Political Asylum
Every now and again, I get the same e-mail from friends back home in Jamaica. Do you remember Staceyann Chin from UWI? Then they send me a link to her website.
The persons who send me the link are of course excited by the fact that they know someone who's famous. That's okay, but that's not the point of this rant.
I have been pondering an idea since I got the zillionth e-mail this week, and I looked further into it to test my theory.
I pondered the question:
"What IF, Staceyann Chin is not gay?"
I had my suspicions after reading some of the posts on her cyberjournal, interviews about her background, and some newspaper articles. Actually my suspicions came from her own words in two instances. One was in her cyberjournal, and the other was made during an interview:
Instance 1:
Comment: Fine. So here is the set up. She enjoys being "privileged" because of her Chinese heritage but discovers prejudice after experimenting sexually. Everyone at UWI experimented sexually or remained virginal until graduation. There was simply no middle ground. The people who didn't use condoms either got pregnant, or infected with HIV. Hell, I did some strange things, but I didn't label myself because of it. I certainly didn't make it public.
In an article on her life, I am reminded that she was "born into poverty and abandoned by her parents". Staceyann says that Jamaica has a way of glorifying people's skin shade and ignoring their social class because of it. Because of her humble background she didn't realise that certain behaviours and activities belonged in the realm of a particular social class. Most people would say that Staceyann was "country come to town".
I believe that Stacyann may have sufferedostracism because she refused to keep her mouth shut about her sex life. The fact is that homosexuals in Jamaica value their privacy very highly, so it doesn't do for a country girl to go around pointing fingers at her lovers. She got on the wrong side of the Jamaican middle class, when she sought to introduce their private hobbies to the free world. She has a big mouth, which is why she is a good poet, but it also contributed to her predicament.
One of my friends organised orgies on his yacht off the south coast of Jamaica and would always try to get me to come along. I wonder what would have happened if I had gone, and afterwards boast that I did it with X, Y and Z? Assisted suicide? Probably. Being alienated by her newfound social group, Staceyann got off easy.
Instance 2:
Comment: In other words, armed with an degree from UWI, she decided to go on a quest to regain her "special" and "privileged" status. Imagine her shock when she went to New York and found that she was just another black girl! Nothing wrong with that, but Jamaicans are blinded to their own place in the world that this would be an overwhelming experience. To survive this second wave of shock, she went to New York and told everyone there that she was a political refugee. Partly to ensure that she would remain a welcome guest, and partly to get back at the people who pushed her out of their group.
She's a smart girl and a survivor, having figured out exactly what people in first world countries will enjoy. There is nothing special about being half-Jamaican, half-Chinese; however, they will listen to talk about anti-gay people in Jamaica. It's so easy to stomp on a developing nation when it's down. Powerful people will fight for the rights of homosexuals, but they won't fight for racial or ethnic minorities.
I don't believe that Staceyann Chin is a lesbian. I think she is a self-centred girl who longs to feel special because she lost the love of her parents. When read her poetry, I see that one is forced to either agree or disagree, and I'm not sure that her sexuality is any of my business.
Poets like Mutabaruka speak for a group of people and allow others to identify with his words. He doesn't attack you for not listening; instead, he says what he has to say and offers you a choice. Either way, you can be his friend.
On the other hand, Staceyann Chin uses rejection to promote her poetry.
The prejudice she experienced was class prejudice (true bigotry) and not necessarily social prejudice. I wish she were honest enough to say that even though she once enjoyed attention because she was fair-skinned, that it was wrong to divide people because of colour. I'm disappointed that she goes to New York and tries to involve her audience in a discussion about her fair skin (as opposed to her Chinese heritage) and how she had a privileged status in Jamaica because of that. It shows how deeply this issue affects Jamaicans. Even her observers note that she is a woman of colour. I think she still has a far way to go before she can come to accept herself. The danger, however, is that once she frees herself of this delusion, her artistic source will dry up.
Despite what Staceyann claims about the gay lifestyle in Jamaica, there are quite a few male and female gay couples in Jamaica who live together openly and no one bothers them. Upper middle class people can do it because they are powerful enough to not be bothered by lower classes of society. Homosexuality, however, is not a lifestyle choice extended to the lower strata of Jamaican society, to which Staceyann belongs.
