Bottoming Doesn’t = Power Bottom

In a follow up to a post on sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch (Bareback popularity concerns) and subsequent convos, a rather animated exchange ensued since and some strange interpretations also were revealed. I thought I'd try to set the record straight on some of this. As per usual your feedback is welcomed. 

What is a Power Bottom?

If you are a true power bottom, you are gay man who has a huge appetite for being penetrated by another guy (or guys). You can last for extended periods of time without having to take breaks.


Power bottoms tend to last longer in the sack when the top is confident during intense jack-hammering (read between the lines). Power bottoms are ready to take it day or night and commonly like to skip a lot of foreplay and get right down to business.

Power Bottom Myths

Let’s first dispense with some of the common myths that are often associated with being a power bottom. While I can’t list them all, here are some of the biggies.

Power bottoms are:

Effeminate

Selfish

Meth addict

Unable to feel pain

Totally submissive

Slutty

Effeminate

A lot of people see to think that guys like me who power bottom are “queens” or “big girls”. That’s totally false. I would argue that guys who mostly or exclusively bottom are perhaps some of the most masculine guys on the planet. This myth can be traced to harmful stereotypes about gay men – pure and simple.

Selfish

I’ve had friends say that power bottoms are bigtime selfish whores. This one is BS too. That’s because being a power bottom isn’t so much about the activity but instead, about the mindset.

Just because we like to bend over doesn’t mean we can’t or won’t top. It does mean that we prefer to riding a guy and doing so for long periods of time.

Pain

Perhaps the worst stereotype associated with this bit of lingo relates to physical pain. For some stupid reason, a lot of gay tops have it in their mind that power bottoms don’t feel pain.

I’m here to tell you that’s total B.S. because we do. It DOES hurt if you just jam it in or suddenly yank it out. Nothing pisses me off more than a top thinking he can do whatever he wants to me because the guy thinks I’m impervious to pain, you know?

And hate to break it to you but not all of us are hooked on crystal meth, causing us to get “tina d*ck”. I don’t know if that myth came from videos or an urban legend but it’s crap.

Submissive

Containing on with the stereotypes, power bottoms can be submissive but that doesn’t mean they are totally submissive. Sure, I suppose if you hypnotize one of us, we could turn into some freakish zombie bottom but in the real world, that’s not been my experience.

Slutty

Finally, not all guys like me who are power bottoms are slutty. I hate when gay men think this but apparently, many do. Remember, it’s not about the number of guys we can take but instead, our ability to be ready and last for the long term.


To be this type of bottom, it means you have personal POWER. Here, I am talking about a high degree of self-esteem and self-worth. Not the other way around.

Power Bottom Truths

As mentioned earlier, a gay man who identifies as a power bottom has adopted a mindset. This way of thinking takes years to develop and has nothing to do with the top’s size or girth.

Instead, it’s about the pounders ability to jump into action at a moment’s notice, allowing someone like me to be equally ready.


This means we’ve educated ourselves about digestive health, allowing us to do our thing without worry. 

On a related note, a true – and I mean absolutely true power bottom knows all about the things that turn off guys who are tops. One of the big ones is never making the mistake of referring to our man holes with effeminate terms.

Another one is understanding the importance of thorough douching!

Bottoming Doesn’t = Power Bottom

What really pisses me off is running into guys on hookup apps like Grindr and Scruff who claim they are power bottoms when they simply aren’t.

Just because you rode a guy for 20 minutes doesn’t entitle you to claim the label. And so what if you can sit on a giant toy! That doesn’t mean you are one either!

So gay men everywhere, please, for the love of all that is good, please stop calling yourself a power bottom when you aren’t.


This is a very special title should be reserved for gay men who have put in years of effort while educating themselves on how to be masters of their craft.

also see:

The priest did nothing wrong washing lesbians feet in church ...

washing of feet of lesbians Jalna Broderick (Quality Citizenship Jamaica) QCJ & Rochelle McPhee (JFLAG) by Rev Sean Major Campbell

I was asked to give my two cents on this so here it is:

Female group defends clergyman who washed lesbians' feet, bearing in mind the moral of the story is Jesus emphasized not to create outcasts as the woman who was a prostitute who washed his feet and when Peter and others scorned her Jesus reminded them to leave her and let her express her feelings and espoused the parable of the money lender.

See: Luke 7:36-50 - Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman NIV

There was a heated discussion this week among a group of vendors as they tried to decide whether homosexuals should be allowed to attend church and participate in worship.

They were responding to reports of a priest washing the feet of two lesbians during a church service last week.

They all came to the conclusion that the priest did nothing wrong and committed no crime.

"All those who are passing remarks and criticisms had better be careful, because we are all sinners," one woman said.

She explained why she believed the priest washed their feet.

"I believe the priest was following the example of Jesus. I know Jesus would have washed their feet and told them to go and sin no more," she said.

An older woman said she initially disagreed with what the priest did, but when she reflected on the matter, she came to the view that the priest could not have turned them away.

"If the priest had turned them away or chased them from the church, some of the very same people running up their mouth about it would criticise the priest and the church," she said.

another angle of the feet washing

She said it is not easy to please people and "those without sin must cast the first stone".

One of the women referred to an incident at her church last year where a pastor had sexual intercourse with one of the female members inside the vestry.

"So what happened to that pastor?" a member of the group asked.

"Nothing happened to him, he is still preaching at the church because they covered it up," she said.

The women began to list out various illegal and ungodly activities happening in some of the churches.

She said she knew of a case where a pastor got one member pregnant and is still head of the church, but not supporting the child.

"Murderers, thieves, rapists, homosexuals, fornicators and adulterers are holding top positions in some churches. So what is wrong in washing the feet of two lesbians ?" she queried.

