Cuba hosts first transgender Mass .........

So or friends in Cuba are moving on quite nicely and making major strides in the realm of a tolerant church, I wish more of our local churches just get with it. This news is timely indeed as a previous post left me a bit down where a pastor is accused of committing buggery on a fifteen year old boy in Trelawny.

By Sarah Marsh and Anett Rios | MATANZAS, CUBA (Reuters)

For decades belonging to a religion and being anything but heterosexual was stigmatized in Communist-ruled, macho Cuba, making the Mass held by three transgender pastors in the western Cuban city of Matanzas all the more groundbreaking.

Trans pastors Cindy Bourgeois from Canada (C) and Alexya Salvador from Brazil listen to trans Baptist reverend Allyson Robinson from the U.S. during a mass in Matanzas, Cuba, May 5, 2017. Picture taken on May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Rainbow flags decorated the chapel, while the pastors, who had flown in from Brazil, Canada and the United States, wore stoles in the trans hues of light blue, pink and white and the congregation swayed to Caribbean beats.

Friday was the first time a trans pastor held a Holy Communion in Cuba, highlighting how much the island nation has changed since both religious believers and homosexuals went to "correctional" labor camps in the early years after the 1959 revolution.

"Tonight has been a night of celebration of equality between all people, marking a new era for Cuba," said Alexya Salvador, a Brazilian trans pastor, born Alexander, wearing a black dress with a white clerical collar and lacy sleeves she made herself.

"God's love is radically inclusive."

The Mass on Friday was the highlight of a three-day conference on transsexuality and theology organized by the Matanzas-based Cuban branch of the international Metropolitan Community Church.

"This is not only a first of its kind event for Cuba, but certainly one of the very first ever to be held anywhere in the world," said Allyson Robinson, a trans Baptist reverend from Washington.

The conference took place ahead of the 10th anniversary, next weekend, of Cuba celebrating the global day against homophobia, and included a raucous "transformist" party as well as a variety of panels on theology and personal experiences.

In one, Salvador argued God was transgender, given the Holy Trinity was made up of the Holy Spirit, which she views as feminine, the Father and the Son.

Elaine Saralegui, a lesbian pastor who founded the Cuban branch of the MCC nearly two years ago, said she hoped the conference would foster greater inclusion of trans people and prove that being trans and Christian were not incompatible.

"I leave with having learnt a lot of things I can share with other trans," said one participant, a 26-year-old Cuban trans woman called Malu Duardo, "in particular that there is a God for everyone."

Saralegui's congregation numbers around 35 but she said she also gets asked to hold Mass at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) activist events around the rest of the island nation of 11 million inhabitants.

"Nearly always they ask me to hold a liturgy there, so we have to improvise wine, bread and hold a (Lord's) supper anywhere," she said.

The trans pastors said they were impressed by Cuba's progressiveness in some respects, for example providing state-financed sex reassignment.

The country was clearly lagging the rest of the Americas in other ways though, they said. Same-sex couples may not marry or adopt children and a promised update to Cuba's family code has been slow to materialize.

"Everyone should have the right to have a family," said Salvador, who has adopted two children, including a trans girl. "I believe this touch of God will also happen in the Cuban community."

VICTORY - SAME SEX MARRIAGE is now legal in Bermuda.

Yes indeed, our friends in Bermuda have done it. Lord knows this is go news given the closing walls via Trump et al elsewhere a nice victory in law, fair square. 

A gay couple have won their legal challenge against the Registrar-General’s decision to reject their application to marry in Bermuda.

the loving couple

Winston Godwin and his Canadian fiancé, Greg DeRoche, took their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Human Rights Act took primacy in Bermuda and protected their right to marry.  The Royal Gazette also featured the development.

This morning, Puisne Judge Charles Etta-Simmons delivered her ruling that stated: “On the facts, the applicants were discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation when the Registrar refused to process their notice of intended marriage.”

The judgment continues: “The applicants are entitled to an Order of Mandamus compelling the Registrar to act in accordance with the requirements of the Marriage Act and a declaration that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under the Marriage Act.”

Mr Godwin and Mr DeRoche, represented by lawyer Mark Pettingill, sought an order from the Supreme Court to compel the Registrar to post their marriage banns, in accordance with the Marriage Act. They also want a declaration that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under that law.

When the civil case was heard over three days in January and February, Mr Pettingill urged the court to write the final chapter in the protection of gay rights in Bermuda.

He said the couple’s case encapsulates “the right to happiness, the right of all people to seek love and happiness”. Mr Pettingill added: “The applicants say that religious arguments bear no relevance on civil contractual marriage. This is a matter of statutory interpretation.

“It is time for the courts fully armed with the legal protection of the Human Rights Act to write the final chapter in the protection of the rights of gay people of secular orientation and all the rights that everyone enjoys to be the same.”

But the Government’s lawyer, Deputy Solicitor-General Shakira Dill-Francois, told the court that the Registrar-General could not post marriage banns for gay couples because such unions are null and void under Bermuda’s existing laws

She said that under section 33 of the Marriage Act 1944, it was an offence for the Registrar to authorise a marriage, knowing it was void.

She added the Matrimonial Causes Act 1974, in section 15, clearly set out the grounds on which a marriage was void, including if “the parties are not respectively male and female”.

Adding that the two pieces of legislation had to be read and understood together, Ms Dill-Francois asked: “Why would the Registrar proceed to register a marriage that is, in fact, void?”

Preserve Marriage, which has campaigned to maintain marriage as between a man and a woman, and the Human Rights Commission were allowed to join the proceedings as “interveners”.

Preserve Marriage was represented by lawyer Delroy Duncan, who argued that changing the law on same-sex marriage could open the door for “multiple-partner marriages” on the island.

