Skip to main content

Prejudice and Pride : Caribbean IRN Update June 2014

Didi Winston (Picture taken from Barbados Nation)


A conversation on Facebook leads to a brutal attack on Akil Thomas in Trinidad & Tobago who said his belief in God kept him alive even as his attacker asked him first if he believed in God.

In Jamaica, it is reported that 25,000 God fearing Jamaicans said "NO TO THE HOMO AGENDA" In  Guyana, the Chairman of the Inter-Religious Organisation, Pastor McGarell says 'gays should go live on an island by themselves", sentiments supported by the God fearing Junior Minister of Finance, Juan Edghill.



However, there have been responses to some of the beliefs. In Guyana, Swami Aksharananda rejects Pastor McGarrell's assertions  while veteran Trade Unionist Lincoln Lewis cautions that Guyana is not a theocracy.
In Barbados, Didi Winston protests her treatment at the Pricesmart, and the Barbados Nation writes about her story .   Reverend Clifford Hall responding to the criticisms of the reporting of Didi Winston's story , writes about Didi Winston's bravery and talks about respecting her right to her identity.


Newspapers published editorials about equal rights. In Jamaica, the Gleaner about "Bruce Golding's waffle", and Marriage Equality. In Guyana.. the Guyana Times spoke to LGBT as family and then shifted their position slightly calling for Equal Respect for the people who want gays on an island by themselves.  Guyana's Stabroek News also wrote on LGBT Rights.

The Barbados Nation becomes the first English speaking Caribbean newspaper to discuss their use of the appropriate pronouns to describe transgender persons stating that
"The issue of gender identity is new to us, and we have chosen to be guided in this instance by the AP manual, which states: “Transgender: Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth. If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly. "
​This, we believe, will for the moment take care of issues such as whether the person has legally changed his or her gender; whether local laws even make provision for a legal gender change; or whether the individual is in transition.


JFLAG publishes an Informational booklet on LGBT issues for use by media organisations especially.

In Jamaica, a sex education curriculum for children's homes is withdrawn  - with suggestions of a police probe and apologies from the authors.  The issue of young LGBT homeless persons reaches the attention of their MP Julian Robinson .

Another MP from the ruling PNP, Raymond Price suggests that the anti-sodomy laws are no longer relevant in Jamaica.




Dr Keon West writes about his research   to find out Why do so many Jamaicans hate Gay People.

St Lucia's Kenita Placide joined other LGBT activists at World Pride in Canada. Other Caribbean Activists and supporters participate in the US State Department's International Visitor Leadership's Programme.

In Guyana, activists protest the treatment of LGBT by the court and in Bahamas, a recent division of property judgement indicates some progress in the recognition of same-sex relationships.

In other media, Issue 9 of QZINE  is dedicated to Afro-Caribbean lives.

Please consider supporting Dwayne's House.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

WRITE IT IN FIRE: TRIBUTES TO MICHELLE CLIFF :Call for Submissions

Michelle Cliff (1946-2016) was a remarkable writer who claimed many identities she was taught to despise: Lesbian, Black, Woman, Jamaican. She wrote powerful novels, essays, stories, and poems that make us rethink what it means to love, to hope, and to have community. She also carved space for same-sex loving and diverse sexualities in the Caribbean by representing our desires fiercely and by being deeply rooted in place. She continues to inspire us to write our stories, our sense of self, in fire. “ A theory in the flesh means one where the physical realities of our lives – our skin color, the land or concrete we grew up on, our sexual longings ― all fuse to create a politic born out of necessity. ― Michelle Cliff, “Claiming An Identity They Taught Me To Despise” “ Who can say how many lives have been saved by books?” ― Michelle Cliff, Everything Is Now: New and Collected Stories “ It was Zoe, and Zoe alone, I thought of. She snapped into my mind, and I remem...

Queer Archives TT - Caribbean IRN Update July to December 2024

  Queer Archives TT The Queer Archives of Trinidad and Tobago is a project to develop a repository of Trinidad and Tobago's queer history.  The archives feature two collections  - The Cyrus Sylvester Digital Collection ; and the Timeline of LGBTQI+ Westory .  The lead organisation is  CAISO: Sex & Gender Justice and there is an interdisciplinary project team The archives were launched in October 2024 and will continue to grow. Caribbean LGBTQI+ Citizenship and rights  Dr Nastassia Rambarran's PhD Thesis "A comparative analysis of Barbados and Guyana with respect to colonial legacies, transnational processes and decolonizing activities involved in queer activism " is available   In Haiti, Erasing 76 Crimes reports that evangelical Christians block protections of the rights of LGBTQ+ Haitians La Joven Cuba has a story " Travestismo-transformismo en Cuba: una historia intermitente " about the history of travestismo and transformismo in Cuba....

and now St Lucia !!.. Caribbean IRN Update May, June, July 2025

St Lucia  The Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE) alongside United and Strong welcomed the ruling of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court which struck down St Lucia's 'buggery' laws . This is the latest ruling in a five country challenge brought by ECADE. St Lucia joins Barbados, Belize, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica in creating what ECADE's Kenita Placide described as a vision   " .. that our Caribbean can and must be a place where all people are free and equal under the law."  Exclusion, inclusion and gay sex without marriage In Trinidad and Tobago , Dr Terrence Farrell writes about the 'savings law' clause which the Court of Appeal used to preserve t he colonial homophobia despite the 2018 judgement w hich struck down the buggery laws.  The TT Pride Parade 2025 was described as lively . In StPride SVG was held for the third yea r , organised by Equal Rights and Opportunities SVG and others.  In Ba...