Ian Boyne: Gay-Friendly Counsellors For Students? ............

In a way I am some agreement with Ian Boyne on this and it reminds me of the unlikely support in the lead up to the decriminalization of sodomy in the UK and the intervention of the Arch Bishop of Cantebury then Michael Ramsey in the 1960s.

Trouble who will listen really?

Have some of us learnt from previous happenings with schools, students and guidance counsellors, firstly here is Mr Boyne's piece:

The National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ) has reacted with alarm to the offer of help by Jamaica's gay lobby group to ease the plight of gay students in schools who are allegedly being shunned by guidance counsellors.

"The NPTAJ rejects totally the offer made by J-FLAG (Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays) to conduct counselling in schools," its president, Everton Hannam, said in a release last week. "If J-FLAG is serious about counselling, they can offer those services privately," Hannam counselled. (Of course, Hannam misinterpreted that J-FLAG was itself offering to counsel students; it didn't.) But not in our schools. "Let the guidance counsellors do their job."

But what exactly is their job? What exactly is expected of them vis-·-vis gay students or students struggling with their sexual identity? This has not been clear in all the discussion taking place on the issue. There has been much obfuscation and talking around the issues.

Fellow Gleaner columnist Jaevion Nelson laments, in his column last Thursday, that what is required of guidance counsellors is "simply for them to do their jobs - provide an open, safe space for students to seek support when they need it". But exactly what kind of support? Support to accept their gay identity? For failure to do so can, indeed, cause deep psychological trauma. Is it just "support" to deal with the prejudice and discrimination that gay people in Jamaica face?

WHAT KIND OF GUIDANCE?

Michael Abrahams says in his Monday column that "in counselling gay students, one is not obliged to say that homosexuality is good, right, natural or moral. But these students need help and guidance". But what kind of guidance, if one is to avoid touching what is "good, right, normal natural or moral"?

Abrahams goes on to muddy the water further by saying of these students: "Many suffer from guilt, shame and loneliness ... ." Now, how can the conservative or fundamentalist Christian help that student to overcome his "guilt, shame and loneliness" without that counsellor's abandoning his world view? That guidance counsellor can be professional, "objective", detached, value-neutral and all those fine things, but how does he help that child escape "guilt and shame" when that counsellor's religion sees homosexuality as morally unacceptable? Be realistic.

People have not thought through this issue very carefully. Junior, an online respondent to my column last week, says, "Yes, I expect Christians to leave their beliefs and Christian positions at home or church when they choose to serve in certain positions."

Junior goes on to say the point is not whether homosexuality is illegal or immoral: "It should be the psychological welfare of the child." But I put it to you that what constitutes "the psychological welfare of the child", according to "enlightened, scientific" folk, is precisely what no conservative Christian can fulfil. In the cultured despisers' view, the psychological welfare of the child is synonymous with that child's accepting his homosexuality and abandoning the futile struggle to suppress it. He must "come to terms" with his sexuality, rather than be blinded by a Bronze Age book with thousands of years of knowledge deficit.

Christian guidance counsellors remain Christian. They can't check their beliefs or values at the door of their offices. Their ideology maintains that homosexuality is disordered, unnatural, immoral and psychologically unhealthy. But I still say that there are some things which even conservative, fundamentalist Christian guidance counsellors can and must do in the discharge of their professional duties.

The minimum is that they must never, never ever shun any gay student. If they do so, they must be fired. It's dereliction of duty and gross irresponsibility. Second, they must maintain strict confidentiality. They must not disclose what these students are struggling with or even what they accept and practise. That's fundamental in counselling. A breach in that area should also result in dismissal.

The Christian guidance counsellor must work passionately to inculcate a culture of tolerance for gay people. He must let prejudiced, bigoted heterosexual students know there is no place for bigotry, let alone violence. We must make bigotry shameful and reprehensible. Bullying, teasing and mocking must be absolutely scorned in the school environment. Christian guidance counsellors must regard it as a part of their Christian duty to stand against any discrimination against gay students. Bigots must not feel that they have any allies in Christians - least of all guidance counsellors.

Guidance counsellors must be held to very high standards. They must be models of tolerance, openness, cosmopolitanism and anti-prejudice. If a guidance counsellor hears that a gay student is being persecuted at home; if parents are threatening to put him out of the house, ill-treating him, scandalising him, etc., that counsellor must immediately meet those parents and show - even from the Bible - how utterly wrong those approaches are. That guidance counsellor must use sources these so-called Christian parents believe in to show them the folly of their ways.

The Christian guidance counsellor must do everything to ensure that the gay student is not harassed, victimised, publicly shamed or discriminated against. He must ensure that family members treat that gay student no less than other members of the family. The guidance counsellor must help students, teachers, administrative staff at the school and members of these gay students' communities and families to eschew violence, discrimination and harassment. He must help them to embrace these gay students as full, equal human beings worthy of all love.

CHRISTIAN LOVE

The curious thing about this is that it is precisely in this area of love, tolerance and forgiveness that Christianity is most rich and resourceful. The Christian guidance counsellor should be the most compassionate and loving of all counsellors. Christian theology is based on love, mercy, forgiveness. At the heart of Christian theology is teaching on brokenness, our proclivity to mess up - and the enormous power of the Gospel to save people from all kinds of sinful conditions. Now it is here that my gay readers will scream condescension.

For I bet you that after I have outlined the most compassionate and tolerant approach to gay students, pro-gay readers will still not be pleased. Nothing less than full acceptance of their "enlightened, scientific, non-Stone Age view" will do. Talk about imposition! But, of course, their view is simply scientific truth - or, better yet, common sense. (I am grateful to Marx for helping me to understand the hubris of what he called 'false consciousness'.")

Gay fundamentalists will accept nothing less than the full acceptance of homosexuality as normal, moral and acceptable. There is no room for disagreement. Saying otherwise is like saying the Earth is flat. There should be no more tolerance for the view that homosexuality is immoral or abnormal than the view that the Earth is flat, gay fundamentalists believe. But conservative Christians will never accept that homosexuality is morally acceptable.