“We have to ask ourselves whether this legislation is permissive of such marriages or whether or not what you are being asked to do could open the door to multiple-partner marriages,” he said.

Mr Duncan maintained that Parliament must decide on the issue of same-sex marriage “through the ballot box”.

Reacting this morning, Mr Godwin told The Royal Gazette: “I feel a huge sense of relief. It’s been a long road to get to this stage for me and Greg, and for Mark and also for Bermuda.

“It has been a long time coming. This ruling, although it was in our favour ... there is still so much more to do in Bermuda.

“This is a big step in the right direction. I cannot thank my legal team and my supporters enough.”

Lawyer Rod Attride-Stirling, who acted for the Human Rights Commission during the case, said in a prepared statement: “It is a matter of great shame that the legislature did not act in this matter to put the issue beyond doubt.

“It is also a matter of great shame that the Attorney-General fought the case in the manner in which it was fought, ignoring the Bermudian cases on the proper interpretation of the human rights act. This should not have been so.

“I am glad to see that the Bermuda court has followed the courts, first of South Africa, which decided this issue in 2005, and then the United States which followed suit in 2015.

“The message of hate and exclusion has been rejected. Human rights means human rights for all humans. Equally. No one is excluded.

“Gays who want to marry can now do so.

“Bermuda owes a huge debt of gratitude to the two brave young men who brought this action, Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche. They will always be remembered as heroes of the human rights movement.”

meanwhile more from .....

The Rainbow Alliance has declared today’s landmark gay marriage ruling a victory for all same-gender loving people in Bermuda.

Saluting Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche for their courage in taking on the Bermuda Government at the risk of being ostracised by the community, the Alliance issued a statement saying “love always wins”.

The organisation also released a comment from Mr Godwin, a Bermudian, and his Canadian fiancé Mr DeRoche, saying they hope the result gives more people courage to speak up or come out.

Earlier today, Puisne Judge Charles Etta-Simmons had delivered a ruling in favour of the couple, who had challenged the Registrar-General’s decision to reject their application to marry in Bermuda.

The Alliance said it was “overwhelmed with joy at the conclusion of today’s historic ruling”.

It continued: “We applaud the landmark decision by Justice Charles Etta-Simmons. Today, history has been made and love has won.

“This ruling is not only a victory for a brave young couple willing to fight for their love, Winston Godwin and his fiance Greg DeRoche, this ruling is a victory for all same-gender loving people in Bermuda.

“In this decision, the courts have affirmed that the love between two consenting adults is worth protecting with law, regardless of gender.

“This outcome ensures that same-gender couples can enjoy the same legal protections as heterosexual spouses do. This outcome preserves the notion that love is the greatest force of all.”

It quoted Mr Godwin and Mr DeRoche as saying: “We appreciate all the positive affirmations and support. This has been a long process, but well worth the fight.

“Hopefully this brings forward hope and courage for those who were/are afraid to speak up or come out. This is a moment we are proud of and will never forget.”

The Alliance release continued: “This outcome could not be possible if it were not for the courageous decision of Winston to take on the government of his home and risk being ostracised by his community for the sake of love.

“We applaud Winston and Greg, the legal team that supported this challenge, and the many campaigners that have over the years fought for increased human rights, dignity, and respect of LGBTQ people.

“There is so much more work to be done, but today, we celebrate that love always wins.”

Jamaica's buggery law not among the most severe in the Caribbean region .............

A letter appeared in the Gleaner earlier today on a study conducted by JFLAG on the Buggery Law in the Caribbean making comparisons to other states as to severity. Here is the letter firstly, meanwhile the antigay spin doctors try to twist the narrative that of Jamaica being mislabeled as the most homophobic place on earth. 

The letter:

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Research around the application of Jamaica's buggery law reveals it is not among the most severe in the Caribbean region. The findings, which are contained in a study conducted by J-FLAG titled 'Criminalizing Private Consensual Intimacy II', help to challenge the decades-old belief that Jamaica is the most homophobic place on earth.

The study found that when compared to similar laws in other Commonwealth Caribbean countries, Jamaica is neither the best nor the worst as it relates to the criminalisation of private, consensual same-sex conduct. Six Caribbean countries criminalise both male-to-male and female-to-female consensual sexual activity. They are Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago. In Jamaica, only male-to-male consensual sexual activity is criminalised, in addition to the criminalisation of anal sex regardless of gender.

J-FLAG undertook the study to review statistics on the use of the buggery law in the justice system, explore the treatment of similar laws internationally, and compare the severity of the local buggery law to others in the Commonwealth Caribbean.

Sentences vary across the Caribbean. In Barbados, for example, the offence of buggery can attract a maximum sentence of life in prison, while in Trinidad and Tobago, a maximum sentence of 25 years. This is significantly more severe than the maximum 10 years in Jamaica.

NOT AS HARSH

The fact that Jamaica's punishment for buggery is not as harsh as some Caribbean neighbours does not mean the law must not be amended.

This is by no means an indication that the law does not affect LGBT people across the country. The buggery law continues to be a locally and internationally recognised symbol of state-sanctioned discrimination against LGBT Jamaicans. Reform of this unjust law remains urgent, since the provisions do not align with the fundamental rights to privacy and equality before the law as secured in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

This is particularly true of Section 80 of the Offences Against the Person Act, which legalises wanton arrests of gay men and trans women. Fixing this and other laws, and creating a welcoming legal and policy environment for LGBT Jamaicans, are steps in the right direction.

DANE LEWIS

GLENROY MURRAY

J-FLAG

ENDS

 the article that got most persons in a bind

How the article was misrepresented is part and parcel of how the already existing homonegative feelings led to the deceptive narrative by ignorant religious fanatics (that make honest church fol look stupid) is why there is hardly any serious movement in changing hearts and minds. The social media firestorm is now sending a narrative that JFLAG et al were lying on Jamaica all along and further justification for no change to the buggery law, repeal or amendment.

