Don’t Silence Our Pride

Dear Reader,

 This month on CaribbeanFeminist we will be celebrating Pride month and spotlighting those within the LGBTQIA+ community.

Pride Month is held annually in the month of June to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The riots which acted as the turning point for queer resistance and visibility in the United States. Marches, parades, concerts and workshops are held nationally to celebrate those who took part in the Stonewall Riots, those who made an impact within the queer community, as well as all those lost too soon. Pride month and its coinciding celebrations act as a constant reminder that we are here and we are queer and we're not backing down. 

Now, how does this relate back to the Caribbean? 

Right now,  in the Caribbean, we're at a point where the LGBTQIA+ community has become a subject of intense conversation. This occurs as through social media, queerness appears more frequently and brings about the increase in knowledge and recognition of the community. Trinidad experienced it’s first taste of queer resilience when Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offenses Act were brought into question by one Jason Jones.

Jason Jones is a gay rights activist and member of the LGBT community who spent most of his formative years in Trinidad. He went to school here, and it's coincidentally through our very own schooling system that began the first bouts of homophobia being directed towards him. The kids at school, at that time, would call him derogatory names. Terms like “bullerman” were tossed around and after a point his only choice was to leave. If only , to escape the teasing. He migrated to the UK with his family to seek a better life. There were many attempts made by him to return home but in his native island he was not met by warmth but more bullying and ,in extreme cases, death threats. This was all because of his sexuality, because of whom he chose to love. Jason is not the first gay man and neither will he be the last to receive this kind of treatment. His story mimics that of many forced to leave this country due to more than just a lack of acceptance. In some cases it was necessary for survival. Jason though was the first queer person to reach this far within the process of making a difference and to have his case gain this much traction.

Jason Jones vs The State

This case aimed to repeal the buggery law long sitting in Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offenses Act enacted in 1976. This law deemed that any form of anal sex between same and opposite sexes regardless of consent, would be deemed a criminal offense. This created a scenario where though two groups were being disadvantaged, one was being targeted significantly more than the other. This issue was beyond just sex but rather the systematic discrimination against members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

To have this law repealed would be about repealing a culture of homophobia and ending the cycle of treating queer people as a public offense. The actions of Jason Jones also acted as a wake up call to the LGBTQIA+ community to stand up and show their faces. It urged them to demand the rights they were owed and refuse to be silenced.And so, they did. Donned in rainbows and holding signs bearing messages of love and requests of repeal, the queer community made themselves known in Port-of- Spain. However, so did the homophobes.

The religious conservatives came in droves, preaching their disdain of that which is unnatural as well as countless references to Sodom and Gomorrah. These protests from those against the repeal spoke volumes of their lack of education on the issue more than their own hatred. Organizations like T&T Cause shared their disagreement with a slew of contradictory statements, quotes such as:“ People who identify as gay, lesbian, homosexual or transgender should not have the same rights as “normal” people,”Followed by statements about how much they love, respect and have nothing against gay people.

My personal favorite contradiction was that said by Victor Gill himself. The first statement goes as follows, “As the LGBTQ..I whatever other letter, it is not a human right, it is a human wrong,”. This was followed soon after by the statement, “We are saying having rights and being right are two different things. You must respect the rights of others,”.

Along with Victor Gill and the religious conservatives, there were also those concerned for their children and how this repeal would affect the students. I’d like to say now for any concerned that the same way heterosexual sex and relationships are addressed will be the same way gay relationships are addressed within the school system, if at all. The only difference in the school system may be more support implemented for students going through the confusing period of embracing their queer identities.

Your children will be fine, and bettered through this experience. It is also a complete myth that the goal of LGBTQIA+ individuals is to convert or “recruit” your children. The repeal is not a bad thing, but rather the beginning of a kinder and more tolerant culture. Nevertheless, the court has ruled in favor of Jason Jones, marking a victory for the LGBTQIA+ community and a move in the right direction for Trinidad on the whole. This ruling brought with it this great quote from the man himself, Jason Jones :

“What I think the judge pointed out was ‘here every creed and race find an equal place’ and I think we must all come together now and embrace each other in true love and respect. This is not about LGBT, this is about the rights and freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, and I hope that everyone walks away from this calmly and collectively,” 

This whirlwind court case did more than start conversations and bring forward those with strong opinions on the issue. This case gave us a glimpse of the mindset of a new generation of Trinis. When observing who was at the forefront of sharing information and opinions for the cause, it was all young people at the forefront. Tweeting, snapping and posting on Instagram this new generation, our generation made our stance known.

However, this is not nearly the end of the fight. There still lies discrimination and of course the issue of whether gay marriage will ever be an accepted concept in our society. Even though I would love to be naive and think that everything will be fine now and that guys will now be able to hold hands on the avenue. I know that we're still a far cry from even that. I’m insanely proud of this new generation of thinkers who support movements such as these but, we now know for certain how necessary education is.

That’s where this month’s theme of pride and commemorating pride month come in. This theme presents an opportunity to educate persons on this issue by using education to eliminate fear and concerns as they pertain to this new movement. So, stick around for this month's theme on Caribbean Feminist where we focus on LGBT issues, experiences and media, sit back relax and enjoy our stories you guys.

- Caribbean Feminist

What are your opinions on this whole buggery law repeal? Do you thing Trinidad is ready to become a progressive society? As always leave any comments below, I’d love to hear from you guys.