Clay Cane: Jamaica's Violent Homophobia
[Clay Cane is a New York City-based journalist.]
The country of Jamaica is almost as well-known for violent homophobia as it is for dreadlocks, reggae and Bob Marley. In 2006, Time magazine named Jamaica the most homophobic place on earth. The country is certainly living up to that title....
Why is Jamaica so deeply and proudly homophobic? The obvious answer would be religion. Regardless of the stereotypes of marijuana use, steamy dancehalls and island rendezvous, Jamaica is heavily Christian, a legacy of colonization. However, when homophobia in Jamaica is looked at from a historical point of view, sodomy laws, which also apply to heterosexuals, and several other oppressive laws that Jamaica upholds were colonial laws from the British.
The Brits have done away with these statutes. The Jamaican government, though, selectively holds on to some of these colonized rules, conveniently ignoring others. Artists like Beenie Man and even Jamaica's prime minister, Orette Bruce Golding, argue that homophobia is synonymous with Jamaica. On the contrary: Jamaicans are not adhering to Jamaican culture; the country is adhering to colonized culture....
Read entire article at The Root
The country of Jamaica is almost as well-known for violent homophobia as it is for dreadlocks, reggae and Bob Marley. In 2006, Time magazine named Jamaica the most homophobic place on earth. The country is certainly living up to that title....
Why is Jamaica so deeply and proudly homophobic? The obvious answer would be religion. Regardless of the stereotypes of marijuana use, steamy dancehalls and island rendezvous, Jamaica is heavily Christian, a legacy of colonization. However, when homophobia in Jamaica is looked at from a historical point of view, sodomy laws, which also apply to heterosexuals, and several other oppressive laws that Jamaica upholds were colonial laws from the British.
The Brits have done away with these statutes. The Jamaican government, though, selectively holds on to some of these colonized rules, conveniently ignoring others. Artists like Beenie Man and even Jamaica's prime minister, Orette Bruce Golding, argue that homophobia is synonymous with Jamaica. On the contrary: Jamaicans are not adhering to Jamaican culture; the country is adhering to colonized culture....