Observer's step n fetch it on metrosexualism & tight pants in Jamaica

So in today's Observer January 24th the writer in the piece excerpted below tried to ask if Jamaican men were embracing their feminine side?, at first when I read the article I thought how empty, late and basic it is, to be just having a piece about this when their competitor at North Street the Gleaner is way ahead in looking at the issues it tight or close fitted jeans and men bleaching their skin more openly than before through pieces from writers, the quality of this one however is lacking and should have been properly put together.

Certainly this and GLBTQ Jamaica blogs have carried some coverage of the tight pants issue ever since certain talk show hosts from as early as 2008 started equating it to gay men trying to go public, she confused the stereotype with aesthetics she being non other than former talk show host and now Founder and President of the New Nation Coalition NNC almost creating panic through her alarmist type discussions. Certainly other mainstream dancehall acts including former anti bleaching and anti tight pants advocates such as Bounty Killer and Vybz Kartel have made both practices mainstream as we too here do conduct hero worship of our entertainment stars and follow their lead even if it goes against the grade, one wonders if one of them came out at the right time if we wouldn't see mass outings by their closeted fans too ? at the rate we are going these days.

see previous entries on my take on metrosexualism in Jamaica and the linkages to Jamaican dancehall culture with profound changes over the years. Also see an entry on forced feminization as well on GLBTQ Jamaica (blogger edition)

Have a read of the article below and see if you are in agreement the writer also to me seems poorly informed or at best knowledgeable I was expecting better analysis of the whole scene to include the rapid changes in dancehall culture towards taboo subjects such as tight pants wearing

Here it reads

"Tight jeans and fitted - Are Jamaican men embracing their feminine side?"

A Man's Diary

with Dameon EUNICK

THE year 2010 brought some interesting trends in male fashion, and after much prompting from a female friend, I’ve decided to add my two cents to the discussion.
Now in the past few years, fashion in Jamaica has undergone many transformations, some of which I find to be ridiculous and disturbing. First there was the baggy pants, this is where some men chose to wear their pants a long distance away from their waists — to almost touching their knees or falling off completely. As such, they ended up walking in a very ‘wide’ manner in order to keep their pants from falling off.

It seems the ‘baggy pants’ have paved the way for the tight pants or the ‘fitted’... (Photo: Observer File)

My first reaction was, WHY? I have had the misfortune of once putting my pants on to go to the shop and forgetting to put a belt in it. Now let me tell you, that was one of my most uncomfortable trips to the shop. I had to be walking with my feet in wide manner, and I had to be pulling my pants up every five steps. This experience has led me to conclude that something must be wrong with a man who puts himself through that much trouble for the sake of ‘fashion’.

Having gone through that phase, Jamaican men have now moved on to another so-called fashionable way of wearing their pants, which has led me to question if they are embracing their ‘feminine’ side. It seems the ‘baggy pants’ have paved the way for the tight pants or the ‘fitted’ as Kartel says.
However, the last time I checked it was the women who were supposed to be wearing tight pants or ‘pencil foot’ jeans. Some men have even taken it further and have been taking their pants to the tailor to be ‘taken in’ in order to make them tighter, and based on reports from some stores, some men have been buying women’s jeans in order to get the tight pants look.
Now this is taking it a bit too far now! Why would a man want to be wearing female jeans? Are the Jamaican men now trying to be more of a woman than the women… are they embracing their feminine sides?

It would seem to me that more and more Jamaican men are moving in on the females’ territory under the guise of fashion and this is not acceptable! This is also evident in the fact that the Tshirts being worn have also gotten much tighter and now resemble the ‘body blouses’ that women usually wear.
Also, the introduction of the man purse was another fashion statement which came to prominence. A man purse was usually seen being worn by metrosexual males in the US and other developed countries. This trend quickly caught on in Jamaica and was embraced by many Jamaican men.

I think as individuals we can’t let so-called fashion dictate what we see as acceptable, good sense should prevail in this aspect of our lives. While some fashion trends are acceptable, others are not as they border on the disturbing. But it seems to me that some men will take the opportunity to not only follow the fashion trends, but use it as a means to express their hidden femininity.

On the other hand, another interesting new trend among Jamaican males is the act of bleaching. This trend started out as a predominantly female trend but has now been taken over by the males. For me this is just an example of men being too caught up with their looks. Mark you, there is nothing wrong with a man taking care of himself and wanting to look dapper or dressing good, however, when it goes to the extreme of wearing female’s jeans and wearing tight shirts, one has to stop and question what is really happening with the males in Jamaica.
ENDS

further readings:

Ridiculous Stereotypes - Men in Tight Jeans are gay

Overhyped on underpants (Gleaner Letter)

Wait until the law is changed! (Low Wearing Pants)

Here fishy fishy .......

LGBT Voice Clearly Missing in Civil Society’s New Found Resolve

Bad men seem to love women's wigs (Observer opinion piece)

Some of the pieces above also have hints of cross dressing and feminization in entertainment and otherwise.

Peace and tolerance.

H

Cuba Goes Both Ways on Gay Rights: United Nations vote opens room for dissent

By ACHY OBEJAS

In its 52 years, the Cuban Revolution has had a less than stellar queer history, complete with on-the-record anti-gay statements by Fidel Castro, sanctioned anti-gay persecutions and purges, and labor camps in the 1960s created specifically for LGBT people.

The daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro, Mariela Castro (C), marches in a gay parade in Havana, on May 15. (Photo by: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Officially, all that has changed. Fidel Castro apologized for the persecution of gays on his watch, there are no explicitly anti-gay laws on the books, and LGBT rights have found an unlikely champion in Mariela Castro, President Raul Castro’s daughter, a sexologist who runs the National Sex Education Center (CENESEX, as its known by its Spanish acronym).