"This is perhaps the only act of kindness the women have ever received in their life, and this could change their lifestyle," she said.

She also said she had nothing against homosexuals, as long as they do not force themselves on innocent children or influence them.

"Some homosexuals are barefaced. The ones who try to seduce young children should be locked up," she said.

The Sexual Offences Act which was passed in 2009 has provisions in place to severely punish adults who sexually offend children. Under the act, a child is a person who is under the age of 16.

Besides homosexuality is not illegal it is Buggery that is illegal between two men or a man and a woman with or without consent. It must be proven via a physical examination of the alleged persons with certain natural substances found on specific parts of the body (anus) and certain conditions of the said place.

one of our homeless trans sisters being evicted from a house she and others occupied illegally

Where I depart from the Reverend however is his stance on homelessness for LGBT and the seeming tokenistic nature he and other powerful religious figures have taken by not really helping them consistently as I elaborated on an old post on my GLBTQJA 2014 blog: 

Rev Campbell and Yvonne McCallah Sobers in 2013 at Shoemaker Gully Xmas treat

Hypocrisy from the pulpit on homeless MSM in Jamaica? 2013

Peace & tolerance

H

Misinterpreting Marley's 'Who the cap fit' .......... Man To Man is So Unjust as Anti Gay

Blakka Ellis 

Hear wha mi a say today. Call me a nerd, or whatever, but I have a fascination with literary analysis and lyrical interpretation. Yes, exploring the meanings, themes and ideas in poems, songs and stories was probably the single most enjoyable aspect of my life as a student. Mi kinda weird, doh? Yeah, man, and that also was the most fulfilling part of my work in a former life as a teacher of high school Literature.

So when one of my nephews sought to engage me in a conversation some years ago, about the meaning of the lyrics in some of Bob Marley's songs, I was pleased as punch and ready to reason.

The pleasure soon evaporated though, when the youngster reluctantly accepted that although my arguments and explanations made sense, he still held on firmly to the view that Marley actually spoke out against homosexuality in his music. And the example he cited was 'man to man is so unjust, you don't know who to trust' - the opening lyrics from the song Who The Cap Fit.

Well, I felt that such a gross misinterpretation of Marley's lyrics was probably forgivable in the case of my nephew because he, admittedly, had never, ever yet 'read off a whole book' yet, and didn't pay much attention in school.

It was much harder to forgive an educated man, MP Dr. Dayton Campbell, who used the same flawed interpretation when he quoted Marley in a twitter rail against American singer Frank Ocean after his performance on the Grammy Awards show last year. According to news sources at the time, the MP tweeted "Frank Ocean man fi have ooman pon dem mind. How di hell man end up on your mind massah?? 

Bob done tell you say man to man is so unjust!!!"

Of course, the tweet lit up a mini firestorm about the politician's perceived anti-gay stance, and appropriateness of his comments etc. with biting remarks and fighting words coming from both attacking and defending poles. But that area is not my focus. My issue is with the literary analysis and what I see as misinterpretation of Marley's words. And guess what, I'm now discovering that Dr Campbell and my nephew are not alone in their 'misconscrewed' view. Well, students, teacha say a never dat Bob mean by 'man to man is so unjust'. No hyah!

OK, I can stretch my brain enough to maybe imagine how the idea of 'man to man is so unjust' could vaguely possibly be about sex and sexuality. Here's how. Like, for instance in the case of say, some lonely heterosexual women now, who could understandably be justified in feeling that it's unfair or 'unjust' for men to be going with other men, when they are there willing, able, available and horny, but unable to get men to go with them. But that's a hell of a stretch. I don't think Mr Marley was singing from that standpoint.

Anyone who attempts a serious interpretation of the song [one that takes into account the other verses and chorus] would agree with me that those initial lines are referring to the unfair and [bad mind] ways in which human beings deal with each other. And although the word used is 'man', the song is clearly [as in the case of plenty biblical references] using man to refer to all human beings.

Di song a talk about people generally, woman, man and 'others', and how dem wicked and deceptive. Marley was reminding unnu say 'your worst enemy, could be your best friend and your best friend your worst enemy', so watch some a dem, how dem 'eat and drink with you, then behind dem su-su pon yu'.

Is that kind of unjust way, how man deal wid man, Bob Marley did a pree! So stop twist and mix up the words of the Gong. 

What? 

Who me a talk? 

Who di cap fit!

Impossible for Intersex People to be Cisgender?

Dr. Cary Gabriel Costello

"Is it impossible for intersex people to be cisgender because it is impossible in society to live completely as in intersex person with no male or female legal checkbox?"

In my experience, what you find when speaking with intersex people about this is an interesting split based upon gender identity. Intersex people who do not identify with the binary sex they were coercively assigned at birth tend to see all intersex people as forced to live trans lives. Intersex people who do identify with the binary sex label they were given at birth instead generally see themselves as cis people, and only frame as trans gender those intersex people who gender transition or who assert a nonbinary gender identity.

Personally, as an intersex gender transitioner, I fall into the camp that does not view intersex people living in our society as cis gender, even if their gender identity matches their assigned sex. Intersex children are born neither male nor female, but are forced into a binary sex category by a contemporary social ideology that says this is mandatory. Many are then subjected to infant sex assignment surgery to try to make their bodies conform to their assigned sex. What is that other than a forced sex change? Just because a person grows up to identify with the sex they were assigned at birth does not mean they will feel surgeries they were subjected to were appropriate. Loss of potential fertility and loss of capacity for sexual sensation are prices that they may not consider worth the result of a somewhat-more-sex-conforming body--note that many people who gender transition by choice choose not to get genital surgery. Thus, I believe, framing medical interventions into the reproductive organs and genitals of intersex people as trans interventions, not "corrections," is important, as it will force doctors to give us agency over what is done to our bodies, and prevent them from removing the very sexual features we may most identify with.

