Homophobia in Jamaica

By vanessa
Created May 6 2005 - 2:26pm

        

         Homophobia is very much present in Jamaican society but it was a well kept secret from the international world until recently. Over the past years, Jamaica which known for its white-sand beaches, people, music, and laid-back attitude, has had its reputation tainted because of its homophobic problem coming to light. Over the past few years, organizations such as Amnesty international, the international music industry as well as the International Organization of Human Rights have taken a stand against Jamaica’s homophobic problem. Homophobia in Jamaica has been the root of some of the crime and violence taking place. Anti-homosexual sentiments are present in its music, and also in religious and cultural beliefs, but there are changes that need to be made such as the amendment of the laws. In light of this, the homophobia problem is being addressed by the J-FLAG organization, as well as the international music industry.

Problem

       The Jamaican society has always been very homophobic. Cecil Gutzmore believes that the driving factor behind Jamaica’s homophobic problem is “the overt virulence of the homophobia at the expressive level within both secular and religious popular culture.” He goes on to say, “The overly virulent expressive homophobia arguably encourages the documented tendency towards and the practice of physical brutality and violence against homosexuals”(Gutzmore 124). If homophobia is openly expressed in a hateful manner in the popular culture, it is going to be a cultural norm for the society to have an expressive hatred towards homosexuals. This open hatred of homosexuals is seen clearly in the music as well as in the religious culture.

         Jamaican artists are being targeted internationally for their homophobic lyrics. Hamilton Kahn believes, "One component of Jamaica's contemporary culture, a musical style known as dancehall (similar to hip-hop and rap) has been blamed for fueling anti-homosexual sentiment, and even acts of violence" (Kahn). Many of Jamaica's musical artists such as Elephant Man and Buju Banton have been banned from performing in Europe and other countries because their music has been view as homophobic. In their songs, they even go as far as saying that "batty man need fi dead" encouraging violence towards homosexuals. Reggae Island: Jamaican Music in the Digital Age, a book written by Weber and Jahn states, “These musicians are speaking to the people more powerfully than we (the government of Jamaica) are, and we have to do something to reassert control”(Jahn and Weber 19). The musicians have more control over the nation than the government. The musicians feed off of the social and political frustrations of the people especially those of the lower class and encourage violence towards homosexuals, and the government has very little power to stop them.

         Jamaica promotes homophobia not only through its music but also through religion. Being a very religious country, Jamaica has various interpretations of the bible one being a homophobic interpretation. The common belief is that God made us to procreate. The book of Leviticus, chapter 18:22 states: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination.” Biblical references like this are what the religious fundamentalists in Jamaica use as evidence to back the belief that is homosexuality wrong, especially in the sight of the Lord. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is commonly referred to as evidence showing that homosexuality is an abomination. Gutzmore explains the thinking of the religious fundamentalist through this narrative saying, “These ancient locations were sites of this great perceived evil: ‘their sin [homosexuality] is very grievous’ (Genesis ). Jehovah accordingly decided to destroy these cities and inhabitants” (Gutzmore 127). Depending on how this passage is interpreted, it can be concluded that the city and its inhabitants were destroyed because of their wickedness or because they were homosexuals.              

         Another conclusion for the discrimination and violence against homosexuals in Jamaica is the AIDS epidemic. Kahn claims that “the prevailing anti-homosexual sentiment in Jamaica is based on the belief that homosexuality spreads disease and hampers propagation.” This belief came into being because at one point in time it was believed that homosexuals were the only people that had HIV and AIDS. To emphasize this point even more, in 1997 there was the murdering of seventeen alleged homosexuals in one of Jamaican prisons. Gutzmore talks about this incident saying,

The single worst massacre of alleged homosexuals took place within one of Jamaica’s prisons, a proposal by the then head of the Jamaica Correctional Service that, in the context of legitimate concern about the spread of HIV-AIDS amongst the prison population, condoms be freely issued to inmates and staff.      

 

As a result of this proposal, seventeen inmates died. The most shocking thing about this incident was that the staff and guards were standing by watching what was happening instead of protecting the inmates from harm (Gutzmore 123). This incident highlights the Jamaican mentality of you get what you deserve (because of your sexual orientation). Robert Carr and Anthony Hron support this because by them saying, “Because of the publicly promoted intolerance of homosexuality, many gay men face social, psychological and physical violence,” they are showing that is not accepted at all even in the legal court system. They then go on to say that the people of Jamaica take it unto themselves to solve the problem by doing acts of violence towards homosexuals because this is how they view maintaining the “public justice and moral order” (Carr & Hron 15).                     

         Due to the ever-growing violence towards homosexuals, especially after the killing of gay rights activist Brian Williamson, founder of J-FLAG (Jamaica Fordom for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays), the international organization of Human Rights issued a 79-page report condemning the persecution of homosexuals in Jamaica (Kahn). Amnesty International has also decided to tackle Jamaica’s problem of homophobia.  Amnesty believes that the music is at the root of the homophobic problem: “Musicians in Jamaica are actively promoting homophobia and share responsibility for violence against gay people”(Amnesty International UK). The music’s lyrical content such as “kill dem, battybwoys haffi dead, gun shots pon dem, who want to see them (homosexuals) dead put up him hand” says that it is an accepted norm that violence is used towards homosexuals.

