Men demand ‘Equal Rights’ branded caps in pink .......

pics from the Star news

In a follow up of sorts Effemophobia, RompHim, Sagging, Leggings & Men in Pink concerning the Ishawna matter, I had attempted to address pink, the fear of the feminine I said in part, Bearing in mind we are coming from the days of strong opposition to males wearing, pink & earrings at all to some acceptability to one ear having a knob and it must by the left one to both ears now and even to top parts. Wearing earrings in the right ear was seen as the wearer seen being gay.

clip from the internet

Then there is the business of strident opposition to tight pants, jeggings or leggings wearing by men especially from the older generation of dancehall acts to in their minds legitimise their masculinity, now those very same acts such as Bounty Killa, Beenieman and even Ninjaman (the one who rejected his gay son) all have fallen in line to stay current with trends competing in an ever changing space of dancehall as younger artist rewrite the rules. Please do not leave out the powerful influence by Vybz Kartel who almost single handed changed how male artists are presented in dancehall from the cake soap phenomenon to the Michael Jackson look.

Meanwhile

One group of entrepreneurs who have sought to capitalise on the popularity of Ishawna's controversial single; 'Equal Rights,' says even men have demanded the branded caps sporting the song's title above the peak.

At a price of US$20 or J$2,200, a representative who spoke with THE STAR says the hats are in high demand, with a great number of Jamaican females living locally and abroad wanting them.

But they stressed that orders have been coming in from both genders.

Despite offering promotional services and the creation of visuals (including, music videos and video ads), a representative of the group (Lus TV) responsible for advertising the headwear, says that they decided to dabble in the production of the branded caps because of the slang's popularity.

"You know say this a Jamaica and slang kinda run Jamaica and supm weh people a ketch on to so as a yute inna the street weh no have a nine to five and me see say me can grab on pon something fi mek a income, me try it," he said.

The caps are manufactured in the US and shipped to Jamaica with a merchant based in Westmoreland. But customers who order the product can have them delivered islandwide.

Notwithstanding the division of opinion on the songs, the representative is confident they will generate a profit from the sale of the caps.

"It's a gamble; you don't know if you ago mek back yu money or not," the representative said. And for those who are against the message of Equal Rights, they also have 'counteraction caps'.

"We have 'No Eating Rights' hats fi the man dem," the representative said. "Me give a person who work inna a franchise some to sell and fi har own dem finish."

With the success of the caps, the proprietors of Lus TV plan to delve further into the manufacturing apparel.

"Yea, we intend to produce skirts for females and different styles of hats with Equal Rights. We'll also be premiering our Summer 17 skirts in a few weeks along with His Queen, Her King, Yardie and Stressfree shirts and blouse for males and females," he said.

ENDS

Frankly this entire episode is just showing sheer ignorance and a failurse of our education systems over the year, it is a wonder I have seen no backlash on the pink of the hat, that was once vilified.

Peace & tolerance

H

Effemophobia, RompHim, Sagging, Leggings & Men in Pink

One of Vybz Kartel's early sojourn in his image change after the 'cake soap' and skin bleaching journey where he literally changed right before our eyes to much backlash. now he is the most worshipped DJ

So here we are again and nonsensically so this old familiar place with effemophobia, the fear of the unknown. There are other more important issues that require outrage but get very little or none. We have come a good way yet still from the days of the strong abhorrence to wearing pink especially in the dancehall space where it was seen as an anathema to men called gays or ‘fish,’ and men who wore earrings now earrings are now the norm, I remember an incident just in front the infamous Pernel Charles arcade in 1989 (an arcade often accused of having down-low men and cougarism), after coming from school I witnessed a man was literally mobbed after wearing a knob in his right ear. His American accent was what saved him in part but he was warned about it by men who play dominoes at the entrance. 

Bearing in mind we are coming from the days of strong opposition to males wearing, pink & earrings at all to some acceptability to one ear having a knob and it must by the left one to both ears now and even to top parts. Wearing earrings in the right ear was seen as the wearer seen being gay.

Then there is the business of strident opposition to tight pants, jeggings or leggings wearing by men especially from the older generation of dancehall acts to in their minds legitimise their masculinity, now those very same acts such as Bounty Killa, Beenieman and even Ninjaman (the one who rejected his gay son) all have fallen in line to stay current with trends competing in an ever changing space of dancehall as younger artist rewrite the rules. Please do not leave out the powerful influence by Vybz Kartel who almost single handed changed how male artists are presented in dancehall from the cake soap phenomenon to the Michael Jackson look.

Vybz Kartel when he finally revealed new look after retreating from the public domain and 'bleaching' see: Gay look for Kartel  the tight clothes says it all.