The problem with my framework politically is that a majority of intersex people today do live in their assigned binary sexes, growing up as we do in a society in which that is the norm. The percentage of us who mature to gender transition or assert a nonbinary gender identity is much higher than is the case for nonintersex people, although we don't know the exact degree of the difference because doctors are emphatically not collecting data on us, their sex-assignment "failures." Still, a majority do live their lives in their assigned sexes (often completely in the closet about being born sex-variant, as doctors have urged parents to train their children to be). And most such people do not identify at all as "forced to live a transgender life." That is, they identify as cis gender.

If someone says, "I was assigned female (or male) at birth, and I identify as female (or male)," then we usually call such a person cis gender. So intersex people who understand themselves as cis gender have a very valid basis for framing themselves that way. Certainly this is the way the medical field treats the situation, in claiming to assign us to what they used to call our "true" sex, and now call our "best" sex. Doctors view themselves not as imposing sex changes upon unconsenting infants, but as revealing our "real" binary (cis) sex.

I feel that understanding all intersex people who have been assigned a binary sex (which, in the US today, is all of us) as trans is useful, because it gives us a way to oppose unconsented-to infant genital surgeries. I view those intersex people who are happy in their assigned sexes as no different from people who are not intersex, but gender transition by choice and are happy as a result.

At the same time, I don't feel I have a right to tell an intersex person who identifies as cis gender that they can't do that. After all, as trans gender advocates note, every person is coercively assigned to a binary sex at birth. A person who grows up to identify as genderqueer, or with the binary sex they were not assigned, is forced to struggle with medical and legal and social forces to have their identity recognized, whether sex variant by birth or born with a body considered normative. So, viewing all cis people as coercively assigned to the sex with which they identify makes calling intersex people who identify with the sex they were assigned "cis gender" reasonable, from a trans-affirming perspective. (Of course, many people are not trans-affirming, and transphobia can motivate rejection of being labeled trans gender. But I do not believe it is either charitable or necessary to assume that an intersex person who identifies with their birth-assigned sex and rejects being labeled as trans is motivated by bigotry.)

I just feel that labeling anyone who is medically altered to change the sex characteristics of their body as trans makes the most sense, and is useful from an advocacy standpoint.

UPDATE:

I've done some additional thinking about this topic, and would like to have people consider approaching gender identity in intersex people by acknowledging that we can never address intersex experience well through binary terminology. What we may really need to do is to introduce another term.

what I would suggest doing is adding to the terms "cis" and "trans" another term often used in scientific terminology. In chemistry, which gives us the language of cis and trans isomers, there are chemicals based upon a ring structure, called arene rings. When a chemical substitution is made in the same place on the ring, this is referred to as "ipso" substitution.

If we were to add the term "ipso gender" to trans and cis gender, we could perhaps describe intersex experience more accurately. A cis gender intersex person would be one with an intermediate gender identity, since that "matches" their birth sex. An ipso gender intersex person would identify with the binary sex they were medically assigned (the social sex substituted for their intersex birth status being the same as their identified sex). And a trans gender intersex person would be one who identifies with the binary sex other than the one they were assigned by doctors.

This terminology solution is not without its drawbacks. Usually people who are genderqueer in identity are considered to fall under the trans umbrella, but in the case of intersex people, they'd fall under the cis heading, which could prove confusing. But it's also possible that confusion would itself prove productive.

It's certainly worth considering.

Dr Costello is an academic and scaler of boundary walls, intersex by birth, female-reared, legally transitioned to male status, and says he is pleased with his trajectory

Some Pastoral Responses to the SCOTUS "Hobby Lobby" Decision

prepared by Reverend Durell Watkins of Metropolitan Community Church Florida

"[MCC] affirms that all people are entitled to the rights and resources that equip them to make their own decisions about their bodies, their sexuality, and their well-being, including the inalienable right of women to control their bodies. We call on all levels of government and civil society to honour and respect those rights." from MCC's Statement of Faith on Women's Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice

Companions on the spiritual journey:

As a faith leader and a parish minister, I stand in solidarity with other people of faith who are outraged by the US Supreme Court's decision on June 30th, 2014 in the "Hobby Lobby" case. The Court ruled that requiring family-owned corporations to pay for insurance coverage for contraception violated a federal law protecting religious freedom. This decision, in my view, privileges the religious biases of a company's owners while treading on the rights and freedoms of individuals.

As so many leaders have already stated, this decision opens the door for a series of injustices. If legal medications can be denied because of someone's religious views (other than the one taking the medication), then it is entirely possible that family owned business could refuse to offer medical coverage for blood transfusions, AIDS therapies, vaccinations, psychiatric mediations, medical marijuana, or any number of medical procedures because someone other than the recipient of the legal medications objected to them for "religious" reasons. Dogma is rarely life-enhancing and in this instance may prove to be very dangerous.

As a religious progressive, I support the idea that universal health care is a right, not a privilege; and I further affirm the verity that that neither churches nor corporations nor governments own human bodies and women are the ultimate authority when it comes to their own health care and procreative choices.

LBGT people know what is to be judged, marginalized, and vilified for their consensual, adult relationships and gender identities; in other words, the Queer community knows what it means to have their bodies and their sovereignty over them diminished. As a Queer man I object to the colonization of bodies even (and maybe especially) when it is done in the name of religion.

