................................................... 22 Racial Hierarchies ................................................................................................... 22 Homophobic Scapegoating ..................................................................................... 23 Genealogical Tracking of a Movement in Jamaica ................................................. 24 Summary of Research Questions, Theoretical Framework/Analysis, Methods and Fieldwork Considerations ............................................................................. 25 Theoretical Frameworks ......................................................................................... 26 Methods .................................................................................................................. 30 Getting Situated: Entry Points ................................................................................. 31 “Community” and Sexual Geography ...................................................................... 35 Anonymity vs. Visibility: What’s Safer? ................................................................... 42 Hegemony and the Glass Closet ............................................................................ 43 Historically Negotiated Identities ............................................................................. 45 Affective Politics: Perpetual Grieving and Fictive Kin .............................................. 46 Structure of the Study ............................................................................................. 47 The Big Shift: Building Constituencies where Consensus is Not ............................ 49 2 METHODS AND THEORY TO UNPACK THE CULTURAL LOGIC OF PUBLIC AND STATE WORLDVIEWS .................................................................................. 52 Life in the Field ....................................................................................................... 52 Postcolonial Sexualities .......................................................................................... 52 Local, Indigenous Sexual Identities ........................................................................ 53 Transnational Sexual Identities ............................................................................... 55 Bridging the Sexuality Gap: Simultaneously Local and Global ............................... 56 Framing Sexual Difference in Context: Queer Theory ............................................ 60 Queering Human Rights Discourse ........................................................................ 64 7 Beyond the Law: Sexuality and the State ............................................................... 65 Sexual Habitus ........................................................................................................ 68 Methodological Framework ..................................................................................... 69 Approaching Lived Realities: Personal Lives .......................................................... 69 Extended Case Study Method ................................................................................ 73 Queering Reflexivity and the Interventional Approach ............................................ 75 Accessing Communities Hiding in Plain Sight: Methods ......................................... 77 Sampling ................................................................................................................. 77 Data Collection Methods ......................................................................................... 78 3 ORGANIZATIONAL HALF LIFE: THE FRAUGHT LANDSCAPE OF LGBTQ ORGANIZING ........................................................................................................
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