Kartel in the FAG shirt, here is a comment from one of the more cynical dancehall forums as he was slowly changing his image, he looks when darker than the photo above 

 Jamaica's top Controversial DJ vibes Kartel was seen in the weird piece of attire recently at Sebas birthday bash in the Bahamas held at Club "Luna". The words FAG were clearly seen on the purple shirt he was wearing on stage. This latest piece of episode is having people wondering if the DJ is coming out of the closet, is pulling off another publicity stunt (however subtle), whether it is a mistake in not looking at the shirt before wearing it or was it photo-chopped. Whatever the case maybe it should be interesting to see what unfolds from this one.. but Bwoy... i dont know rasta ..  I dont  know!!.. how come the man guh wear a shirt weh clearly seh something bout battyman knowing the phobia and culture of his homeland... anything for a Visa?.. I just dont know rasta... Gaza gone luu... again. LoL

A CNN story on the Rompers outfits for men has stirred up a major firestorm on the dancehall circuit and wrapped into it as the other ignorance laden nonsense is that the clothes effectively reflect one’s sexuality automatically; when are we going to get over this I don’t know. The CNN article read in part:

"CNN)Male romper. RompHim. Bro romper (bromper?). Public onesie. Jumpsuit, variety: short. Or, perhaps, just a romper that happens to be worn by a man."

Whatever you call it, the one-piece clothing item preferred by babies and women at outdoor concerts has officially hit the male fashion mainstream

Backward reactions

Damion Crawford, former MP, and who was accused himself of being gay and a divisive contrarian writing on Facebook, said

".........if u are a man and own/owned or intend to own a romper unfriend me NOW ... not only on social media unfriend me in real life".

I wonder if he only did that to get more attention to himself especially after the discontinuation of his talk show on Nationwide radio? Although he lectures at the University of the West Indies. I still think it is some closet queens who are the problem people in a form of internalised homophobia This is the same Damian Crawford by the way how shot down the so called promised or suggested conscience vote made by then opposition leader of the PNP Portia Simpson Miller just two months after it was made, which made it clear to me that no such vote would have occurred. If Mr Crawford was so squeaky clean and purely heterosexual why would an accusation thrown at him questioning his sexuality come about? see: Former PNP MP Damion Crawford dismisses gay rumours and  PNP's Damion Crawford on Homosexuality's legality ......................... 2012 and PNP's Damion Crawford says it's highly unlikely buggery review will happen ........ it's not important now

There has been a huge wave of memes about the idea of male rompers, called Romphim, becoming a new fashion trend.

also see: 

when it was in October 2009 that the Elephant was called a "Fish" by another artist. 

Clearly not amused about the fashion, Jesus Alarcon, a Facebook user, said that 

"With every year that passes man get gayer and gayer."

Reginald C Mcgee, another Facebook user, said the wearing of male rompers is a sure telltale sign of homosexuality.

"Ladies if your man wears one of these ... he has a boyfriend," he wrote. The backwardness is disturbing in a sense to watch was one would have thought in this social media age and access to a wealth of information we still have stigmatization as this despite the previous waves as hinted to above.

bear in mind they are not as tight as jeggins and such, it looks more like a sleepwear item.

ACED Design, which has placed the product on crowdfunding website Kickstarter, said the RompHim as "pretty damn comfortable, and it may just be the start of a fashion revolution."

So far so 2,054 backers have pledged US$234,742, far surpassing the US$10,000 that was targeted. Well at least someone sees a major opportunity and has acted but when our education systems over years do not properly teach sexual orientation matters we are bound to have nonsense like this continue.

However, if the strong sentiments being expressed on social media are anything to go by, the Romphim will die of suffocation. "Weh romper a go??? Not here," (Where is romper going, not here) user Jerome West wrote on Facebook. I say let us what happens when the dust settles, there was opposition to pink worn by men but when some realise the world was not going to end pink became OK, let us see. As far as I am concerned the Rompers or influenced by or are an extension of the braces worn short pant often worn on golf courses or by the upper classes at brunches, tea at high noon or picnics.

Women were also indignant at the idea. Millicent Needham posted: "Real man nuh play romper, leave it to the ladies".

Aneisha Smith wrote on her Facebook page that: "If I ever have a man and him wear this kmt".

a comparison with short pants with suspenders and a version of Romphim it is clear to me some influence of the shape

I remember for example Beenieman’s song on fashion designers where he said in part:
............ Versace ah bugga man but yet still it wear by big badman (Versace is a gay man but yet its gansgters who rock the brand) listen the song HERE:

here are the two at a lyrical clash in 2004, Beenieman was ridiculed about his pink hat and dancehall forums had a field day questioning his sexuality

Yet although these artists promote murder music in their repertoire they wear the designs and also have songs about the brands as a form of legitimizing affordability and wealth associated with being a star. Monster Shack Crew had a song called ‘Bad Man Nuh Dress like Girl’ which spoke to some anti gay tight pants but shows clear hypocrisy as the fashion designers praised in the song are foreign gay men, it reads in part ...... (translation attempts)
 the lead singer at the time, pay attention to the look

