Str8 men who watch lesbian porn ..................

The homosexual component of lesbian porn is what it appealing to heterosexual men I feel. While heterosexual men are increasingly accepting of gay people in society, I believe that many men still retain feelings that homosexuality is "wrong" or "taboo." This is not to say that these men are disingenuous when they express their support for gay people/rights. It is simply an acknowledgment that most American men (even young ones) grew up in a society that was intolerant of gay people. That experience has left an imprint on them which they have retained, even though they have overcome that imprint in many of their conscious thoughts and activities.

Lesbian porn provides men with exposure to homosexual activity in a manner that is acceptable to them because they do not feel like they are homosexual for watching it. Many people's sexual fantasies involve activities that are considered taboo by societal standards. In the case of lesbian porn, heterosexual men are able to engage in taboo activity, even though they are not gay.

Here is a question and answer exchange on the issue, I do not agree so much with doc's answer and the answer should have explored a little more the issue of attraction and orientation.

My Husband Went To A Lesbian Show

Question: 

Doc, my husband recently visited Prague in the Czech Republic on business. He came back and told me, with some embarrassment, that he and his colleagues went to a 'lesbian show.'

At first, I was very angry and ready for divorce, because I thought he was going to say that while he was at this theatre, he had sex with one of the women. But to my relief, that was not so.

However, I am still pretty mad at him, because he said that he and his colleagues sat in the front row and eyed all these girls who took off their clothes while dancing on the stage.

What really infuriated me was that, apparently, the main item of the show was a sort of 'lesbian display' between two beautiful women who stood there stark naked and kissed each other - and then did all sorts of rude things to each other's bodies. There was also some oral 'sex kissing'.

He said that all his colleagues got very excited by this. But he claimed to have just 'appreciated the artistic side of it'. I asked him if he was trying to be funny! Then I locked myself in the bedroom for a few hours, and refused to speak to him.

Doc, I would like to ask your advice on this matter. Why do men go and look at naked women performing sexual acts on each other? And why on earth did my husband go along with this? After all, he could have got up and walked out.

Finally, do you think he achieved sexual excitement from such a gross and indecent spectacle?

Answer: 

I am sorry that you got so mad about this. Obviously, you are very upset about the idea of your spouse watching a lesbian show - and (worse still) perhaps getting excited about it!

In recent years, the historic and beautiful city of Prague has become famous for this sort of stage show. Large parties of men (and some women) go to watch.

I have stated in this column before that when you have a group of men who are away from home together, there is a certain 'peer pressure' which makes them feel that they have to join in with what is going on. So it probably would have been difficult for your husband to have walked away from the rest of his group. He was in a foreign city, where he presumably did not speak the language, so it might have been difficult for him to get back to his hotel.

Now you ask me whether he 'achieved sexual excitement' while watching those lesbian frolics. Well, I have to admit that it is quite possible. But my advice to you is not to pursue such questions as to whether he got an erection or not. I think discussing that would only cause trouble.

As you rightly suggest, it is curious that so many men do get excited by the idea of lesbianism between very attractive women. No one has ever come up with a very satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon. At the moment, Google has 600,000 websites which attempt to explain it!

Personally, I cannot provide an answer. But perhaps it may be with the well-known male belief that 'four breasts must be even better than two'.

Anyway, I think we must just accept that your husband and his colleagues went to this silly show together. Nothing will change that, but I hope that he won't do it again, in view of the distress which he knows it has caused you.

But there is one good thing to concentrate on. As far as we know, your husband did not have sex with any of the women afterwards and that, at least, is something to be grateful for.

ENDS

Some quick stereotypes comes to mind for example:

Why do straight men like lesbians as friends?

Some like having women friends who will always be just friends

Some value diversity in their social circle

Why do straight men feel attracted to lesbians?

Straight men are attracted to women

Lesbians are women

Why do straight men specifically chase lesbians?

Some think lesbianism is a phase

Some think they can get any women they want

Some think their infatuation is enough to overcome her disinterest

Some think this is their ticket to a threesome

Keep talking folks.

also see:

Why do some lesbians or bi women like gay male porn?

Peace & tolerance

H

Lesbians, robbery, mistaken Identity & a wrongly accused man beaten

Queen Latifah from 'Set it Off' 2012 blockbuster immortalizing the butch woman gangsta aka 'Man Royal' in Jamaica

Gordon Pen, St Catherine by a popular community shop was the scene as persons were both angry and laughing as to the pieces to a strange puzzle of a robbery of the house shop as is customary in such depressed communities. A robbery via a break in took place somewhere between Friday night November 13, 2015 and Saturday the 14th with the result of some $60,000 cash and several grocery items went missing; no dollar value was ascertained for the groceries at the time of gathering this report as I made my way into the community thanks to a brethren who towed me on his bicycle and my investigative curiosity kicked in; I spoke to two ladies I know who reside nearby and who are angry as well as to the allegations and outcomes. The shop is popularly known as ‘Whitey’ nearing the popular section in the community known as ‘the gulf’ and is known for its music and jovial atmosphere with the occasional bashment street dances.

As it turned out the robbery was perpetrated by two women departing from the traditional male perpetrators according to investigations done by some of the men in the area but not before a man who has a bad reputation for break ins inside and outside the community and was subsequently accosted and roughed up by men who took matters in their own hands in a vigilante style approach. Further discussions over the weekend and observations by some of a white car deemed a taxi dropping off or appearing to be picking up items aroused suspicion and a subsequent visit to the address where one of the suspected women reside with her cousin resulted in boxes and bags of items of groceries and phone cards similar to what went missing found; which led to further interrogation by men from the lanes nearby of the driver when returned to make another pickup or drop off as the case may be. He could not give a proper account of the items and why he was making so many stop-offs. He was ordered not to return.

