OPPOSITION leader Bruce Golding has come out strongly against any change in legislation to sanction homosexuality in Jamaica, even as members of that community are moving for greater acceptance among locals.

According to Golding, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) of which he is president, is not prepared to go against the cultural norms of the Jamaican society, which are largely anti-same sex relationships.
"Let us be very clear. There are some countries that are prepared to overturn tradition and culture in the interest of what they regard as individual freedoms and to do so at the instance of the homosexual fraternity, which comprises a minority in the population. You will find this pretty prevalent in Europe.

Police rescue three men accused of being homosexuals in Tropical Plaza in February this year after one of them doused a woman with a liquid substance. The woman had drawn attention to what she saw as the men's effeminate behaviour. Psychologists say it's only a matter of time before Jamaicans will be forced to accept the homosexual lifestyle.

We (the JLP) are not prepared to go in that direction," he told the Sunday Observer. "We intend to uphold the laws of the country."
At the same time, he made it clear that the JLP was not prepared to intrude on people in the privacy of their bedrooms, even as the party sought to ensure that the laws of the land are upheld.

"We don't believe that the state should be pushing down people's bedroom doors to find what they do there, because, if you push it down today to enforce laws that relate to sexual activity, you will push it down tomorrow for some other purpose. So we are not going there," he said.

"We respect the privacy of people's homes and we respect the intimacy of people's bedrooms. But in so far as providing official sanction to that kind of activity [homosexuality], we are not going there," Golding added.

If, however, people opt to engage in public displays of homosexuality, then he said there was no question that they would be made to answer for their actions.

"If you walk around in your bedroom naked, that is your business. You're in the privacy of your bedroom. But if you walk around the streets naked, you would have violated the law," the JLP leader said.

"There is a sharp distinction between what is permissible in terms of the public and what is permitted in your own bedroom. We are not prepared to interfere with people's privacy, but we feel that we must be sensitive to the culture of the country," he added.
According to Golding, individual rights must be seen within the context of a society's culture.

"There have been some amendments to laws to ensure that people's rights and freedoms are respected, but bear in mind that individual rights must be established within the context of the norms and culture and moral predilection of a society and therefore, that is our position," he said.

Golding's statements come at a time when sociologists and at least one academic are predicting an increase in violence against people of the same sex, who openly express affection for each other or engage in cross-dressing.

One psychologist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said homosexuals were searching for acceptance, as evidenced by the case of the young male cross-dresser who was beaten in Falmouth, Trelawny on April 27 this year.

The psychologist believes, however, that their efforts are made in futility at this stage since Jamaica is an island with a culture that is profoundly anti-homosexual.

"It is a sort of pushing and pulling. While the homosexual is being influenced by North America, it is like the Jamaican identity is being compromised. So you practise your homosexuality in private, but don't you come forward because this is who we are," the psychologist said.

Beyond that, she said Jamaica had a reputation as anti-homosexuality to uphold so that the harder members of the gay community pushed for acceptance, the harder the heterosexual Jamaican will resist.

"But we in Jamaica have a reputation and we have a reputation to uphold and our reputation is that we are homophobic and anybody who come with it is going to be knocked down," she said. " We perceive ourselves as being homophobic so any sense of anybody (gay) peeping through, don't cross the line because we have the distinction. Jamaica is known for this so any semblance of this is going to meet with resistance."

Psychologist Sidney McGill echoed his colleague's sentiment on the matter, noting that homosexuals, at least at this stage, were fighting a losing battle.
But unlike his colleague, McGill said there is clearly a thriving homosexual community on the island. What is more, he said it is only a matter of time before Jamaicans will have no choice, but to accept the lifestyle.

"I think that the heterosexual community in the society, in their fear of homosexuality, are unwilling to look further than their noses. If they were to look beyond their noses, they would see a thriving alternate homosexual community living underground," McGill told the Sunday Observer.

"This community has intelligent professionals from almost every field, including academia, and do carry a lot of power even if the power is invisible. The power has been invisible and with time, it will become visible, which is what we are now seeing more and more of - the boldness and the courage, these courageous displays. They meet in the night, among themselves and have their parties, etc. Now they are meeting in the day and in public."
The island's acceptance of the US culture, he said, is such that it will drive acceptance of homosexuality over time.

"We are influenced a lot by the North American scene, it is just a matter of time before the majority of Jamaicans will have to accept homosexuality as a viable alternative lifestyle," McGill said.
Meanwhile, like his colleague, he said homosexuals were on a mission for acceptance.

"It is indicative of the homosexual in the community becoming bolder, on a mission of coming out of the closet in a collective sense. And you have homosexual communities that are attached to gangs and they get some amount of protection from the gangs, which allows them to come out without too much fear," said, McGill who sees an average of three homosexuals at the family and counselling centre of which he is boss.

Sociologist Dr Orville Taylor agreed with the psychologists that while acceptance is perhaps inevitable, there was no question that open affection among homosexuals would prompt violence from Jamaicans.

"You going to have a gay backlash because they are pushing a little far and too hard, and in doing so it does appear as if they are discriminating against people," Taylor told the Sunday Observer, echoing his predictions of two years ago. "There is a big difference between what you call giving quality treatment toward one and predicting that group, and in fact I think that what a number of gay activists were seeking went a little beyond seeking equality.

And most important, when they try to take action against individuals who have economic relationships with large groups of people."

The sociologist added a caution to members of the homosexual community, noting that Jamaica, at this time, was not ready to openly sanction homosexuality. Further, he said that in pushing too hard for acceptance, they were defeating their own cause.
"The majority of people in this country are not pro-gay.

The gays are fighting a losing battle. If it comes to a confrontation, the gay community and the acceptance level is going to be set back decades because it is a battle that people who are on their side and in strategic positions are not willing to fight," he said.
"This is a country that is not yet ready for transvestism in public, and bear in mind the kind of antipathies which have existed are now open hostilities.

The gay community has taken on the dancehall culture, and when you take on the dancehall culture you take on almost an entire population. And it is the dancehall population that wins and loses elections, and the politicians know this."

Mothers can't father

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'