Though Jamaica has made massive strides in the fight for LGBT equality, including the first LGBT pride celebrations in 2015, the anti-gay messages in the music and social culture are alive and well.
LGBT Jamaicans harassed at a street parade in Kingston.
Battybwoy, chi chi man, fish, fassy/fassy hole, poop man, faggot; these are terms that the Jamaican LGBT not only have to deal with in personal verbal harassment, but also in the music on the radio or blasting from a block party. Jamaica has been described as one of the "most homophobic places in the world," and it is not hard to see how this is a true statement, becoming less so, but still true. Sodomy/buggary is punishable by up to life imprisonment, a law the country decided to continue to enforce after acquiring freedom from Britain's law. Jamaica's own laws do not criminalize the status of being LGBT but instead outlaw conduct. The Offences Against the Person Act (OAPA) provides as follows:
Section 76. Unnatural Offences. 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.
Section 77. Attempt. Whosoever shall attempt to commit the said abominable crime, or shall be guilty of any assault with intent to commit the same, or of any indecent assault upon any male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and being convicted thereof, shall be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding seven years, with or without hard labour.
Section 79. Outrages on decency. Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or is a party to the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and being convicted thereof shall be liable at the discretion of the court to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour.
In the context of these laws, a man can be punished with up to two years for holding another mans hand. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Jamaica has "no law which prevents discrimination against an individual on the basis of his or her sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. There is also no legislation addressing hate crimes in Jamaica."
Allegedly gay man being beaten by mob in the street
It's obvious to see through Jamaica's own legislation that this is, not the only one, but a cultural norm to be anti-gay publically, and LGBT silently.
Here are some popular song lyrics that describe the type of feelings some Jamaican artists have and spread towards the LGBT community:
Dancehall artists, Spice (left) and Vybz Kartel
"Every man grab a gyal." "And every gyal grab a man." "Man to man, gyal to gyal. That's wrong." "Scorn them."
Ramping Shop, Vybz Kartel ft. Spice
"Fi start bun a MC, Bun fiyah pon batty boy .... Man a ga step ina him face with my new Nikes, 16 bar, 16 scar .... Better hide, me a bun dem boy a bun grass, Me have a thing called Desert Eagle, Mek me think evil, N waan fi kill people, .... U cut a lie, Me a gan take ya life fool...."
"For starts, curse MC, curse fire/Hell on the gay man, I'm gonna go step on/stomp his face with my new Nikes, 16 bar, 16 scar .... Better hide, I'm gonna burn them, I have a Desert Eagle (gun), it gives me evil thoughts, and I want to kill people, if you lie to me, I'm gonna take your life fool...."
Pow! - Lethal Bizzle
Dancehall and reggae artist Buju Banton
"Boom bye bye inna batty bwoy head, rude bwoy no promote nasty man, dem haffi dead ... Cah me say dis is not a bargain, me say dis is not a deal, guy come near we then his skin must peel, burn him up bad like an old tire wheel, gwaan buju banton yuh tough... two man a hug on an kiss up on an lay down inna bed, hug up on another anna rub dung leg , send fi di matic an di uzi instead, shoot di battybwoy come if we shot dem, dem dont want Jackie give dem Paul instead, dont want di pum pum between the Patsy leg, all dem want is the body from Fred but this is Buju Banton."
"Killer gunshot in the gay man's head, tough guys don't promote gays, they have to die ... I'm telling you this is not a bargain, this is not a deal, if a gay comes near us we must burn him until his skin peels off like a tire off a wheel, I'm gonna show you how I do things... two men hugging, kissing and laying on a bed, cuddling each other and rubbing down there legs, get me an automatic gun and Uzi instead, shoot the gay man, come help if we kill them, they don't want a woman give them men instead, they don't want the vagina between the woman's legs, all they want is a man's body but this is who there messing with."
Boom Bye Bye - Buju Banton
"Hey batty boy", "One move and you're dead" ,"Got my glocks cocked and they're pointed atcha head", "Your operation's dead and stinkin'", "Tied down with bricks in the East River sinkin'"
Wrektime - Smif-n-Wessun
Even American artists are contributing to the popularity of anti-gay music:
Nicki Minaj was featured in Mavado's song "Give It All To Me", here is another song lyric of his:
Nick Minaj posing with Mavado
You a pussy, mi a gangsta, you fi know me is a mobster When you start di war, and come ask me, "weh dat fah" You ask, "weh dat fah", you know a weh what fah, faggy Weh yuh push yuh head unda frock fah? .... Say the Gully God love buss him gun but the little fag love use him tounge, Informer, Handicap from them little and them young inna dem face..
You're a pussy, I'm a gangster, you should know I am a mobster. When you start the war, and come ask me, "What is this for?" You ask, "What is this for?", you know what this is for, faggot, Why do you wear dresses like a woman? .... The sewer man says he loves to shoot his gun but the little fag loves to use tongue, you're a snitch, handicap the gay children when they are young..
Rihanna has also performed and created music multiple times with publically anti-gay artists, including Vybz Kartel, Buju Banton, and Elephant Man, the creator if the song "We Nuh Like Gay":
Rihanna wearing Buju Banton
t-shirt soon after recording with him
"We no like gay, we no like gay, well ah just how jamaican stay, from you no like battyman well me waan se yuh gun right away, gun right away, caw we bun dem and we run dem, battyman and badman cyaa be friend, wave yuh guuuuuun, wave yuh guuuuuun, wave yuh guuuuuun, wave yuh guuuuuun, den! no battbwoy cyaa come march inna Kingston City, A!"
Elephant Man's song
"Throw Your Hands Up" featuring Rihanna
"We don't like homosexuality, we don't like homosexuality, that's just how Jamaicans are, you say you don't like gay men well I want to see your gun right now, gun right now, cause we curse/burn them and we own them, a gay man and a tough guy can't be friends.... Wave your guuuuuun, wave your guuuuuun, wave your guuuuuun, wave your guuuuuun, then! No gay men can come march in Kingston City, A!
Even Action Bronson, who is often featured and has multiple shows on the American T.V channel VICELAND, also was featured in a song condemning homosexuality.
"Grab my dick violently spit, Cause I don't give a fuck about the type of shit, Batty boys are wrong, get your vaginas wet...."
Ab-Soul ft. Action Bronson and Asaad
A quote from Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher Rebecca Schleifer who had planned a meeting with legendary Jamaican gay activist Brian Williamson, who was hacked to death with a machete in his home, shows that these messages can go beyond verbal harassment.
This is what was experienced after arriving at the body's discovery :
She found a small crowd singing and dancing. One man called out, "Battyman, he get killed." Others were celebrating, laughing and shouting "Let's get them one at a time", "That's what you get for sin". Others sang "Boom bye bye", a line from a well-known dancehall song by Jamaican star Buju Banton about shooting and burning gay men. "It was like a parade", says Schleifer. "They were basically partying."
Yes, it is true that Jamaica is making progress towards changing the social view of LGBT acceptability, however there is so much that still needs to change. Another example, based on a random survey in late 2010 of 1,007 Jamaicans, aged 18–84, 85.2 percent were opposed to legalizing homosexuality among consenting adults. Music culture and dancehall was never the first seed for the homophobia on the island, but it does perpetrate and support the systematic oppression and violence faced by LGBT Jamaicans.
Sources:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/21/jamaica-unchecked-homophobic-violence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Jamaica
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/leading-gay-activist-murdered-in-jamaica-731713.html
https://www.youtube.com/
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