Threats of arson in regards to the house where the items were found and the ladies reside were made but one wonders if it was just hot in the heat of the moment.

As regret set in by some of the area men who participated in an assault exercise of the accused man with the bad break-in reputation residents quickly gathered at the house and were boisterous as they could not accept that the women would have been the ones to rob the popular community shop. The shop’s operator has a reputation of offering credit or as we say in Jamaica ‘trust’ where some other shops tend to have misgivings and so makeshift signs on their doors or entrance spots with wording to the effect ‘No trust’ or ‘No credit’ ‘Absolutely no credit’ which tends to turn off patronage to rival shops who do offer some delayed payment system. The popular shop also offers breakfast at reasonable rates from egg sandwiches for only $60 with a cup of tea and breaks down items that would be sold as a package; for example sliced bread as a whole is sold in slices if persons do not have enough money or Vienna sausages or bulk ones are literally opened and sold in low denominations of one to three and upwards. So one can understand the justification of the upset of the residents; the police were notified they did come eventually and the items left in the house were seized with one of the accused ladies present but not before the angry residents and the ‘shotta thugs’ verbally abused them and the castigation included that they were ‘sodomites’ and living together.

The tense standoff lasted according to my sources some twenty minutes with the cops appealing to the residents to keep calm while the ‘shotta thugs’ could not exact their version of justice and were hampered to execute same since the police were there and warned persons; according to my source their faces said it all as they were peeved they could not act and discipline the girls involved. A truck was said to have arrived to remove their belongings yesterday and the driver and crew were verbally abused but that soon died down. There was some concern that the truck would be trailed by bikers who live in the community in the lucrative bike rental business but with the death last Saturday of a man who rented one of the bikes for $300/2hr without any serious experience he was eventually ran over by a motorist on the main road so such bikers are curtailed for now. Some of the bikes have since been seized and deemed illegal without a license both by riders and machinery alike.

Yesterday afternoon the truck returned to collect the remaining stuff with police which was where I was brought into knowledge of the occurrences as the boisterous residents were out again asking or demanding blood in as far as the accused ladies are concerned; none of them has been seen in the area since and the cops’ visit and the one lady who was on site was not taken in or detained for questioning which to me seems strange. One of the women is said to be a butch identified person or as stereotypically sighted ‘man royal’ a term made popular by dancehall acts such as Beenieman and Elephant Man and used to justify opposition verbally or violently to such women as they are seen as a threat to men especially in the department of multi-partnering; some men really believe that such women are sharp and may steal away other women sexually via good oral sex which may make such passive partners extremely satisfied as they may reach an orgasm easier than with a man. On the opposite side of things butch women are also seen as one of the boys in some circles and are treated as men in a social circle construct; so they do the things the guys do and still be a lady in a sense, smoke weed, dress as a typical ‘thug’ and have and share women or be allowed to access women for sex on behalf of the boys in the circle. Problem is when there is a standoff she is the first to be blamed or castigated as a ‘manroyal’ and or a man wanna be so she deserves anything that comes her way, including violent reactions or corrective rape in the extreme. 

more on the manroyal problems:

THE COURAGEOUS REBELLION OF AUTHENTICITY (external blog) and A VIOLATION RARELY SPOKEN ABOUT: THE ASSAULT ON ONE’S GENDER IDENTITY

Lesbian profiled as ‘Manroyal’ in tussle with men at Portmore Mall

Kicked Out! Lesbian told to leave home by father as he can’t stand the site of her

Woman Labelled “Man Royal” Forced to Relocate from a St Catherine Community

Popular "Cash for Gold" lesbian shot by cops, crisis reporting strategy again seems flawed

The Butch Dynamic/mystique becoming a problem? 2011

Tensions were still high this morning as the house is now empty according to my source, I did not get a chance to get back to the lane to get a first hand view as Gordon Pen is close to my housing community. This incident just goes to show the challenges that can come when same gender loving women get into criminal behaviour, I am reminded of the ‘cash for gold’ woman who was subsequently involved in an altercation with one of her male counterparts yet the matter was reported and seen by some including JFLAG as an attack due to her sexuality when that was NOT the trigger for the attack initially; she was accused of relieving cash she was due to hand over to another business partner and could not account for same hence the imbroglio.

Another lesbian was murdered some weeks ago and her nine-night (ninth night remembrance event) was held Saturday last thanks to a colleague who confirmed it; she was killed due to an ongoing gang warfare in Spanish Town and she was said to be related to one of those involved in that war. Meanwhile one ‘Black Marsha’ or 'Marsha Blacks' also passed away recently from kidney failure as she was said to have missed her dialysis treatments over time due to the overwhelming waiting list at public facilities for such services; she had missed several dates as she became frustrated with the system and simply stopped the follow up. Sadly it has caused her her life.

May their souls rest in peace.

 a song for the girls gone

Hope we learn it makes no sense to get involved in criminal activity and this one could have ended up with far more disastrous consequences and outcomes.

Peace & tolerance

H

Butch women interviewed on national television ...... lesbophobia, enlightenment or both?

There is a popular saying here in Jamaica: "What is joke to you is death to me" and while the interview on butch identified or stud identified women here looks light on the surface it is a reflection of the subtle lesbophobia fast making its way very public day by day. As gender roles literally switch with aesthetics changes with Jamaican men becoming far more effeminate or at best openly metrosexual  while the opposite is true for some same gender loving women. Obviously this particular episode is direct profiling of the women with supposed satire when it is not funny in my eyes.