The consciences, needs, and values of workers were ruled to be secondary to the religious opinions of business owners in the June 30th decision. The values of the powerful and privileged were affirmed while the values of workers of modest means were dismissed, and that is not justice.

It is time that people of faith insist that patriarchy and its wayward children: heteronormativity, racism, nationalism, and misogyny cease to be elevated to the position of religious values. It is time that we speak out more passionately than ever before when we see people being punished for their class, gender identity, sexuality, or procreative choices.

Yours in the spirit justice-love,




Rev Dr Durrell Watkins
Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral

PS ~ Below are some powerful statement by other faith leaders:

Rev Dr Nancy Wilson, Presiding Elder & Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches:
"The high court of the United States put all of our freedoms at risk today. Conservatives will now seek to deny a range of civil liberties and religion will be an excuse to discriminate."

A statement from The Religious Institute, led by Unitarian Universalist minister Rev Debra Haffner:
"The Religious Institute decries today's U.S. Supreme Court decision undermining true religious freedom--the right of individuals to make their own moral choices."

Unitarian Universalist president, Rev Peter Morales:
"I am deeply concerned by the growing rights granted to corporations by this decision and others of this Court and our Congress. I am also deeply concerned by the growing use of the religious freedom argument as a tool of discrimination and oppression."

Rev Harry Knox of The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:
"The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice is dismayed by the Supreme Court's decision...which perverts our nation's historic understanding of religious liberty. As a coalition of denominations and religious organizations, RCRC is gravely concerned about the Court's notion that a for-profit corporation is able to exercise religion."

Dr Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York:
"As a Christian, I believe that God creates human beings individually, and that the mark of our individual blessedness before God is our souls. It is this soul that allows us to be bearers of rights and obligations and rational agents capable of holding religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby would have us believe that corporations, too, have souls. This is not the case. I am horrified by the thought that the owners of Hobby Lobby as Christians think their corporation has a soul, and I'm even more appalled that the Supreme Court agrees."

Bishop Gene Robinson (The Episcopal Church):
"The Jesus I follow always stood with the poor and powerless - and trust me, this struggle is about power. Whether the issue touches women or gays and lesbians, our religion should be about more love, not less; more dignity, not less."

Aphrodite's P.R.I.D.E Jamaica's World Conference on Youth 2014 Participant Report

The following is a detailed report from the APJ representative at the recently concluded World Youth Conference in Sri Lanka Mario Andre Dre Bennett was also a participant in the also concluded phase 1 of the APJ's Enterprise Training Workshops of which came the springboard for his attendance to the WYC 2014.

World Conference on Youth 2014 Sri Lanka - Architecture, people & sights: Aphrodite's PRIDE Jamaica's perspective pic.twitter.com/z5VOCec1Y9
— Aphrodite's PRIDE Ja (@aphroditepride) May 11, 2014

Report On the Word Conference On Youth 2014 – Sri Lanka

The country of Sri Lanka is known for many things, its sports, pristine, wild and blissful culture, Sri Lanka is now known as the host country for the World Conference on Youth 2014 (WCY). The conference was organized and spear headed by a steering committee co-chaired by Minister Dullas Alahapperuma Minister of Youth Affairs and Skill Development Mohan Lal Grero and MP Namal 

Rajapaksa from Tharunyata Hetak organization and the International Youth task force inclusive of 10 Sri 

Lankan nationals and 10 members representing different regions of the world. 

The conference consisted of 900 youths, 105 high ranking officials, 24 youth Ministers and 35 U.N officers from different U.N agencies. With an amazing amount of 160 countries which represents 80% of the of the world youth where present for the conference making a total of 1500 Youths representing their respective countries. 

With the Theme Mainstreaming Youth in the Post 2015 Development Agenda the conference had a colorful kick start as we were greeted with a beautiful arrangement of world flags with their heads held high and dancing in the wind on both sides of the path leading to the conference hall, the air was filled with the Sri Lankan culture as young Sri Lankans played the flutes and drums, walking on stilts, dressed in their cultural wear greeted us, It was a sight to see as the busses with delegates arrived from their respective hotels at the Magam Ruhunupura International Convention Center (MRICC) in Hambantota. 

With the participation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the U.N General Assembly Dr. John W. Ashe and U.N secretary General and Envoy on Youth Mr. Ahmad Alhendowl television crew where all over the conference. 

As the Convention hall was filled as far as the eye could see with delegates, as we were seated the presenters took the fore front to make speeches requesting for youths to be more involved when it comes to making decision making that affected us. Dr. John W. Ashe pointed out that ‘there are sections of society that was clearly not included in the previous global development drive, making reference to the Millennium Development Goals, adding that this time around we had to made sure that they are involved’ 

The Sri Lankan President for his part called on world leaders to make youth the forefront of involving youth participation in world development and spearhead new attempts in youth integration. 

"You would agree that the increasingly large youth population, who live in the global South, makes it impossible to discuss any follow-up to Rio+20 and the Post-2015 Development Agenda, without considering their needs and challenges," said the president Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

The ceremony was quite entertaining and interactive, the official theme song for the WCY 2014 was performed by Bathiya and Santhush, where scores of delegates rushed to the stage to join in the performance taking the opportunity to show case their county flags and cultural wears, we were also entertained by the Sri Lankan mask dance where we showed cultural respect by wear beautifully crafted masks that were presented to upon entering MRICC as well as other cultural performances. At the end of the conference we were treated to the sweet aroma, mouth water, and pallet pleasing of both local and international dishes, as the trays where emptied and the deserts where all gone in the blink of an eye they were refilled as chefs where ever present. 