Quite frankly, gays should be happy that some fundamentalist guidance counsellors are shunning students. For what some would tell them if they did not shun them would cause those students far more damage and hurt than shunning them. I am a Popperian and an ardent believer in pluralism and the Open Society. Perhaps J-FLAG needs to organise its own counselling services where its own gay-friendly counsellors can offer a counterview to what is being offered in our schools, many of them Church-based.

Publicise your counselling services. Make use of social media heavily so that gay students have an alternative. For you can't depend on Christian guidance counsellors to go beyond tolerance and compassionate engagement to full acceptance of homosexuality. In a pluralistic society, we have to live together. Some Christians will be annoyed that I would countenance gay counselling services in the society. But this is not a theocracy. It is a democracy.

Some fundamentalist Christians and fundamentalist gays will not be pleased with this column, but as Karl Popper would say, they are enemies of the Open Society.

- Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist working with the Jamaica Information Service. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and ianboyne1@yahoo.com.

ENDS

How comes JFLAG with their foot in mouth again with their statement withou checking their own archives

and here is an excerpt of the goodly GAJ President:

but she has changed her tone since.

But what about those previous instances that I hinted to?

Such as:

LESBIANS & LEARNING – SITUTATIONAL HOMOSEXUALITY AT A KGN ALL GIRLS SCHOOL ? 2012 (GLBTQ Wordpress blog)

The Star News also carried a VERY similar story in October 2011 posted HERE on GLBTQ Jamaica a press release from the J 11.03.12 entitled: J-FLAG CONDEMNS SEXUAL COERCION AND CALLS ON SCHOOLS ADMINISTRATORS TO DIALOGUE, this response to me shows the the lack of forward thinking and understanding of initiation, situational homosexuality and experimentation issues. Then again SGL women’s issues were never something they have dealt with effectively. 

Check out this old post as well which includes the late Dr Heather Little Whyte's intervention which aided the incremental strengthening of the GAJ, Ministry of Education and referrals which was being abused by counsellors who are refusing to or uncomfortable in engaging LGBT students:

also see:

URGENT NEED TO DISCUSS SEX & SEXUALITY NATIONALLY PART 2

ALLEGED LESBIAN COERCERS IN SCHOOL – SHOULD GET PROPER HELP – EXPERT ………

Weekend raid of CSWs in Mobay had homeless LGBT in dragnet

Gleaner photo

Seventy six persons, 43 females and 33 males to include homeless MSM/transgender, who the police say were operating as illicit sex workers, were rounded up and detained yesterday morning in a massive police operation which covered several sections of downtown Montego Bay.

"Then is so much prostitute deh a Montego Bay ... all man prostitute to, but a wha dis father," remarked a passer-by as he watched lawmen loading the accused persons into several police vehicles.

The operation, which involved the Mobile Reserve as well as a team probing human trafficking, targeted several key locations across the Second City, to include the Hip Strip (Gloucester Avenue), Harbour Street, Church Street, Market Street, and the Charles Gordon Market.

Sadly our displaced and homeless MSM are still left out to dry by uncaring family members, the public and sadly or egregiously NGOs who turn their backs on them from years ago not because there was no money but internal politics.

UNDERAGE GIRLS HELD

Among those held were three underage girls, whose unexplained presence on the streets is a major concern to Senior Superintendent of Police Steve McGregor, the commanding officer for the St James Police division.

"Their (the underage girls) cases will be treated differently because this could be a case of human trafficking, which would be most unfortunate," said McGregor, who intimated that the girls' parents could find themselves in trouble with the law if they are found to be complicit in any way.

In addition to the alleged prostitutes, the operators of three of the city's unlicenced clubs, where sex acts were reportedly being carried out, were also taken into custody.

"What is quite glaring is that 90 per cent of these people are not from St James," said McGregor, who held a press conference in the aftermath of the operation. "These ladies are from parishes such as St Ann, Portland and Kingston, as well as neighbouring Westmoreland and Hanover."

SCANTILY DRESSED FEMALES ROAMING THE STREETS

Commenting on the operation, McGregor said that the police had been informed that scantily dressed females were roaming the streets of the city offering sexual favoursat a cost.

"We realise that (we had) females walking on the street scantily dressed, can't properly account for their whereabouts, where they are from or what they are doing, and are posing a danger to themselves and the parish," said McGregor, who also pointed to a recent incident in which an alleged prostitute was killed in downtown Montego Bay - the first murder in St James for 2016. "Police intelligence showed that the woman (who was killed) was a known prostitute who was close to the age of 50 years old," said McGregor.

It is understood that of the men who were detained, some were pimps while others were in the process of engaging the alleged female prostitutes in sexual favours. According to the police, however, at least three of the men were actually "putting themselves out for sale".

At press time, several of the detainees were interviewed, processed and released. Among those kept back were the three teens, whose parents will be brought in for questioning.

see this Jan 9 clearing exercise that made news on TVJ:

Police Raid Jan 09 2016 Homeless MSMTrans... by glbtqjamaica

here is an older eviction by police:


Homeless MSM Eviction 2013 by glbtqjamaica

also see: "DVD Reveller" still displaced? part 2

It was only late last year we saw a series of reports on clashes with men who targeted homeless gays also using the strip to turn a buck while pacing the pavement. As Kingston's challenges persons when they make some case are forced to relocate to other areas to try and keep up; they also track their clients as well to get repeat business.

The Sex Workers' Association of Jamaica has been trying their hand but lack the requisite resources to really make a serious impact while more powerful, older and organised entities are more interested in other issues that creates soundbites sadly than raising to the level of importance.

The detained persons were released the next day and were back on the block working the strip again but with light patrols passing and warning them.

Peace and tolerance

H

also see:
Man accused of extortion tried for coning lecturer of $1.2 
million........ (GJW)

Clash of cruisers & homeless again (GJW)

Independent candidate favours J’cans making decisions on Buggery & CCJ

PRESIDENT and founder of the United Independents’ Congress (UIC), Joseph Patterson says Jamaicans should be allowed to vote on major issues such as retaining the Privy Council as the final appellate court and repealing of the buggery law.

PATTERSON... we believe that when there are core fundamental issues that come before the people it should always be put to a vote.