But, unofficially, there’s still plenty of police harassment of LGBT people (documented by both pro- and anti-government bloggers, mostly for foreign readers), and no recognition of LGBT citizens and their families, which effectively frustrates, if not denies, access to housing, certain medical services, adoption and travel.

Cuba’s split personality on LGBT issues came onto the international stage at the United Nations in November, when it was the only Latin American country that voted to have “sexual orientation” removed from a list of discriminatory motivations for extrajudicial executions. The amendment would have changed the LGBT-specific language to the vague phrase, “for discriminatory reasons, whatever they may be.” Citizens around the globe raised such an outcry that, a month later, the international body reversed itself and passed an inclusive resolution.

In a second round of voting, to re-insert the original inclusive language, Cuba abstained.

Breaking with Cuban officialdom, pro-government Cuban bloggers joined dissident bloggers—in defiance of a complete blackout on the matter in official Cuban media—in criticizing the Cuban U.N. delegation for the anti-gay vote.

Usually, the U.N. resolution on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions is a routine, biannual (and, as it is nonbinding, purely symbolic) referendum. In 2008, Cuba supported it without the slightest controversy even though it included the language it voted to repeal this time around.

The resolution against unjustified killing of vulnerable people in several categories—ethnic, racial, religious and sexual orientation—ultimately passed with 122 yes votes (including Cuba), 62 abstentions (including the United States) and only one vote against (Saudi Arabia).

So what happened with Cuba’s confusing series of votes, especially in light of its eventual support of the resolution?

Last month, in an unusual press release, Mariela Castro parted company with the party line on Cuba’s first U.N. amendment vote: “Even though in [the approved version of] the amendment, our nation expresses support for condemning [these executions]…in practice we have voted alongside those countries whose laws view homosexuality as a crime, five of which apply the death sentence.” (Of the 79 countries that voted in favor of the language change, 76 criminalize homosexuality.) She reminded Cuba’s U.N. diplomats that the island is a signatory to the 2008 General Assembly declaration of rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity (her complete statement in Spanish can be read at www.cenesex.sld.cu/webs/diversidad/declaraciononu.html).

The president’s daughter was not alone. Bloggers immediately joined her disapproval, but none went so far as Francisco Rodriguez Cruz, an editor at Trabajadores, Cuba’s labor newspaper. Cruz wrote a letter to Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, the foreign affairs minister, and published it on his blog. He wrote:

As a Cuban citizen, communist militant and member of the LGBT community on the island, I wish to express my total and passionate disagreement with the Cuban delegation’s vote. I wish to point out how incomprehensible this diplomatic exercise seems in light of the policies our nation has in place to deal with these issues.
Shortly after, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a short note re-affirming its pro-LGBT commitment and explaining its position: “Cuba voted in favor of the amendment…because it considered it sufficiently general and inclusive.”

Amazingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs then invited Cruz and a couple of activists associated with CENESEX to a meeting with the minister himself. “The minister attributed the first vote to ‘an unforeseen and temporary circumstance’, ” Cruz said. “I interpreted this, including the quick meeting at the ministry, as a diplomatic way of letting us know that it was a mistake on the part of the Cuban U.N. delegation. I can’t think of any other explanation.”

But in the second vote, Cuba only softened the mistake by abstaining. It could have done otherwise: 23 nations changed positions from the first to the second amendment vote, including Cuban allies Bolivia and Nicaragua, who went from absent to yes.

“Votes like Cuba’s on this occasion imply that sexual rights, reproductive rights and sexual diversity, which are all part and parcel of the same anti-patriarchal package as far as I’m concerned, are negotiable and disposable to make whatever political alliances,” Yasmin Portales Machado, a Cuba-based, self-described Marxist blogger, told the Inter-Press Service.

As the United States rallied the General Assembly to take up the language change amendment a second time, their role in the resolution was assailed by Cuban diplomats at the U.N. as a “manipulation”; they pointed out that the U.S. has a long history of being accused of extrajudicial executions at home and abroad. Mark Kornblau, spokesperson for the U.S. U.N. delegation, told Politico that the U.S. abstained on the final resolution, as it always does, because it “obscures the relationship between international humanitarian law and human rights law “

In Miami, Herb Sosa, president of Unity Coalition, a LGBT organization that has provided materials and resources to gay groups on the island, accused the Cuban government of also engaging in extrajudicial executions. “There are tens of thousands of documented executions within Cuba that continue to occur without…legal representation or any sense of fairness,” he says. “Gays are routinely picked up en masse on the streets, beaten, jailed indefinitely…and persecuted by the very government grandstanding at the U.N. The U.S. also has a long way to full equality for its LGBT citizens, but at least we do have freedom, a vote and a voice here.”

Police harassment in Cuba, including arrests, has been reported on gay Cuban blogs, particularly the Reinaldo Arenas Memorial Foundation, whom Cruz accuses of being dupes for anti-revolutionary interests. But Cruz himself has also reported problems with police on his blog. “It’s not like everybody here likes what I’m doing,” he says. “But things are getting better. Not as fast as some of us would like, but not as slow as some Castrophobes say either.”

For Alejandro Armengol, a Miami-based commentator and veteran observer of Cuban politics, what is most significant about the U.N. incident is less Cuba’s vote than the machinations behind it. “The most important thing to me is to see how forceful the gay movement in Cuba has become,” says Armengol. “This is the second time that gays in Cuba have demanded their rights and been heard. The first was the ‘little e-mail war’. “

(The “little e-mail war” broke out in January 2008 after a retired bureaucrat known for gay purges was being prepped for a return to government service, and gay Cubans and their supporters began a successful e-mail campaign to keep him from being brought back. The discussion quickly evolved into a more involved and wrenching exchange among hundreds of readers about past purges and possible reforms.)