JFLAG tried to clarify its agenda though somewhat late as the public and homophobic groups kept using the full repeal arguments instead of the change in position, the J took too long to adjust themselves in my view.

Also see: Is ‘The Most Homophobic Place on Earth’ Turning Around? (2015), Buggery law referendum baiting by JLP in #Javote2016 campaign and J-FLAG now advocating for decriminalisation of same-sex acts

The Star News still couldn't help themselves despite some slight forward thinking in recent years, they headlined the story, when it is the law that is being discussed and not the inherent multi-generational homophobia:

Jamaica not the most homophobic country

In the face of calls for Jamaica’s buggery laws to be repealed, one of the main organisations that supports homosexuality has discovered that Jamaica is not the most homophobic place on Earth.

Having conducted a study, titled, Criminalising Private Consensual Intimacy, J-FLAG found that in Barbados, the offence of buggery can attract a maximum sentence of life in prison. In Trinidad and Tobago, the maximum sentence for buggery is 25 years in prison, while in Jamaica the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment.

“This is by no means an indication that the law does not affect LGBT people across the country,” Dane Lewis, J-FLAG’s executive director said.

“The buggery law continues to be a locally and internationally recognised symbol of state-sanctioned discrimination against LGBT Jamaicans. Reform of this unjust law remains urgent since the provisions do not align with the fundamental rights to privacy and equality before the law as secured in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms,” he said.

ENDS

Good to see the attempt by the goodly JFLAG to provide some figures and a more balanced comparison but the public's response despite way heightened visibility shows me we have a long road ahead.

Peace & tolerance

H 

PEPFAR may pull HIV funding from hard-hit Caribbean countries ..........

The United States is terminating its funding to several of the Caribbean countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Directors of the US President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), America’s global fund to fight AIDS around the world, said that they could no longer justify supporting the upper middle-income countries of the Caribbean, and have ordered fund terminations from as early as this year.

 President Reagan AIDSGATE years

I saw a series of reports out there recently on the decrease of PEPFAR to the Caribbean and it came to me that this is starting to feel like the US President Reagan years when the White House then simply ignored the calls for proper funding for research for a relatively new disease being HIV then known as SIDS and which was pegged as a gay disease or gay plague. 

Thanks to the Act UP campaign and vigorous advocacy in those days.

Upon the rumours and fears expressed by mostly American AIDS experts that funding for HIV prevention work and treatment and care it has come home to action by the Trump administration, obviously playing to his base as he is the most unpopular president in years.

The Bahamas — which has the highest population prevalence of HIV in the English-speaking Caribbean, at just over 3% — will have its funding cut entirely in September 2017, followed by Barbados in 2018. Meanwhile, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago will have their funding slashed to historic lows for two years, before their allocations end in 2019.

Of the middle-income Caribbean countries, only Jamaica will be spared from cuts, but under strict conditions. Far fewer people living with HIV in Jamaica receive treatment than in the other upper-middle income Caribbean countries, and estimates are that more than 3 in 10 Jamaican men who have sex with men are HIV positive. 

To address this, PEPFAR will move 67-75% of its Caribbean regional budget to the island between 2017 and 2019. In exchange, Jamaica will have to meet ambitious targets to curb its epidemic, or PEPFAR will leave the English-speaking Caribbean region entirely, including the member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.

In the Caribbean, PEPFAR contributes to the cost of HIV prevention programmes, drug procurement, and the treatment, care and psychosocial support of people living with HIV and AIDS. The Fund also works with community organisations to target HIV prevention and care to LGBT people and commercial sex workers who are on the periphery of direct government programmes. PEPFAR’s interventions are further supported by health experts at US diplomatic missions, where some vacant posts have already been frozen as a result of the clawback.

PEPFAR’s moves now increase the burden on regional governments to bring their HIV/AIDS epidemics under control, even as public finances in several of the affected countries are already stretched. With the exception of Haiti, which will retain its PEPFAR funding entirely, a complete regional pullout would leave a US$9m gap¹ in financing for the Caribbean’s response to HIV and AIDS, based on PEPFAR’s 2014/15 expenditure levels.

Despite some progress, the picture of the Caribbean’s HIV/AIDS response is mixed. Prevention messages that focus on abstinence and condom use are mainstays of national health campaigns, and costly interventions such as drug prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection are off the radar for most. Moralistic views and discrimination against the LGBT community are effective barriers to healthcare, and the prevalence of HIV among these marginalised groups can often run times higher than in the general population.

Strong progress and adoption of international best practices, such as Barbados’ decision to treat all people living with HIV, regardless of the stage of their disease, have been largely supported by PEPFAR funds. Central governments will now have limited time to ensure sustainability of these gains and to finance gaps after the departure of US aid.

While PEPFAR’s Directors made no explicit link between their decisions and President Trump’s dictates to cut America’s levels of foreign aid, the repeal of PEPFAR’s reach in the Caribbean follows the administration’s decisions to cut funding to the United Nations Food and Population Fund, as well as its removal of federal dollars from Planned Parenthood and other international development programmes.

The US Congress recently passed the US-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act, which an analysis featured in this publication deemed to be an important opportunity for advancing the Caribbean’s interests to the Trump administration. As at press time, sources tell Antillean that health and social development imperatives were not among the priorities advanced by CARICOM for the shaping of the future US engagement policy, despite CARICOM’s ambassadors in Washington and New York being briefed on PEPFAR’s decisions.

Thanks to the Antillean Media Outlet for this one (photos added for this post), in a another related story see: Trump administration cuts all future US funding to UNFPA

Bermuda Supreme Court expected to rule on SAME SEX MARRIAGE in April ............

