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Underground > Radio & Music >

Dancehall Fans Against Homophobia Campaign

12:43 / 31.01.05

I'm involved in a campaign called Dancehall Fans Against Homophobia and I thought this would be if interest to many people sharing the Underground forum, given the nature of many of the dicussions here. DFAH is a petition-based campaign that rejects homophobic lyrics, but which rejects the recent attacks on dancehall and reggae by an over-zealous and ill-informed media. DFAH also opposes government attempts to ban and suppress reggae music.

The campaign has ten basic principlesl if you agree with them, perhaps you would consider signing the online petition at http://www.dfah.org/petition.htm.

1) We are fans and supporters of reggae, dancehall and Jamaican music in all its forms.

2) We are opposed to homophobia and homophobic lyrics.

3) We call on record companies to desist from releasing homophobic records and to encourage their artists to perform lyrics dealing with other issues.

4) We will no longer buy records with homophobic lyrics.

5) We call on soundsystems to desist from playing homophobic records, or from making homophobic comments on the mic at dances.

6) We will no longer support homophobic soundsystems.

7) We reject the demonisation of reggae and its fans by parts of the media.

8) We are opposed to state bans on artists.

9) We recognise the long history of homophobia in Jamaica and that there can be no "quick fix". We propose that the way forward lies in dialogue and not in gesture politics.

10) We would like to open up a dialogue between reggae fans, artists, labels owners, soundsystem operators and the reggae community worldwide.

That petition page once again: http://www.dfah.org/petition.htm

Thanks,

paul.meme / 2stepfan

Our Lady Has Left the Building

16:10 / 31.01.05

So, give an example of an attack on dancehall that was over-zealous and ill-informed, explain why it was wrong and what you would do instead.

18:24 / 31.01.05

The recent newspaper attacks on Beenie Man who was described as a "rapper" (ill-informed) and as a continuing homophobic menace (he hasn't made any homophobic statements for years -- despite the fact this is expected of music celebrities in Jamaica).

Or the continuing attack on Buju Banton for his homophobic "BoomByeBye" record where he is described as continuing to trade on and profit from homophobia. In fact, he made the record when he was a teenager, was paid an exploitative one-off fee (as is normal in the Jamaican music industry), and has no control over its continued distribution due to Jamaican copyright laws.

In addressing homophobia in Jamaica I wouldn't scapegoat reggae; that just obscures the influences of the political-legal system (homosexuality is illegal) and the immensely popular fundamentalist churches. Scapegoating reggae has the unintended consequence of serving a racist agenda.

13:10 / 01.02.05

Apparently Buju Banton still performs the song in concert, though, to enthusiastic response - and has reportedly made statements standing by the song and refusing to shelve it or apologize (though there is some reasonable debate over whether he should be expected to). He was also implicated in a vicious gay-bashing incident in Jamaica not that long ago. This said, my information is second-hand and may not be accurate, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

For the record, I would also oppose any government attempts to "ban or suppress reggae music," but I think the issue of violent homophobia does need to be addressed (though by whom?).

~L

Our Lady Has Left the Building

20:46 / 02.02.05

Not by the victims of it unless they already like the music, apparently.

21:12 / 02.02.05

I'd agree that it's far too easy to scapegoat reggae or dancehall or whatever as being the source of homophobic lyrics, and that there is a distinct racist element in some of the commentary I've seen on the subject - even someone with relatively little knowledge of the scene such as myself can see that.

I think it is also true, though, that there is homophobia within some lyrics, which needs to be challenged and addressed. So I suppose I'd be in support of the stated aims of this group. Except for the first part, because, um, I don't really like the music that much. No offence, it's just not my thing. I know about it and I hear it and I recognise that it's an important part of musical life but I'm not a fan.

Anyway, that aside, whether I'd support the actions of the group itself really depends on what their actions are, so I'd have to wait to see that. But it sounds like a good thing.

23:52 / 02.02.05

Not by the victims of it unless they already like the music, apparently.

Somehow, I don't think that this petition is stopping anybody from starting up a group called People Who Don't Like Dancehall And Have No Intention Of Paying Any Money For It Anyway Against Homophobia.

Whether that group would have a huge amount of influence, however, is another matter.

20:23 / 04.02.05

We propose that the way forward lies in dialogue and not in gesture politics.

I agree that the media is often responsible for attributing violent attacks (Brian Williamson's murder) too readily to particular artists or forms of music (dancehall/reggae). I do think the homophobic element needs to be addressed, but recognise that there're fairly obvious problems with this being done by gay white Westerners... so I guess I probably agree with you, in principle.

I'd be cautious of using the phrase "gesture politics" too widely, though, particularly where Peter Tatchell's concerned. He can be accused of many things, but gesture politics isn't one of them.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

13:36 / 08.02.05

The reggae industry is to refuse to release or stage concerts featuring homophobic songs under a global deal struck with gay rights groups.

18:24 / 10.02.05

Very pleased to hear about this. We'll be monitoring the situation closely.