“There are times when Cuba uses gays, or certain gays, especially writers and artists, to show how things have gotten better,” says Armengol. “That’s how they throw the focus off matters of censorship and repression, for sure. But that can’t erase that there’s real progress in this area, sometimes even more than the government bargained for.”

Source

Advancing Evidence & Equity: Report on The XVIII International AIDS Conference (AidS 2010)

the XVIII International aIDS Conference (aIDS 2010) took place during a pivotal year for the global health and development field, coinciding with the 2010 deadline world leaders set for achieving universal access to HIV prevention, care and treatment to all in need. occurring just after the Group of eight (G8) and Group of 20 (G20) summits in Canada 1and in advance of the united nations (un) Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit and Global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria’s third replenishment, AIDS 2010 was an ideal opportunity to examine scientific and programmatic evidence demonstrating how HIV investments are reaping significant dividends while also contributing to a number of related global health and development goals. the biennial event (see sidebar : aIDS 2010 statistics) , which garnered significant media attention, was also an opportunity to remind world leaders and the general public of the need for continued attention to aIDS as other global priorities continue to emerge.

AIDS 20 0 statistics
• 19,300 participants, including:
• 16,012 delegates
• 1,218 participants from eastern europe and
Central asia
• 848 scholarship recipients
• 1,276 media
• 770 volunteers
• 197 countries represented
Speakers used the conference theme, Rights Here, Right Now, to illustrate the gap between rhetoric and reality on human rights in the global response to aIDS and to document the extent to which unfulfilled human rights commitments contribute to HIV transmission and inhibit access to evidencebased HIV interventions.
With 248 sessions to choose from, AIDS 2010 participants examined the impact of the epidemic globally and regionally. The location of the conference in Vienna, austria, also allowed for an expanded focus on eastern europe and Central Asia (eeCa) , the region where the epidemic is expanding most rapidly. this in turn helped spotlight a call for a more scientific approach to international drug policy. By the close of AIDS 2010, over 12,725 scientists and other supporters had signed the Vienna Declaration www.viennadeclaration.com and support continues to grow, with over 17,000 signatures collected as of 1 October 2010.

Download the PDF HERE

A Response to the EU parliamentary question on the depathologisation of gender identity disorder ............

European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection John Dalli answered a parliamentary question on the depathologisation of gender identity disorder:

The Commission refers the Honourable Members to its answer to written question P‑2625/10, in which the Commission explained the ongoing process of revision of the International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10.

The objective of the International Classification of Diseases is to facilitate the tasks of health professionals and health systems in helping individuals, in particular in relation to their reimbursement. This classification does not imply any social, cultural or moral judgement about individuals, behaviours or needs.

As mentioned in the Issue Paper on Human Rights and Gender Identity adopted by the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe in July 2009, many international and national medical classifications impose the diagnosis of mental disorder on transgender persons. Such a diagnosis may become an obstacle to the full enjoyment of human rights by transgender people especially when it is applied in a way to restrict the legal capacity or choice for medical treatment.

The issue paper also emphasises that transgender people appear to be the only group in Europe subject to state-enforced sterilisation and that married transgender persons find themselves forced to divorce prior to their new gender being officially recognised.

For these practices to be considered under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, namely with regard to the right of respect to human dignity, the right of respect to private and family life and the right to non-discrimination, they would have to fall within the remit of the implementation of Union law, which they do not.

As pointed out in a document produced by the European Parliament in relation to “Transgender Person’s Rights in the EU Member States”, which the Honourable Members mention in their question, the approach to regulate legal requirements for access to hormonal treatments and gender reassignment surgery without psychiatric monitoring varies between Member States. This is the result of the exclusive competence of the Member States in this matter.

The Commission is contributing to the revision of the 10th version of the ICD, and the 11th version of the ICD is scheduled to be adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2014. In the context of this revision, the Commission will take into account the issues raised by the Honourable Members.

Source

Meanwhile the vexed issue has also raised some concerns and responses on this side of the planet chiefly from Gender Identity Disorder Reform Advocates who are opponents towards its inclusion in the DSM V slated for release in May 2013.

In a clearly outlined piece as to reasons why Transvestic and other related disorders must be removed from the DSM Kelley Winters Ph. D said among other things "

The classification of gender diversity and nonconformity to birth-assigned gender roles as mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has drawn growing protest and outrage from transpeople and and allies worldwide. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the APA, is regarded as the medical and social definition of mental disorder throughout North America and strongly influences international diagnostic nomenclature. The fifth edition of the manual, the DSM-5, is in development and scheduled for publication in 2013. While the diagnostic category of Gender Identity Disorder (GID) has garnered most of the controversy, a second category of so-called Transvestic Fetishism (TF) has harmed transwomen, including transsexual women, as well as male-to-female crossdressers, dual gender and gender nonconforming people since the earliest days of the DSM. Trans and LGB advocates have been inexplicably quiet about the TF category, even after the APA proposed to expand the category in the DSM-5, renamed Transvestic Disorder, to implicate gender nonconforming people of all sexes and all sexual orientations.

The proposed DSM-5 diagnosis of Transvestic Disorder, even worse than its predecessor Transvestic Fetishism, labels gender expression not stereotypically associated with assigned birth sex as inherently pathological and sexually deviant. The diagnosis is punitive and scientifically capricious, serving to punish social and sexual gender nonconformity and enforce binary stereotypes of assigned birth sex. Here are ten reasons why the Transvestic Disorder diagnosis should be eliminated entirely from the DSM-5.