The latest update has come via the petition site supporting this thrust. We understand that Supreme Court Justice Charles Etta-Simmons will rule on the recent court case where a Bermudian male is seeking to marry a Canadian male in Bermuda. The decision is scheduled on or before April 14th we understand.

We are hopeful for a positive outcome and that equality will be the winner.

You may recall in previous posts how the case came to be in 2016. 

The challenge read in part:

Same-sex couples want to marry for all the same reasons as their opposite-sex counterparts.

These reasons include: for legal security, to publicly celebrate their commitment, to provide greater legal protection for their children, or simply because they are in love.

FIRST, we will look at the benefits that flow to same-sex couples who marry. This is followed by the wider social benefits that come from removing discrimination from the Marriage Act and ensuring equality for same-sex couples.

******************************************************************************************

SECOND, married partners have immediate access to all relationship entitlements, protections and responsibilities.

This contrasts to de facto couples who must live together for a certain period before they are deemed to have legal rights.

A marriage certificate also allows married partners to easily prove their legal rights if challenged, for example in emergency situations. The capacity to quickly and easily prove one’s relationship status is particularly important for same-sex partners because prejudice against same-sex relationships can mean legal rights are denied.

******************************************************************************************

THIRD, allowing same-sex couples to be included in such a universal and valued institution as marriage will provide them and their families with real social and cultural benefits.

Landmark research led by Lee Badgett, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, describes and quantifies some of these benefits in two different places that have allowed same-sex marriages for several years, the Netherlands and Massachusetts.

[ii] Badgett found that same-sex partners overwhelmingly,

• felt marriage had increased their commitment and their sense of responsibility, and had generally strengthened their relationships

• believed their children were better off after their marriage, chiefly through legal protection for those children and enhanced feelings of security, stability and acceptance in the children, and

• felt participation and acceptance in their extended families and communities had increased because of their marriage

Her conclusion was that,

“Overall, the experiences of same-sex couples in two countries, the United States and the Netherlands, suggests that same-sex couples and their families are strengthened by a policy of marriage equality for same-sex couples.”

There is also a growing body of research showing that married partners, including same-sex married partners, are, on average, healthier, happier and longer lived, than their cohabiting peers, or singles. According to the US Centre for Disease Control, even rates of heart disease, drug use and stress are lower among married partners.

References:

[ii] Badgett, M.V., N. Goldberg and C. Ramos, The Effects of Marriage Equality in Massachusetts: A survey of the experiences and impact of marriage on same-sex couples. UCLA School of Law, 2009. Also, When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage. New York University Press, 2009.

*******************************************************************************************

FOUR, Bermuda's ban on same-sex marriage doesn’t only disadvantage those same-sex partners who seek to marry.

It disadvantages all same-sex attracted Bermudians, including those who are not in a relationship, or who would not marry, even if they could.

It does this by treating them as legally unequal to their heterosexual counterparts, and by not allowing them the same life choices.

Governments restrictions on who gay and lesbian Bermudians can marry violates their fundamental human rights in the same way the rights of Aboriginal Australians of African Americans were once violated by laws which prevented from marrying who they wished.

The association between the equality in marriage and freedom from second-class status is well understood in the context of the struggle for the civil rights of people of color.

In 1958, in the midst of the struggle for black civil rights in America, Martin Luther King Jr declared,

“When any society says that I cannot marry a certain person, that society has cut off a segment of my freedom.” 

[iii] Consider all the other groups in society, along with people of color and same-sex attracted people, who at one time or another have been denied the right to marry the partner of their choice: women, people from differing faiths, people with disabilities.

What they all have in common is that they have been regarded as too immature or irresponsible to make what is arguably the most important decision any individual can ever make, the choice of a life-long partner.

In the same vein, the gradual acceptance that members of these groups are fully adult, fully citizens and fully human, has been accompanied by an acceptance of their right to marry whomever they wished.

References:

[iii] King (Jr), M. L., Carson, C., Luker, R., and Russell, P. A., (2000) The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr: Symbol of the movement, January 1957, University of California Press, Berkeley. Page 436.

Keeping our fingers crossed

Peace & tolerance

H

LGBT Birth Tourism too far-fetched an idea for Jamaica?

I am still a little befuddled at the fact that Jamaica is still seemingly reluctant or afraid to diversify the already successful tourism product. The matter came up for mention this morning on radio. Given the recent introduction and active business of AirB&B catering to middle class vacationers who cannot afford five star hotels and that traveller who is seeking a more earthy real world exploration it has helped in the sub categories of LGBT visitors as well who like the rustic charm & scenery away from the inclusive concrete jungles that a mere marble and artificial beauty with some flora and fauna. Jamaica does facilitate birth tourism but obviously for heterosexual couples. We must not leave out the fact that gay marriage is a done deal by way of the US SCOTUS in that historic judgement. The smaller guest houses or homes linked to AirB&B model are all over the place and have been doing pretty well as some 1,500 properties or more have qualified and are actively accommodating persons. The pink dollar component of it though somehow we as a country have not capitalized on even in the face of pre-US embargo pressure on Cuba the island was doing relatively well in the LGBT guest department. Of course with the visibility and intervention of the daughter of the late Fidel Castro, Mariela that has helped greatly in attracting support and visitors.