As seen in the clip especially the last scene with the woman in blue on the bike was labelled as "he/she" suggesting a kind of open discrimination hidden via a joke on television. Jamaicans in general are usually shy on camera so the interviewee may not have even gleaned at first she was being stigmatised cutely and openly so, I bet if she was shown the clip for review afterwards she would have reacted differently.

In part II the more serious side came out where the "bun out" issue/anti gay feelings came through in the first few minutes and why were the women labelled cross dressers? the interviewer was keen on getting the reactions of the women and several times juxtaposing the correlation to lesbianism. The Sodom issue was introduced when the original question was about aesthetics and clothes with gender roles not sexual orientation even though the two can hardly be divorced these days with profiling a major concern, clearly the sensationalism cue is what sells the topic. The persons interviewed also played into the hands of the WAG microphone holder she even described them as butch while openly flirting with an interviewee while asking for her number!. The last few minutes for example the woman in blue was outed literally as she answered to the WAG interviewer who was her female friend? she answered it was someone who was on her street, meaning she is a lesbian like herself, again if she was shown the video after I am sure she may have regretted answering in the manner she did. The things one can get one to say on camera.

The proverbial hatred of men connection to same gender loving women was also infused suggesting that lesbians become so due to previous issues with men so they "switch" a few persons condemned lesbianism clearly when asked problem is we never saw what was actually asked, so we are not sure if the word "lesbian" was included in the question. Good to see however the ease in which the interviews were done in the sometimes problematic Half Way Tree area, remembering that a lesbian was stabbed in the same area some years ago, she now resides in Canada. 

Subtle lesbophobia or a middle ground for the issues relating to same gender loving women and the perceptions of homosexual life?

Given the national furore now dying down from what was viewed as threat to withdraw aid from countries with anti buggery laws and the pressure to decriminalize buggery, at least lesbians get there time to shine as the more male dominated advocacy structure hardly ever recognise or openly discuss lesbian issues when batty business supersedes all else. Lesbo-invisibility? Lesbians never had so much issues over the years but in 2007 there was a spike in incidence towards same gender loving women in terms of the often referred to African phenomenon corrective rape and violent attacks that thankfully have since subsided somewhat. 

After the comfort level of lesbians has rubbed some the wrong way in recent times, headlines such as this made news  there are clubs that do allow same sex activity though limited to females only and very structured in some instances.

while other women have suffered greatly as seen here in June 2008 when this home was picketed by residents in a St. Catherine housing scheme. 

Residents Jeer & Picket Women’s Home

their car tyres were also deflated. Let us watch and be vigilant everyone.Stay strong sisters.

Peace and tolerance

H

WAG videos are the property of Media Planners Jamaica and are placed here soley for academic and public discourse reasons.

Bus conductress defends herself

Not very often we get real stories of same gender lovers who decide in public that a situation is just basically nonsensical and do something about it with some relative success, such was the case of a coaster bus conductress, a rarity these days on the streets as most coaster informal transportation systems, a carry over from the dark days of the eighties following the closure of the old bus company the Jamaica Omnibus Service, J.O.S now in a sense renamed and reinvented as the Jamaica Urban Transit Corporation JUTC. Women usually seen occasionally on coaster buses are feminine in terms as the culture of transportation from the previous systems had mostly females as bus personnel and males as drivers. That has however changed drastically during the tenure of the Peoples National Party which the roles have switched in a sense so much so that the previous fleet of buses were named "chi chi whites" with chi chi burrowed from the TOK anti gay song "Chi Chi Man" or gay man and many of the JUTC staff have been accused of being homosexuals and lesbians as well.

typical JUTC Volvo buses

Here comes the competition to the formal system with a rare phenomenon of a butch identified or masculine acting same gender loving woman among the world of men who for the most part publicly are homophobic but we all know otherwise in certain respects. Thursday October 13th was a day that will go down in infamy of sorts or history for that matter if not were for the sister herself showing her battle scars after an altercation with a male passenger on route to Spanish Town in rush hour traffic. 

an example of a typical Coaster bus with aisle seats up, these are kept up during peak hour traffic on some routes in Jamaica to accommodate more standing passengers hence more fares collected. Here one can "ride ass or dry hump/rub while being driven

The woman who is dressed in mostly male jeans and tees with her easily identified grey and black uniform worn over the Tee loaded her trip to the St. Catherine capital on a busy Thursday afternoon as persons make their way home however while in traffic on the highway at six miles at the overhead pass she was confronted by a male pass as to her attire apparently in jest however the seriousness of the matter was made clear when she arrived at Spanish Town nearing the terminus as is customary for such buses they do not proceed to the terminus provided but instead force passengers to disembark at the last stop at the intersection of White Church Street and Burke Road then make their way to the western end of Dela Vega city towards the bypass and return to their original points of departure. It was at this juncture the male passenger proceeded to lambaste the conductress as to her sexuality and her refusal to continue the route despite her appeal to disembark the bus that she made to the passengers who for the most part complied. 

He proceeded to "loud her up" or embarrass her in public but she would have none of it and rebutted strongly as to his unreasonableness on the matter but he insisted on her being a lesbian and castigating her and "her kind" in colourful Jamaican language that they were stealing all the beautiful women, a perception echoed in song via dancehall artists and in instances of public homophobia. 