         The laws of Jamaica promote the anti-homosexual sentiment. There are two laws which openly express an anti-homosexual sentiment and they are:  

 

Article 76 of the Jamaican Offences against the Person Act punishes the ‘abominable crime of buggery’ by up to ten years’ imprisonment with hard labor. Article 79 of the same act punishes any act of physical intimacy between men in public or private by a term of imprisonment of up to two years and the possibility of hard labor (Amnesty International UK).

 

With these laws in place, there is no way that homosexuals can gain protection from the police or government because by law homosexuality is wrong.

Solutions

         With laws in place that state that homosexuality is illegal in Jamaica, homosexuality will never be accepted. In order for homosexuality to be tolerated, these laws need to be amended. With the amendment of these laws, the community of homosexuals can go to the police and courts without discrimination and be able to attain justice. Not only will these laws show a growing tolerance towards homosexuals but also that change is taking place to protect and equalize the rights of all people in Jamaica regardless of sexual orientation.

         One thing that needs to be fixed is the communication gap between Jamaica and the rest of the world. Gutzmore believes that the problem is “the somewhat thin body of academic, intellectual and artistic work designed to break the silence about homosexuality in the Caribbean, to still the ‘noise’ of local anti-homosexual ideologies and intellectually and politically to deconstruct homosexual practice, appears to have all put failed to impact in any major positive way”(Gutzmore 120). This method has failed because all the international publications made to address the homophobic problem have been both unseen and unheard of in Jamaica itself. If there is acknowledgement from the international community that there is a communication gap, then this problem can be rectified allowing the works to reach Jamaica.

         There have been attempts made to ensure that homosexuality is more tolerated in Jamaica. Muir states in his article that the censorship of music is a change in process because it is a deal in which “reggae's dancehall artistes and gay rights organizations prohibit violently homophobic lyrics.” Through censorship, the artists are not allowed to promote violence against anyone in their lyrics while performing on stage or in any of the music released in the airwaves. This code of censorship also shows that the international music industry is recognizing that homophobic lyrics have negative connotations and it is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately. 

         In the article “London pressures Dancehall stars,” Andrew Clunis quotes Tatchell, head of OutRage (UK’s gay rights group) saying, “We'd be glad to meet them (promoters and producers) anytime. We want to drive homophobia out of dancehall music and to make life safe for lesbian and gay people. It's wrong that anyone should incite violence against another human being”(Clunis). They are for censorship because it will promote tolerance toward homosexuals and maybe will result in them living in a calm and peaceful environment.

         The organization of J-FLAG has a mission “to work towards a society in which the human rights and equality of gay men and women are guaranteed, to foster the acceptance and enrichment of their lives, since they are an integral part of society”(Carr & Hron 16). To this end, they believe it is necessary to educate the society, especially those in the grass-root level, in tolerance of homosexuals, to provide support for those homosexuals living in violent environments and also to change of the laws that promote homophobia in Jamaica. These are good goals to strive for but the organization cannot do it itself. It needs the backing of the government not only to ensure change will take place but also so ensure the safety of the organization and its ability to teach tolerance without living in fear.

         Jamaica does have a problem with homophobia that needs to be addressed. It is being addressed by international music organizations as well as by Amnesty International and the International Organization of Human Rights. They are making attempts help various solutions to the problems, but they can only do so much. For change to take place, it needs to be done internally. It needs to take place in Jamaica through change in the laws, protection of all not determined by sexual orientation. There needs to be programs put into place to educate the society of homosexuals because it is through the education of tolerance that the people will understand the situation more, have a broader perspective of life and understand that maybe some of the beliefs that they have grown up with are ethically and morally wrong.  

Work Cited Page

Gutzmore, Cecil. “Casting the First Stone! Policing of Homo/Sexuality in Jamaican Popular Culture.” Inventions 2004. Vol. 6(1) : 119-134

Kahn, Hamilton. "A Troubled Jamaica's Call for 'One Love' Rings Hollow.” Boston Globe 3 Apr. 2005.

Brian Jahn and Tom Weber. Reggae Island: Jamaican Music in the Digital Age. (New York, NY: Da Capo Press 1998) 19

Robert Carr and Anthony Hron. “Gender and Sexuality- Based Violence in Jamaica.” Sexual Health Exchange 2002/3. 15-16

Amnesty International. “Jamaica: Amnesty says urgent government action needed to protect gay people from homophobic violence. Amnesty International UK 1 June 2004. 26 April 2005.

 <http://www.amnesty.org.uk/deliver/document/15392.html>

Muir, Hugh. “Ceasefire Brokered in Reggae Lyrics War.” Jamaican Observer 6 Feb. 2005. 26 Apr. 2005.

<  http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20050206T000000-0500_74561_OBS_CEASEFIRE_BROKERED_IN_REGGAE_LYRICS_WAR_.asp>

 Clunis, Andrew. “London pressures dancehall stars.” Jamaica Gleaner 27 June 2005. 23 April 2005.

< http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20040627/lead/lead2.html>

                                                                                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source URL: http://www.timlindgren.com/courses/fws-spring2005/node/646