Cuba’s national awareness programs on sexual health also includes LGBT matters so the population being so exposed does have the kinds of caustic homophobia when compared to ours with sometimes disastrous outcomes. They still do have the occasional slip up but that problem won’t disappear altogether. Now that the embargo has been lifted there is almost a flood of persons overall but includes savvy and monied LGBT persons including newly minted married couples who seek the destination for their honeymoon and I have since gathered birth tourism where couples either by insemination or surrogate arrangements either way i.e. male couples who use their sperm with a paid female carrier go to other countries from the US; as for US citizenship the child’s citizenship is dual if the family allows it or as for future educational opportunities prudent planning is crucial. Trouble is if one is from outside the US going to that destination to have the baby must have strong financial backing and insurance coverage not from the country of origin. However in reverse let’s say in Jamaica where a US or Canadian or British couple gets here the private hospitals is what they have to contend with and some insurance would have been included in the ticket purchase and so on.

Another drawback for US couples in particular especially heterosexual and lesbian couples where one of the lesbians will be the ‘mother’ is that unlike our three month maternity leave automatically granted to women not all US states offer such extended leave; some only give a month which may not be enough time to have the baby do relatively well before time of travel. Canada has a similar arrangement I gather but if mothers-to-be entered into contractual arrangements the there may be implications. Some prudent planning has to come into play I imagine. 

Also other health reasons can come into play such as is the expectant person can travel or is deemed fit by a doctor so to do?; especially if there is a requirement for multiple trimester visits in the desired destination. With stability and state recognition in LGBTQ family life with sometimes a disturbing feeling of homo-assimilation couples want children or are going about it the original route of adoptions. With proven stem cell research and birth methods guided by strict codes of conduct since the mid 2000s, surrogacy maybe a thing of the past in years to come as couples can create eggs and sperm from said stem cells thus having their own DNA in that newborn.

also see: Sexual Reproduction for Same Sex Couples? 2010

Possible spin-offs

A newly pregnant or new baby couple may need bedside attention outside of the private hospital care, and after discharge from the facility may need some help and guidance navigating local cultural considerations such as diet, climate management and or a security detail if necessary; all of whom can earn from providing those side services.

Homophobia doesn’t impede the destination

Despite Jamaica’s homophobia the island is somehow still loved a every year the figures look impressive, recent cruise ships stop-over to the point of lack of space for porting is visible evidence of that. Despite attempted tourism boycotts such as the major one in 2008 and the Red Stripe Beer dump in protest which drew major attention visitors still come for the flora and even commitment ceremonies and civil appearing weddings. Apart from a few of the big players that accommodate LGBT guests and host private events such as raves (Bloom events hosted by a Jamaican living in NY), beach parties and such there are other mid priced villas that also cater to such markets. A recent clothing option event was held at property in St. Ann. Visitors are willing to spend on security as I have seen over my 21 years in LGBT event planning and DJing. Investment though is not so readily available for persons such as myself who may want to expand to a LGBT specific venue and accommodation to hosts such guests thus capitalizing on the pink dollar.

Far-fetched?

Definitely not but the lack of forward thinking in both the business community, elites, LGBT NGOs and government is still a challenge; as the visits and privacy attached to same is already happening but one of the challenges is that visitors are used to public displays of affection in their own countries and sometimes to ask guests to suppress their ODA might be a little challenging. 

A year 2000 case comes to mind where a Caucasian male couple in Ocho Rios by what is now Pineapple Place or thereabouts after they inadvertently appeared to be too affectionate to each other, were spared a thrashing by visibly upset mostly males who left the shaken men with a strong warning to not show ‘it’ up; I guess they were not about to interfere with the visitors seeing they were foreigners and they would have left soon afterwards. The outrage that flowed when the story made the tabloid however was another matter as the usual ‘thrown in our faces’ abhorrence was the main homophobic driver at the time. I would like to see more natives getting involved in this pink dollar tourism arrangement specific to LGBT guests, no offence to our expatriate friends please as there are a couple already utilizing the AirB&B model after they came to Jamaica and invested in property and linking to influential gay tourism books such as the Spartacus, problem is some of these AirBnB outfits seem not to want to cross fertilize by having natives also as guests, something that needs addressing. The last time that Jamaica had a listing of LGBT outfits before recent times was when the co-founder of the now closed Club Entourage Brian Williamson managed to get the New Kingston business district venue on there; it attracted the occasional foreign guests.

Oh for that pink piggy to get fat.

Peace & tolerance

H

Previously denied transgender claimant in Guyanese court case allowed in court

In a closely watched case transgender in Guyana a new development has come to the fore, also see a previous entry as prepared by SASOD: Cross-Dressing Appeal Case for Judgment in 2017 

Starbroek News carried a more balanced nuance to the matter. After coming under fire in the past by members and supporters of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community for not allowing transgender persons to enter his courtroom while cross-dressed, Magistrate Dylon Bess yesterday appeared to back down from his previous stand.

The complainant, Petronella (second from right) in conversation with SASOD Director Joel Simpson and other supporters.

“Today we saw a number of transgender women presenting completely in female attire. Twinkle was in a dress. Some of them were dressed, I would say in a unisex manner—pants and t-shirt—but still wearing long hair, earrings and makeup in some instances and so on [and] were allowed to enter court,” Joel Simpson, Managing Director of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) commented yesterday.

Simpson, along with members of Guyana Trans United (GTU), SASOD and the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies Rights Advocacy Project (U-RAP) were present at the Georgetown Magistrates Court for the hearing of Petronella, born Ronell Trotman, who is the virtual complainant in an assault case with a Jamoul Franklin.

According to a statement sent out by the three groups, Petronella was allegedly physically assaulted on January 26, 2017 by an acquaintance and the matter was reported to the Brickdam police station. It went on to state that on January 31, she made an appearance at the city court dressed in female attire but Magistrate Bess had refused to address the matter. 

It was further stated that the magistrate asked that on Petronella’s return to court on the next occasion, she do so dressed in pants and a shirt and without earrings. Failing to do so would result in her being dealt with accordingly.

At yesterday’s court hearing, Petronella wore unisex clothing—a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Her alleged assailant was granted a reduction in bail from $50,000 to $40,000 and the matter was adjourned to February 27 for commencement of trial.