Verse 1:

Mi look bush and bashy

Inna mi Moschino and mi latest Versace

We nuh bore nose an wi nuh too Jheri

Natural as mi born a so mi gal dem tell mi

Hey yow,

Some bwoy get drawn out

Face guh bleach out, deh pan a wrong route (face bleached out as they seem to go the wrong route)

Look like a gal when him a guh out

Dem mistake him tek him fi gal inna crowd (Looks like a girl & mistaken as a girl in the crowd)

Chorus:

Badman nuh dress like girl

We nuh bore nose an wi nuh bleach face an

We nuh wear drop curl

Some freaky freaky bwoy fi stop dress like girl

Verse 2:

Nuh man nuh look suh

See dem up suh, see dem dung suh

Know say Monster Shack dem naah dress suh

Yes yes, di wrong song him guh sing

Him nose guh bore him a wear belly skin (a man's nose of pierced and wears belly skin)

Fi lef dat to Cicilyn and Jacqueline (leave that to Cicilyn & Jacqueline)

Scare Dem knock him out with a cold Heineken .. (knock him out cold with a Heineken)

his more modern look

Male skin bleaching which was strongly frowned upon and drop curls of long hair for men outside of Rastafarism. Men now are putting in extensions and sitting in hair dressing parlours (which could explain why so many barber shops converge with hairdressers) as men get shaved and the traditional lining up services but simply walk over to the mostly female hairdresser and put in or touch up the rope twists. Male skin bleaching is now the rage alongside near full body tattooing but with stiff competition out there acts some without any serious creativity gifts have to do all kinds of gimmickry to gain a following, going to ever more extremes. But most of those elements are near normative, the aging members of that group all have dyed hair even from in their heyday and at one point wore bubbles, all bleach their skin and as for tight pants and sagging they have to keep up toe to toe with the current crop.

A video had surfaced on Youtube with Ninjaman and Beenieman in a verbal altercation, the same Ninjaman who years ago was in strong opposition on a murder music trajectory offered death threats in song for men who violate, he was wearing a very skin hugging pants that he once abhorred:

The matter of Romp(him) (er) came up discussion on Nationwide radio, the Miss Kitty show and misguidedly so, as nearly all her guests we exuding fear, subtle homophobia of a simple outfit in its original form which is not even as close fitting as the RompHim version of it. According to the gospel of Miss Kitty, she was not into those ‘Aquarium ting deh’ and other similar comments obviously thrown a homophobic barb, for someone pursuing law that is not the kind of behaviour that should be coming from her; for my international readers the concept of an aquarium is homophobic speak for a ‘fish’, one of the ever changing stigmatizing terms used to compartmentalise homosexuals, we have moved from She-Fu man that originated mostly in the rural parts through to ‘number two’ to ‘funny man’ to ‘chi-chi man a term not so used anymore as before to ‘Shim’ but the traditional ‘battyman or batteyman’ still reigns.

Of note Nationwide radio has since apologised only this morning at around 8:20am during the ‘This Morning’ show when co-host Dennis Brooxs (actual spelling) without naming Miss Kitty’s show said that they were sorry of the offensive content broadcast on May 23(Labour Day) during 3:20 pm to 5pm. By the Broadcasting Commission’s guidelines radio stations have to run apologies after questionable content. Apparently some music played on air with rather was not so pleasing to the air. At least some sense has prevailed in reigning in some seemingly wayward DJs who apparently should not be even behind a microphone.

Meanwhile to think it is not even a month since I did a post on 

Gay Jamaica Watch of an incident in Spanish Town that I witnessed just outside the Tastee Patties store on Burke Road, a tight pants sagging character clashed with another man and was for all intents and purposes was humiliated to much laughter by others and labelled as gay (battyman).

Lil Wayne (from the internet)

The African American influences from such as Little Wayne and newer acts where leggings and sagging are markers of a legitimate but fashion forward thug as usual has had an impact on cultures in the Caribbean. Our dancehall acts look up and follow very closely the trends and copy or adjust their image to match as close as possible ‘the look’. Sagging was last thing I expected to in Jamaica especially how low the jeans, leggings hang as the buttocks covered of course in the brand name boxers shorts to show the affordability of the brand; now more and more men despite that fear cycle seem quite proud to show their covered cakes and it also shows some legitimacy of a fashion forward thug as well.

For god’s sake when are we as a nation in greater numbers; just get over some of the nonsense.

Mek we see nuh

Peace & tolerance

H 

also see:
Vybz Kartel lashes back with "Woman Wi Love" song, has he forgotten it is he who blurred the lines of his own sexuality? 

Vybz Kartel from Anti Bleaching advocate to The King of "The Rub" 

Battyman bashing while ‘cakes’ are out .. 