“We believe that when there are core fundamental issues that come before the people it should always be put to a vote,” said Patterson who is seeking to represent the St Elizabeth North Eastern constituency as an independent candidate in the next general election. He was addressing reporters and editors at the Jamaica Observer weekly Monday Exchange at the newspaper’s head office in Kingston.

Speaking on the party’s national and foreign policies, he said Jamaica should not have a foreigner as a head of state and his party would be pushing for Jamaica to become a republic. He believed it was also unnecesary to have a head of state and a head of government.

“So we will be pushing for a combining of those two positions into one: having a democratically elected president who does not run under a party banner but runs independently and offers his or her views to the country and is elected on that basis,” Patterson said.

On the controversial call for the repeal of the buggery law by some groups, Patterson said it was the Jamaican citizens who needed to decide.

“As I have always said... it needs to be something that is put before the people. We need to have a good debate in the country whereby those who advocate for a certain lifestyle have a chance to clearly explain how they think that will benefit the country and those who are opposed to that lifestyle have a chance to clearly indicate why they oppose that position,” he explained.

Commenting on whether Jamaica should abandon the UK-based Privy Council as its final court of appeal, Patterson said the solution was “very simple. Once you get rid of The Queen as head of state and have a Jamaican head of state you would have dealt with that problem. We need to make sure that Jamaica is a sovereign nation,” he shared.

However, he questioned whether Jamaica could boast of being a sovereign state when it was currently operating under the dictates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“After 53 years of being a so-called independent country, we now find ourselves where our policy makers, our legislators are actually acting on behalf of a foreign power in practically all the laws we have. Every new law that is introduced is one which is instigated, directed and required by a foreign power and my goodness we must not stand for that,” Patterson declared. “We need to say to ourselves enough is enough, we want our country back and we must understand what got us to where we are. A bad system of governance brought us here and we need a good system of governance to take us out of it.”

As it relates to Caricom, Patterson said he had always supported the position of National Hero and founder of the People’s National Party Norman Manley that there should be a Federation of Caribbean States.

“So if I had my way, I would be voting back then for a federation and I would vote now for federation. I believe the Caribbean people need to unite. We need to have one country, one set of resources, and become a powerful economic bloc in this area,” he said.

He noted, however, that Jamaica does not have the appetite for a federation now, hence the focus must be placed on uniting Jamaica. “If we unite as a country we can go out and help to unite the other countries and form a single, not just a market, but a nation of people because we are all related,” he said.

Patterson said he would definitely include Cuba and Guyana in that community because of the cultural connection, but pointed out that it would be up to individual countries to decide.

Guyana is already a member of Caricom.

“What I like about Cuba, while I despise communism, is they have stood the test of time against an aggressive power that has sought to prevent them from being who they wanted to be... I disagree with any international body or country trying to force another country to follow one path or another,” he said.

Patterson said his party intended to use various mediums to get his message out to the people, both those he is seeking to represent and the wider Jamaica. He noted that a core method of dissemination will be to connect with the people at the local level.

“As a result of that, from time to time we will be brought to the national fore like now,” he said, adding “In due time the message will be so powerful that we will hardly have to do anything. There will be people all over the place who want to share the message with others.”

Jamaican Bisexual man wins right to stay in the UK after protracted deportation battle

So finally Orashia is now able to remain in the UK amidst the high publicity his case had received and the fear of his return to Jamaica may have put him at way higher risk than normal given the sensitivities involved.

Vienna Browne with her son Orashia Edwards, pictured centre, his sister Ashema Edwards, far right, and her wife Issy Mangham-Edwards

Orashia Edwards, 33, has spent three and a half years battling attempts to deport him to Jamaica – where he says he would face discrimination because of his sexuality.
Mr Edwards, who has been detained a number of times, initially had his pleas for asylum on the grounds of sexuality rejected – after authorities claimed was heterosexual and had just been “experimenting” with men.

The UK government pushed ahead with plans to deport Mr Edwards, even though homosexuality is illegal in Jamaica, and LGBT people face the risk of vigilante violence.
But this week he finally won the right to remain in the country, after a string of victories.

He said in a statement: ” I want to thank everyone who has supported my campaign over the years, none of this would have been possible.

“I’m finally allowed to work so have applied for my National Insurance number and can go get a job and open my own bank account. Things are really looking up for me, I’m buzzing.”


Despite the victory, a number of other LGBT people are still battling deportation to countries where they face jail, violence or even death.

So many Jamaicans have had to leave our shores especially in 2014/5 as a sharp rise in incidents has forced persons to leave and also for economic reasons as well.

The Defend Orashia Facebook page has been positive on the issue and thanked supporters for their interest.

family and friends outside courtroom in 2015

I am pleased this one ended well and he can now move on with his life and also the great support from his family especially his mother who spoke publicly before.

Peace & tolerance

H

True confession: I am married to a man but attracted to women

IT is not uncommon for people still closeted to be in heterosexual relationships while hiding their attraction to people of the same sex.

In the case of Leah S, it is not a situation that rests well with her, and it proves to be a constant struggle as she has been married for 10 years, but is attracted to women, and even maintained a relationship with one during her marriage.

When Leah, who’s 35, spoke with All Woman, she shared that from as early as age 13 she felt different, but because of her religious upbringing she learnt to bottle up and ignore her liking for women and centre her attention on what was deemed right in the eyes of God.

Leah said this led to her forcing herself to like men and identify herself as ‘straight’ instead of bisexual, which she now admits to being.

“My teenage years were awful. I would see women and like them in a sexual way, but I somehow kept remembering that it was ungodly, that I would burn in hell, and the most gory parts of it to boot. I spoke to someone about it once and was literally rebuked. From that day I simply threw myself at men as the person said that it was better being called a slut than to be labelled a lesbian or bisexual.”

This new way of dealing with her sexual emotions led her to being branded by fellow church members as promiscuous and disobedient, and Leah explained that it got real bad when her parents told her she was a Jezebel who would end up unemployed with many children.

Determined to prove them wrong, she decided to settle down and go to university, but instead of falling into their ideal plan for her, she encountered a world of opportunities and an environment that embraced the side of her she was forced to suppress.

