Homosexuality and Homophobia in Jamaica
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Carolina Digital Repository Oppression in Paradise: Homosexuality and Homophobia in Jamaica Ryan Greene A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication Chapel Hill 2010 Approved by: Adviser: Dr. Richard Cole Reader: Associate Professor Bill Cloud Reader: Associate Professor John Wood Sweet © 2010 Ryan Greene ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT RYAN GREENE: Oppression in Paradise: Homosexuality and Homophobia in Jamaica (Under the direction of Dr. Richard Cole) Widely seen as a laidback island paradise, Jamaica bears the distinction of being perhaps the most homophobic nation in the western hemisphere. In three articles, this master’s thesis examines various aspects of Jamaican attitudes toward homosexuality. The first article discusses Jamaican homophobia in broad terms and examines the work of the country’s lone gay-rights group. The second article is a snapshot of some Jamaicans’ responses about homosexuality. The third article explores the underground gay party scene in Jamaica through the context of one such party. The thesis aims to explore this topic of Jamaican homophobia from new angles and to illuminate some of the challenges gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people face on the island nation. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Richard Cole. His thoughtful advice and tireless dedication to the craft made me the writer I am today. I want to also thank my thesis committee members, Bill Cloud and John Sweet. Their feedback and suggestions helped make the project stronger. Thanks also to all my friends and colleagues in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Without their wonderful support and snarky e-mail chains, I would have run screaming from this thesis long ago. Thanks also to Roy Park, the Park family and the Triad Foundation. The amazing support of the Park Fellowship made my two weeks in Kingston possible. Thank you to all the people I interviewed and got to know during my time in Kingston, Jamaica, particularly James, Yvonne, Tiana, Wilton, Michael, Maria and Pierce. And finally, I owe immense thanks to Timothy. Whether translating the Burger King cashier’s patois or keeping me in one piece at the Valentine’s Day party, he did absolutely everything he could to make this thesis happen. Thank you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction……………………………………………………….…………… 1 Literature Review……………………………………………………………... 3 Methodology………………………………………………………………….... 17 Limitations……………………………………………………………… 19 Article Summaries…………………………………………………………….. 20 Chapter 1 – Wonders in a Wasteland...…………………………………........ 21 Sidebar – Q&A with Timothy………………………………………….. 32 Photos…………………………………………………………………... 34 Chapter 2 – Fear and Loathing in Jamaica..………………………………… 35 Chapter 3 – Party in Pink……………………………………...………........... 40 Sidebar – Electronic Hate at Gay Parties……………………………….. 56 Sidebar – Social Media and Gay Culture………………………………. 58 Reflection……………………………………………………………………..... 59 Works Cited…………………............................................................................ 62 Interviews……………………………………………………………………… 65 v Introduction Jamaica: a dream come true or a living nightmare? Paradise or perdition? Renowned for its white-sand beaches, posh resorts and laidback reggae sensibilities, Jamaica is typically depicted as a carefree tourist destination in the fun-loving Caribbean. But beyond the gated beachside getaways, the island nation harbors a darker truth. Racked with poverty and one of the world’s highest murder rates, Jamaica is also considered one of the most homophobic countries in the world. In Jamaica, being gay can be lethal. Gay men fall prey to mob violence. Lesbian women are raped. Popular musicians glorify the murder of homosexuals. Politicians and clergymen denounce the sin of homosexuality. The country’s lone gay-rights group cannot reveal the location of its headquarters for fear of attacks. On the other hand, many Jamaicans insist the situation is not dire. Antigay lyrics by local singers, some say, are rare and should not be taken literally. Gays and lesbians draw anger only if they flaunt their sexuality in public, they say, and most violence against gay people can be chalked up to crimes of passion between lovers. The only real problem, some say, is that foreign countries insist on imposing their moral values onto Jamaican society. Surveying available literature and taking advantage of first-hand research, this paper attempts to portray Jamaican homosexuality and homophobia fairly. Based on newspaper and magazine articles, scholarly research and reference books, and eyewitness reporting, this paper delves into a complex and, at times, troubling issue. It begins with a brief history of Jamaica and then delves into different facets of the society, including tourism, music, religion and activism. What emerges is a portrait of one of the most homophobic countries in the world. 