‘We are Jamaicans:’ living with and challenging the criminalization of homosexuality in Jamaica

Abstract

Today, some 80 countries around the world have legislation criminalizing homosexuality, while those who engage in same-sex relations risk mob violence resulting from cultural intolerance. Despite this, gay rights advocacy within these countries exists. This paper examines gay rights advocacy in Jamaica – a nation which criminalizes same-sex relations and which has been identified by observers as among the most intolerant of same-sex relations. Using interviews with gay rights activists working with Jamaica’s leading gay rights organization, this paper describes the gay rights movement in a climate of repression. It begins with an overview of Jamaican sexual values, tracing its condemnation of homosexuality to a history of plantation slavery. Next, it discusses the emergence of a gay pride movement and the development of a broad-based association for all sexual orientations and identities. Finally, it examines the advocacy and activism of the Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays, a voice for Jamaica’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community. Throughout, the paper reveals how even an oppressed identity may find a voice and thrive despite the greatest of legal and cultural challenges.

Keywords:

• Gay rights activism
• homophobia
• identity management
• Jamaica
• slavery and colonialism
• human rights advocacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Although initially intended to refer to bisexuality, the term ‘all sexuals’ in the J-FLAG name has come to encompass an array of sexual identities, including transgender and queer lifestyles. As J-FLAG’s website notes, ‘it is not intended to capture or include persons who are orientated to have sex with animals, children or family members.’

2. In addition to the paid staff, J-FLAG has an advisory board consisting of some 9 members (including the Executive Director) who provide assistance on identifying grants and funding opportunities, who assist with financial management, and with whom staff members consult on a variety of other issues. As these board members do not all reside in Jamaica, and as their involvement with J-FLAG activities is periodic and does not directly involve ‘on the ground’ work, this study chose to highlight the voices of the staff members who run the organization and live each day with a criminalized identity.

3. J-FLAG typically uses the LGBT acronym, rather than LGBTQ acronym which is sometimes used elsewhere. In keeping with the language of J-FLAG’s advocacy, this paper will use the LGBT acronym.

4. Jamaica was a British slave colony until 1834. The abolition of slavery created a need for new labor on the sugar plantation system, even for wages. The British therefore imported from their vast colonial empire East Indian and Chinese indentured laborers. From this diaspora, Jamaica today has a prominent population of Chinese–Jamaicans.

5. Names appearing with an asterisk are pseudonyms to protect respondent identities. Other times, only the respondents’ true first name appears in the paper.