“Remember, I was never counselled about my homosexual feelings. I was rebuked and scorned and I tried to force myself to like men. When I got to university, because that wound wasn’t closed properly, it just opened a whole new can of worms and I saw that this was somewhere, a place I could fit in,” she said.

However, Leah pointed out that she still hid how she felt as she was surrounded by other church brethren who kept a watchful eye on her every move and at the simplest slip, would inform those back home.

“I had the way paved out for me to ‘bruk out’ as they would say, and just let loose, but eyes were everywhere. People knew me. I was involved in everything my church did, so I was known by my personal church and its extended body,” she said.

Leah silently indulged in homosexual behaviour, but ensured she had a man whom she could get to love her and eventually propose to her. This was her way of shielding her acts.

After she wed, she initially decided to give that side of her life a break and focus on her marriage because she was bent on making it work.

“No one could know, and I wouldn’t allow [any whisperings that my marriage was in trouble because of my sexuality]. Afterwards, [I chose a female partner] who knew how much image meant to me and understood why I was the way I was. She never tried to impose on my personal life or tear my family apart,” she said.

But nothing stays hidden forever and her husband found her secret when he came home early one day.

“He just walked in on us kissing and stood shell-shocked, looking at me as if he was looking at a stranger. But he kept his cool and she left. When I tried to explain he said it was fine, and that he wasn’t going to leave me.”

She later took him through her history and the struggles she had endured, and he listened with a great measure of care.

While Leah is still attracted to women, the married couple attends counselling sessions and works together with the hope that one day Leah will break free from her attraction and be devoted to her husband.

However, though she admits that while she loves her family and would love to be 100 per cent devoted to them, her struggle has been going on for years and will take time to break.

“I’m working at it, but things don’t happen in one moment. My husband I and have come to the realisation that this is a very, very real struggle and we also know that it will take time and patience. One thing I’ve done, though, is not to engage with any other female as I’m working through it. So though the attraction is there, I try not to form any relationships for the sake of my marriage and children,” she said.

Thwaites: Ministry alone cannot deal with homosexuality

So the Minister had joined the latest drama on homosexuality and the education system, sadly the goodly JAGCE President like JFLAG subsequently have reacquired foot in mouth syndrome. Obviously we know that the MOE cannot deal with such matters but to try to avoid discussion sensible policies directed at openness and such giving the impression of not condoning homosexuality is a little disingenuous to me.

The President was reported to have said in part:

then came JFLAG's response:

We had an incident in 2004 at Dunoon Technical High School where a father inciting a mob to attack his own son and it was averted by forward thinking ancillary staff. Discussions following that with persons such as the late Dr Heather Little-White for example led to tightening the referral systems by school counsellors and reparative therapy etc.

Dr Heather Little White

The Jamaica Observer reported today:

MINISTER of Education Ronald Thwaites has said that the issue of homosexuality among students should not be limited, or addressed solely by the education ministry because the issue is more far reaching.

Thwaites was responding to recent allegations that surfaced in the media regarding the refusal of several guidance counsellors to work with students who are viewed as homosexuals.

“It’s not only the responsibility of the schools and guidance counsellors to do this. The pervasive homophobia in the Jamaican society cannot be dealt with by the education system alone. It must be dealt with [by] persons endowed with the love of God, parents who have responsibilities for their children and know them best, and very respectfully and very trenchantly by the mass media along with all the purveyors of culture,” Thwaites said. He was responding to questions fielded from a group of journalists who had gathered at the HEART Trust/NTA corporate offices in St Andrew for a press conference hosted by the ministry of education to provide an update on the current state of the education ministry, as well as to share projected plans for the 2016/2017 academic year.

Thwaites said that while no student, regardless of sexuality, should be discriminated against, it is important that the matter is addressed so as to prevent further hiccups in moving forward.

“We certainly will be meeting with the Guidance Counsellors Association and ask them to explain if they are having particular problems so that we can marshal the best possible team that we have nationally to so guide them,” Thwaites said.

He said that he, along with key stakeholders in the ministry, had already started making plans to explore best practices with the assistance of professionals to explore and develop strategies to tackle the issue.

“I intend, as a proprietor to that meeting, to ask the various interest groups — such as the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, and we have also been in contact with JFLAG — what they think is the best way that we can encourage our students to adjust and grow themselves, and it should be required as it probably will the continuing of training and best practices,” Thwaites explained.

However, the minister was quick to point out that the education ministry will not be taking any dogmatic position, but rather to encourage the greatest sense of fulfilment and engagement of all people.

“Our task is to set policy, and the policy should be one of principle and compassion towards any issue, and particularly issues to do with human behaviour. This does not mean that the ministry of education is a set of saps. It is quite the contrary. The society has established norms regarding behaviour that we are all expected to follow,” Thwaites said.

ENDS

So if both entities were in touch with their own histories we could have avoided all this and moved on to a possible solutions and clearing the air. The MOE minister's stance is not surprising as how he handled the HFLE Home & Family Life Manual controversy.

also see:

Northern Caribbean University female Cheerleader Suspended After playing male role in cheerleading

Education Minister dismisses counsellors LGBT students issue, says it’s a 'minority' matter

The UTECH gay student matter is no 9 day wonder

Urgent need to discuss Sex & sexuality nationally part 1

URGENT NEED TO DISCUSS SEX & SEXUALITY NATIONALLY PART 2

The UTECH Student Abuse and the podcast/audio-post

Also see: New sex education manual in two months and Defending Family Life Curriculum

Podcasts and related audio:
Urgent Need to Discuss Sex & Sexuality Nationally (Part 2)

"Str8up Talkshow" on Newstalk on controversial HFLE book with anal sex questions

Newstalk FM's Jerry Small on the UTECH issue (collective security point)

Happy that both issues are being kept alive as too many times we have nine day wonders for important matters and the mainstream media does not do the necessary follow up. The Minister of Education was more prepared to find scapegoats and motives imputing a "gay agenda" behind the questions in the manual while pulling this important resource from the schools and bearing in the mind argued guided imagery exercise was a private one between the student and the specially trained guidance counsellors exposed to the manual's outline and delivery methodology. Pandering to the religious powers?as he himself is a man of the cloth, what about separation of Church and state?

