Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff Reporter
Every man has a right to decide 'im own destiny
But dat nuh say two man shoulda hug-up and kiss-up like nuh lady
THESE LYRICS, taken from Capleton's Buggarin, capture the essential conflict between dancehall music and homosexuality. In the dancehall there are very strict rules about sexual conduct and homosexuality is the ultimate sin.
While homophobia continues to reign in the lyrical roost of dancehall, if cable programmes are to be believed then homosexuals are getting their fair share of representation on American television. Shows such as Will and Grace and Queer as Folk have been followed by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, as well as documentaries about homosexuality.
As such, though dancehall may often be viewed as a form which revels in slackness, verbal and physical, it seems that homosexuality is one of the few kinds of 'slackness' with which it will brook no argument. Dancehall demands not only lyrical dexterity, but also aggressive heterosexuality from deejays.
Of course, nothing is merely frowned upon in dancehall. In a very black and white structure, everything is either wrong or white and if a behaviour is deemed wrong, the penalty is death. Informers are treated no less brutally, but unfortunately they have not formed their own support group.
ALTERNATIVE SIDE
The Sunday Gleaner spoke with the programme director of the Jamaica Forum For Lesbians All Sex and Gays (JFLAG), Mr. James, in an attempt to get the alternative side of the argument.
According to the director, since airplay is restricted for songs with violent content, the same can be done for songs which promote violence against homosexuals. The nature of the violence tends to vary from artiste to artiste and rhyme to rhyme. Thus, while shooting is the most popular recommendation, an occasional 'stepping on' has also been advocated.
Interestingly, though the director pointed out that the persistent call for violence must have a psychological effect on Jamaican homosexuals, some have grown inured, having grown up with it. He also pointed out that there is no data to show a direct link between violence against homosexuals and the barrage of homophobic lyrics.
VIOLENCE AND DANCEHALL
Even so, Mr. James advocates that though the violence may not occur immediately in the dancehall, the songs promote the culture of violent intolerance and can therefore influence acts outside of the dancehall.
"Nobody is recording the violence against homosexuals," he said. He also argued that as most homosexuals feel that the police do not care, many offences do not get reported. Of course, the fact that buggery is still illegal on the Jamaican law books further complicates the matter. "The buggery law is problematic, because it makes it difficult to find legal recourse," Mr. James explained.
He does not believe that the buggery law can hinder human rights appeals for homosexuals, however. Mr. James pointed out that buggery is only one form of sexual contact and that the law applies to anal intercourse between two men or a man and a woman. He argues, however, that heterosexual buggery is not prosecuted. Mr. James also pointed out that since only buggery is outlawed, the relationship itself is not illegal.
That argument, however, when it gets to real life situations, remains only a battle in semantics. As such, according to Mr. James, once most homosexuals meet with physical abuse they retire deep into the proverbial closet.
Mr. James argues that though JFLAG and other gay rights groups want to promote greater tolerance, the promotion of physical violence is the worst aspect of the homophobia being lyrically relished in dancehall. "I think that physical violence against a person is much worse than intolerance," he said.
Interestingly, Mr. James is also willing to grant the deejay's right to free speech, if their homophobia is not promoting violence. "I think that they should have a right, if that is what they want to sing about and if that's their experience," he says.
Not his real name