That oral sex debate again with Ishawna.......

I was not going to enter the whole Ishawna controversy on her song on ‘Human Rights’ power negotiations and oral sex in heterosexual relations. I was asked what I thought about it and frankly it just shows how backward we are yet still as a nation and have a long way to go on supposed taboo subjects including homosexuality despite major increased visibility and social media to boot. To easily measure the place in terms of changing hearts and minds I try to encourage persons to look at the oral sex debates when they occur and or reactions when it comes to public attention. The very Ishawna of which I speak is the very same and relatively a newcomer in dancehall female arena who had shot a lesbian themed video with another female dancehall female DJ which also caused a major firestorm, bearing in mind that the previous queen of dancehall Lady Saw now known as Marion Hall has converted to Christianity so the rawness of the sexually explicit and undiluted lyrics so I guess the gloves are off for beef manufactured or not is the way to stay in the marker or on the radar, attention span by the easily bored public these days is short so I guess any drama goes as entertainment. Lady Saw had made it clear of her songs in her heyday that she not ‘cleaning any rifle’ 

also see: We're not lesbians - Stylysh clarifies song with Ishawna .......... 2014 and "Rimming" promoting DJ gets blamed for freaky singjay's ostracism & death threats and Alkaline (Rimming DJ) gets a homophobic response from newcomer Dwayno's track 2014

Comments are still pouring in days later, 

Pamella Parks
"Ishawna, remember the kids them cause them a listen it behind the door so yah fi cut down pon it, but mi like yu music. Princess Street girls them love it. Bag juice and Pepsi...Wow!"

Christine Hall
"Mi a no a fan of but the song just nice and right on point. Mi honestly believe say she deserve a Grammy because she brave. Other [male] artiste a sing bout them thing deh and no body nah lick out pon them."

Audrey Crossman
"To each his own. When people inna dem bedroom a dem private thing. I don’t have a problem with it, she a make her honest bread. I would buy the song, I sent it to my boyfriend yesterday."

Javae Simms
"The song deh weh she do a fi man who freaky. A freaky man song dat. But true me know mi a straight foward man. A da thing deh we use fi wul the girl them, we nuh use we upright."

Keron Woods
"I think it is full time a female should actually step up to the plate and show the men in the industry that a nuh only them can come and talk about oral sex. I stand with Ishawna on that song. Equal Rights and Justice."

Ray Buchanan
"People do all sought a foolishness and a mek money offa it. Is just a musical thing and I feel like she just want attention."

Lest we forget another female veteran in the business Cecile had done her song on oral sex and it too had a major firestorm of a reaction from the public but was well accepted within the lesbian community especially when I was more active as a DJ, the drawback for her however there was no social media on a wider scale as know but online blogs and gossip sites and Yahoo groups had the Youtube videos had heavy rotation. In 2013 Female dancehall artistes Tiana, Angelina, Destiny and Cecile are poised to make oral sex a norm locally. Cecile effectively started the movement years ago with her song Do It To Me, however she received backlash from the dancehall community. Sting saw up-and-coming dancehall artiste Angelina performing a song called Head Mistress, in which she said "Mi deep throat it from the root to the stem and mi nuh hav gag reflex problem...mi roll mi tongue like a dice." According to the deejay Jamaica is becoming more liberal with sexuality.

Destiny recently released a song called FUCK, in which she states that she knows to work it on her knees. According to Destiny, Vybz kartel made oral sex a norm for females to speak about, however the males are still skeptic about the matter, even though they might be taking part in oral sex.

Outaroad recording artiste Tiana also toys with the topic of oral sex in her rendition of Vybz Kartel's Freaky Gyal. She says she loves a man that uses his mouth in bed.

Tiana's song then had over 20,000 views on YouTube.com in one hour and had mixed views from the dancehall fans. 

It’s a bit hypocritical to me however that the sex industry or aspects of it heavily encourage the performance in strip clubs and such and even to the point of the ‘Madames’ and in private relations it is strongly suspected that oral sex by way of a man ‘eating out’ his female partner or even going as far as rimming (oral/anal sex); dancehall artist Alkaline got himself into a rut some years ago as well when he was said to be promoting nastiness. Want more hypocrisy just visit the strip clubs in recent years and watch heavily tipping males who go crazy when lesbian themed live sex on stage is presented. Another male artist who openly promoted oral sex found himself the subject of adoration and backlash mostly by men and other DJs and his career has stalled as he has been unable to have a follow up hit. I just cannot wrap my head around what’s the big deal on oral sex made public at least, that’s a decision between the parties involved as consenting adults. Men feel that the woman must always play the subservient sexual role by cleaning the stick as it were; a recent motor vehicle crash where the driver died was said to have been caused by a woman performing oral sex from which he was distracted which led to the unfortunate end.