She said that she tried to avoid that section of the argument and pleaded with the man to get off the bus so the driver could make the turn to the bypass but he persisted getting more threatening as the bus approached the corner to make the turn to the point that he while threatening violence on her and her "dutty driver" who supports lesbians he stroke the woman on her arm, she retaliated all this while a few passengers remained on the bus as it made short moves in the slow moving traffic and with each stop more passengers disembarked. She in turn continued her rebuttal and asked the man so what if she was a lesbian? he saw her when he boarded the bus so why did he decided to stay?

This of course did not sit kindly with the man as with Jamaican men they do not like to be cowered by a female in any way shape or form and he again moved to hit her but she stood her ground this time and also moved towards him angrily but as is becoming more refreshingly common this days out of the few remaining passengers there a few who came to her defense literally which included according to her a very tall strapping gentleman and the troublesome thug finally disembarked the bus much to the relief of the driver and his conductress she is not taking any chances and has said she is looking out for him when she makes trips to the old capital. Stories or scenes like this are rarely reported which can bring some real background to LGBT citizenry life on the ground and also a resolve that more same gender loving people are finding and using to their advantage, it ruff out deh enuh.

also see: Brawl on Coaster Bus from Portmore ... man accused of riding another's ass while in transit

Peace and tolerance

H

Homophobia In Reverse (Gleaner commentary) and a response

Devon Dick

LAST MONTH, head of the Organised Crime Investigation Division (OCID), Senior Superintendent of Police Fitz Bailey, claimed that persons in homosexual relationships are the main perpetrators in the illicit lottery scam. Bailey asserted that his observation was based on data collected by OCID about perpetrators in this particular activity. This information about their sexual orientation was offered by them.

Some groups objected, labelling his statement as irresponsible and discriminatory as the sexual orientations of alleged criminals are irrelevant, and saying they further serve to stereotype persons. In response, the Police High Command issued an apology.

If Bailey came to the conclusion that participants in a homosexual lifestyle are the main perpetrators in the illegal lottery scam based on prejudice or based on deportment, then he should be disciplined. However, Bailey's interview appeared without prejudice. It should not be surprising if persons in homosexual relationships volunteered the infor-mation to OCID. Last year, I recall Dr Her-bert Gayle, University of the West Indies lecturer, speaking at a men's breakfast at Boulevard Baptist Church, stating that there is a growing acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle among ghetto youths.

Advocating tolerance

Additionally, at a recent comedy show, Owen 'Blacka' Ellis, returnee from Canada, advocated tolerance of the lifestyle. And more and more persons are coming out of the closet and speaking about their experience. It appears that homophobia is in reverse. This trend tends to support Bailey's claims that his comments were based on data.

Unfortunately, we are not a data-based society. There is no strong tradition and appreciation of research, much less original research. Some journalists and columnists are prone to make statements which are not based on data or supported by information. There is nothing wrong with stating, if true, that most of the lottery crimes are committed by persons in homosexual relations.

Delroy Chuck, then an academic, wrote in his book, Understanding Crime, that the majority of persons in the prisons were from impoverished backgrounds with low educational status and single-parent families with poor housing solutions. Statements of the findings of such research should not and cannot be classified as irresponsible, discriminatory and stereotypical.

On August 4, 2011, The Star stated that AIDS is on the increase among gay and bisexual men in the United States. This is based on a government report. Are we going to claim that the publication of this data is irresponsible, discriminatory and stereotypical? No.

Proper analysis necessary

What is therefore needed is an analysis of Bailey's data. Why are persons in homosexual relations prone to be in illegal lottery scams? Is it because they are faced with discrimination at the workplace and cannot get or retain a legitimate job? Or are they suffering disproportionately because of the economic hardships? Is it that their lifestyle requires big bucks?

Additionally, some persons who appear to be sporting a homosexual lifestyle have been noticed to shop in groups. Is it that they are proud of the lifestyle and want to flaunt it, or are they afraid of violence and feel safe in a group? It seems to me that there needs to be more research done on persons within this community.

Years ago, a young man from the inner city, in responding to my article, said that in Jamaica, persons in homosexual relationships who are from the upper classes and play significant roles in society are accepted; but not so for those from impoverished backgrounds. Is that true?

Unfortunately, what seems to be happening is that persons who are sympathetic to the lifestyle are getting oversensitive to any data on the homosexual community, which is a kind of reverse homophobia. They are intolerant of other views or any negative perception of homosexuality, as if there is any one or any group that is perfect.

Rev Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church in St Andrew. Comment to columns@gleanerjm.com.

UPDATE: August 15/08/11

A response in the Gleaner

Dick's Comments Were Justified

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I smiled somewhat after reading Elvena Williams Reittie's letter to the editor on August 12, in which she bashed the Rev Devon Dick about not declaring his position on homosexuality.

From my understanding, Rev Dick was not speaking on the topic of homosexuality itself. Rather, his intent was to identify, or at least to encourage us to analyse, the comments of Senior Superintendent of Police Fitz Bailey, which linked persons in homosexual relationships to the illicit lottery scam, to ensure he was not being irresponsible or biased in his assertions.

Ms Reittie's letter further shows that there will be no balance on this issue of homosexuality, for if gays are identified as being responsible for wrongdoing, they argue that they are being singled out, discriminated against, and the subject of abuse.

On the other hand, when well-thinking people like Rev Dick take a view to say it is not simply because of who you are but rather the activities you are engaging in, he is accused of not being Christian enough or compromising.

I do not support the homosexual lifestyle; however, this does not mean that each time I see the word I begin a crusade or pronounce hellfire on these individuals. Being humane or impartial to a gay does not change or conciliate my view on the matter.