On our way back to our respective hotels half asleep the bus suddenly pulls over, there was a beach party in full swing in our honor, volunteers where handing out bottled water, drinks and snacks, delegates where running to the ocean while others stayed on the beach having a blast dancing to the live entertainment taking photos with an over friendly elephant, even our ever present security team seem to have had a wonderful time. 

The day came to a close as we tried to get what as much rest as possible as the reason for the conference would start the following morning. 

Heading to BMICH from our respective hotels with police escorts, the streets where once again lined with Sri Lankan greeting us with warm smiles and waves, the celebration did not stop when we arrived at BMICH, the grounds where decorated with the colors of the conference and our flags where yet again present as we disembarked our busses we were met by local governments and Sri Lankan youths. 

With the themes and objectives provided: 

To create an inclusive youth participation platform that enables young people to review the progress on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals 

To share ideas, experiences and innovative approaches for effectively contributing to the post-2015 development agenda and its implementation 

To facilitate a process that increases awareness on and implementation of the World Programme for Action on Youth (WPAY) 

To facilitate effective partnerships with youth, youth-led organizations and youth movements to further strengthen inclusive youth participation in the decision-making processes and implementation of the post-2015 development agenda 

To contribute to the establishment of a permanent youth engagement mechanism that ensures consistent follow- up with young people and further boosts their participation and partnership in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda at national, regional and global levels. 

Day One the days even where as followed: 

The morning started with the Main Plenary, as it was covered we went into: 

Mainstreaming Youth in the Post-2015 Agenda with the theme - looking Back 

After which the roundtable discussions took place - Plenaries & breakout sessions. Foundations also on the theme looking back with delegates locating there selected foundations, In this case for me it was - 

Empowering Marginalized Youth including Most at Risk young people, this was a heated topic for most as marginalized youths where present to represent their respective organizations and themselves, the major issues was that there was not complete list of marginalized youth in the previous declaration, day one we looked back on the issues that where affecting Marginalized Youth including Most at Risk young people. After lunch the roundtable Plenaries & Breakout Sessions, Themes were discussed mine been full Employment & Entrepreneurship. 

With the recently completed the Entrepreneurship session with Aphrodite's P.R.I.D.E Jamaica this was well suited to lean the issues that are been faced across the globe and help to develop solutions. 

After each session there were numerous side events/ parallel events, these where sitting rooms that could be arranged as workshop round table panel. Such as: 

- Leadership in communitarian Education. 

-The African woman’s development and communication network (FEMNET) 

- Advocacy the Education we want. 

- Youth Advocacy group of the global Education First initiative UNICEF and PLAN 

- Responsible Investment in youth for sustainable development 

- Access to stigma and discrimination free health services for vulnerable young people. 

Just to name a few. 

Meals where provided though out the course of the day with unlimited access to WCY 2014 bottled water, in the order of morning tea, lunch, evening tea; and dinner on slips that where provided at the start of each day. Roundtables where held in the primary thematic policy sessions of the conference and where feed directly into the conference's outcome document. Each session took 2hour 30 min. After the morning plenary deal with the foundations; after lunch deal with the themes this is where the round table discussions started different roundtable sessions happening during the scheduled roundtable times. Roundtables where led by an international facilitator and a Sri Lankan facilitator, each Round table where addressed by 3 speakers which includes a minister, a youth with experience of the topic, and an expert. 

The speakers where changed every day as to allow a diverse set of voices to be heard throughout the daily thematic sessions. Side Events examine in more detail the policy discussions surrounding the foundations and themes each round table each session will be scheduled in 45 minute blocks Parallel events mainly focus on capacity building or showcasing of projects organizations and agency are carrying out in terms of youth development they will allow organizations to network with others as well as share best practices in terms of grassroots work. 

Day 2 

After looking back on the issues of the pass and what is currently happening in the world that was and is still affecting youths we began day two with: 

Mainstreaming Youth in the Post-2015 Agenda –What we want for both Themes and Foundations where discussed. We continue the day with side events. After a long day of debating we were treated to a tour of Sri Lanka, and then we were taken back to our hotels. 

Day three 

May 9th

With the struggles and issue we all face in our respective countries shared amongst each other we were able to meet the main event for day thee which was: 

Roundtable Plenaries & Breakout Sessions. Themes and foundations: Taking Action 

There was a lot on tension as things did not go as planned for the issue facing Marginalized Youth, though we were able to have the issue resolved after going beyond the timeline for our session. I was not able to stay for the entire session as I was scheduled to have an interview in the media center along with four other delegates as we met with Deputy Education Minister and Supervisory MP, Youth and Skill Development Minister, Mohan Lal Grero, we discussed the level of Education in our countries and what or respective organizations where doing to reduced some of the issue we are facing, though a bit nervous to be discussing APJ as a LGBTQ organization on television and declaring that I was gay with that out of the way and having completed the SEISMIC program I was ready to tackle the questions that where asked. 

Once again I was not able to stay for the entire process of the Interview as I was invited to have dinner with one of the financing banker of the conference and his family, it was wonderful, I learnt the steps that are taken to give thanks to Buddha, and that white rice is their national dish, and when they offer curry chicken and white rice with vegetable it’s not what you think, however though it’s their culture I found it quite interesting that they eat with their hands! Imagine my surprise, However the experience is on I will not soon forget. 

At twelve in the morning been dropped off at my hotel wanting to sleep, no such luck with the conference coming to a close there was a party been held at a close by hotels club, I never knew that it was so much fun to be on a dance floor for the entire morning and with the bar open to International delegates I did indulge. With the closing ceremony a few hours away I got as much rest as possible and socked my bone in a nice bubble bath, met with the other delegates and had breakfast. 