The Star had carried this: Not all rights are equal - selectors, deejays shun Ishawna's oral sex song. 

DIFFERENT VIEWS 

Artistes like Bounty Killer's protege Prince Pin, KipRrich, and Don Vital have begged to differ with Ishawna's position.

Their response songs have ranged from outright disrespecting Ishawna, to simply trying to steer her in the direction the artistes deem appropriate.

Carlington Wilmot, who produced KipRich's song No Eating Rights under his label Wilmot Records, told THE STAR that Ishawna is rightfully using controversy to regain attention in the dancehall.

"Some artistes have to realise that when controversy got you out then you have to keep being controversial, so I guess she is going that route now. KipRich's song is representing for the man dem weh know that they stay healthy by working out so they know how to satisfy their women without having to do certain things. It's not every woman want oral sex," Wilmot said. 

GOING TOO EASY 

Prince Pin, however, held no punches. He believes KipRich and other artistes were going too easy on Ishawna and only counteracted her song for attention.

"You have to send a clear message, we can't mek dem mash up wi music, suh mi a fight fire wid fire. Some things yu see in the world, don't bring it in dancehall. We can't allow her to mislead the kids and I have a daughter so no bumpa inna face. Mi nah fake nothing, mi a be real and buss it for rights. " he said.

Ishawna couldn't be reached for comment. However, she did post a video on Instagram claiming the song was rising despite backlash.

"When dem seh your song nah go ever play in parties. Who vex? I love my fans," she captioned.

Her ex-boyfriend, selector Foota Hype, who was drawn into the mix by Prince Pin, who mentioned his name on his record, declined to comment.

"No comment bout certain people," he said.

The ‘dem bow’ or ‘nyam under two foot table’ resistance towards a man performing oral sex on a woman is so real and dated that men feel they will be reduced in terms of the power dynamics play out in the liaison. This is outside of the cougar phenomenon (older more financially stable woman with a younger male as a stud); this latest episode is showing me at least the more things change the more they stay the same given the exposure to matters of sexuality on social media but sheeesh we are right back at the 1980s. I can remember the Shabba Ranks massive hit anti oral sex anthem “Dem Bow” and then subsequent younger DJs who made sure that in their repertoire there must be songs blasting oral sex (openly that it) and of course murder music to be considered a legitimate star, art imitating life or what? Then there is the blackmail component of all of this, if word hits the streets that Tom or George is an eater it can literally lead to ostracism from social circles combined with merciless ridicule. It is easy to say one does not condone oral sex but privately you just never know.

Strangely in the face of the anti oral sex wave a short lived imported billboard dancemusic #1 hit in the 1990s from a group called 20 Fingers ft Roula entitled ‘Lick It’ which goes straight to the point and was heavily rotated on the club and ironically street dance circuit however but that could have been the aftermath from their massive hit prior “Short Dick Man” with Gillete on vocals; which also influenced the role play emphasis but the female in the song is emphasizing power in the penis. Roula’s demand prior to her partner penetrating her is quite clear, the lyrics says it all:

“You gotta lick it so we can kick it, you gotta get it soft and wet so we can kick it ................ give my cat a taste you gotta face it so that I can get high...........”

There is a clearly defined prerequisite before any penetration which if we are to go by local standards my turn off many men on the face of it, then again we are not in the room when the act if about to unfold; the intervening factor must not be there in the eyes of some Jamaican men. The demand by Roula also could be a function by some women of feeling unsatisfied by men who do not engage in foreplay which makes the session just a walk through on the woman’s part as arousal is low. Porn globally definitely has helped to set that timetable for sex, oral action comes first then penetration follows thereafter. Sex is seen more as a violent act more than that of pleasure and even in lesbian relationships in some sense that thinking comes through; the concept of sex toys by way of strap-ons and effectively mimicking heterosexual sex and harder the wearer of the device goes during the act then more legitimate she will be seen. 

A fight at a strip club in Kingston some time ago involving a butch identified woman (yet again) and the comments made during the melee was enough to give a picture of who is the ‘boss’ in the bigger scheme of things despite the butch woman allows her partner to dance on stage but complains when a male patron tipped her and openly engaged the stripper when sent the butch woman into a rage. The aggressor repeatedly reminded those in earshot who was ‘pushing wood’ (penis) and she was proud of doing so but no woman is going to perform oral sex on her but she will proudly perform it on another woman; that seems to be the near opposite of the current Ishawna hetero-normative power differentials. It gets further complicated when the demarcations of studs and butches as the former is not considered legitimate enough as a bonafide lesbian but can be flexible in terms of oral sex, dominant role play, femme aesthetics and community acceptance in some sense. 

meanwhile Nationwide radio did this discussion:

and the so called Messiah of freak J Amsterdam on his pro-oral sex song

Let us see where this goes as change is so slow when it comes to enlightenment.

