Homophobia In Jamaica

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In this paper, I will discuss why most Jamaicans, currently residing in Jamaica, are homophobic. Jamaica is not the only homophobic nation, but it is the only country that has little research on why the country’s violent sentiment against gays is so strong (West, 2014). In 2012, nearly 88% of Jamaica 's population believed male homosexuality was immoral, and 84% believed female homosexuality was immoral (“Human Rights First”, 2016). The high percentages of homophobia could be due to the fact that less than 5% of the population has no religious affiliation (“Jamaica 2012 International Religious Freedom Report” , 2012). Not to mention, most, if not all, religions practiced in Jamaica oppose homosexuality.

The demeaning term “buck breaking” has a deep rooted history in Jamaica. Buck was a term used to …show more content…
The popular lyrics of a song called Boom Boom Bye by Banju Banton summarizes many Jamaican views on homophobia. Banton says “Two man hitch up on and ah lay dung inna bed, Hug up one another and ah feel up leg, Send fi di 'matic and di uzi instead, Shoot dem now come mek we shot dem (head/dead)” meaning two men in love touching each other will get shot in the head. Furthermore, Bantu calls gay men batty bwoy and threatens to set them (gay men) on fire. Another popular song called Chi chi man (a derogatory term for a gay man) by T.OK expresses their hate for gay men. T.OK says “From them a par inna chi chi man car Blaze the fire make me bun them (Bun them!!!!), From them a drink inna chi chi man bar, Blaze the fire make we dun them (Dun them!!!!)” meaning killing gays with automatic guns. Banton and T.OK are neither the first nor last popular artists to advocate violence against gays. In order to combat the anti-gay music, a campaign called Stop Murder Music is beginning to take action to inhibit the normalization of hatred towards gay

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