The official closing ceremony of the WCY 2014 was held at the Sri Lanka Youth Service council Auditorium in Marharagma where the Colombo declaration was adopted by the closing plenary of the WCY. With most International delegates having to miss the closing ceremony due to their flight arrangement to ensure they were able to get back home, emotions where high as we had to say good bye to those who we have gotten close to over the few days, numbers emails, business cards and invitations were exchanged in hopes of keeping in touch. Words are not enough to express what it was like to be a part of such a conference meeting like minded young people from across the world, experiencing a culture where straight men showing affection towards each other is not taboo, where warm smiles and inquires from curious natives are everywhere, staying in the penthouse of the country’s oldest and famous hotel that was est. in 1864 Galle Face Hotel, I had the pleasure of interacting with the staff and learning more about their culture, they too were eager to hear about the county the Great Usain Bolt was from and I was more than happy to share, been treated like a king was not a problem from me in the least, police escorts personal drivers, yea that the life, been the first time travelling off the Island over 30 Hrs of travelling after all I did have to make up for lost time, though I was a bid nervous about flying Maria was there with me every step of the way and after the first two flights I was a pro, I love to explore with food and the after all that I have heard about the meals provided on planes I did not wish to try, however this was not the case, can you say delicious! meals from France, Dubai, Panama and all over Europe was offered, the flights where very pleasant though leaving Amsterdam heading to Panama I was freezing thank god for blankets I was babied by the flight crew and the couple I was sitting with who were from Paris and are quite eager to visit Jamaica, the overall experience was amazingly breathe taking, no matter how far I travel nothing can compare to the 

experience I had on my way and in Sri Lanka. 

Real change is needed, tolerance does not mean acceptance ............

The following article was sent to me by a reader via email and my thoughts was sought, here is the piece firstly"

When two women marry. What must we do if Buggery Law attacked by those who could destroy tourism?

By Linton Gordon

Over a weekend in June we woke up to the news that two ladies got married to each other in Trelawny. This unprecedented lesbian marriage is not recognized by our Laws, as our Laws recognize marriage to be a matrimonial contract between a consenting male adult and a consenting female adult.

However, this marriage is recognized in some countries and may very well be a testing of the waters here in Jamaica.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller’s decision to initiate a parliamentary debate on our laws pertaining to homosexuality has been welcomed by the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Our laws prohibit “sexual” relationship between man and man. There is no law prohibiting such acts between two females. However certain acts between two females can lead to a charge of Indecent Conduct.

The Offences Against The Persons Act groups any so called sexual act between two males with acts of bestiality. This is a clear indication of the contempt with which the framers of the Law held such acts between two males. There is increasing pressure worldwide for countries to repeal laws that make consenting “sex” between adult males a crime.

Our law is to be found at Section 76 of the Offence Against the Persons Act as follows:

“Whosoever shall be convicted of the abominable crime of buggery, committed either with mankind or with any animal, shall be liable to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for a term not exceeding ten years.”

The Act does not restrict the crime to acts with men only. It follows that “anal sex” with a female is also a crime in our Law.

We have a serious challenge as it relates to the matter. Our main trading partners are the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. The majority of our tourists are also from these countries. It can therefore be taken that somewhere along the line some of the tourists coming here are lesbians and some are homosexuals.

Indeed, the operators of our hotels and the employers at these hotels have now learnt that to refuse a gay couple a room can lead to a fall out in business.

Then there was a time when workers at some of these hotels swore that they would not serve homosexuals. Today they have no choice but to do so and they do so and turn a blind eye to the sexual preference of these persons.

There might be potential investors who have refused to come to Jamaica and invest in fear of their lives because of their sexual preference being in conflict with our intolerance. This take us to a very ticklish question, that is: what should be our reaction to a known millionaire homosexual who is prepared to come and invest in the opening of a factory that will employ thousands of Jamaicans? Should we refuse him because he is a homosexual or should we take the route of United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America where the attitude is “While I do not agree with your lifestyle, I will not participate and I will not interfere with you.”

What if a campaign is launched in Europe and North America to discourage tourist from coming to Jamaica because of our Buggery Law? Are we prepared to see the death of tourism rather than a change to the Buggery Law? Should we hang onto the Buggery Law at all cost even if we run the risk of international isolation?

Those who advance religion on justification should assure us that they can, through prayer, lift us out of ignorance, illiteracy and poverty.

It seems to me that all the contenders should move towards a compromise and the compromise should be found in one word ‘ tolerance’. As objectionable and obnoxious as we might find the relationships and acts we discuss herein, we should be prepared to ignore those who so conduct themselves in the way we do not. Those who so conduct themselves should do so in their privacy and without bringing it into our faces.

We as a country should be prepared to make rational and objective decisions in the interest of our country, difficult and painful as these decisions may be.

I personally find the practice of homosexuality and lesbianism unacceptable and, certainly in the case of so called sexual acts between two men, unnatural.

This article therefore should not be taken as one written on their behalf or in support of homosexuals and lesbians. The views I express are entirely in the interest of the country and the interest of this country should be our priority. Full stop.

ENDS

Certainly the perception given here is that locals are being forced to accept homosexuality overall but why can't we just see people as people and not who they sleep with or how we have sex? If the country's interest is of such priority and we already have properties who do open their doors to LGBT vacationers and naturists while quietly doing so so as to avoid unwarranted backlash why then make it seem as if gay persons are out to suddenly use outward displays of affection to poison everyone else?

