"I don't know which is worse, to be one of the living dead or to be just dead."
--From an anonymous Jamaican lesbian, as quoted in
a recent feature by Gary Younge writing for
the Guardian online. He provides a complete picture of the stakes of being homosexual in Jamaica, including the ways in which national identity and class affect the perception and reception of homosexuality. And as an addendum I’d suggest reading
two comments posted to my entry a while back about the same issues. The entries are by Jamaicans: one taking a defensive posture against my so-called falsehoods about homosexuality in Jamaica; the other a touching expansion of the dangers faced by gays and lesbians on the island.
And if you read nothing else, check out this excerpt from Younge’s article:
“Earlier this month the Sunday Herald ran a front page headline "No homos!" in which opposition leader Bruce Golding vowed, according to the paper, that "homosexuals would find no solace in any cabinet formed by him". The statement was supported by several clergyman and a trade union leader. During the 2001 elections Golding's party used as its theme song Chi Chi man by T.O.K. Lyrics, which celebrates the burning and killing of gay men.”
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