2 Literature Review A Brief History of Jamaica As is true for most Caribbean islands, Jamaica is steeped in the turmoil and violence of colonization and slavery. That legacy has powerful repercussions on the country’s treatment of gay rights today. In 1494, on his second voyage to the West Indies, Christopher Columbus landed on Jamaica. Peopled by Arawak Indians, the island was named Xaymaca and was fabled to be rich in gold. The gold was a myth, and the Arawaks died out as the Spanish settled the island as a base for conquering the Americas. In 1655, the British captured the settlement, which by that point was of little significance to the Spanish. The slave trade that would define Jamaica’s future began shortly thereafter (Mordecai, 2001, pp. 6-7). The British soldiers who captured the island from the Spanish “were turned into settlers by land grants and the ever-present threat of starvation” (Mordecai, 2001, p. 8). But they could not work the land themselves, and labor could not be brought in from England in sufficient numbers. The land was rich, but the problem was labor. As Mordecai writes, the solution to the problems lay all around them: sugar and slavery, both already entrenched in the Caribbean by the 1660s (Mordecai, 2001, pp. 8-9). English slave traders dominated the Jamaican market and flooded the island with slaves, primarily from West Africa (Bayer, 1993, p. 11). Within 20 years of capturing Jamaica, English whites were a numerical minority. At the beginning of the 18th century, more than 40,000 slaves were on the island. By the middle of the century, 130,000. By 1800, twice that many. (Mordecai, 2001, p. 10). The British Empire abolished the slave trade in 1807, when about 350,000 slaves toiled on Jamaica. Roughly 35 percent of them were African-born (Mordecai, 2001, p. 13). Unrest was an almost constant threat to the vastly outnumbered white settlers. From the beginning, Jamaica had a strong tradition of slave rebellion, stronger than any other Caribbean island. The Spanish had set the stage for such a rebellious tradition by releasing most of their slaves when the British invaded (Mason, 2000, p. 18). Those freed slaves, bolstered by refugees who had escaped British masters over the decades, founded free inland communities and came to be known as Maroons. Those Maroons formed the backbone of resistance to slavery, waging guerrilla warfare against the British for centuries (Campbell, 2007, p. 20). The first major recorded slave uprising was in 1678. The first substantial rebellion came in 1690. As slaves escaped into the interior of the island, one escaped slave, Cudjoe, led the Maroons against the British. This First Maroon War spread across the island from 1690 until 1739, when the British persuaded Cudjoe to make peace (Bayer, 1993, p. 12). Relative peace reigned for 50 years, “but this did not stop the regular uprisings” (Campbell, 2007, p. 26). Amid countless smaller uprisings, a runaway slave named Tacky led a major rebellion in 1760, and a Second Maroon War erupted in 1795 (Bayer, 1993, p. 13). Jamaica’s legacy of slave revolt culminated in Sam Sharpe’s rebellion in 1831. A native Baptist lay preacher, Sharpe led 20,000 slaves against the British. Sharpe was executed in Montego Bay, northern Jamaica’s largest town, in 1832. But his rebellion 4 “forced the question of abolition in England, and the British Parliament legislated for the abolition of slavery in all British dominions on August 1, 1834” (Campbell, 2007, pp. 28- 30). Ending slavery did not end Jamaica’s tradition of violent resistance. While the island’s more than 300,000 black inhabitants were free legally, they could not vote or hold elective office (Bayer, 1993, p. 16). In 1840, Campbell (2007) writes, only about 23,000 former slaves owned parcels of land larger than two acres. The vast majority struggled as workers or small farmers, and they formed the embryo of the Jamaican working class (p. 33). Tensions came to a head with the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865 when Paul Bogle raised the call for self-determination. “Cleave to the black” was Bogle’s rallying cry. Though the rebellion lasted less than a month before Bogle was executed, “1865 has become a focal point in the class and racial struggles in Jamaica” ever since (pp. 35-38). Over the decades, Jamaicans began taking greater pride in their heritage. Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association, the rise of Rastafarianism, an Afro- centric religion, and a major uprising by poor Jamaicans in 1938 illustrate the growing “black consciousness” of the island’s people (Campbell, 2007, p. 81) The granting of universal adult suffrage in 1944 marked the beginning of the end of British rule. (Mordecai, 2001, p. 26) On August 6, 1962, Jamaica became an independent nation. Present Day According to the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook (2009), Jamaica today has a population of 2.9 million — about 90 percent of African descent — across its 5 4,400 square miles.