The paranoia that somehow all we are here to do is to homosexualize everyone else is preposterous. Do we see elsewhere around the world where same sex relations and sexual activities are legal any untoward displays of affection in public that this writer implies, even in the gayest of nightclubs or entertainment spots there is civility, the raunchy effect of same sex activity is a misnomer as if same gender loving persons who would come here would suddenly have open sex for all to see, holding hands or embracing openly is not going to suddenly lead to a transfer of homosexuality to a heterosexual or this scared writer of the piece. The fear of the unknown is just beyond me when it comes to homosexuality.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) leisure travel market is set to reach a record US$181 billion in 2013, says a report from the recently concluded World Travel Market (WTM) in London, England.

The findings are based on the LGBT2020 research programme from leading global LGBT marketing specialist Out Now Global -http://www.outnowconsulting.com - which measures consumer spend, purchasing habits and brand preferences across 22 countries.

The new data shows a 9.7 per cent year on year growth in the LGBT travel market, up from US$165 billion in 2012. The findings come at a time when a few Jamaican resorts have become more accepting of same-sex couples.

Tolerant industry

"Our hotels have always welcomed. We don't necessarily place ads advertising that we accept the LGBT, but we would never turn back persons because of their sexual preferences," said a Negril hotelier, who added that there is really no difference from how the LGBT market was treated by the average hotel 20 years ago.

"The industry has always been more tolerant than the rest of the society," said the hotelier, adding that there are many gays working in the tourism sector, so it's no big news.

Another hotelier says Jamaica is not ready for this market, which is a big mistake. "I have tried to target them in the past, but I have given up, because it's a hard sell, particularly because of our homophobic reputation," said the hotelier.

She said if members of the LGBT community were to turn up at her property they wouldn't be turned back. She admits that the market has huge potential of pumping foreign exchange into the island's coffers. We need to get real and realise that the pink dollar we are prepared to take under the table while ignoring the "types" can't work anymore we are going to have to get open and embracing and have real tolerance if we are to diversify our tourism product and thus improve our economy not with the kinds of numbers we are hearing in terms of LGBT travel and the potential it affords. LGBT consumers are finding the cost of living tough and some are working two or more jobs to keep things together, but with dramatically fewer households with children, travel remains a viable option for more LGBT travellers and one that is still within their household budget.

We need to get with it already.

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

Jamaican Born serial rapist aka The Night Stalker finally nabbed .... described as Bisexual by The Jamaica Observer

LONDON, United Kingdom (AP) — A London jury today convicted one of Britain's most notorious serial rapists, who preyed on the elderly for nearly two decades and may have assaulted scores of victims.
The jury at Woolwich Crown Court found Jamaican-born Delroy Grant — dubbed the 'Night Stalker' — guilty of 29 counts of attacks on 18 elderly men and women between 1992 and 2009.

Police say the number of Grant's victims is thought to be substantially more than that. Officers have looked into 203 offences as part of the investigation.
Judge Peter Rook called the offences "of the utmost gravity" and said Grant could be handed a life sentence on Friday.

Grant stood motionless in the dock with his head bowed as the foreman of the jury delivered the verdicts. An elderly victim and several relatives looked on and smiled from the public gallery.
Police called Grant's offences some of the most "awful and disturbing crimes" Scotland Yard has ever investigated and the prosecution in the case called the attacks "the stuff of nightmares."
The attacker broke into homes, cut phone lines and crept into the bedrooms of his elderly victims during ordeals that lasted for hours. The victims were mostly elderly women; many were blind, deaf or had conditions including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

The 53-year-old Grant, a former cab driver and home-care aide to his second wife, was arrested in 2009 following one of Britain's longest running manhunts, codenamed Operation Minstead.
The Metropolitan Police task force formed Minstead — a randomly generated name — in 1998 to find the man.

After a series of interviews with victims in southeast London over the years, a pattern began emerging.

The telephone lines of the victims' homes were often disabled, and fuse boxes tampered with. Some described a person in a mask, waking them up by shining a flashlight in their faces.
More than 2,000 DNA samples were collected as part of the investigation, and in 2006, detectives travelled to Trinidad and Barbados after testing suggested the attacker might have Caribbean ancestry.

Branding Grant a "perverted, callous and violent individual," the head of the Metropolitan Police's homicide and serious crime unit said Friday his arrest and conviction allowed thousands of people in London to "go to sleep without the dreadful thought they would be preyed upon."
Still, Britain's police watchdog apologised for missed opportunities to catch Grant, saying the hunt to catch him was undermined by "basic policing errors."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said a poor response to a burglary and confusion over a suspect — which saw the wrong man's DNA studied — prevented arresting Grant sooner.

"It is clear that a simple misunderstanding had horrific consequences," said Deborah Glass, the watchdog's commissioner for London.

Andrew Hadik, a senior lawyer with the Crown Prosecution Service, said the motive for Grant's crimes might never be known, because he had "steadfastly refused to admit any responsibility or to show any remorse."
At the time of his arrest, Grant said that police should not bother taking his fingerprints because he "always wore gloves."

ENDS

The Telegraph in the meantime covers the issue:

By Martin Evans, Caroline Gammell and Heidi Blake

Warm, charming and always friendly he was apparently a devoted carer to his wife Jennifer, who was paralysed as a result of multiple sclerosis.
He followed cricket, liked to fish and enjoyed community barbeques where he would share jokes and reminisce about his childhood in Jamaica.

But today that respectable image lies in tatters after he was convicted of being the notorious Night Stalker - one of the most prolific sex offenders of modern times.
For almost two decades Grant stalked the streets of south London at night burgling, raping and sexually assaulting the elderly.

He is known to have attacked more than 200 times, but police fear the toll could be much higher as many of his victims were simply to ashamed to come forward. (click linked names above for full article)

(UPDATE March 25th):

A reader left this interesting comment in the initial post here as was headlined "Jamaica Born Bisexual ............" I have since renamed it removing the bisexual link, I am aware that you my readers are on target and can spot the infractions without my prodding ... yeaahhhh! keep the vigilance up and thanks for keeping me on my toes as well

The comment was as follows:

"Hey, I am a frequent reader of this blog but this is my first comment.

