his is why, in collaboration with Dr Noel Cowell from the University of the West Indies, I decided to conduct
the largest piece of research of its kind to date, using data collected by Professor Ian Boxhill.
By interviewing about 2,000 people across 40 communities in
Jamaica, we looked at the predictors of anti-gay bias and measured them.
Our results confirm the suspicion that Jamaicans, in general, hold very strong prejudices against gays and lesbians. This was true whether we referred to attitudes, perceptions of gay rights, or prejudiced behaviour. But why? This question isn't easily answered. However, thanks to this research, we can now point to some important variables.
As in other countries, wealth, education and (younger) age were associated with less anti-gay prejudice. Religiosity, which is often the reason offered by anti-gay lobbyists, also predicted more anti-gay bias. However, it was neither the strongest nor the most reliable predictor. When all the factors were taken into account simultaneously, the two that were most reliable were a preference for dancehall music, and gender.
There has been much
debate about dancehall in Jamaica. Internationally, many people view artists like Banton, Vybz Kartel and Beenie Man as inciting sexuality-based violence, while others defend these "calls to action" as being much more metaphorical – a litmus test of what is and isn't acceptable in Jamaican society.
This research provides the first empirical evidence that these songs may be harmful, leading to more negative attitudes and anti-social behaviour. We need more research looking at the consequences of anti-gay dancehall, and policy on what we should do about it.
We also found that male gender was an important predictor, trumping education, age and even religion. This raises important questions about what it means to be a man in Jamaica. What it is about those perceptions of masculinity that finds the existence of gays so unbearable? Is it that Jamaican masculinity has become overly focused on toughness and anti-femininity, at the expense of socially beneficial constructs such as responsibility? Interventions aimed at reshaping gender norms in Jamaica may be useful in reducing negativity towards those seen as "deviant"
.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/06/jamaica-music-anti-gay-dancehall-homophobia