how homophobic is the Caribbean

[pellaz]

basically these people were dragged right off the ship
gays should avoid the whole area
linky to newspaper article

[Sylph]

I logged on specifically for this, and I'm not going to go into my "di-sect - everything mode", cause I am busy with my animals, but I just want to say this.

Yes, the Carribean is known for being more or less anti-gay in some parts more, some less, but not the whole Carribean culture is this way. This is due to us being seperate from the majority of soceity, so somethings are unchanged, no matter how much I personally wish they were.

Bermuda is part of the Carribean, and we have a (albeit small) gay pride float, gay cruise that comes here all the time and even some gay politicians in high places.

Now, it's not to say that Bermuda is where all the gays are worshipped, but it's 10x better than places such as Jamaica and St.Lucia.

It's not entirely fair to say "gays should avoid the whole area" , because there are gay people in these countries. The reason why island or Carribean people are the way we are, is because we're so closed off from the rest of you guys, so we aren't accostumed to the changes, although I wish we were.

If you think it's hard for these men, and I do feel sorry for them, because I know it's 9/10 because they are gay, just think about the gay people who live there and have to endure s*** everyday. You guys get to leave and go home, but we have to suffer through the crap, day by day, until we can either go to college or save enough money to leave. And as you already know, our islands aren't particularly big, so we can't just go across state or skip town.

I encourage people to come to the Carribean, gay/straight/whatever. As I already mentioned, you don't have to worry about staying here for long, you can go home, but even still, If you're comfortable with yourself, you shouldn't feel scared or ashamed of what other people say about you.

And to add, I'm not saying the way gays are treated is okay, just because you can go home afterward, but I'm saying it's not as bad as it is for local gays, even though it shouldn't be bad for anyone.

Bermuda is probably one of the more gay friendly Carribean islands, as we are close to America and colonized by England, therefore influenced by both.

I really don't think all Carribean countries are to be avoided.

In order for us to change, so does the rest of the world, because we follow you guys. We just recently started a mini-gay pride here, about a year or two ago, so things are actually improving, so don't give up hope.

mile:
(Okay, I may have disected alittle )

[Inchante]

Well, as bad as i feel for them . . . they might consider respecting the laws of the countries they visit next time around. Yes, they will treat you like crap if you give them an excuse to do so, Don't give them an excuse.

[East]

WHY is a gay cruise ship going there to begin with? Why would gay people give any of their money to a country and economy who has these laws?

[Sylph]

WHY is a gay cruise ship going there to begin with? Why would gay people give any of their money to a country and economy who has these laws?

That's Sticky.

There's technically no law that prohibits specifically, interaction between gays(well not here), but for public indescretion there is, between anybody.

Also, as a native Carribean person, I can say this with absolute knowledge... public displays of affection, other than hugging or holding hands, is kind of discouraged between anybody. I don't know why, but that's how it is. In my whole life, I've only seen maybe 1 or 2 people kiss in public and they were younger people. (People can kiss, but it has to be kept PG-13 :| )

The generation under me aren't following this though. They do stuff like butt-slapping and stuff, and although the older generations don't like it, they do it anyway.

It's sad to say, but we're behind the Americans, so we don't follow all of your advancements. Also, this is not really an important issue, but alot of black people see white people's forms of affection to be completely weird, as I'm sure they see black people's as weird. This could also play into it as well.

Basically, affection is something that's to be kept behind closed doors, for anybody. Unforunately. But we're slowly changing.

Also, Bermuda has a gay cruise that comes here all the time, but Jamaica doesn't, so it's not like all Carribean countries are bad. Don't rule us out.