Again I see where J'can news is trying to spread ill of the LGBTQ community. The Observers news report is the only one that stated that Grant is "bisexual". No other news report stated that. The other reports payed more attention to the fact that he was a Jehovahs Witness & not one of them said a BISEXUAL Jehovahs Witness.

The closest thing Grant would be called is a gerontophile. He raped and sexually assaulted ELDERLY people. He preyed on the ELDERLY and took advantage of their fragility. Yes, some of his victims were male but there was no gender motivation. Additionally, all his victims were white but there aren't any reports that state he was a RACIST. Why? Because race wasn't his motivator. Grant was looking for EASY victims and elderly people were most vulnerable."

ENDS

Interestingly it was the Jamaica Observer who used the Bisexual line in their lead story for this case probably it worked in a sense as if it were headlined to hint to homosexual then it would unearthed other kinds of reactions to which we are accustomed, the paper has been also coming for some criticim following a previous story where the word "homo" was used in the headline:

"Man before court for killing alleged homo"

Appeared on March 21st in the online edition of course using such words if it were overseas heads would have probably rolled for it but such is the seeming immaturity or bias of our local media which are used sometimes to sell papers, lgbt stigmatised sensationalist tones even from so called respectable media houses are not uncommon.

Peace and tolerance

H

A response to: The Butch Dynamic/Mystique a problem? post

In one of the responses to the post below a lesbian blogger gives her take on the issue and the points raised in my post. Photos were added by me to enhance the discussion.

Post republished with permission

Cherie wrote:

"Howieeee! It's Cherie.

I read your post re: butch/femme mystique. It was good reading. I was considering your question of whether the national obsession with masculinity, associated societal beliefs and rules that govern them are some how rubbing off on the lesbian sisters who identify as butch or stud?How could it be otherwise? I can not speak to what might make it so that some women have a yearning for the masculine model of behaviour (dress etc); and I accept it is being as natural as liking the colour pink or not. But the basis of my response is this: butch women might not necessarily want to BE men, but they have a yearning for the masculine model of behaviour.

Therefore definition of "butch" is a woman whose behaviours are modeled off masculine behaviours and this will be true across any culture. Sooo, it follows that the butch behaviour would be affected by and shift with the larger societal beliefs and understanding of what it is to be masculine. Bearing in mind also that this is a general commentary, there are many butch women who only exhibit certain masculine behaviours while there are others who feel it necessary to do everything like a man would do it.

This distinction also raises another significant question about physical appearance and how heavily it features in how lesbian women are labeled. But that is too big for right now. Mi brain start twist up as I think of it. Think of men who are content to be taken care of - if a stud choses that role... is she still a butch because she walks talks and dresses like one? Or is she a femme in butches clothing? And a femme who fucks and functions like a butch but is completely feminine in her outward appearance?

I had few and far between girl on girl experiences while I iden

tified as Bi; so really and officially I largely consider my current relationship my initiation into the lesbian world.
One of the things I'm being educated about is the spectrum of gender identity. I don't think that a lesbian HAS to identify on - and stick to - either side of the masculine:feminine ratio. My take is do whatever makes you happy, and I took it for granted that it was like that in the community, but I'm figuring out that there are rules and expectations about how you're expected to behave based on how you look and identify.

For myself I look like a femme but don't necessarily behave as

one in our relationship while my girlfriend looks like a butch but doesn't necessarily behave like one in our relationship. It's very fluid and we're happy with that.
I can't see it being any other way; so when she commented to me the other day that she's happy to be able express her feminine side in our relationship I was a little surprised. When I asked her why she thought something like that's a big deal she explained that in the past she's had women lose interest when she behaved less aggressively. Wow.

For a minute I thought that was really whack cause I think it's acceptable to want what you want and be who you are. But I gather it's not really ok in some areas of the community. There are some women who identify as very butch, and some women who want only that; and some women who identify as super femme and some women who want only that. I think that's ok. Where we run into trouble is by not talking about it before we enter a relationship ,we get our wires crossed and end up with a woman who's a poor match and we create situations where women feel like they can express only one extreme of their aggressive/submissive self.
Before she and I started dating we had conversations about our expectations; she expressed certain "butch tendencies" that I explained I wouldn't find satisfactory in a relationship and told her what my ideal situation is and she did the same thing. We discussed what would make us most comfortable in our relationship and we still continue to talk about it.

In that way, I've come to be with a woman who is (and is happy to be) a great balance on the butch femme scale for me rather than the extreme butch I first started talking to and would not have been very comfortable in a relationship with.

I'm sure this isn't going to be true to every situation, but it kinda shows how important it is to talk about what's important to you on this scale, and to make room if necessary for each of you to flex whatever muscles - or not - you desire.
So, I think we should put it like safe sex, on a list of things you need to discuss before you make that big step into a relationship."

Cherie ENDS

Thank you Cherie for responding and allowing the views to be shared.

Then there are others who do not take kindly to "labelling" behaviours or identities in the community whether for purposes of separating behavioural differences in the groups purely in a level of recognition or those who use such labelling for destructive and discriminatory purposes as we do have inter and intra community discrimination especially intertwined with socio economic class and scholastic achievement in all spheres of Jamaican LGBTQI life. I however try to use the various descriptions purely out of an academic purpose so we can easily identify groups, individuals or behavioural trends for greater understanding.

Let's continue brainstorming and talking.

Peace and tolerance

H