1. Diagnosis of Diversity
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, (HBIGDA), publishes recognized standards of medical transition care for those who need it. In May, 2010, WPATH issued the following pivotal statement on de-psychopathologisation of gender variance,
The WPATH Board of Directors strongly urges the de-psychopathologisation of gender variance worldwide. The expression of gender characteristics, including identities, that are not stereotypically associated with one’s assigned sex at birth is a common and culturally-diverse human phenomenon which should not be judged as inherently pathological or negative. The [psychopathologisation] of gender characteristics and identities reinforces or can prompt stigma, making prejudice and discrimination more likely, rendering transgender and transsexual people more vulnerable to social and legal marginalisation and exclusion, and increasing risks to mental and physical well-being. WPATH urges governmental and medical professional organizations to review their policies and practices to eliminate stigma toward gender-variant people.
Gender expression that differs from social expectations of assigned birth sex does not meet any medical or scientific definition of mental pathology. Difference is not disease."

Please follow this and other related issues on my GLBTQ Jamaica Blog which also has Intersexed references as well as we look at our friends who are trans-gendered, inter-sexed who are looking for their rights to be recognized.

Peace and tolerance

H

Psychology Today asks: Could homosexual genes be naturally selected?

Homosexual genes may have been naturally selected

Scientific discovery has a way of shattering our preconceptions whether we are scientists or not. That is certainly true of homosexuality. As Psychology Today recently reported, biologists, who long ago concluded that homosexuality could not have been favored by natural selection are being forced to revise their views from two perspectives: evidence of gay genes and gay animals.

Gay genes on the X-chromosome
Exclusive homosexuality is puzzling for evolutionary biologists because homosexuals leave substantially fewer offspring. Some marry due to social pressures and end up having children but many do not reproduce. Any genes predisposing to homosexual behavior would thus get excluded by natural selection. Current research implies male homosexuality is a sex-linked trait, although genes are far from being the whole story. (Female homosexuality is also heritable but less is known of the genetic mechanisms).


Sex-linked traits, such as color blindness highlight a curious chink in the armor of natural selection. In the normal course of events, any genetic trait that impedes survival or reduces reproductive success gets winnowed out by natural selection operating over many generations. Sex-linked traits are different because they are on the X-chromosome. Females are carriers of the affected genes (since fathers always transmit Y-chromosomes to their offspring in the course of normal fertilization). Females rarely manifest the sex-linked trait, however, because their second X-chromosome masks the mutated gene.

This fact opens up a genetic conflict of interest between the sexes. Why? Because a gene that is harmful to male reproduction can be retained by natural selection if it provides advantages to females. Indeed, if the reproductive benefit to females is greater than the cost to males, then lineages having the sex-linked gene will out-reproduce those lacking it based on simple arithmetic.

A gene promoting male homosexuality could therefore slip through the net of natural selection. For this theory of male homosexuality to be credible, at least two criteria would have to be met. First, it would have to be demonstrated that male homosexuality is transmitted through the female line after the manner of all other sex-linked traits. Second, it would have to be demonstrated that the gene increased the reproductive success of the female carriers.

In recent years, evidence has accumulated that a homosexual orientation is inherited. Study of family history reveals that homosexual men have more homosexuals in their family tree than do heterosexuals. But this is true only of ancestors that can be traced through the mother's side of the family and does not apply to paternal ancestors (1,2). This phenomenon is a smoking gun not only for genetic inheritance of sexual orientation but also for considering homosexuality as a sex-linked trait. In other words, it comes from the maternal line because that is how the X-chromosome is transmitted across the generations (male ancestors conveying Y-chromosomes only). Plenty of evidence now implicates the X-chromosome in male homosexuality but the precise genes have not been identified.

So far, the evidence for male homosexuality as a possible female adaptation lines up perfectly with the first prediction. What of the requirement that females who carry a gene for male homosexuality must enjoy some sort of advantage that allows them to out-reproduce females who are not carriers? Recent studies (1,2) have found that female relatives of male homosexuals do indeed produce more children (and the same is true of bisexual men).

Why exactly the female relatives are more fertile is also interesting. It seems that they are more fertile because they have a comparatively high sex drive. It is tempting to imagine that the high sex drive of female carriers of the putative "homosexual" gene is partly due to their greater attraction to male bodies. This idea is corroborated by similarity in the brains of male homosexuals and female heterosexuals in a part of the brain linked to sexual behavior (3).

The theory that male homosexuality evolves because the gene/s causing it increase/s the sexual activity and reproductive success in female carriers is scientifically neat.
Some researchers nevertheless argue that homosexuality can provide a net biological benefit for the homosexuals themselves whether they are males or females. They point to homosexual behavior of other species. I reserve discussion of gay animals to another post.

1. Camperio-Ciani, A., et al. (2004). Evidence for maternally-inherited factors favouring male homosexuality and promoting female fecundity. Proceedoings of the Royal Society of London, B 271, 2217-2224.

2. Camperio Ciani, A. (2009). Genetic factors increase fecundity in female maternal relatives of Bisexual men as in homosexuals. Sexual Medicine, 6, 449-455.

3. LeVay, S. & Hamer, D. (1991). A difference in hypothalamic structure between heterosexual and homosexual men. Science, 253, 1034-1037.

See Also:

Finding the Switch, by Rob Kunzig. Psychology Today from May 2008 http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20080420-000003.html

If there is one thing that has always seemed obvious about homosexuality, it's that it just doesn't make sense. Evolution favors traits that aid reproduction, and being gay clearly doesn't do that. The existence of homosexuality amounts to a profound evolutionary mystery, since failing to pass on your genes means that your genetic fitness is a resounding zero. "Homosexuality is effectively like sterilization," says psychobiologist Qazi Rahman of Queen Mary College in London. "You'd think evolution would get rid of it." Yet as far as historians can tell, homosexuality has always been with us. So the question remains: If it's such a disadvantage in the evolutionary rat race, why was it not selected into oblivion millennia ago?

