Two man hitch up on and hug up on and ah lay dung inna bed
Hug up one another and ah feel up leg
Send fi di ‘matic and di uzi instead
Shoot dem now come mek we shot dem dead
[Two men meet, embrace and get into bed
Embrace and feel up each other’s legs
Get the automatics and the Uzzis instead
Shoot them now, let’s shoot them dead]
Lyrics to songs like those above from Caribbean dancehall artist Buju Banton’s song ‘Boom Bye Bye’ (1993) are emblematic of the impact of the active sponsorship and promotion of homophobic discourse by US based fundamentalist churches, ‘social conservative’ politicians, and other neo-colonial forces in the Anglophone countries of the Caribbean and the rest of the Afro-Atlantic. In this presentation, the tools of Critical Discourse Analysis (van Dijk 2008) are applied to sermons, speeches, songs and other texts that legitimize the current wave of virulent homophobia in the region, especially in relation to the role that such discourse is currently playing in identity creation, religion, politics and popular culture. This analysis aims to demonstrate that the propagation of homophobia in the Anglophone Caribbean and Afro-Atlantic has much less to do with any so-called ‘post-colonial,’ ‘independent’ Afro-Caribbean ‘morality,’ ‘heritage’ or ‘tradition’ that its proponents claim to be defending, than it has to do with the devastating legacy of repressive British colonialism and the ever-rising tide of US neo-colonial hegemony. Based on this analysis, we intend to engage with vulnerable communities in the Anglophone countries of the Caribbean and West Africa who are trying to navigate the treacherous social realities created by these discourses, in order to move toward a post-colonial understanding and celebration of multiplex sexualities.
Banton, Buju. 1993. ‘Boom Bye Bye’. Universal Music.
van Dijk, Teun A. 2008. Discourse and Power. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