Peace & tolerance

H

Melissa Etheridge for Peter Tosh's 'Legalize It' Remake

Long before it was relatively comfortable for entertainers to come out as gay or lesbian there were only a few who were able to ride the waves at the time, especially in the 1980s. Celebrities such as 

Boy George, George Michael, Elton John, Sylvester (long before Rupaul) and Melissa Etheridge helped to open the door, alonside Carl 'Born This Way' Bean with the Pet SHop Boys and do not leave out Sinead Oconnor the imagery alone of Boy George left the impression of many ignorant Jamaicans that were gay men were just persons wanting to be women without understanding androgyny and sexual orientation matters then came folks such as 

Angelique Kidjo, Tracy Chapman, KD 'Constant Craving' Lang and much later our very own Diana King or Frankie Ocean. A media report recently stated that Melissa Ethridge was confirmed for the upcoming Peter Tosh event and unfortunately I won’t be able to make it, darned I have to club to be at.

Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Her self-titled debut album Melissa Etheridge was released in 1988 and became an underground success. The album peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. In 1993, Etheridge won her first Grammy award for her single "Ain't It Heavy" from her third album, Never Enough. Later that year, she released what would become her mainstream breakthrough album, Yes I Am. Its tracks "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window" both reached the top 30 in the United States, and the latter earned Etheridge her second Grammy award. Yes I Am peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and spent 138 weeks on the chart, earning a RIAA certification of 6x Platinum, her largest to date.


In October 2004, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, she made a return to the stage and, although bald from chemotherapy, performed a tribute to Janis Joplin with the song "Piece of My Heart". Etheridge's performance was widely lauded, with India.Arie writing "I Am Not My Hair" about Etheridge. Later that year, Etheridge released her first compilation album, Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled. The album was a success, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, and going Gold almost immediately. Her latest studio album is This Is M.E..

It was just over 40 years ago, in 1976, that Peter Tosh released his classic hit song Legalize It from the album of the same name. The song was written by Tosh as a response to his ongoing victimisation by the Jamaican police, but it was also a political statement pushing for the legalisation of marijuana. In ganja's pre-emancipation era, Legalize It became a unifying anthem that brought like-minded exponents of the herb together from diverse countries and cultures.

In recent years, the perception of marijuana has changed radically, with many jurisdictions now making allowances for research as well as for recreational and medicinal use of the herb. This year, to celebrate International Peter Tosh Day on April 20, the Peter Tosh Estate is releasing a 2017 remix of this powerful and prophetic canticle, which was from the first album Tosh released after leaving the Wailers.

The remix project will take the form of a collaboration among several artistes from various genres. Those confirmed so far are Melissa Etheridge, Angelo Moore of Fishbone, Tommy Chong, Denroy Morgan, Wanz, Septimius, Brett from Roots of Creation, Marlon the Ganja Farmer, Dre Tosh, and Tosh 1. Additional artistes are being invited to participate, especially those from Jamaica who share Tosh's vision of the utilisation of marijuana free from all forms of hostilities.

MULTIPLE VERSIONS

Chris 'C Rod' Rodriguez is producing the initial version, and there will be alternative versions remixed by other guest producers at a later date.

The Peter Tosh Estate told The Sunday Gleaner that with the legalisation movement finally gaining traction both in Jamaica and abroad, now seemed like the perfect time to bring together some of today's biggest talent and supporters to put their own spin on this timeless classic.

"Tosh fans and music lovers have come to realise that Peter's bold stance was one of the first real calls to action for the legalisation of ganja," Brian Latture, manager of the Peter Tosh Estate and Peter Tosh 420, said. "And with Peter's dream now becoming a reality in many parts of the world, he has continued to be seen as one of the first real champions of this movement."

Her biggest hit “Come to My Window” with that haunting husky vocals is what I suspect everyone wants to hear among other hits from the ‘Road Less Travelled’ album, a recent show involving a popular lesbian rapper went off with very little hitch as comments suggest her sexuality was of least concern as she was seen a good at her rap but one wonders if we will ever see such acceptance as it were of an openly gay singer anytime soon. I can remember the uproar that occurred when the then Jazz Festival folks booked The Village People and antigay fearmongering fanatics namely one Shirley Richards of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship opposed it to the hilt, the group was eventually removed from the bill, years later the same nonsense came up again when Elthon John was booked and he too was removed from the marquee. It was as if just the mere presence on stage was enough to supposedly homosexualise those in sight of the gay stars.