During colonialism, slaves had no choice but to breed for their masters. Therefore, open practice of homosexuality removes the likelihood of breeding and contributing to building the working classes of society. Homosexuality (by both genders) also weakens the power men have always enjoyed over women. Penises have always served as tools for women's immobility, no pun intended. If men are sticking it into each other, they won't be able to supress women in society by making them pregnant. If women aren't waddling around with pregnant bellies or breast feeding, they'll have quite a lot of time to stir up trouble.
I am ambivalent to Staceyann's work, but I do feel that unless she reaches beyond her self interests and personal pain, she'll end up repeating herself like a broken record.
Truly great artists were always able to do well in spite of their hardships, insecurities and weaknesses.
The persons who send me the link are of course excited by the fact that they know someone who's famous. That's okay, but that's not the point of this rant.
I have been pondering an idea since I got the zillionth e-mail this week, and I looked further into it to test my theory.
I pondered the question:
"What IF, Staceyann Chin is not gay?"
I had my suspicions after reading some of the posts on her cyberjournal, interviews about her background, and some newspaper articles. Actually my suspicions came from her own words in two instances. One was in her cyberjournal, and the other was made during an interview:
Instance 1:
There was no prejudice because I belonged to a class of people, I was light skinned and I had had tertiary education before because I had gone to Sharpe Teacher's College so I participated at a level that was good. I fit in in alot of ways.
The first time I noticed huge prejudice was when I discovered in a weird sort of way if one can say that one discovers that one likes women.
Comment: Fine. So here is the set up. She enjoys being "privileged" because of her Chinese heritage but discovers prejudice after experimenting sexually. Everyone at UWI experimented sexually or remained virginal until graduation. There was simply no middle ground. The people who didn't use condoms either got pregnant, or infected with HIV. Hell, I did some strange things, but I didn't label myself because of it. I certainly didn't make it public.
In an article on her life, I am reminded that she was "born into poverty and abandoned by her parents". Staceyann says that Jamaica has a way of glorifying people's skin shade and ignoring their social class because of it. Because of her humble background she didn't realise that certain behaviours and activities belonged in the realm of a particular social class. Most people would say that Staceyann was "country come to town".
I believe that Stacyann may have sufferedostracism because she refused to keep her mouth shut about her sex life. The fact is that homosexuals in Jamaica value their privacy very highly, so it doesn't do for a country girl to go around pointing fingers at her lovers. She got on the wrong side of the Jamaican middle class, when she sought to introduce their private hobbies to the free world. She has a big mouth, which is why she is a good poet, but it also contributed to her predicament.
One of my friends organised orgies on his yacht off the south coast of Jamaica and would always try to get me to come along. I wonder what would have happened if I had gone, and afterwards boast that I did it with X, Y and Z? Assisted suicide? Probably. Being alienated by her newfound social group, Staceyann got off easy.
Instance 2:
So now, I live in a world where Blackness, defines African-American-ness. Whiteness as Caucasian. And the other races incidental and certainly not related in polar terms. Now what do I do?
You find the Queer community.
Comment: In other words, armed with an degree from UWI, she decided to go on a quest to regain her "special" and "privileged" status. Imagine her shock when she went to New York and found that she was just another black girl! Nothing wrong with that, but Jamaicans are blinded to their own place in the world that this would be an overwhelming experience. To survive this second wave of shock, she went to New York and told everyone there that she was a political refugee. Partly to ensure that she would remain a welcome guest, and partly to get back at the people who pushed her out of their group.
She's a smart girl and a survivor, having figured out exactly what people in first world countries will enjoy. There is nothing special about being half-Jamaican, half-Chinese; however, they will listen to talk about anti-gay people in Jamaica. It's so easy to stomp on a developing nation when it's down. Powerful people will fight for the rights of homosexuals, but they won't fight for racial or ethnic minorities.
I don't believe that Staceyann Chin is a lesbian. I think she is a self-centred girl who longs to feel special because she lost the love of her parents. When read her poetry, I see that one is forced to either agree or disagree, and I'm not sure that her sexuality is any of my business.