Simpson noted that there were three incidents in March, 2016, involving transgender women where Magistrate Bess denied them the opportunity to enter the courtroom. “We don’t think it’s enough to only facilitate and tolerate access when there’s media attention or when activists are in attendance in court. Magistrate Bess needs to understand that the Guyana constitution guarantees the right to equality before the law for all persons regardless of who you are,” Simpson said.

In April, 2016, the LGBT community held a talk in observance of International Transgender day of Visibility during which this very issue was addressed.

At the talk, organised by SASOD and the USAID’s Advancing Partners and Communities (APC) Guyana Project, it was noted that the litigant, David Bissoon, known as “Twinkle,” had been disallowed from entering Magistrate Bess’ courtroom on three separate occasions, and on the third occurrence, she, along with other members of the LGBT community took to the streets to protest what is purported to be a discriminatory stance taken by the magistrate. The matter was subsequently dismissed.

Simpson had agreed that the issue goes deeper than simply a matter of cross-dressing. For him, the deeper issue is the denial of a more specific kind of access to trans-people, whom he said tend to face a high degree of hate crimes and violence. “…Now we have a situation where an officer of the court is saying you can’t come to court as who you are. For me, the issue there is not even about cross-dressing, it’s about accessing justice.”

The Demarara Wave seemed to take a different spin on the case: 

Transgender woman appears in ‘unisex’ clothing at Court after warned by Magistrate 

Petronella was physically assaulted by a known acquaintance last year. The matter was reported at the Brickdam Police Station and the perpetrator was charged for assault.

The case was heard before Bess on January 31, but according to Petronella, she was admonished for attending court dressed in female attire, consistent with her gender identity.

“I am only aware of two types of genders; that is male and female. I don’t know about any transgender,” Magistrate Bess reportedly told Petronella in January.

He reportedly admonished Petronella that she must attend his court on the next scheduled date (February 7) dressed in pants, a shirt and without any earrings. Petronella complied today with the request.

Petronella had said Bess warned if she failed to comply with his instructions, he will deal with her accordingly.

When your bisexual partner (monogamously) strays ..........

Jason & Senzo characters in the South African Generations series

Jayson Malinga in Generations, has revealed he was initially nervous about playing a homosexual in the most watched drama series on South African TV.

An interesting discussion has been happening loosely on social media on the ongoing South African series Generations which has a pleasant gay couple as characters, stopping short of kissing on screen the plot line carries rather well. Baby steps I imagine. Effeminacy is nowhere in the series though as obtain in other TV shows that tend to stereotype gay couples as men wanting to be women or use effeminacy to legitimize the homosexual element of the character. Taking into account Television Jamaica, TVJ barring of let’s say the gay plot line in the US series Empire that’s a start but I cannot see why the station bars content so as to not offend anyone when persons can switch to other options but the backwardness continues I imagine. If they were so touchy with the so called gay ad/PSA court case after they rejected the submission for a certain activist and the nonsense they tried to use as justification for the non-acceptance then it is no wonder it continues despite so much movement elsewhere in terms of homo-normative relational themed content.

The supposed un-gaying of Senzo has not gone down well with some online viewers who follow that version as it is ahead than where we are in the series on local TV. Other viewers were saying they were bored with the gay couple not being more intimate in scenes or even a light kiss.

Facebook campaign some time ago claiming viewers are to stop watching if Jayson & Senso kiss.

In the Generations series aired on Sundays in a three hour marathon the characters are lovers and live in the same house as one of the men alongside his powerful father who has accepted them and a sister and such but another young lady who works for the sister’s struggling magazine got herself in some trouble after a sex tape of her in a compromising position with a married man, the fight between the young lady and the wife of the man was captured by smartphone and shared to the highest bidder in the tabloid arena it went viral. The wife of the man has been shopping around the actual sex tape on DVD and one of the gay lovers (the stray) became a unwitting participant after his father-in-law was also approached to buy the DVD of which he was pondering the decision. The ‘stray’ has become emotionally embroiled with the sex tape subject and it is as if he cannot help himself.

The matter of the assault court case due to the fight is in court which further pulls the stray into the life of the implicated woman on tape, he seems so sorry for her despite her refusal and her putting on a brave face, then the sister of his boyfriend is also aware of not only the sex tape on DVD or the shenanigans to have it sold but also the growing affections of the stray or her brother in law. This leads us to the issue of developing feelings for the opposite sex in as far as bisexuals are concerned, this is of course taking into account one’s subscriptions to monogamy to a partner. Polygamous relations have been mooted by other sub groups under the bisexual umbrella but we’ll stick to one partner for now. Bisexuals already have a bad rap even from within the LGT populations as being too greedy or wanting their cake and eating it too. Then there is the business of feelings that get emotionally attached and a romantic element comes into play as well, one wonders if in the Generations plotline will turn on a temporary infatuation for another who happens to be of the opposite sex.

Some commentators on the issue of straying or cheating by a same sex partner have said they would have avoided a bisexual to begin with as they somehow think there is just no guarantee for a steady union or trust. A passing skirt or pants could distract that partner as they are sexually attracted to both some feel as it is just too easy to supposedly cheat, but what if the partner really loves the main same sex partner but is just flirting with the other to the point of a one night stand? Biphobia or bi-rejection still abounds it seems and may be the cause of ignorance in terms of explaining the orientation and more persons who identify as such or pansexual tell their stories, bi erasure comes to mind as well but the awareness is slow as other issues take centre stage.

