a sagging example
I often asked why is it that despite the continued homophobia and fear of the feminine in certain types of hypermasculine men those men even while dressed with their pants and boxers advertising their own ‘cakes’ that they are off limits or firm round mounds they don’t realise what there are actually doing. Some men go as far as to deliberately or not allow the top of the crack to show as well in supposed homophobic Jamaica. How on one hand men bash each other sometimes out of the slightest argument in public by calling their opponents a faggot, fish, battyman and so on in the ever extending list of names and rehashing old ones such as “He’she” given the visibility of transgender persons in Jamaica; the accuser is showing the very anatomy of the body (the batty or batty jaw) to the world which often attract the straying eye of others either in revolt or quiet attraction especially by men on the down low. The matter came home for me on the extended eater weekend as I entered and subsequently exited the Tastee patty store in Spanish Town.
Upon entering the establishment outside of the juice ladies by the door asking for patronage when leaving the store, a heated argument was in action involving the DVD men and others. The usual battyman calling reductive power reducing narrative occurred as part of the public projection of strength and or enhancing bravado. The accuser making the burning out remarks was wearing a rather tight skin fight black leggings of sorts with the waist in the presently typical popular below the ass cheeks position and was in a blue also close fitting boxers and his cakes were nicely firm looking. The accused ‘battyman’ was not so dressed in terms of his jean being below the ass or buttocks lining and he responded by rebutting that the accused is the ‘more bigger battyman’ implying his mode of dress says he is gay and advertising his ass to other downlow gays.
I have witnessed the low wearing pants types engaged in quarrels who accused other men of being gay but not the response of throwing back a response using profiling and aesthetics o effectively. I was lucky to catch that part after exiting the store and found it funny while curious. The laughter was also telling from the juice sellers by the door, the DVD vendors and other passers-by who heard the exchange.
The clearly embarrassed low pants wearing man rebutted by accusing the accuser of having AIDS and performing oral sex on women, two other masculine reduction narratives in public spats when the persons want to shift the argument in question by adding other embarrassing elements to project strength; what makes it more unique is that he was not able to pull his pants up to cover up the nice firm cakes so as not to effectively conform their accusation just by his aesthetics, he was also lightly bleached with numerous tattoos. Strangely the anti tight pants wearing men narrative as part of the homophobic and murder music narrative is still alive even as the practice has become a cultural phenomenon with some large acceptance driven by the same main protagonists being the dancehall artists mostly the older ones were vehemently opposed to the practice in the first place; strange that celebrity names such as Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and the monster Shock Crew who voiced songs using modes of dress to profile and stereotype gay men alongside effeminacy now wear the very tight pants, leggings and sometimes well below the buttocks clothes with often bright coloured boxers a practice supposedly derived by the American prison systems and African American thug culture. Several rappers have incorporated the ass showing look and it is seek as a marker of being high on the thuggery social pecking order.
The clearly embarrassed low pants wearing man rebutted by accusing the accuser of having AIDS and performing oral sex on women, two other masculine reduction narratives in public spats when the persons want to shift the argument in question by adding other embarrassing elements to project strength; what makes it more unique is that he was not able to pull his pants up to cover up the nice firm cakes so as not to effectively conform their accusation just by his aesthetics, he was also lightly bleached with numerous tattoos. Strangely the anti tight pants wearing men narrative as part of the homophobic and murder music narrative is still alive even as the practice has become a cultural phenomenon with some large acceptance driven by the same main protagonists being the dancehall artists mostly the older ones were vehemently opposed to the practice in the first place; strange that celebrity names such as Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and the monster Shock Crew who voiced songs using modes of dress to profile and stereotype gay men alongside effeminacy now wear the very tight pants, leggings and sometimes well below the buttocks clothes with often bright coloured boxers a practice supposedly derived by the American prison systems and African American thug culture. Several rappers have incorporated the ass showing look and it is seek as a marker of being high on the thuggery social pecking order.
Monster Shack in 1997 braking the hypermasculine presentation rules in dancehall
The monster Shack crew were a walking contradiction in terms of their group image; even as while they coloured their hair which was not so a popular thing to do in their heyday they could be credited for slowly pushing the tight pants phenomena in men long before Vybz Kartel used his image change to the ‘Gay look’ and carrying his legions of fans with him mimicking him.
Other acts all have joined in a recent photo of an aging Babycham struck me given his position on gays, Beenieman and others as well, the younger dancehall acts for them it is normative despite in musical clashes the stereotype is used as ammunition to belittle musical their opponents even while dressed in the mode on stage, contradiction right before our eyes!
In a previous post (The low wearing pants issue ...) I had addressed the below the buttocks dressing as at the time legislators wanted to make it illegal.
Here is an excerpt:
The government these days feel it can just become judge juror and lawmaker for every god damn thing these days, Jamaica in my estimation does not have a lot of men wearing low cut pants anymore that style has died from last year 2009, most jeans nowadays are straight tight jeans in brands like Gucci that have very straight cut leg lengths and maybe wider waists for hip hugging.
The jeans itself just sits at the hip not below to show butt cheeks as said by many commentators and in fact the tight jeans being worn now if they were worn in let’s say three or four years ago a man would have been beaten or attacked for being gay. The notion of a man so well put together then he is considered gay or his sexuality comes into question.
This is a social issue I think and there shouldn’t be interference by the legislators on everything. This one should just play itself out but the police are already using the public decency act to arrest men coming from dancehall events especially who are well dressed. What about the events coming up like carnival where persons are scantily dressed in tights or butt showing attire, what about the dancehall outdoor events where live sex has occurred those haven’t been deemed out of place yet or we should wait until the administration decides to go there to lock up people.
Will lesbians who dress supposedly masculine in low pants as well be arrested too?
Freedom of choice in the Charter of Rights I thought was a right and why is it the lawmakers must just go around and make laws for everything to drown persons’ freedoms?
ENDS
One wonders if changing aesthetics may also playing a role in softening multi-generational stereotyping and homophobia via social media; as visibility is raised and old belief that one can easily tell one is gay by looking that is being debunked as persons from all classes and appearance and coming out gay or bisexual. Jamaica is a paradox indeed.
from 2009:
from the now defunct Observer chat
Peace & tolerance
H
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