Twentieth-century psychiatry had an answer for this Darwinian paradox: Homosexuality was not a biological trait at all but a psychological defect. It was a mistake, one that was always being created anew, in each generation, by bad parenting. Freud considered homosexuality a form of arrested development stamped on a child by a distant father or an overprotective mother. Homosexuality was even listed by the American Psychiatric Association as a mental disorder, and the idea that gays could and should be "cured" was widely accepted. But modern scientific research has not been kind to that idea. It turns out that parents of gay men are no better or worse than those of heterosexuals. And homosexual behavior is common in the animal kingdom, as well—among sheep, for instance. It arises naturally and does not seem to be a matter of aloof rams or overbearing ewes.

More is known about homosexuality in men than in women, whose sexuality appears more fluid. The consensus now is that people are "born gay," as the title of a recent book by Rahman and British psychologist Glenn Wilson puts it. But for decades, researchers have sought to identify the mechanism that makes a person gay.

Something seems to flip the sexuality switch before birth—but what? In many cases, homosexuality appears to be genetic. The best scientific surveys put the number of gays in the general population between 2 and 6 percent, with most estimates near the low end of that range—contrary to the 10 percent figure that is often reported in the popular media. But we know gayness is not entirely genetic, because in pairs of identical twins, it's often the case that one is gay and the other is not. Studies suggest there is a genetic basis for homosexuality in only 50 percent of gay men.

No one has yet identified a particular gay gene, but Brian Mustanski, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is examining a gene that helps time the release of testosterone from the testes of a male fetus. Testosterone masculinizes the fetal genitalia—and presumably also the brain. Without it, the fetus stays female. It may be that the brains of gay men don't feel the full effects of testosterone at the right time during fetal development, and so are insufficiently masculinized.

Continue HERE

see also:

On sexual orientation .. "homosexuality and bisexuality are natural phenomenon of the manifestation or expression of human sexuality"

“Unnatural” Nature, Immoral Butterflies: The Great Cover-Up of Animal Homosexuality

No one chooses to be homosexual, Profound Article

all from GLBTQ Jamaica (Blogger Edition)

also see:

Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity (Stonewall Inn Editions) [Paperback] available at amazon

Homosexual Behaviour in Animals: An Evolutionary Perspective[Hardcover]

Volker Sommer (Editor), Paul L. Vasey (Editor)

Peace and tolerance

H

10 Principles for Peace of Mind

Thanks to The Gayte Keeper for this it is a reminder for us to stay centered in life no matter what and with an LGBT tinge to it, it flows perfectly for one to consider.

WARNING!!!!! some Xrated materials contained therein.

Peace and tolerance

H

1. Do Not Interfere In Others’ Business Unless Asked:

Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others’ affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction, our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality and consequently the existence of God.. God has created each one of us in a unique way. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way. All men or women act the way they do because God within them prompts them that way. Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.

2. Forgive And Forget:

This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop ill feelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. This in turn results in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive,20Forget, and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.

3. Do Not Crave For Recognition:

This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, but no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to kill yours if in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely.

4. Do Not Be Jealous:

We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you be jealous? No. Remember everybody’s life is shaped by his/her destiny, which has now become his/her reality. If you are destined to be rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help you either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will only take away your peace of mind.

5. Change Yourself According To The Environment:

If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.

6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured:

This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully. Believe in yourself and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.

7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:

This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. . Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.

8. Meditate Regularly:

Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining twenty-three and half-hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before. You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily meditation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.

9. Never Leave The Mind Vacant:

An empty mind is the devil’s workshop. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work or religious work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading or mental chanting of God’s name.

10. Do Not Procrastinate And Never Regret:

Do not waste time in protracted wondering ” Should I or shouldn’t I?” Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past. DO NOT REGRET. Whatever happened was destined to happen only that way. Why cry over split milk?

Live: Buju Banton’s Last Stand ........ Miami concert review

story Allison Davis

Buju Banton is going through some shit. The LBGT community has been all up in his face for a decade, and arguably rightly so, for “Boom Bye Bye,” a lurching, scary song with lyrics that incite the murder of gay men. As a result venues nationwide have canceled scheduled dates and promoters have long been shy, all in addition to the case he’s caught more recently for cocaine possession with intent to distribute.

But after 11 months in prison he is free on bail and decided to throw a show to end all shows (and probably pay his legal fees) last Sunday in Miami. Billed as “Darkest Before the Dawn: Buju Banton and Friends”, the flier was coy about exactly who these friends were, but the promise of Stephen Marley, Freddie McGregor, Shaggy, Wayne Wonder and Gargamel himself was enough to make seemingly all of Miami’s dread population and thick island community stand up and blow their contraband air horns.

Turns out Buju has a lot of friends. About five an hour. The show was being streamed live by Lime mobile all over Jamaica, and every artist with a visa (sorry Vybz and Beenie) wanted in. The first surprise of the night was Sean Paul, to a lukewarm reception. He has hits, bit he couldn’t make it through a verse without running out of breath, and the crowd was pulsing at barely more than a two-step even to the classics like “Gimmie the Light”. Good thing Spragga Benz was waiting in the wings to rush out and set the crowd back on fyah. Michael Rose played a solid set, evoking Black Uhuru in its hey.

The show stopper was undoubtedly Gyptian, who gave us just a taste of “Hold Yuh” and “Nah Let Go” then bounced off the stage like Sexual Chocolate. Tarrus Riley with Dean Fraser hollered at all the ladies with real hair and real breastisis, and Shaggy cracked jokes almost as long as he air/stage/crowd humped through his Mr. Lover Lover jams, with a little help from Rayvon. We were promised that Buju was up next as DJ Khaled took the stage for a strangely placed but totally appropriate hip-hop set with Rich Kid and Busta Rhymes, who set it off proper like a dungeon dragon. And then the lights went down.