Instead of an apology for the comments made by the SSP, what the Police High Command should have done was to release the data from which the SSP drew his conclusions. This would have provided more clarity and support for his arguments. Allow the facts to speak for themselves.

To Rev Dick, continue to enlighten our darkness through your well-written columns and sound doctrine.

ANN-MARIE PATRICK

Little London, Westmoreland

MSM Homeless Issues brought back to attention again

So the issue of homelessness, displaced, aimless, unemployed or unemployable Men Who Have Sex With Men has been brought back to the front burner via a Star News article yesterday August 2, 2011 where a set of guys in the New Kingston area came into some trouble with the police which is not the first time as carried here and on my other blogs about the lack of interest in really getting to the root and starting to solve this issue. Sadly the lack of care also from the MSM community itself who see themselves as well behaved and by extension better off is not encouraging either.

Have a read of the article in question from the Star News:

POLICE end gay party

Party celebrations among a group of gay men who were seen stripping and throwing water at each other along Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston was brought to a premature end by the police yesterday morning.

"You should a see dem, some inna bottom rider shorts and all a wear brassiere," an alleged eyewitness told THE STAR.

Information reaching THE STAR is that the men who were attired in close fitting clothes were jeered by motorists who drove by where they were standing but the men stood their ground and continued their antics.

THE STAR understands that the men, numbering about five, who were later identified to be homosexuals fled at the sight of the police who arrived at the location about 10 a.m.

Two men who were a part of the group were later apprehended by the police after they became involved in a brawl.

An 18-year-old man and his 27-year-old lover became involved in a dispute after the teenager accused the man of rendering his services and not paying him.

warned

They were warned by a police patrol team that arrived on the scene.

The men, both of Portmore addresses, held hands and walked away in good spirits.

Interestingly, THE STAR further understands that after the men avoided intial prosecution by the police, they got themselves into trouble again after they assaulted a man.

"Dem see a man a pass and a psst after him and a tell him seh dem like him," a person who claimed to have witnessed the incident told THE STAR.

It is also understood that the male victim kept his composure and ignored the taunts from the men but became infuriated after one of the men slapped him on his bottom.

The man then reportedly tried to hit the man who touched him on his buttocks but had to make a hasty retreat towards the New Kingston Police Post after the men threatened to beat him.

The men later ran in separate directions after the police tried to apprehend them.

The St Andrew Central police confirmed the incident.

ENDS

Two cents continued:

While some members of the community lambaste the Star for the alleged eye witness being present others loathe the so called sketel/raucous behaviour of the men some of whom are openly cross dressed and are not afraid to "carry on" as it were in public, many persons feel that the phenomenon in not only New Kingston is setting a bad precedence for the rest of the community as if somehow all we are are just worthless males who in essence sell our bottoms or are involved in commercial sex. Sadly as hinted to above in the introduction no sustained semi or fully residential typed interventions are in the offering now or if any soon and I fear that even if they were to be such programs put in place it would take some time for the men to come around as their "freedom" on the streets though dangerous as it can possibly get come with no rules or guidelines from others except their own. There are some who are still concerned about the lack of empowering activities to help them to help themselves and not a bootcamp scenario as was attempted when the old temporary shelter was in operation, which was closed to accommodate its conversion to an office for JFLAG. There is limited access for some of the brothers to shower and have a meal or take away items but it is not nearly enough even in the face of a campaign to get Jamaicans to be tolerant and accept gay children.

Other comments for Jamaicans ring:

"Even though the star tend to over exaggerate their stories at times esp the gay ones - if this story near go so. then we can clearly see that sometimes we ourselves as gay draw attention and harm on ourselves. its bad enough that Jamaica is a homophobic society but at least we can curve our behaviours/actions so ppl can slowly accept us for who we are. when we portrait these types of behaviour in public, do we think we are doing ourselves more good than harm? Then we get up everyday and say how Jamaica is violent against homos etc.. but really and truly, sometime things that happen can be avoided. we self inflict wounds on ourselves..."

"There are less than perfect gays in any society in any country, but it's bullshit to think that they 'represent' the community by their actions. An individual is just that, an individual...they represent THEMSELVES in words, thoughts, actions and attire. Anyone who believes that all gays act a certain because of the actions of a few is dumb as hell..."

"Some of us need to come to Jamaica and see what the gay society has become .It is a microcosm of the nastiness that prevail in the society today ....most of us are decent and ambitious. but like every deviant conduct the few will make it bad for the society in question ..so instead of blaming tabloids and going around the the issue we need to recognize there is a problem and find strategy to deal with it ....we need to face reality . Sometimes I am embarrassed to be in new Kingston at nite and see their behavior and if they know that you are gay and you pass them by without stopping when they call ...they then try to "bring you down" and this loudness and dancing and skinning out on the street is not necessary ...and yes they do wear clothes that could be termed as women attire ...."

"There is blame on both sides, but some of us have a tendency to take aim at the community more than it deserves.

The Star's lack of value as a journalistic publication is easy to prove: when have they *ever* published any story involving gays that paints us in a positive light? It's always, always, always jealous lovers stabbing each other, or schoolboys having sex in the back of a taxi, or shrieking queens disturbing the peace in broad daylight.

They know full well that playing to the gallery sells papers."

So debate continues in various quarters, let us see where it takes us.

Also see older happenings on the subject of homelessness:

Men Beaten in New Kgn

Drag queens double jeopardy

MSM Homelessness 2011 ...my two cents by glbtqja1

Peace and tolerance

H

Why does Clovis make gays look effeminate? (Observer Letter) .....