I hope they make some videos of the performance of Miss Ethridge for us to enjoy in the meantime here is the big song. Meanwhile Melissa Ethridge has been a supporter of the weed for years for medical use as she stated on a CNN interview:

Peace & tolerance

H

French ‘Vogue’ Has Its First Transgender Cover Model

Vogue Paris has its first transgender cover star, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio, the BBC reports:

“In her editorial column for next month’s issue, Emmanuelle Alt goes on to say the transgender model is the “absolute equal” of other iconic women in fashion. ‘Apart from one small detail, Valentina, the femme fatale, was born a boy,’ she adds. ‘It’s a detail one would prefer not to have to mention… but Valentina is on the cover of Vogue this month, not just for her looks or her sparkling personality, but because despite herself she embodies an age-old arduous struggle to be recognized and not to be perceived as something Other.'”

Adds American Vogue:

In her editor’s letter in the issue, Alt writes that when Sampaio turned up at a studio in London to be shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, she looked exactly like her idea of a typical French Vogue beauty, any Vogue beauty, no different from Daria Werbowy or Anna Ewers; it’s just that she happened to be born a boy. Alt goes on to say she felt it was important right now, crucial even, to celebrate those who are transgender, adding that when the day comes that a model like Sampaio can appear on a magazine cover without the publication needing to mention a model’s chosen gender identity, then victory really will have been achieved. 

The influential Monica Roberts leading African American blogger had a thing or two to say on this on her TransGriot blog:

" 'But only when a transgender person poses on the front cover of a fashion magazine and it is no longer necessary to write an editorial on the subject will we know that the battle is won.-Emmanuelle Alt, French Vogue editor

The French edition of Vogue magazine was founded in 1920, and despite the long list of stunning French trans women like Coccinelle, Marie-Pier Ysser, Marie-Pierre 'Bambi' Pruvot and most recently model Ines-Loan Rau, I was surprised to discover that Vogue Paris has never had a trans woman on the cover of their magazine until now.

The trans woman who has made that breakthrough fashion and French magazine history is Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio.  She recently graced the cover of Elle Brazil, and has starred in an ad campaign for L'oreal Paris.

"This month we are proud to celebrate transgender beauty and how models like Valentina Sampaio, who is posing for her first ever Vogue cover, are changing the face of fashion and deconstructing prejudice."said Vogue Paris on their Instagram account and pic of the historic cover."

The 21 year old Sampaio is also set to rip the runway for Saint Laurent soon, and will be on the March cover of Vogue Paris that hits newsstands on February 23.  It is the first time ever that a trans feminine woman has graced the cover of any French magazine. 

The translated French title from the cover reads:  Transgender beauty; How they're shaking up the world.

We most certainly are.  It's also just another day and another historic accomplishment checked off the list for my sisters here in the US and around the world who are part of the long stylish line of trans models.

Vogue Paris editor Emmanuelle Alt said,"Valentina is on the cover of Vogue this month, not just for her looks or her sparkling personality, but because despite herself she embodies an age-old arduous struggle to be recognised and not to be perceived as something Other.”

Good news on the business of transgender visibility and fashion in particular. 

also see:

Valentina Sampaio Appears On Cover Of Brazilian ELLE

The long stylish line of trans models has led the way in breaking ground for our community not only in the modeling world, but at times through their activism on behalf of themselves and this community. 

Proud to announce that for the first time in the 111 year history of the iconic Spiegel catalog, a girl like us will grace the cover of it.

Arisce Wanzer in October 2016, who recently appeared as one of the stars of the reality show Strut, is the model who will be making this inevitable breakthrough. 

Congratulations to her, and hope to continue seeing her do her thing in the modeling world.  It also proves once again if given an opportunity to do so, we (LGBT) can don anything and excel at it.

Peace & tolerance

H

Lesbian rapper to perform in Jamaica ..............

Event manager and record producer Zum has announced that he will be bringing lesbian rapper Young M.A to Jamaica for Brit Jam 2017.

The event is slated to take place between March 8 and 14. According to the promoter, his target audience is excited about the rapper's visit and people are not concerned about her sexual orientation.

"People don't care about her sexual preference. They just like her music. This is the first lesbian rapper to dominate the rap scene, so this is history in the making, and Brit Jam is the first to bring her to Jamaica," he said. I wish it was always like that we could save ourselves a lot of grief.

Zum

Zum also said that based on his market research, male and female fans alike welcome the rapper's visit. He, however, admitted that if he had booked a male gay rapper, then, perhaps, his audience would have raised serious concerns.

"We tend to accept females in Jamaica. Once it's a woman, it's fine with us. But if it was a man, I know some people wouldn't like that," he said.

Young M.A is known for songs like Quiet Storm and Ooouuu, which peaked at number 19 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart last year.

LOCAL ACTS

The event will also feature other international acts such as Genuine and Bernice. There will also be performances from local acts, including Ding Dong, Tanto Blacks, Tifa, I-Octane, Konshens and Shenseea.

"Brit Jam only does the hottest, and we are feeling Young M.A's vibe. When you go to events and see how people react to her music, it is amazing. People literally wait until the second verse of her song, and nowadays, that is rare," he said.