Here was one of those religious zealots on the matter at the time:
Shirley Richards on the withdrawal of the controversial HFLE curriculum/book

Newstalk FM's Freshstart host Clyde Williams on nondiscrimination laws & msm

Minister of Education says no to condoms in schools & grooming of children to see homosexuality as accepted 2013

my podcast from then:

Review regional buggery laws, says UWI Guild Council

From left, Traverse Banton, post graduate representative for the University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine Campus; Dalano DaSouza, president of the Guild at the UWI, Cave Hill Campus; Davianne Tucker, president of the Mona Guild of Students; Aneka Lee, president of the Guild at the St Augustine Open Campus and Makesi Peters, president of the UWI St Augustine Guild of Students discuss the issue of guidance counsellors shunning LGBT students and restructuring foundation courses at a press conference on Friday following the Mona leg of the Inter-Campus Guild Council meetings.

SUBSEQUENT to the media reports of guidance counsellors shunning lesbian, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) students, the Inter- Campus Guild Council (ICGC) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) has called for a review of the buggery laws regionally, so that no citizen of any Caribbean Community (Caricom) country is disenfranchised.

President of the UWI, Cave Hill Guild of Students Dalano DaSouza said that the ICGC’s position is that these laws are archaic and need to be looked at and brought in line with values such as non-discrimination, sexual orientation and different fundamental human rights individuals are entitled to.

“Each government in the region ought to make a conscientious decision to review these laws with a look towards streamlining them in such a way that no individual in the country is disenfranchised,” he said.

DaSouza, who was speaking at a press conference held Friday at the Mona campus to discuss decisions coming out of the Mona leg of ICGC meetings, said that when he heard the reports he was taken aback and stated that it speaks to how the society views issues that we are yet to move forward from.

“We’ve sort of been pushing a lot of these issues aside and being from a country across the Eastern Caribbean, when I saw the report in the media I was taken aback by it because I know that we try to encourage dialogue between students and their guidance counsellors,” he said. “To me I don’t think there should be an issue or a policy to say students can’t discuss this with their guidance counsellor. There should be open dialogue. These are the formidable years of the student and if it is that they are put in that sort of position it affects their development and the probability of success going forward, whether or not they move on to university and it affects how they interact with their family and how they interact with people of the opposite sex. We create problems for ourselves as societies and countries when we have these issues and sort of just push them aside and wait until we have bigger issues down the road.”

Traverse Banton, post graduate representative for the St Augustine Campus said that while buggery is still illegal for some Caribbean countries, shunning a student can damage him psychologically, which would prevent him from coming for assistance with other issues he might have. Instead, he said, guidance counsellors should think about the holistic development of the student and build on that.

Also, Guild President of the St Augustine Open Campus Aneka Lee said that all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be able to enjoy the basic human right, which if denied in the form of shunning by counsellors, can be psychologically scarring.

Davianne Tucker, guild president of the Mona campus, added that before we get to the end result of somebody living in some big grassland with a makeshift kind of roof, we need to deal with it at this point and have active representation in terms of the support being given to some of these students.

Moreover, other parts of the discussions included the restructuring of foundation courses at the UWI, which the ICGC said is needed to prepare students for the real world.

DaSouza said that the campuses are currently in the pilot restructuring of the first foundation course, Caribbean Civilisation, and are looking at its content to make it applicable to all the campuses.

He said that apart from the history of the Caribbean, course developers should consider a foundation course in group dynamics and interacting as it is often said that students who graduate from the UWI have difficulty functioning in a work environment.

He added: “What about self skills — a course in helping students to structure or proposals as foundation courses, because never should a UWI student graduate and not have these basic skills. While they may be currently incorporated in different courses in different degrees, we sort of believe that there should be maybe a formulation of one or two courses that sorts of brings those skills together that every university student at this university should have the option of taking in order to bring themselves up to accept any position or fall seamlessly into the society after graduating.”

Strange that on a radio interview the head of the said Guidance Association who was reported that the concern is attributed to claims that no counselors refused to counsel LGBT students but instead were uncomfortable engaging such students given their lack of training for same.

Ahhh boi

also see:
Gleaner - Ian Boyne: Christians Unfit To Be Guidance Counsellors?

Peace & tolerance

H

UPDATE:

Education Minister Rev Ronald Thwaites says that he does not believe the Jamaican law can enforce matters such as the buggery law.

Speaking at the People’s National Party’s (PNP) face-to-face forum Thursday night, Thwaites, in response to a question about the buggery law said: “Personally, I don’t believe that the law can enforce matters like that. But if the law sets a standard then it is important”.

Thwaites added:” My religious belief tells me that I must hate the sin but love the sinner. And therefore I stand in favour of maintaining high standards of morality and remind myself that the condemnation in the scriptures about unnatural acts is equal to adultery or fornication and other acts of immorality”.

”Finally I’ve heard that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman,” said Thwaites in closing the discussion on the topic.

Despite his stance, Thwaites urged those who were in attendance to be even in their condemnation and to “let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”

Profiled lesbians clash with coaster bus crew over stigmatizing & underhanded comments

Sorry for the late posts but holiday scheduling and DJ duties took up some of my time and a family reunion was also in the mix which had me busy as a bee.

Hope you all enjoyed the season but even in the midst of it crap can happen as this latest entry will reveal.

Well as I live and breathe the holiday season is definitely upon us and I like many Jamaicans were out and about shopping and grabbing last minute household items as the traditional fix-up-the-house fever goes into effect. I was in the Half Way Tree area on the eve of the eve of Xmas and was frustrated with the traffic both vehicular and people so I boarded a coaster bus at the old bus park to downtown to avoid the madness. The usual rude poorly kept thugs both as loader men and conductors were around, bleached skins, tight pants and all the sometimes obnoxious treatment of would be female passengers with inappropriate approaches and such including touching, hope they remember or realise a sexual harassment bill will soon pass into law.