Poets like Mutabaruka speak for a group of people and allow others to identify with his words. He doesn't attack you for not listening; instead, he says what he has to say and offers you a choice. Either way, you can be his friend.
On the other hand, Staceyann Chin uses rejection to promote her poetry.
The prejudice she experienced was class prejudice (true bigotry) and not necessarily social prejudice. I wish she were honest enough to say that even though she once enjoyed attention because she was fair-skinned, that it was wrong to divide people because of colour. I'm disappointed that she goes to New York and tries to involve her audience in a discussion about her fair skin (as opposed to her Chinese heritage) and how she had a privileged status in Jamaica because of that. It shows how deeply this issue affects Jamaicans. Even her observers note that she is a woman of colour. I think she still has a far way to go before she can come to accept herself. The danger, however, is that once she frees herself of this delusion, her artistic source will dry up.
Despite what Staceyann claims about the gay lifestyle in Jamaica, there are quite a few male and female gay couples in Jamaica who live together openly and no one bothers them. Upper middle class people can do it because they are powerful enough to not be bothered by lower classes of society. Homosexuality, however, is not a lifestyle choice extended to the lower strata of Jamaican society, to which Staceyann belongs.
During colonialism, slaves had no choice but to breed for their masters. Therefore, open practice of homosexuality removes the likelihood of breeding and contributing to building the working classes of society. Homosexuality (by both genders) also weakens the power men have always enjoyed over women. Penises have always served as tools for women's immobility, no pun intended. If men are sticking it into each other, they won't be able to supress women in society by making them pregnant. If women aren't waddling around with pregnant bellies or breast feeding, they'll have quite a lot of time to stir up trouble.
I am ambivalent to Staceyann's work, but I do feel that unless she reaches beyond her self interests and personal pain, she'll end up repeating herself like a broken record.
Truly great artists were always able to do well in spite of their hardships, insecurities and weaknesses.
Blogged by Shaggy's girl at 06:03
3 Comments:
Hey there Shaggy's Girl,
Your article is probably the first I've seen that attempts to explain why violence against gays is so important to Jamaican culture. (News of Steve Harvey's killing is making me even more curious of course.)
I know deep down that I must question everything I see in the press so one nagging issue for me is the following:
Is it that Jamaica is really more homophobic than other caribbean countries or is it that somehow homophobic acts taking place in Jamaica receive more coverage? If so, why?
Past that threshold inquiry, I do have a friend who knows both Jamaica and Haiti well who claims that he always feels more comfortable being physically affectionate to women in Haiti than he does in Jamaica. And a person who has studied coming out among both Haitian and Jamaican immigrants in the US claims that there are different attitudes toward coming out in both communities. Apparently, the Haitian way is more "don't ask don't tell" while the Jamaican way is a bit more confrontational. (Or at least so says this Haitian-American woman who has shared coming out experiences with her Jamerican gay friends.) So if indeed there is a special intolerance in Jamaica, why Jamaica and not, say , Trinidad?
I of course don't expect you to know the answer to all these questions, but since you at least broached the topic in your post, I thought I'd ask...
Hello Alice B.
Thanks for visiting. I should let you know that I was happy to see your comments here because I have been reading your blog (silently, of course).
To address your question, I don't feel that Jamaica is at all homophobic. The violence is not anti-gay, but anti-telling. In our culture, information is passed on by gossip and word of mouth, so if you want to know who is gay, you have to know who to ask. Then you're supposed to keep the information to yourself.
Years ago, I heard an amusing story about a famous Jamaican artiste (no further hints) who was eager to have gay sex, but because he had made some songs deriding homosexuality, the gay community in Kingston laughed in his face when he asked to be hooked up.
The minute you offer up information without giving something in return, that's where the problem comes up.
In countries like the US and the UK, offering up information without giving something in return is called "the media". It is their job to give information to the consuming public.
To reiterate, this is not about "gayness" or "straightness". It is about controlling information.
As for myself, I don't believe that this sort of "information protection" is in the best interest of our society. It harks of colonialism, and I'm not sure we should be hanging on to that.
I wish you'd posted on the blog. That way, I would have clicked on your name and visited much much earlier. I'll be tuned from here on though. Gotta go thank Mad Bull for the introduction...
Post a Comment
<< Home