Fellow blogger and activist in his own right Brian Paul Welsh responds to the recent caricaturizations by resident cartoonist for the Observer Clovis as evidenced in the toons below. Personally I understand somewhat why he does it the way he does as it is a reflection of the national psyche on effeminacy or sissy attitudes from men that determines they are in effect gay.

Our response in this case is not to kill the messenger but all of us including the limp wristed advocates (who should have counteracted the perceptions stoked by the print media especially all these years) but to counteract the perceptions with positive images and responses like some of those press releases that were so unneeded from the conveyor belt. Not knocking Brian's response however and he is not associated with the J.

Have a read of Brian's letter and see what you make of it:

Dear Editor,

Certain people in your editorial department may find Clovis's caricatures to be humorous, salient, poignant or whatever positive adjective is usually applied to good journalism, and especially good satire, but for quite a while now it would appear that he has fallen off the wagon and hit his head.

For instance, his insistence on typifying gay men as bleach-faced, cross-dressing, hideously unattractive, deformed and lobotomised may illicit belly laughter from those in the newsroom, but civil society is beginning to grow sick of this insensitivity.

These mis-characterisations are not novel to Clovis as he has gleefully reduced many notable Jamaicans to vulgar market vendors, witch doctors, and bald-headed crypt-keepers, so much so that one is usually left with the impression that he has left the realm of satire and gone into what seems like vitriolic personal attacks. This, of course, betrays the most basic of tenets governing journalism and one would hope that the editor would take the executive decision as a responsible journalist and refuse to publish such drivel or push Clovis to be more creative. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that such a conversation has ever taken place.

Especially in the case of his most recent typification of gay men as weak, effete headcases, he has done the community a great disservice. He must be made to elevate his creativity and become more aware of his personal responsibility to illuminate the minds of the wider community or give up journalism and go and illustrate comic books or write graffiti.

Brian-Paul N Welsh

brianpaul.welsh@gmail.com
ENDS

Also see:

Cartoons and the use of gay typed characters part 2

Apology Accepted JCF but some questions on several fronts still linger ...

here are two responses to the whole thing:

Jamaican: "it exposes the hypocrisy within the community when the SSP spoke he was actually talking about the gays that look like that but persons are up in arms because they want the Observer to portray the gay community as a bunch of nice middle class men as if that is any more representative than what the Observer has drawn so me love it cause it stokes debate about class identify within the community furthermore it is those gays that look like that which are at the front page of the fight and the nice middle class gays are in hiding, so why should the nice middle class gays get editorialised and not the cross dressing lout mouthed uncoted fags"

Guyanese: "I want to write a response to say thank you to Clovis for celebrating respect for femininity in a christian culture which beheaded two women"

Interesting.

Peace and tolerance

H

JFLAG says homophobic violence is on the increase across Jamaica. More than 50 cases reported. ...but a cynical public disbelieves part 2

Yesterday on a Jamaica Urban Transit public bus a news item was carried by Mello FM in Montego Bay on JFLAG's Press release as carried here too (see link) as the item was read I watched and listened expecting exactly what was carried elsewhere in terms of the comments of disbelief that gays are being attacked, one woman clearly stereotyped as a "higgler" based on her aesthetics said words to the effect that nuff battyman sell downtown and they weren't harassed so it's a lie that JFLAG is telling. (alot of gays ply their wares downtown and they are not harassed, it is untrue what JFLAG is reporting) many other passengers agreed and lamented that other rights based issued are more important than gays.

With the recent killings of a student by an unknown X6 driver and a brutal rape and murder of a 6 year old girl in Mountain View still fresh on the minds of many, persons are in no mood to entertain LGBT discourse now.

Again let me reiterate that simply putting out nice press releases and figures is not enough we need photos of injuries as I used to do when I was at the desk and have victims sign release forms to use said photos as strong evidence of such abuses.

Here are some of the incidents JFLAG said to have recorded over the period:

Total Number of Cases 51 [Males (47) Females (4)]

Assaults/Attacks (48) Displacement (11) Police related (12)

Case # Location Month Gender Age Perpetrator
Discrimination(Services)
Assaults/
Attacks Displacement Police Related Other

1 Clarendon March M 23 Mob * Verbal
2 Kingston March M 45 Co-tenants * HIV * Physical
3 Kingston May M 25 Group of Men * Verbal
4 Kingston January M 29 Group of Men * Verbal
5 Kingston January M 25 Family * Physical
6 Kingston April M 20 Family * Physical * Home
7 Kingston March M Landlord * Home
8 Kingston January M 24 Police * Physical *
9 Kingston April M 22 Individual * Verbal
10 Kingston February M 19 Family/Friends * Verbal
11 Kingston May M 36 Community * Verbal
12 Kingston February F 37 Individual * Verbal
13 Kingston February M 16 Family * Verbal * Home
14 Kingston June M 29 Group of Men * Verbal
15 Kingston January M 19 Community/Mob * Physical
16 Kingston March M 23 Landlord * Home
17 Kingston May M 22 Family * Verbal * Home
18 Ocho Rios March M 35 Neighbours * Verbal * Home
19 St. Andrew February M 27 Police * Verbal * Extortion/Blackmail
20 St. Ann January M 39 Community * Verbal
21 St. Ann January M 28 Group of Men * Physical
22 St. Ann May M 30 Police * Verbal * Harassment
23 St. Catherine M 21 Individual * Physical

