LBGT guest question?

[jking513]

First of all, thank you all for the great topics and discussions! I found this board while searching where to get married in the Caribbean and between you guys and Trip Advisor we were sold on Negril and will be wed on the cliffs in October ! We have a couple of wonderful lady friends that recently married who will be attending the wedding. Actually, we guilted them into going since we flew to Vegas for theirs, but we are TOTALLY getting the better end of that deal! Having never been to JA before I have no idea how socially acceptable this might be, and I know from reading posts here the people seem to be extremely friendly so I hadn't given it much thought. But now I'm thinking I should at least get some feedback from those in the know, will my girls be treated any differently than say here in the US? TIA!

[original spanky]

Jamaica was at one time very unfriendly to gays . Getting better accepted and I have noticed last time at swept away much of the activity staff were flaming gay I use that description as they were a bit over the top not to offend.. I think in your case traveling with a group and maybe not much in the way of pda there will be no problem.

[Creasemon]

My take would be that Negril is one of the more tolerant places on the rock ! My sister and her Partner have been before and I think they maintained it was fine for them. October will also be a quieter time of year so less people around in general including the hustlers that show up for Peak season. There may be the odd Jamaican Male that takes it as a personal insult that they would stay same sex when they could have had him !!

[HarryS]

If I were you, I'd do more research on this than here. People on this website tend to see JA through rose colored glasses.

My opinion is if you stay on the resort at an AI you won't have any trouble, but out in public there is a decent chance they will be bothered by the macho Jamaican men. I don't think they would be unsafe, but the views on homosexuality in JA are stuck in the last century.

[jking513]

Thanks for the responses so far! HarryS, I had kinda started doing just that and it worried me. We are not staying at an AI, it's a small local place on the cliffs. The girls already booked their room there. And we had all planned to do the glass bottomed boat, a day on the beach, pub crawl, etc. And I am worried about PDA, they are newlyweds afterall. I know not everyone views the world as I do, I tend to have love for everyone and respect their feelings and beliefs no matter what they are (rose colored glasses on me too ). Now I am worried the staff where we are staying might not be as welcoming.

[LivinInThe603]

I hate to rain on the parade, but a friend of mine, local to Lucea, recently posted an extremely anti-gay post on his facebook account. Prejudice is real,,, but is it more real in Jamaica than anywhere else?.... unsure.

[Rob]

Contrary to Harry S' opinion that the people on Negril.com have on "rose colored glasses" and that Jamaica is stuck in the "last century", you have come to probably the best Negril source available. The prior posts even include one having to deal personally with the same situation and there was no problem. You cannot get better first hand information than that!

As is happening in many places, Jamaica is going through changes regarding LBGT. Jamaica is no more "stuck in the last century" than many places in the country I was born in, the USA. Gay marriage is not universally accepted in all of the States.

Jamaica can still be considered a homophobic country overall, but in the past 25 years of my living here there are marked changes taking place. Where it was once taboo to mention gay rights, there are now discussions about it in Parliament.

Even the Prime Minister has taken a strong stance on human rights, including gay rights - the following was from March 2015:

"Simpson Miller noted her position and that her People's National Party Government is different from that of the previous administration of Bruce Golding, who famously said he would not allow gays to serve in his Cabinet.

Simpson Miller stressed that she would not be bullied by those who tell lies about Jamaica's treatment of gays.

And she further lamented that Jamaica would not bow to attempts to hurt the country's image with misinformation."

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/l...stors-new-york

In another Gleaner article from June 2012, entitled "Lesbians legally wed", the bride/author wrote:

"However, when Emma and I finally
returned to the island for our first visit as a couple in 2010,
something felt different. At the time, I couldn't place what it was.
There were no words to describe it since my brain had not yet processed
it. I felt beautiful, stronger, empowered.

She said
her acceptance of self was part of the reason she decided to have her
wedding in Jamaica. However, her decision was strongly criticised by
friends in America who claimed to know about Jamaica's anti-gay
culture.

My friends began to question my sanity once I
told them that I'll be getting married in Jamaica, a country known
internationally for its blatant homophobia."

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2...ead/lead1.html

So, by asking your question in this forum with more combined experience than any other Negril related forum, the advice given here over the years still applies. For gay visitors, there is a noticeable double standard here. For gay women, they will experience much less of an issue than would gay men. Unfortunately we do have to agree on discouraging blatant/obvious public displays of affection. To ease the burden for your friends, seeing Jamaican females holding hands on a stroll is a common sight, hugging and even a quick kiss wouldnt give anyone a second thought. But keep the PDA inline with what you do in a public restaurant. At the wedding itself there would be no real issue at all with PDA as that is a private affair. And trust me, the staff and workers at the hotels have seen it all.

So be sure to enjoy all that Negril has to offer, from the glassbottom boats to the Pub Crawl. And congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

[JitterBug]

while staying in st. mary, a lesbian couple from alaska who were at the same place, left the island early, fearing for their safety.

you ppl make your own decisions, being discreet helps.

[Lola]

Jamaica still has respect for Biblical commandments. I no longer criticize, but embrace it.

[Rob]

Jitterbug,

St. Mary is nothing like Negril. For one thing it is a very religious Parish. Negril has more of a free spirit than any city, town or village I can think of in the Parish of St. Mary.

Where and when in St. Mary Parish were they staying? How did people know they were a lesbian couple? As I mentioned, blatant PDA can pose a problem, as can telling people you are a lesbian couple. Discretion cant hurt.

For instance, two rules for Couples Resorts include the following, note their PDA policy applies to ALL couples:

1. Public Displays of Affection: NO! Couples Resorts does not condone nor will we tolerate any display of public sexual activity. Guests caught participating in such behavior will be asked to leave the resort immediately without any compensation. If having sex in public is your thing, then Hedonism Resorts would be a better fit for you. Bottom-line? Keep it in your room.

2. Same Sex Couples: YES! Couples Resorts welcomes ALL couples in love.

St. Mary is the birthplace of dancehall music which does have a tendency to have anti-gay lyrics, so I think St. Mary may have been the wrong choice unless they stayed at a gay-friendly resort such as Couples Sans Souci or Couples Tower Isles.

Was the reason they left because they were lesbians, or was there another or combination of reasons?

A very famous and popular resort in Jamaica is owned and operated by a lesbian couple. But while it is true that 89% of the Jamaican people do not support same-sex marriages in the latest survey, this couple has been running their resort for decades now.