I have seen stories and discussion boards for bisexuals where persons enter into open relationships or polyandrous unions where an opposite sex partner is brought into the mix for lovemaking purposes only and not deep intimacy. The Muslim faith does allow for Polygamy/Polygyny where a man can have more than one wife as he sees fit and a few outlets of gay Muslims do support multiple partnering relationships of a mixed gender nature. Some bisexuals seem able to separate their true love interests from other physically attractive driven urges and desires, one’s body can respond to stimuli visually and otherwise but no emotional attachments; a good psychologist could probably assist in this realm of the matter.

Then there is the business of Monosexual(ity)

Monosexuality

Monosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction to members of one sex or gender only. A monosexual person may identify as heterosexual or homosexual.In discussions of sexual orientation, the term is chiefly used in contrast to bisexuality, pansexuality, and various other gender-inclusive or gender-neutral identities. It is sometimes considered derogatory or offensive by the people to whom it is applied, particularly gay men and lesbians.

The Kinsey Reports found that, in experiences leading to orgasm, 63% of men and 87% of women could be described as "exclusively homosexual" or "exclusively heterosexual", and thus monosexual in the US.

Alternative definition

The term monosexuality has also been used in contrast to polyamory (which is commonly confused with polysexuality), which is used to refer to people who desire or fantasize about sexual relations with more than one partner. Under this definition, a monosexual person desires sexual relations with only one partner and (like polyamorous people) may be homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual.
Mek we talk nuh

Peace & tolerance

H

And as for trust, credibility & more on changing hearts & minds

In recent weeks a series of violent attacks to include two LGBT related ones have come to the fore with some unexpected and disturbing outcomes with this ugly business of intimate partner violence, domestic and power differential outcomes have had some major impact, there are at least eight murders of women by men within a three week period with last night’s shooting at the Bahai Principe hotel where a woman was stabbed by a lover (she survived) at a party on property who in turn was shot by a security guard, he died later. The unprecedented amount of domestic disagreement driven murders is strange to say the least as most murder cases are more on male on male side and based on some form of gangsterism often rooted in deep sociological challenges and or as the latest major reason being lotto scamming fallout and gun play; then there are other happenings on the funding front which made the mainstream news cycle, then came that article about the EU’s grant aid in the Gleaner and the supposed non-linking of gay rights and other legal considerations if not imposition of their will in order to qualify for said aid, we however know that said considerations are as real as the air we breathe and are done behind the scenes, pay close attention to how the Justice Minister effectively sang for his supper at the same signing ceremony for the grant aid making grand announcements as preceding ministers when such large support is extended to us.

Comments, if not shouting matches, quarrels online and on air framed as discussion misguidedly have ensued on social media especially since as to how to address this disturbing trend of women being killed for the slightest thing but what is supposed to be a solutions seeking activity seems to have morphed into angry men who call talk shows blasting women’s’ groups and feminists for being too sensitive and that all lives should matter whether they are men or women, some also suggest that some of the women deserve what they get as they should be submissive and are too emboldened and they cause men to supposedly lose it. This is a slight take off from the American ‘all lives matter’ campaign which was to designed to neutralize the ‘black lives matter’ campaign after the series of murders of black men by police and the unfair harassment of African American men more so than other races. But there is something else that has come to the fore which forced me to prepare this post.

A disturbing narrative laced with deep mistrust that has made itself front and center by talk show hosts, public commentators, and print media in letters to the editor and on social media. Some women’s groups and their supporters in particular are the target of the criticisms if not castigation but other human rights groups are also targeted and named as well, this feelings in some circles have always been around which is one of the reasons not much has been achieved on the ‘gay rights’ front in terms of public advocacy and the all important crisis communications; the latter requires so much work and healing it is not funny as if the public or sections of it do not believe that the loudest voices are telling the truth then one can scream from now to the next millennia you won’t change their minds and advocacy will be seen as an imposition on others and that homophobia is justified. Antigay religious fanatics have been the loudest voices leading that charge of hidden hand in the dark seeking to impose some nastiness on the nation and these misguided groups still do have influence on a large group of Jamaicans who seem more servile to the narrative than anything else without analysing what they are being asked to subscribe to or believe.

Subtextual context

Social media has its place and can make reaching larger audiences way easier bearing in mind where we have come from in the days when traditional media refused such as the now ‘friendly’ Gleaner and indeed tabloids as the Star (owned by the new conglomerate of TVJ et al) to publish press releases or carry tolerant and or balanced items on homosexuality but the seeming over reliance on the new media platforms in the present reality often with some appearance of arrogance and barring any real world follow up only further complicates matters; real world action usually via the proverbial ‘workshop’ are done in comfortable settings such as hotels of university campuses well away from the location of the problems or in privilege which feeds the very mistrust that is the obstacle to change and not in the spaces that may require those interventions. As the women’s groups and indeed LGBT ones as well as one new outfit in particular is the main dartboard for the ‘fire’ the subtext says that these newer groups online cannot be trusted as they coin the latest buzzwords, launch hashtags, run online campaigns but have no impact on the ground in the real world. 

They put themselves in line for grant aid funding as they have the foreign grantors in their pockets and attach themselves to causes real or imagined, small or embellished so as to embarrass Jamaica and force us to change our ways and impose foreign values. The latest voice to join the throng in that department was Dennis Broox of Nationwide 90FM as he sat in for Cliff Hughes who was ill on his “Cliff Hughes Online Show” Mr Broox was not so terse as the other commentators such as a certain opposition MP and a man of the cloth who recently returned to radio show hosting on Power 106FM but Mr Broox said that he did not like how some groups are using the whole gender based or intimate partner violence buzzwords to simply get access to grant aid funding which struck me, he never named the groups in question but the usual suspects come to mind such as the 51% Coalition, WE-Change and Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) to name a few as they have developed a bad reputation in the minds of many while launching all kinds of online campaigns they seem not to have any real effect on the ground so the cynicism comes out every time they do. Problem is that these groups are so busy often time on social media that they miss the mistrust formed about them and one wonders sometimes where they find time for real work with real people.