Zum did not wish to disclose how much it will cost to book the rapper for Brit Jam. However, he did reveal that her booking fee is not cheap.

meanwhile the performer's profile includes:

Early life

Young M.A was born in 1992 in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 9, she began rapping.For over nine years, she has been in Virginia, although never staying in one place for long, moving to several cities while in the South. At the age of 16, she moved back to Brooklyn.

Career Music

Young M.A began to embarked her music career, when she was self-funding its recording studio with local record producers, after she was working at Shake Shack and T.J. Maxx. In 2014, she gained notoriety, when a Facebook post criticizing her song, called "Brooklyn Chiraq" that went viral. The post's author, pundit Boyce Watkins, said the song promoted "violent, negative, genocidal energy", but the controversy expanded Young M.A's name recognition and brought in some new listeners to her work. In 2015, Young M.A released a new song, called "Body Bag", which became a "YouTube hit" said Rolling Stone, along with the release of her mixtape, called Sleep Walkin', which MTV describes as a "thoughtful debut project".

In 2016, Young M.A released her official debut single, called "Ooouuu" which peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In September 2016, the song nearly had 7 million plays on Spotify[8] and was widely remixed, with other rappers and hip hop artists such as French Montana, Remy Ma, Jadakiss, Uncle Murda, A$AP Ferg and Tink, who all of them were putting out their versions to that song. At Stereogum, Tom Breihan said "Ooouuu" was "a brash, intense, hard-as-fuck piece of rider music...the song feels like it marks the arrival of a major rap talent." The Fader said Young M.A has "establishe[d] herself as a quintessential New York MC", and at MTV, Doreen St. Félix said, "This summer, the atmosphere belongs to Young M.A and her single 'OOOUUU.'" The song's popularity drew attention from labels, though M.A remains an independent artist.

At the 2016's BET Hip Hop Awards, she did a freestyle on a cypher and performed her single, "Ooouuu", giving what XXL Magazine described as "show-stopping freestyle...one of the best freestyles of the night"; despite the enthusiasm for her performance, Young M.A expressed disappointment, saying BET cut out a portion of her performance.

Other projects

In 2016, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Young M.A said she'd been offered the role of Frieda Gatz on Empire, but turned it down, preferring to pursue her own career as a rapper instead of being known first as a fictional character.

Personal life

Young M.A is a lesbian, a topic that she includes in her music. She told Vogue that coming out had been an important point in her artistic development, saying "I held in being sexually attracted to women for so long that once I got that out of me, the music became easy."

In 2009, Young M.A's brother died.

She is of Puerto Rican and Jamaican descent.

Peace & tolerance

H

CTO cannot compel countries to cater to LGBT travellers .......

FLORIDA, United States – Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Hugh Riley says while the body has provided information on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) travellers to its member countries, it cannot compel them to cater to that group of vacationers.

“What we do is to bring the matter to discussion and we’ve not been shy about that at all. We brought all kinds of matter, including the LGBT matter, to the agenda of our annual conference. We have brought experts in on all sides of the issue, that’s our responsibility,” he argued.

He stressed however, that it is then up to each member country to decide how they want to deal with the issue.

“It’s a form of self-determination. It’s a form of member countries who are independent sovereign countries making their national policy, and that is how we have to accept it as a regional body. National policy from one country to another determines how vigorously that country wants to approach any particular niche,” Riley explained.

He was speaking to Caribbean journalists during the 18th Annual Shared Ownership Investment Conference at the Eden Roc Miami Beach Hotel in Florida, earlier this week.

Several Caribbean destinations, including St Maarten and Curacao, have openly accepted LGBT vacationers, while others privately welcome them.

also see:

J'cans Tap Gay Online Rental Market - Misterb&B Seen As Opportunity To Diversify Income 

Caribbean tourism must reflect changing demands ....... pink $$$ anyone? 

Jamaica Should Open Arms To Gay Tourism

Gay Tourism Potential? (Letter plus) 

LGBT tourism breaks through US$200 billion in annual spending 

Cuba's shot in the arm for LGBTQ personhood & pink tourism 

Jamaica has sat back and watched Cuba and indeed other Caribbean states despite lesser anti homosexual sentiments move into the arena of LGBTQ tourism. The few properties who offer only online accommodation to said markets do so on their own with very little support to the Tourism Product Development Company, TPDco; they are now slowly coming to their senses it is said as Airbnb is here and other knock off types forge ahead.

My present DJ residency for example is a product of that informal offshoot as the outfit Bubbles Bar is a paid membership structure catering to special markets from overseas mostly of gay and bisexual men over forty and who like dance, circuit and rave music. The outfit has its successes from Friday to Sunday nights with an aggressive marketing team and owner who is always seeking customers.

Think our way out of the loss nationally I suppose.

Peace & tolerance

H