24 St. Catherine February M 30 Individual * Verbal

25 St. Catherine April F 19 Family * Verbal * Home

26 St. Catherine May M 20 Family * Verbal

27 St. Catherine March M 21 Family * Verbal * Home

28 St. Catherine January M 28 Family * Verbal * Home

29 St. Catherine January M 26 Community * Verbal

30 St. Catherine May M Community/Mob * Verbal

31 St. Catherine June F 37 Community * Verbal * Home

32 St. James June M 19 Community/Mob * Physical

33 St. James June M 19 Father/Brother * Physical

34 St. James January M 25 Landlord * Home

35 St. James March M 19 Community * Verbal

36 St. James April M 19 Family * Verbal/Physical

37 St. James February M 20 Police * Verbal/Physical * Harassment

38 St. James February M 23 Police * Verbal/Physical * Harassment

39 St. James February F 21 Police * Verbal * Harassment

40 St. James February M 19 Police * Verbal/Physical * Harassment

41 St. James February M 20 Police * Verbal/Physical * Harassment

42 St. James February M 22 Police * Verbal/Physical * Harassment

43 St. James February M 18 Police * Verbal/Physical * Harassment

44 St. James February M 24 Police * Verbal/Physical * Harassment

45 St. James February M 22 Police * Verbal/Physical * Harassment

46 St. James April M 21 Group of Men * Verbal

47 St. James June M 20 Community * Verbal

48 St. Mary May M 27 Group of Men * Physical

49 St. Thomas May M 29 Mob * Physical

50 St. Thomas May M 32 Jailers * Verbal

51 St. Thomas May M 32 Jailers * Verbal

Sadly the limpwristedness continues still that we had to find information about ourselves from foreign sources luckily some of those foreign sources are also questioning why there is this insulation from the very local LGBT body politic that is to be served and represented?

The attacks for July have not been included so far which also had a possible corrective rape case in South Central Jamaica and other beatings in Kingston of members of the homeless MSMs and active cruising communities. Interestingly words such as displacement were never formally embraced when persons like myself were there insisting on a more active approach to crisis interventions strange now we see a very slow turn in how the organization ought to have been behaving long time ago. The blogging and criticisms are working but we must keep up the pressure and demand better representation.

The police attacks in St. James were not direct homophobia but were arranged by members of the very LGBT community in the bitter rivalry that exists between some party promoters thus leading to the closure of a club in Montego Bay, the injuring of patrons there and a MSM shelter/feeding facility now defunct. It would do well for JFLAG to be truthful when putting out these figures and the real reasons behind some of what has occurred.

See: Big Blow For Homeless/Displaced MSMs In Western Jamaica …..

This is precisely why sometimes the public is so cynical of LGBT issues when they hit the mainstream, I am deeply disturbed by these reports plus the ones that have not made it to this list and the over looked homeless and cruising communities as well. With a Superintendent of police saying that gays are responsible for 80 - 90% or white collar crimes and murders in Jamaica just y virtue of how they seemingly have more materialistic wealth on a local television station today there goes another dangerous stereotype planted in the public domain, I am expecting to see more incidents happening soon. Most unfortunate.

Senior Superintendent Fitz Bailey asserts that 80 - 90% of white collar crimes and murders are committed by gays with a deep stigma attached that being identified as "how they dress" supposedly in expensive clothing and having materialistic wealth more than normal in enjoying the perks from the illicit trades.

See more here

Peace and tolerance.

H

All urged to aid in ridding commercial sexual exploitation of children

Minister of Health, Rudyard Spencer, has appealed for a collaborative effort from a wider cross section of stakeholders to rid the society of the commercial sexual exploitation of its children.

The minister made the appeal in a brief speech delivered by the director of the National STI/HIV Programme, Dr Kevin Harvey, at the opening of the Inter-American Programme for the Prevention and Eradication of Commercial Sexual Exploitation, Illegal Trafficking and Trade Children and Adolescents second regional meeting at the Jamaica Conference Centre last Wednesday.
Spencer said that the sexual exploitation of Jamaica's children, particularly for commercial purposes, was a challenge requiring immediate attention and an "united effort" to solve.

"Any sexual abuse or exploitation of that nature is abhorrent, and should never be condoned in any way, whether it is by turning a blind eye to the situation, or by protecting the perpetrator in any way," the minister said.

He observed that the situation worsens when children are involved, as they are generally abused by the very adults who are responsible for their care.

The health minister said while the Government must take the lead in promoting and protecting children's rights and well-being, the administration could not do it alone. He said that the help and cooperation of families, communities, non-governmental organisations, faith-based organisations and the private sector were needed.

"It is essential that we all assume a part of the responsibility if we hope to be successful in tackling this problem," he said, adding that the Government will continue to improve the protection offered to children through multi-agency collaboration and increased dialogue.

Spencer also cited the need to strengthen countries' policies, programmes and the legislative framework to improve the welfare of children, and ensure that their rights are observed and their needs met.

Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange greets 16-year-old Kadeem Simpson, Jamaica’s child representative for the Inter American Children’s Institute, during the regional meeting on protecting children of the Caribbean from commercial sexual exploitations at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston

The two-day meeting, being held under the theme 'Protecting Children of the Caribbean from Commercial Sexual Exploitation', is jointly staged by the Child Development Agency and the Planning Institute of Jamaica, in association with the Inter-American Children's Institute which coordinates the Inter-American Programme.