This business of trust or the lack thereof is something that has concerned me from my very entry into rights work and volunteerism especially in the early days of LGBT work since 1996; the hue and cry has and continue to be that gay groups are lying about homophobia to gain foreign support and that so called homophobic murders or violence are simply crimes of passion or lovers’ quarrels gone bad for the most part. 

Such conflations are walls that have not been properly surmounted but when the loudest speakers most of whom do not any real world experience to bring to bear and speak truth to their advocacy it literally rings out in the voice and in the narrative as they carry out such advocacy. In a previous post I shared some continued concerns I have on some of this as some seem to believe that just by changing laws such as the ‘buggery’ all will be well afterwards; it is quite the opposite as that is when the real work will begin if that change in law happens and if the groundwork in terms of establishing trust prior to that then the work is doubly harder thereafter.

It is really said that mistrust is still so high when trust is the glue or supposed to be the key ingredient but with a social media which aids but also poisons the goals and objectives then there are those who get carried away by mirroring, complacency and comfort in social media often unfettered and improperly managed with hashtag campaign that some think can make a universal difference; we must remember that the vast majority of Jamaicans are still not on social media and are locked into deeply comforting and justified old feelings driven by phobia and indeed hatred; real work with real people is still the most effective means of making change, face to face is still the best way especially in a world of permitted if not accepted deceit, falsehoods, bettered or altered versions of oneself on social media it is going to be difficult to penetrate some of that with just plain truth and honesty, so some resort to partaking in the farce to gain acceptance and a following. Besides despite social media’s impact on Jamaica figures show us that it is not the panacea as some want us to believe, yes more and more younger cohort of Jamaicans are using the platforms but the vast numbers of us are not even online with a basic Facebook profile let alone the others. Therefore we can conclude a lot of the campaigns really may only target and reach the converted while the campaigns fly over the heads of who are to be the intended targets.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again hashtags/tweets only last as they are allowed to and are mostly forgotten the moment another one replaces them and become short lived often not revisited as the latest hype takes over and a desire to conform drives the said short lived interest, therefore no learning and retention of what has been dispensed can be of any lasting value in order to effect contemplation and real behaviour change; hashtagging also appears to be becoming monotonous so many persons either un-follow some groups, effectively disconnecting or do not value or have long attention spans to the efforts, a point made by a media manager recently at a forum I attended. The campaign can be major turns off so, persons literally turn off on groups by discontinuing notifications to emails or their phones just to avoid the perceived annoyance. Then there is an appearance of arrogance that comes with the persons behind some of the groups due to the frequency of the posts and tweets, the choice of buzzwords & phrases plus the comments thereafter and again the mirroring phenomenon where the proverbial patting on the back ‘good job’ sentiments. Then there is the feeling by audience members of a prescriptive imperative which may be needed in some respects to force thinking towards change but it may sting of the said arrogance so it is resisted and not seen as an invitation to consider suggestions when they are made.

The very launch of that so called peace initiative in western Jamaica in a so called bid to address crimes lotto scam related was laughable in a sense. The actual launch complete with celebrities who lend their names was not done in the actual communities where it really matters where the killings and fear exist but at a five star hotel where the very residents might not be even able to pay for a night let alone a cupcake if they desired it; yet we expect to make change on the outside or in comfortable zones while expecting results. At least the church groups in March Pen alongside the Peace Management Initiatives PMI folks after those awful killings earlier this year they launched an initiative right there in the heart of the conflict in the geography where it matters most as gangs jostle for power and not at some fancy hotel as one has to be in it to win it not outside and then expect penetration afterwards to solve issues. The hotel launch was heavily criticized which also helps to feed into the mistrust that bedevils advocacy of any sort on social media as well and basically dismissed the moment as a grand show and media hype and that not much will emerge after to begin to adequately address the root causes, it made news as some suggest and I agree that location is everything including how the launch is done; that however is one part, the follow up work is next and how much money is left after salaries and administrative costs are tallied and paid out which usually end up ending and starving the efforts/initiatives in the final analysis sometimes well before the priority or scheduled dates.

The church groups in Montego Bay and other parts in western Jamaica also made sure that the marches and initiatives were done in the very geography where it matters albeit they are seen as hypocrites by some including Christians as they reactionary than proactive and while the marches and outdoor services have a psychological effect some are skeptical that as before we have these cycles, there are marches and then the thrust whittles away as the crime drops and persons find themselves in a false sense of security.

It is going to be difficult to shake off some of this belief that some NGOs and outfits are only there to use issues to enrich themselves via grant aid and with little tangible results to show in the eyes of many that only cements the mistrust in the national psyche. The reality in NGO work is that funding is always a challenge and qualifying for same can be challenging as grantors do not just dole out funds like that but how it is done and how the work appears to the public is not reassuring confidence on a larger scale; that lingering mistrust is often thrown most unfairly at others who do similar work. The very homeless MSM/transgender matter was not spared the castigation as persons like Mutabaruka have asked and are still asking why aren’t popular and powerful gay groups who get shed loads of funding seem not wanting to address their own or words to that effect. That PMI and others highly publicized press conference is another such example with the UK high commission in 2015 on MSM/transgender homelessness albeit the very homeless were absent (yet again) and not given voice with the very member of parliament in attendance yet no help can seem to come to the populations yet still after so many years of grief in New Kingston proper for the past twenty plus years of the problem. Perception is everything in the world of behaviour and legislative change; there is no way around it and truth is slowly dying or is in trouble if we believe change can come otherwise; even if it does it will be fleeting and not long lasting.

Think on these things

Peace & tolerance

H


also see:
Oh to change hearts and minds