Battyboy must die! Dancehall, class and religion in Jamaican homophobia

Abstract

Homophobia is ingrained in Jamaica, and homophobic violence is rampant. This study, developed from 30 interviews with gay Jamaicans, unravels the nation’s complex ideological issues surrounding political and social discrimination. Few empirical researchers have explored homophobia in Jamaica. This study is the first that includes interviews exclusively from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer and asexual communities. These interviews, combined with an examination of media reporting and cultural phenomena, reveal the deep interconnections between three predictors of homophobic sentiment: dancehall music, gender and religiosity. Since dancehall culture so thoroughly implicates the other predictive factors, I use it as the primary object of analysis in this essay. Furthermore, since all three predictive factors – religiosity, dancehall music and even masculine identity – are cultural phenomena articulated through social conventions and texts, this essay examines them through a cultural studies lens.