ENDS

I decided to post this as I am concerned on many fronts:

The belief that male homosexuals are paedophiles and by extension we are about to homosexualize everyone else is disturbing to me

There is not enough care nationally about missing children and orphans

There is not enough concern from the LGBT community on these and related issues

To show that we too also care in genuine terms about the welfare of children

The anger that is directed at supposed stereotypes about us as predators should also be directed at child molestors, real paedophiles and ephebophiles who are in open view of our eyes yet we do nothing (coaster bus sex and no panty days for teen girls)

Those are some of my concerns, see the tab directly below this post on paedophilia and more or go HERE and scroll to see the thirty plus related entries.

also see: 252 children went missing between May and June; 164 back home

Interesting there is no outrage for this kind of news but swift condemnation for perceived and made up sensationalist views about male homosexuality.

Peace and tolerance

H

In The Life: The Art of Change / NY Pride 2011

Here is this month's instalment of the In The Life Series as I invite you to take a look at some grassroots issues happening up north that are not normally carried in gay mainstream media or covered by popular gay rights or activists

See what you make of them, also below is an older episode on gay rappers as well.

Enjoy

The Art of Change
July 2011 (00:27:58)






This month on IN THE LIFE, the intersection of art and social change. Four stories honoring how art has inspired the LGBT Movement and its allies, in the fight for full equality.

Broadway Impact (00:06:17)
Three young Broadway professionals are inspiring the theatre community to raise their voices for marriage equality in New York State.


Reel to Reel: Making the Boys (00:04:54)
Crayton Robey's documentary "Making the Boys," pays tribute to Mart Crowley's 1968 play and William Friedkin's subsequent film adaptation of the classic story that swept gay and straight audiences alike, The Boys in the Band


Alix Smith: States of Union (00:07:52)
Historically, portraiture has been used to catalogue lineage and memorialize heterosexual patriarchs and matriarchs. Photographer Alix Smith seeks to expand public perception by framing LGBT families into conventional portraits.


Censoring Wojnarowicz (00:05:14)
A Webby Award nominated video on the controversial censorship of David Wojnarowicz's video installation, "A Fire in My Belly."

This years Pride March was an exciting celebration of the momentous ruling for same-sex marriage by the New York State Senate.
In The Life Media's cameras were there to capture the spirit and energy at street level and bring you these highlights. Happy Pride!

also see

The lack of fair and accurate representations of LGBT people is arguably one of the leading causes of homophobia. One way to eradicate homophobia is to counter stereotypes with positive gay images that raise awareness and reflect the diversity of our communities. This July, IN THE LIFE features lesbian "voluntouristas" who bring positive visibility and lend a helping hand to local communities in the Caribbean, and rappers who use their words and images to change hearts and minds within the music industry.




Sweet (00:10:21)
In November 2009, a lesbian travel company dedicated to changing the world launched its first eco-friendly lesbian cruise. IN THE LIFE set sail with SWEET and a group of lesbian travelers who went to the Caribbean to spread positive visibility and to volunteer while on vacation


I Am What I Am (00:13:06)
Rap music has a reputation that has evolved into a stereotype - that it promotes violence, objectifies women, and is homophobic. But there are pioneers emerging, a new generation of rappers like Shorty Roc and KIN, who are countering that image head-on, and demonstrating that "one love" includes everyone

Keep Those Beliefs To Yourself ... a response to president of the Jamaica Association of Guidance Counsellors in Education (Gleaner letter)

In response to the recent trope in the Jamaica Gleaner on Lesbianism in schools and this fear planted by someone who ought to know better as a Guidance Counselor but unfortunately has confused morality and the fear that same gender loving people somehow are out to change everyone to the same orientation a response come from a female who seems not a part of the community but believes she should not impose her Christian beliefs on others.

See the original Gleaner article as reposted here just two posts below or go HERE

A sort of "Keep it to yuself mentality in reverse, in a post on sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch and on here as well in two parts, Part 1 and Part 2 where it looked at how the dancehall and reggae industries over the years has reinforced this belief we must keep our "nastiness" to ourselves thus encouraging or legitimizing discrimination and homophobia.

The Letter writer wrote:

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Grace Kelly, president of the Jamaica Association of Guidance Counsellors in Education, must have acquired her PhD by doing vast amounts of research from undergrad upward, but now she posits arguments without the supporting statistics.

She should not make baseless claims about lesbianism, as she did inThe Gleaner on Wednesday, May 25. Is she serious? Where does she get her information from about lesbianism being 'unhealthy'? Why is lesbianism a 'concern' for educators? Why is it being equated to violence or drug use?

On the contrary, lesbians have the lowest incidence of STIs/HIV of all the sexual orientations, so please tell me what is 'unhealthy' about that.

I agree that there needs to be counselling around sex on a whole for all adolescents, as abstinence is the best way to go at their age. But she shouldl do not impose her personal beliefs on individuals.

"I am appealing to the young people that their bodies are temples of God, and it wasn't designed for homosexuality," she argued.

If you are a true Christian, you would know that Jesus is the final judge and jury. By the way, not everyone believes in your God, and that is reality. What basis are you going to argue from then?

I am, etc.,

SIMONE B.

nicki_90@yahoo.com

Tavern, St Andrew

ENDS

But the misconception of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual people being predators problem is a major obstacle for the discussion to continue.....

when members of the public see images such as this from cartoonist Lasmay and the whole awful events from the cases in the Catholic church how can we begin to break this and separate paedophilia, ephebophilia from adult same gender loving sexual relations issues? apart from continued information sharing but that seems too slow in penetrating this madness coming from persons who ought to know better.

Let's keep the conversations going and respond to things like that rubbish coming from the good Guidance Counselors' president.

Also See: No Reported cases of Paedophilia say local Catholic Diocese Representative

Taken from sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch March 2010

Newstalk Interview on Paedophilia and Issues 01.04.10 by glbtqja

Peace and tolerance

H