I witnessed this one myself as four ladies approached the shouting loader man encouraging passengers then came the first of many off hand comments which was to the effect “downtown lesbian crew....?” the facial reaction was clear enough especially from a cross looking sister but they eventually ignored the slight and took their seats as I observed keenly wondering if this was going to blow up into something else. The women were obviously being profiled by not only the rude loader man and also the conductor (kinda hard to tell who is whom as between the noise and distraction of getting passengers roles get cloudy) with the very audible comments about one lady of the four who has some masculine features and what appeared to be bleached skin.

As we made our way down Half Way Tree road by the nursing school it was clear drama was going to go down as the music on board was turned up as one of the girls was making a call where she asked for a reprieve to finish it and then the refusal by the crew to oblige until she managed to shout over the volume to make her point. This did not sit well with the so called self described bad man who ‘nuh tek talk from sodomite’ among other tersely worded comments which I will not quote but imagine the colourful deluge. The women soon had supportive company from her colleagues who gave the conductor and indeed the driver a tongue lashing which included defense of their perceived sexuality which came to dominate the exchange to which the impacted women proudly suggested they will take away all the girls from them as men as they are not worthy of them and are poorly kept. The argument went on for good twenty or so minutes as intermittent traffic and bad driving forming a new lane where there was none which had other passengers objected to the indiscipline and sway of the bus thought to be dangerous. However as we say in Jamaica colloquially ‘de gal dem block it’ (the girls blocked it) ‘Blocking it’ is term we use to suggest a victory from some sort of homo-negative event implying bravery and non acceptance of same.

“................Who woulda want you (badwud badwud), yuh work pon bus dutty conductor boi...........”

This and other such comments did not sit kindly with the crew and now other males on the bus and the pandemonium ensued all the way from Cross Roads to downtown with outbursts along the way as the ladies were determined to hold their ground as they are paying for the service not begging a ride on the bus. Then came the usual veiled threats to not only them but homosexuals in general and then the music was turned up at high volume. I tried to signal the ladies to cool it as it made no sense as we approached King Street via the York Park Fire station and as the bus turned that deep bend by Kingston Senior school the usual fare collection procedure happened. That was when the clash took another turn as the money was grabbed by the conductor in supposed defiance of the lady’s resolve in standing their ground; one man said he knew where one of the girls hailed from and that she acts like a man while he also expressed his supposed surprise on how bold homosexuals overall have become.

Upon arrival at the Kingston Parish Church in parade a spot often used as a quasi terminus for robot buses things really got ugly as the vocals went up and the standoff got really tense. I tried to intervene to the ladies to just leave the scene although I do not know them personally as it made no sense after coming so far to only end it in possible physical harm. But the ladies were determined not to be outdone by the slights and insults by the bus crew and others. The aforementioned male passenger who had made remarks was still adamant that he knew one of the ladies and he suggest some sort of threat or exposure of the exchange to her area of origin did not stop the ladies from holding their ground.

Things simmered eventually as other passengers suggested they end it as they disembarked the bus as the driver revved the engine to hasten person’s exit; the ladies eventually went off but with a hot parting shot said among other things suggesting strongly they were not impressed or moved by the projected strength or bravado:

“........ yuh tink se we fraid a unu ............ unu nuh frighten we..........”

In other words they were not intimidated or jolted by the event.

Nuff said.

Peace & tolerance

H

also see previous coaster bus challenges:

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

Gay joke goes wrong ... bus personnel escapes thrashing 2011

Alleged Gay advance upsets 'loader man' in Half Way Tree 2014

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

Of course not all SGL women do but this age old question is still left to be answered definitively for me as I have had this post sitting in draft for years literally and what appears to be a similar quandary for several others including a younger generation the question exists, I was stroke how it was openly discussed in a Facebook group recently when gay male porn was raised as a subject. Years ago I remember at the local level both at GLABCOM (gay lesbian, bisexual community) meetings at one NGO where I used to chair them occasionally and sat on its steering committee it was raised by the females in attendance that preferred to socialise with gay men than their lesbian or bisexual colleagues. WomenforWomen’s Friday night lymes and after discussions raised the matter on a few occasions and in one of them I was remember chairing a session which became heated as those for in admiration of gay male porn had to defend themselves from those against with the core of their revolt being the perceived untidiness of the act when anal penetration is the main action.

Oral sex between men ended up becoming the broker for a truce of sorts that faithful evening and a subsequent impromptu AIDS 101 to include anal health (fleet & such) and hygiene how tos as practiced by us as gay/bi men. For some reason that old HIV is a gay disease mantra found its way into the discussion as if to conclude it is automatic with anal sex especially without a condom. Those courses helped to sedate the abhorrence by some of the women especially the more butch identified ones and some studs. The present social media thread seems to have the same variables as the old perceptions arose as talking points in the commentary which grew into an all out debate where the untidiness perception was clearly expressed as persons claimed there would be faecal matter in the mix unbeknownst or unaware of the availability of anal health products so readily on the market these days and despite buggery being illegal. The typical abhorrence laden colloquial question ‘....how man fi a walla in shit pit...?’ (How are men to have untidy faecal exposing anal sex?) anti gay sentiments came up as a reason for opposing the act between men which was interesting to watch as to me it borders on a kind of internalized homophobia within the LGBT populations.

A brief intervention by an obviously more informed woman in the group did help to sedate the outrage or abhorrence by the opposers to the sex of it but ironically some of the same opposers said the site of a man dominating another man looks somewhat interesting; the word ‘hot’ kept creeping into the mix and then I remembered similar comments being made at the aforementioned meetings involving SGL women. I wonder if the attraction is driven by the perceived strength factor in the dominance of the ‘top’ or ‘sub’

The hypermasculine dynamic versus the more docile or sub/passive partner seems to be an almost aphrodisiac for some or is it just because it is sex involving same sex partners and the women are also same sex attracted there is a comparison or connection to the act as a way of confirmation of who one is in terms of sexual orientation? It is hard to measure in terms of SGL sub groups who prefers gay male porn more, butch identified women or studs and that old feud between the two that lingers even in the newer generations. I will declare further interest in this topic as I have had an experimental group sex of sorts several years ago when I was much more adventurous with four males including myself and two women one butch the other a stud and both who use strap-ons. The turn on for the butch woman who did not identify as bisexual was that she gets a kick out of seeing her sub partner in immense pleasure as evidenced for her in audible sounds as she drives home usually in a foot on shoulder position which imposes her dominance psychologically; a similar sentiment expressed by transmen who use strap ons pre-operatively; the aphrodisiac is the domination component of the act which in both groups leads to intense and sometimes multiple orgasms. The group action I was in the stud woman had a distinct advantage as she wore a unique penile strapper device with a specially made ending at the testicular base that vibrates used with batteries that would stimulate her clitoris in the process thus making the act even more pleasurable for her while the action of the squatting action of her sub partner as she prefers it also aids in arriving at multiple orgasms.