Lighters and cellys went up as the operatic “O Fortuna” bumped a grandiose intro, but instead of dropping into a bass-filled riddim as expected, Buju softly sang “Have Mercy on Me” into “Destiny” from the wings of an unlit stage. Wearing a simple white shirt under a black vest and black pants, humility was the theme of his set, bordering on pleading for forgiveness. He introduced Marcia Griffiths as his “inspiration,” said that when he was 18, “she told me to be careful what you say in the music.” At one point he crooned, ” Why do you want to make Buju cry? Is it because of Boom Bye Bye?”

In the two hour set he rolled out nearly every hit of his career, alternately folding his lithe frame over at the waist on the ballads and high-stepping through the feverish double time dance hall. Everybody got mad warm and fuzzy when, while proclaiming, “yes, mi fren, mi good fren”, he brought out Stephen Marley, who posted $300,000 worth of equity of his own home as bail bond, and then OH SHIT DAMIAN MARLEY appeared too.

Just when it looked like the show was going to rock all night and right after Buju gave a shout out to his lawyers, the Bayfront Park Amphitheater cut the sound, abruptly ending a historical night of redemption songs, likely Buju’s last opportunity to ask forgiveness in the United States.


Read more: http://www.thefader.com/2011/01/18/live-buju-bantons-last-stand/#ixzz1BTigZ5av

Peace and tolerance

H

Jamaica Observer: Gay vs Paedophile, they seem not to know the difference

The Jamaica Observer again has messed up with a sensational story published on Sunday January 16th where they described an accused paedophile as a gay molester. What is a gay molester and is there such a thing??

Most paedohiles are not gay by orientation as the experts over the years have told us and proven and the Diagnostic Criteria from the DSM IV (V being reviewed for release in May 2013) that determines disorders from The American Psychiatric Association (AMA) has clearly shown the demarcation between the two.

Have a look at the story below and decide for yourself also see some of the comments which on the face of it are sensible.

Residents sit near a mobile police unit parked outside a house from which a man was chased and shot dead on Elletson Road in Kingston, yesterday. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Accused-gay-molester-killed_8295820#ixzz1BLqiZnHu

Accused gay molester killed
BY COREY ROBINSON
Sunday Observer reporter
robinsonc@jamaicaobserver.com

A man who police say was accused of raping little boys in Tivoli Gardens in Kingston was among at least three persons shot dead Friday night.
An investigator from the Major Investigation Taskforce (MIT) said the man, who was identified as 42-year-old Winston Pennington, was found with a single gunshot wound to the head on Bustamante Highway at about 11:40 pm.

The police said Pennington was shot at point-blank range, and that a spent shell and a 9mm round were taken from beside his body.

"He was also called 'Black John', and so far our investigations suggest that he may have been killed because he reportedly molested youths in the community," the investigator, who declined to be named, told the Sunday Observer.
The murder -- the first recorded in the area by the police since the extradition of former Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke last year -- kept the police busy combing for leads. Up until press time they said they had still not identified any suspects.

In the meantime, police theorise that William Robinson, who was found with gunshot wounds at the rear of his business place on Chisholm Avenue in Kingston, may have been a victim of extortion.
According the police, at least one gunman pounced on Robinson at about 11:00 pm, demanding money from him, before firing on him through the window above the counter.
Robinson was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the police said.

In the third incident, homicide investigators were, up to late yesterday afternoon, processing a crime scene at a house on Norman Crescent in East Kingston, from which a man was chased and shot dead on Elletson Road.
Police say 33-year-old Wajin Warren, whose body was found sprawled on the roadway, was chased by a gunman from the premises where he had gone to visit his girlfriend.
"The gunman ran him down from Norman Crescent, on to Norman Road, and onto Elletson Road in the vicinity of Telephone Street where he shot him," the MIT investigator said.
ENDS

Some comments below:
"I despise pedophiles & this story is Rubbish !!! This story make absolutely no sense...i agree with Willis... where is the proof that this man is in fact a Gay child molester ?the investigator declined to be named... I believe this is a concoction to cover the true story....Gay Child Molester in Tivoli Gardens and he got 1 gunshot to the head? REALLY? i'm now concerned about the Mothers and the precious children who were allegedly were raped."


"I think the headline is inappropriate and speak to the homophobic attitudes of most Jamaicans towards gays. I am certain if the man was an alleged molester of little girls, the headline wouldn't have read 'Accused Heterosexual Man Killed'. Where is the proof that this man was gay? Is the writer saying that the molestation of little boys is the typical behavior of a gay person? Don't tell me Corey Robinson is not familiar with the term Pedophile. If not, please look it up!"

"The article says 'accused', not charged. This man may be innocent. People tell lies. Last week there was a vigilante killing for praedial larceny. Give the police & let them deal with it. Shows the mentality of these people that they can go hoime & sleep. The killing of an accused 'gay' man doesn't surprise me. I heard a friend of mine, an ex-judge condemn homosexuals so bad that I think he would increase a sentence for that. He said US & Canada want Ja to accept their way & we must not."

"I am always shocked that so many people are willing to take the law into their own hands. If that individual actually molested a child, then the police should have been contacted to ascertain whether the accusation is indeed true. Shame."

"Where are the accusers ?if that is so why was there not an investigation done or why was he not charged before he was killed cold blooded .womaniser would probably sound better with more than 10 kids shame shame shame .wheel and come again."

