Bye Bye to Boom Bye Bye? The Caribbean Gay Revolution

"Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Dem haffi dead
Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Dem haffi dead
(Two man) Hitch up on an rub up on
An lay down inna bed
Hug up on another
Anna feel up leg
Send fi di matic (automatic gun) an
Di Uzi instead"

I remember this song, booming loudly- a cacophony of guttural sounds from red, yellow and green buses in the Caribbean, the rough authoritative voice of Reggae King Buju over a melody that was, to be honest, made for grinding in a dancehall, scarcely suited to narrating a story of two men in a bed. It certainly arrested our attention and we all knew the lyrics and we sang along to our walkmans. This song is now used as an example of typified Jamaican anti-gay lyrics inciting violence. I do not know about Jamaica other than what I have read but when played in our dancehalls it had no greater effect than to cause a group of red-eyed youth to gather in a circle, stick puny hands in the air and proclaim "Lighter". I interpreted it as no more than a virtual desire to purify and prevent a Sodom & Gomorrah experience (as we had been indoctrinated to believe) rather than a nascent and actual intention to actually kill homsexuals.

The role of the homosexual in Caribbean society has never been properly explored. We have all the names- funny, batty bwoy, nasty boy, nasty girl, buller man, chi-chi man, tanty man and interestingly, the word zami- which is an inherited African word, but these words are barriers to confronting the reality of the Caribbean sexual orientation revolution. In my very small town, there were always a few men who were known to bat for the other side- at the age of ten I knew of at least 3.

The gay Caribbean is however experiencing a sexual orientation revolution. And it is one that is not led by men, but by women. Women are key in this new movement and claiming ownership of their sexuality, one step at a time, refusing to fall within our island society's diktats and mores. A part of me would like to believe that it is linked to the widening chasm between men and women in our society, and the fact that men folk is in crisis and after women filled the gaps in the home, schools, and working environment that the feminist movement has overarched and extended its tentacle to other areas. However, a part of me knows that this is probably too intellectual and insulting an analysis and it is perhaps as simple as we are now moving from an era of conservatism to an era of liberalism and unparalleled openness and these women who are asserting a right to love other women are simply staking their claim in this society.

I am not talking about lesbianism for the gratification of men, sexual orgies, prostitution and the like. This has always existed (yes). I am talking about female relationships. Take one of my good friends- Tamara (not real name) for instance. Since she was growing up she always had an air of tomboy about her. I am not asserting in any way that all lesbians are butch but she liked carpentry and woodwork and I remember her looking at my cousin's Barbie dolls with scorn. The rumours started when she  took a job as a construction worker for a few years during which she embarked on many relationships with men, hotly denying that she was lesbian. After a failed marriage, one son later, she is now dating a girl openly for the very first time and confides in me that she has never been happier. This, in a town of less than 5,000 people. She admitted that she does not care what the people in her town think.  Another young girl I met (let's call her Sandra), a teacher, is in a loving open relationship with her girlfriend and when I commented on her open displays of affection in a well known area in town she said to me "They'll get used to it". A part of me is surprised by this boldness. And then I am annoyed that I am surprised because she is only walking in her truth. I am actually surprised at how well conservative, bible belt Grenada has embraced this. Sure, there is some of: "They are just looking for attention". "They will grow it out" (about a well known secondary school aged girl who thinks she is a lesbian). Of course there are some "They need prayers and help" but I did not feel that this was the majority opinion - people did not care enough about it to make it a talking point, and that's the way it should be.

There are also many other social indicators showing that time has indeed moved on. A local soca star, after hearing of the "scandal" involving pictures taken of two women in very compromising positions which circulated the internet, sang the song "Eating Pork". Pork in Caribbean parlance references the female genitalia (as well as some other choice words like saltfish) and the song describes and taunts that girls in the area are all "eating pork". Said soca star has now confessed that whilst he intended the song to be a social commentary that commented on this practice in non favourable terms, the lesbian community has adopted the song and has frequently asked him to sing it, and have also requested special dedications. A group of lesbian girls openly frequent a party hotspot in Grenada and have made it "their night". A student hangout is known and noted for its acceptance and tolerance of gay couples. On New Year's Eve, I was greeted by a chick in a suit who accompanied her girlfriend in a dress to the Rex and Blue Bubbles. A class mate of mine from primary school is in a long term relationship with a New York woman and has no qualms in admitting freely and openly in a hairdressers shop that she is through with men. Similarly, one of my classmates from secondary school took pride in introducing me to her "woman", although I am not sure she is kosher as she prefaced this with “I fed up with men”. I don't think this would have happened ten years ago.


What is perhaps more telling, however, is that this broad-mindedness and indulgence that has been extended to the "zami" has not been marked by a corresponding willingness to engage in a humanistic way with the other side of the coin- male homosexuality. Men like Patrick Levine pave the way probably for other gay men- he is the only open homosexual on the island. He quotes in outtraveller, "The life in Grenada is very discreet. People usually want to do their thing, but they keep it between their private selves." I have never been to his restaurant but I am told that he cooks with lots of "glamour, spice and sexy". He sounds like our own Ms Jay! Other than Patrick, the rumours abound. We all hear and probably know of the gay costume designer, the gay pageant promoter, the gay model, the gay pastor but it's all very much on the down low. . I must admit that when I usually see gay men with other gay men (why are gay man hotter than straight men?), I instinctively think “What a waste!” which is probably wrong!

More seriously, many of us (including me a few years ago) cling to the Bible for justification for discriminating against homosexuals. It’s what we have been taught. But how can we cling to a literal interpretation of a Bible that for years was used to justify slavery ( in the New Testament -"slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear, serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ") discrimination against women and racism (the "curse of Ham" was used by some members of Abrahamic religions to justify racism and the enslavement of people of Black African ancestry, who were believed to be descendants of Ham). I must admit I am probably not fully comfortable with and do not want to know the fine details of how two men have sex but we do not accord rights to human beings based on our personal comfort levels.

I would like to think that when Martin Luther King fought and spoke about that important promissory note that "that all men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.", he did not only speak in terms of white or black, American and Non American, gay or straight but he hoped that this could be truly extended to all. I am of the live and let live persuasion. As Bertrand Russell said “ The only part of the conduct of anyone for which he is amenable to society is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”.