The availability of gay male porn online especially African American and indeed Jamaican porn from Jamdownproductions in particular who specialises in hyper-masculine models/actors who play both dominant and sub roles did not go unnoticed as many said the watch and are amazed at the act; some said they would try to stomach watching scenes with one person remarking that the sex was ‘clean’ some persons thought that there had to be a distinct emphasis on roles and the corresponding look of the participants; in other words the ‘top’ should be all man and hypermasculine projecting strength versus the sub or passive partner who is less so or effeminate even in sexual sounds to emphasize submission. Upon seeing two of the same archetypes switching roles seems fascinating for some as it blurs the lines or stereotypes of gay male sex. This reminds me of the long held strong rejection of two butches or two studs involved in sex; that too was raised in years passed at the aforementioned meetings and in most instances had to be quickly differed so as to diffuse heated debates with persons almost coming to blows. The hot topics Fridays at the now defunct Oasis Couture Elements lymes had one such episode when the evening’s subject was bisexuality and short of calling the police the thing descended into a shouting match with hardened positions.

Could it be that the very site of sexual activity does something to us overall? After all the experts tell us that such experiences in real time are burnt more permanently to the brain than possibly anything else; this could be the driver for the attraction and at the same time rejection tacitly of gay male porn by SGL women. Rejection is an aphrodisiac I suppose. After all the porn industry has thrived on lesbian typed porn for decades and even went as far as the spike in so called ‘she male’ porn as well during the eighties when the transition was made from the dominant Caucasian gay porn on the global market to the growing and now popular Black, Latino or Blatino gay porn now as most of the ‘she-male’ actors were.

None of the numerous women in the social media thread openly suggested they would try the aforementioned groupie I was involved in; I guess that would be a stretch for some and the anti male sentiments expressed sexually speaking by some SGL women I guess would also influence that although the interest would be a dominant role by her instead of the other way around. Bearing in mind that most of the members of the group where this thread was located are Jamaicans.

Sexuality is a marvellous thing.

Peace & tolerance

H

also see:

Science Says Women Prefer Gay Guy Porn (And Lesbian Porn, Duh) to All Other Types

Raw Thugs series ' 'Pimp' passed away

Cybersex and relationships 2010

Bad Man Nuh F*** Batty (Masculine Men Don't F*** Ass) (The Fear of The Feminine in JA) 16.04.15 

Lesbian arrested for defending herself!

Another same gender loving sister one of many is displaced as the numbers continue to climb once again and reports keep a coming in rapid succession. She asked whether a shelter or half way house of sorts for lesbians existed to which she was told no but that the women’s crisis centre can help if only for a short period. The end of the year tends to have an usual climb in numbers these types of cases as if to suggest that aggressors do not want to continue the relationships into the new year so edicts are issued or ultimatums are enforced sending targeted persons to scamper or search or reach out for help.

Can you imagine? ..... “picture it” as the character Sophia in that nineties comedy she would say in Golden Girls, a woman in her twenties who lives in western Jamaica with relatives and present as a stud aesthetically meaning she wears some unisexual or sometimes male attire such as shirts, shoes and jeans and she is repeatedly told she needs to wear female attire and look girly/feminine as it is offensive. Worse yet she smokes weed; the anathema for some relatives as she is described as a ‘flex like a man’ or buying into the hyper-masculine ideal and Jamaican gangsterism ideal.

She is constantly harassed in particular by a male cousin verbally at first but then things start to get far more physical than usual with more threats and finger pointing in her face etc. The Montegonian had to endure this mounting pressure for some time until the moment when one cracks comes as it did with her; one such tersely worded exchange presented itself over a month ago and she decided to have none of it, especially owing to the fact she is small in stature and deemed defenceless if and when she is man handled or at least that what her male cousin aggressor thought.

An argument ensued which led to a tussle between the two where she warned him to desist but he persisted in a drive to impose his will on her to change both her mode of dress, actions and lack of male friends or so he thought. A struggle developed and after several shoves, harsh words and a temporary standoff a knife was brought into the picture wherein upon the male cousin’s break in his retreat the woman defended herself with the device that she uses to shred her weed or marijuana stash after purchase. The cousin was stabbed and she then fled from the scene and headed straight to the police station to make the report; however much to her dismay she was instead taken into custody and served a week in a jail cell for simply defending herself. The cousin suffered a stab wound but not fatally and since then things have only gotten worse in terms of the relationship with not only him but other family members and strangers who got wind of the incident. Since then she has been effectively bouncing from pillow to post. The cops said she was wrong to have stabbed the man but instead made a report of the earlier challenges and even suggestions by one officer of her taking a reparative course from her ‘lifestyle’

Charges have not been filed by the cousin although reports suggest he is being encouraged to pursue same instead he is reported to be making threats and what he intends to do when he sees her; strong suggestion of violence presents itself here and that this is by no means over. The cops took the report and she was advised to follow it up. She also made a report to APJ from which flows this entry on the matter. This business of displacements and no real answer to same is disturbing me again as expressed in previous entries and we are told by agencies that have couch surfing avenues which actually turn out to be few and far in between and for young MSM/transgender mostly and not lesbians. Thankfully some forward thinking women have been opening up their doors as evidenced in a previous post on an arson attack earlier this year and the various assistance in sheltering at the community level. Other SGL groups seem more interested in image building on social media more than actually assisting persons in cases such as this even with clearly more resources than other outfits they instead refer to the referral route when such cases come by their radar.