Interesting comments there but sad that vigilante justice still abounds as it relates to gay themed or perceived cases maybe this is an indication of the homo negativity that easily moves to homophobic violence in no time if it not were a case of paedohilia.

Please see a much older entry posted when I was doing so under the JFLAG banner prior to the name change where I tried to show the difference between Paedophilia, Ephebophilia and Hebephilia entitled: Ephebophilia vs Paedophilia & Male Homosexuality

Ephebophilia is not listed as a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), unlike pedophilia, which is categorized as a disorder in the manual.

Pedophilia or paedophilia has a range of definitions as found in psychology, law enforcement, and the popular vernacular. As a medical diagnosis, it is defined as a psychological disorder in which an adult experiences a sexual preference for prepubescent children.According to the DSM, pedophilia is specified as a form of paraphilia in which a person either has acted on intense sexual urges towards children, or experiences recurrent sexual urges towards and fantasies about children that cause distress or interpersonal difficulty. The disorder is frequently a feature of persons who commit child sexual abuse.

Peace and tolerance

H

Homosexuality Facts and inconvenient truths (Trinidad Express Article)

Rajiv Gopie concludes his analysis of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer (LGBTQ/GLBT) issues by looking at some of the common misconceptions and untruths that have characterised this debate in the Trinidad Express.

Any sexuality besides heterosexuality is "unnatural".
FALSE: Pronouncements of various types of sexualities is well documented in almost all species in the animal kingdom (lions, giraffes, dolphins, reptiles etc). The commonly held myth that sex is solely for reproduction has been disproven time and time again. As a matter of fact if this were the case acts such as kissing commonly practiced by humans would also be deemed "unnatural" as it serves no part of the reproductive purpose.

The jury is still out on the cause of homosexuality but what is accepted is that it is a combination of nature (that is being born that way) and nurture (how one is brought up).

Religion and sexuality cannot be reconciled

FALSE: All over the world in every major religion cultural and historical context of religious texts have been factored in to arrive at liberal translations that keep the spirit and the true essence of religion while at the same time welcoming everyone regardless of sexuality. The United Church of Canada, the Lutheran Church in many Nordic countries, some Sufi Islamic schools and many Hindu sects in Nepal and India all welcome LGBTQ persons into their congregation.

Sexual variance is minor

FALSE: Conventional knowledge and generally accepted measures estimate that one in every ten men is gay and in women one in every 14. More importantly, however, are the measures of sexual activity rather than orientation, men who have sex with men or MSMs are estimated to range from two to four in every ten.
This is an extremely high figure and thus to say that this issue is minor would be completely inaccurate. In the case of T&T with an estimated population of 1.3 million if the conventional measures were employed that would equal 65,000 gay men and 46,429 lesbian women not factoring in bisexuals etc. To bring home this point, that is the equivalent of around four electoral seats in parliament.

The current laws are not problematic.

FALSE. As I showed in the previous columns these laws have the effect of rendering a large segment of the population "illegal". What this does is force a large number of persons into the "underground" and subjects them to discrimination, ridicule and the ever present possibility of arrest. Furthermore as has been demonstrated by numerous studies, HIV and other social ills will continue to multiply as the taboo around sexuality prevents sex education for practicing safe sex and access to testing and treatment.
By forcing LGBTQ persons to get married, society is creating dysfunctional marriages and families that many times end in divorce or break down completely.
To say that this situation is not problematic is to ignore the recent spate of teenage suicides in the US where children as young as 13 took their own lives in the face of ridicule and bullying for their sexuality.

There exists a devious "gay" agenda

FALSE. From the pulpit has been preached many times that decriminalisation of homosexuality will in some way lead to an explosion of the practice and that "everyone will be recruited". First and foremost this is downright ridiculous as countries that have the most liberal sex laws still have the same sexual statistics as more conservative ones — the LGBTQ population still remains around one in ten. Next the myth that "gays do not reproduce and need to recruit your children" is just that — myth. It is heterosexual parents who continue to make non-heterosexual children and even conservative, religious, strict "god-fearing" homes produce homosexual children.

There is nothing to be gained from decriminalisation

FALSE. Apart from the fact that it is socially and morally right not to criminalise a segment of the population who are engaging in consenting, adult, human same sex relationships the potential benefits to be gained are undeniable.
Many countries in the developing world are actively courting "Pink Money" which was projected to be US$743 billion in 2010, that is 16 times our national budget in purchasing power of the LGBTQ community.

Very conservative countries such as Nepal, Israel and even Islamic Lebanon's capital Beirut are benefiting from travellers, investments etc, from Pink Money.
In terms of human capital in recent years it has been recognised that a large number of well educated, bright and promising young people have been fleeing the developing world because of the criminalisation of their sexuality. T&T is no different as each year we haemorrhage some of our best young minds to the first world as they can no longer live in the shadows of their home country.
Should the current laws be reversed there will be a higher chance at convincing our precious human resource to stay at home and contribute and develop our country.
It has not been easy to write on sexuality as some of the responses I got were so full of hate that they shook my faith in the decency of the human race.
On the other hand I received an overwhelmingly positive response from people in T&T and many abroad. "Easy" is not the reason why millions are being spent on education, the youth of the nation are the ones who must tackle issues such as these head on. To say that something should not be spoken of is to try and temper free speech and this is a dangerous road to traverse as free speech is the foundation of democracy. My intent is to raise public awareness and public discourse about this topic that we can no longer ignore. Our nation has a tendency to turn a blind eye to many things around us and when it hits home we are taken completely by surprise. These articles and the ones that will follow will try to save us this distress.

It is hoped that those in authority are paying attention.

• Rajiv Gopie won the President's Medal for Business and Modern Studies in 2006. He is a Bachelor of Arts candidate in International Studies and Social/Cultural Anthropology at the University of Toronto, Canada
• rajivgopie@hotmail.com

Some cruising challenges ..........