The woman has tried to avoid being seen in the area although she is trying to relocate both her person and belongings and avoid taking phone calls from some family members as the tone of the conversation she is well aware of. She has also been talking to a counselor I have also learned. Hope remains while company is true and thankfully this one did not escalate into something else.

Peace & tolerance

H

Should I Tell Him About My Lesbian Affair?

Another question came in to the doctor on the Gleaner's health page and I wondered. If the answer makes sense, the question is as follows:

Question: 

Hello, Doc. I am 20 years old, and I have just got engaged to a wonderful guy, who is a newly qualified doctor. We have been having sex for around three months, and I have no problems in that area. He is good in bed.

But what is making me fret is this. Four years ago, when I was 16, I had a brief sexual relationship with another girl of the same age. I suppose you could call it an affair.

It only lasted about two weeks. It started with what is called a 'teenage crush'. Then there was a little kissing and breast-touching. Finally, we went to bed, which we did about four to five times. I did not know how to behave at all, but I do remember that she made me orgasm on three occasions. 

I did not understand what was happening to me.

Then it all stopped - mainly because my mother caught us naked in my bedroom, kissing each other. She got mad, and told the other girl's mom. Shortly afterwards, they left the island. I think they live in America now, but I have never been in contact with her and do not want to be in touch.

Don't get me wrong, Doc. I have no lesbian feelings now. I do not want to go with other women, but I want to know if I should tell my fiance about what I did with that girl?

here is the answer

A. Well, studies in the US have shown that a sizeable minority of teenage female students have brief relationships of this sort with other girls. Generally, it is quite a short-lived phase.

So you are far from unusual in having had a short spell of sexual contact with another teenage girl. You would be perfectly justified now in forgetting all about it.

First, should you tell your fiance? At the moment, I can see no good reasons for doing so.

Please understand that men can react in various ways to being told about a spot of lesbianism in the distant past. Some guys get excited about it; others are appalled.

As far as I can see, the only person in Jamaica who knows about that teenage 'crush' of four years ago is your mother, and it does not seem very likely that she is going to start telling people about it.

All in all, I guess you should 'let sleeping dogs lie'.

ENDS

If sexuality is so fluid and discussions indeed understandings of polyamory these days the answer from the goodly doctor seems a little dated to me as it is predicated on the old construct of experimentation while sticking to hetero-normative sexual relations.

What do you think about this one?

In  previous post (Am I a Lesbian?) I had suggested an online test maybe this one can work for this person as well. Or she can try a true professional on this.

Keep chatting folks, there is an online testing mechanism as captioned (I don't know if it actually works) but it seems interesting: Are you uncertain a about your sexual orientation? Than this is the quiz for you! Upon completion, you will find out weather you are straight, bi-curious, bisexual or lesbian: CLICK HERE

What if she is actually bisexual too?

also see:

Sexuality What is Yours? 2015

When Your Lesbian Partner is a Survivor of Sexual Abuse or Incest

On sexual orientation .. "homosexuality and bisexuality are natural phenomenon of the manifestation .......

When she chooses the other woman (third party in a str8 couple's bed)

Peace & tolerance

H

WPATH Results of Member Survey on Gender Incongruence of Childhood (GIC) Diagnosis

Results of Member Survey on Gender Incongruence of Childhood (GIC) Diagnosis for ICD-11

As WPATH members may recall, a survey was conducted in last December and January to tap members’ views on WHO proposals for a Gender Incongruence of Childhood diagnosis, to be employed with children below the age of puberty, and to be placed in ICD-11 (alongside a Gender Incongruence of Adolescence and Adulthood diagnosis) in a chapter called ‘Conditions Related to Sexual Health.” You may recall that much of the debate on the GIC proposal has focused on whether there should be a disease diagnosis for young children exploring their identity, and learning to become comfortable expressing it. The survey examined members’ views concerning the GIC proposal, as well as on an alternative framework employing non-pathologising Z Codes.

Two hundred and forty one members completed the survey. The survey indicated an even split among members regarding the GIC proposal (51.1% opposing and 47.7% supporting the proposal). However, non-US members were overall opposed to the proposal (63.9% opposing, 36.1% supporting). In the event of the proposed diagnosis entering ICD, members were in favor of the proposed name (51.0% versus 13.7% opposed) and the proposed location (41.1% versus 7.5% supporting the idea that it is classified as a mental disorder). Among those expressing a view about Z Codes, there was substantial overall support for their use in healthcare provision for children with gender issues (35.7% of the sample supporting, versus 8.3% rejecting). Support was evident, not only among those who oppose the WHO GIC proposal, but also among those who support it. The support was evident regardless of geographical location, time spent working in trans healthcare, or client age group. WPATH will take account of the results of the membership survey in future communications with WHO on this matter.

A paper including discussion of these results has been submitted for journal publication. If and when the full paper is published, the WPATH Office will issue an announcement to the membership with details.

WPATH Members may also be interested to know that on September 8, 2015, the European Parliament adopted a report (the Ferrara Report on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union, available athttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/en/report-details.html?reference=A8-0230-2015) which calls on the European Commission and Member States to provide better models to protect human rights, including the human rights of LGBTI people. In particular, the Commission is called to prevent gender variance in childhood from becoming a new ICD diagnosis. The report also “deplores the fact that transgender people are still considered mentally ill in the majority of Member States and calls on them to review national mental health catalogues, while ensuring that medically necessary treatment remains available for all trans people;” (89), among other provisions that protect the rights and dignity of transgender people.

The press release PDF from Transgender Europe (TGEU) concerning this report and the European Parliament’s position will be posted on the WPATH web site for download, and is available through the link below.

HERE

WPATH Symposium 

June 17-21, 2016

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstracts and Mini-Symposia Announcement

SUBMISSIONS FOR PROPOSALS ARE NOW OPEN!!

Please click here to book your hotel at the Double Tree

Complete program and online registration will be available soon

WPATH
2575 Northwest Parkway
Elgin, IL 60124