A repost from GLBTQ Jamaica (The WordPress Edition)

So on Saturday last January 8th a report that a man had to beat a hasty retreat in the downtown Kingston area after a cruising attempt went wrong as the intended target turned out to be not as he anticipated was true I have since gathered that a small mob was hastily put together by the man (the target of the cruiser) from the nearby rural municipal bus park as there are major works being done in that section of downtown Kingston with the new bus park being hastily put together beyond the old park.

The downtown area like most other urban centers is a haven for "catching something" for a quickie or some outdoor action for the more daring MSM around. Sadly many of these cruisers are not your average gays who frequent gay parties, clubs, interested, exposed or involved in advocacy typed activities or issues hence the actions go unnoticed or grossly under reported as incidents as the persons involved simply move on.

Between Sunday afternoon and up to last evening some of the guys were sufficiently upset at the news of this near miss in downtown that they decided to link all the known cruisers across the downtown and uptown regions and those they could identify to alert them to be cautious, I was quite pleased by this action towards preservation of self showing us that there can be on the ground networking outside of us worrying about persons putting themselves at risk. It is the heightened sense of awareness of their surroundings that was the reason where a recently murdered cross dresser in Kingston ignored when warned by the more experienced heads in the business, bearing in mind this set of cruisers are of a different identity as they operate in stealth and are not easily identifiable as gay as they bear no characteristics of the stereotypes to those of their cross dressing counterparts, for sure some formal work however is needed to engage this mostly invisible group that is not to say other gay and bisexual men do not employ cruising especially given our starchy homo negative environment towards open displays of same sex affection. This particular group of cruisers though that I write of are the more daring and brazen ones who go to the weirdest of spots for hookups and are not into other ways of same sex attracted social behaviours.

The population to my surprise consists of not only MSM mostly from the lower socio economic levels as is widely assumed but also professionals who prefer a mobile way of "working" for a hookup. Somehow the classes do meet sometimes in a commercial sexual transaction set up, that could probably explain the reasons why the homeless MSM do indeed garner "business" from not just others at their social standing but way above.

There are some who literally park their vehicles and do enter the "fieldwork" as the others on foot do. One particular mobile individual I am personally familiar with says he prefers cruising than engaging someone in any long introductions or fancy fake chat as a way to impress someone before bedding them. He is just out for fun he would park at a safe distance and space and then work his layout he maps in his head or anywhere is leads to. His success rate is fair he concludes as but he complains he wants to see more "new faces" which suggest repetitive sexual contact with the same targets as they all work within or cross territories. One thing is a common thread amongst those persons I was able to talk to they all suggest there are new faces around who are more open and bold in their approach.

This group is also not to be confused with gay persons who practice exhibitionism or open masturbation in public spaces. That population not only consists of gay and bisexual men but also heterosexuals most of whom know each other and the various spots where the practice is carried out.

Maybe there is some hypocrisy to this on one hand seeing that some persons of an uptown persuasion (in mind but not physical address) are very selective about who they knowingly socialize with I assume peers and the intelligentsia who on the face of it seem quite far removed from such decadence yet on the other hand they engage in cruising activities outside their comfort zone albeit the danger and the thrills are usually driving factors for a cruiser coupled with the satisfaction of making the hookup that successful in the middle of danger. That could also explain the reasons why so many high profile cases of gay and bisexual Jamaicans of prominence are found dead in the threshold of their own homes. The issues overlap and one post won't be enough to cover all of it but the Downlow Lifestyles tab as this post is tagged to can begin to help us to unearth some of those concerns.

Certainly this is just touching the surface and we must also realize that not all the information can be shared via the posts on such matters.

Peace and tolerance

H

click the "Homeless MSM: tab immediately below for previous exclusive entries on homelessness 

Men Clash at Beauty/Barber shop - One accuses the other of 'rubbing up' on him

Customers inside a hair salon in the Kingston 9 area on Sunday had to intervene in an argument between a homosexual male and another man that they claim could have turned deadly. One accused the other of 'looking him' by coming into close contact with the other in a suggestive manner.

Information reaching GJW is that about 5 p.m., the alleged homosexual entered the salon to collect a set of house keys from a female friend who was inside the establishment.

However, while entering he allegedly brushed against a male customer who was waiting to get his hair braided.

Gay Jamaica watch was made to understand that that's when things turned ugly.

"Mi only hear the gay bwoy gi out, mi know say yuh like how mi body feel but mi nuh like how yours feel, it too rough," an eyewitness told GJW. The outward open display of affection wrapped with effeminacy was instantly rebuffed by the upset man.

sign added for effect

She explained that it was at that point that the male customer brandished his ratchet and attempted to launch an attack. He, however, was prevented from doing so after the operators and customers intervened.

According to the witness, the man who suddenly became boisterous shouted, "A my place, a yah so mi do me head, mi nuh want nuh ... boy up yah."

One customer who was on the scene told another news outlet, "Wha shock mi most a when the ... man say, 'him a gwan like mi a look him, a him more a look me cause a him a rub up pan mi'."

She said at that point the man who claimed he could no longer take the 'disrespect' began chasing the homosexual with the knife. Both men ran out of the shop as the shouting match ensued.

"The bwoy neva have no choice but fi run outa the shop," the customer said.

The ease at which profiling or perceptions of a pass can end up in drama and violence is as real as air and this case and many others shows us quite nicely the realities out there.

Then again as the story goes there are just some inappropriate advances that are just downright poor behaviour; especially if one knows how Jamaica is, so jst avoid certain attitudes and actions and save ourselves the rebuffs and threats too.

Think on these things.

Peace & tolerance

H