The Interrogation of Carnival, Gender Inclusivity and Exhibitionism

“I think we all wear some kind of mask. There are masks that shield us from others, but there are masks that embolden us, and you see that in carnival.”- Edwidge Danticat. It has been a few days since the staging of Jamaica Carnival on April 7th. However, most of us are still unable to rid our minds of some of the costumed revelers who have left an indelible impression on the psyche of the nation. The carnival post-mortem has been making the rounds on social media and some of the comments have been harsh and uncomplimentary. It is quite evident that some amount of body shaming took place especially as it relates to a few plus size revelers who were skimpily clad and who left nothing to the imagination. The photographs in question was that of two plump, middle aged women who apparently went to have fun on their own terms and fun they did have. Some might argue that they had too much fun. The comments were harsh regarding their body sizes and the costumes they wore. Tongues were left wagging after viewing the photographs and in fact some questioned the state of mental wellness of both women. One photograph saw a female reveler in a two piece blue bathing suit with what appears to be mesh stocking and blue feathered wings, the other female reveler was unfeathered; she wore a yellow bathing suit with a section of her breast exposed. However, this was not what sent social media in overdrive; it was the fact that her genital was partially exposed. Both women were confident and appeared not to be bothered by the glaring eyes of John Public. Exhibitionism. Psychology Today states that exhibitionistic disorder is a condition marked by the urge, fantasy, or act of exposing one’s genitals to non-consenting people, particularly strangers. This condition is considered a paraphilic disorder, which refers to persistent and intense atypical sexual arousal patterns that are accompanied by clinically significant distress or impairment. Exhibitionism is getting sexual gratification from showing one’s genitals or private areas to others. People who participate in exhibitionism enjoy being seen or fantasize about being seen by others in a sexual manner. Without a doubt many revelers fall into this category. One cannot speak about exhibitionism without touching on Voyeurism. Simply defined voyeurism means a person is turned on by seeing others nude or having sex. Body Shaming. Body shaming is the act of making negative comments regarding someone’s weight or size. People who are overweight are frequently subjected to being “too fat” and people who are underweight are often criticized for looking “too skinny.” Body shaming can occur against any gender, and the statistics are alarming. In a recent national survey in the United States of America of overweight sixth-graders, 24 percent of the boys and 30 percent of the girls experienced daily teasing, bullying or rejection because of their size. The number doubles for overweight high school students with 58 percent of boys and 63 percent of girls experiencing daily teasing, bullying or rejection because of their size.

Black Feminist Theory. Feminism is about all genders having equal rights and opportunities. It is about respecting diverse women’s experiences, identities, knowledge and strengths, and striving to empower all women to realize their full rights. It is about levelling the playing field between genders, and ensuring that diverse women and girls have the same opportunities in life available to boys and men. Body image and beauty among African American women can only be truly understood within a framework of interlocking systems of “isms” for example, racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism. According to Black Feminist Theory, the devaluation of US Black women is rooted in the institution of American slavery. Black women’s bodies were routinely violated for other's profit and pleasure without recourse or protection. During the slave era negative, controlling images of Black women emerged (hooks, 1992; Collins 1990; 2000; Mama, 1995). Black women were viewed as hypersexual Jezebels (or Sapphires) deserving of sexual exploitation or as breeder women lawfully usable for populating owner’s plantations with new slave stock or for the generation revenues. It is therefore safe to say there is a direct relationship between body shaming and the institution of chattel slavery. Origin of Carnival . Carnival is a festival held before Lent that includes music and dancing. However, in Jamaica, the parade of revelers takes place after Lent. Some will argue that this is a deliberate strategy so as not to offend the religious community given Jamaica’s Judeo Christian history. Of course, with any carnival there are usually various bands with each band represented by a particular costume. Costumes are not cheap; some sources report that at the highest end costumes were being sold for US$1,000. The exchange rate is $155 Jamaican dollars for US$1. Sexual Objectification. There has always been a debate in Jamaica concerning the staging of carnival and what this means in the context of classism. It appears that carnival has an overflow of corporate sponsorship while dancehall is not as readily supported. This debate has continued to explore the issues of colourism and social class. For the most part dancehall music is driven by grass roots artistes whose social commentary reflects the wider society. Such commentary has always been mired in controversy as the lewdness in the lyrics of dancehall music is abhorrent to a significant number of Jamaicans who interestingly have no such issue with soca music. Dancehall music tends to lend itself to two main pillars and these are the glorification of the island’s gun culture and that of sexual objectification of women. Sexual objectification is the act of treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire. Objectification more generally means treating a person as a commodity or an object without regard to their personality or dignity. Sexual objectification is closely linked to gender roles and sexism. Men too are also victims of sexual objectification. Male sexual objectification involves males being sexually harassed by wild and fun loving females. Instances where men may be viewed as sexualized can be seen in advertisements, music videos, films, television shows, beefcake calendars, women's magazines and male strip shows. Sexual objectication whether involving male or female is rooted in a power play or lack thereof. Sexual objectification can be understood as the separation of a person from their body or body parts and prioritizing these features when determining their worth, usually at the expense of their emotional, social, or intellectual worth (Bareket et al., 2018.), The implications of these objectifying attitudes and behaviors are immense because they are critical for understanding how women, in particular, can become undervalued and mistreated. However, a framework for explaining and predicting sexual objectification needs to also acknowledge that women can sexually objectify men through similar behaviors (Bernard et al., 2018). While it is clear that both sexes can become victims of sexual objectification men will more likely view this situation differently from women. Why is this so? This is so for various reasons, however, the major driving force here is Jamaica’s homophobic culture. During the staging of Jamaica Carnival a number of videos made their rounds on social media showing two police officers on duty in their uniforms with two female revelers gyrating and one even choking one of the police officers. Perhaps this was a case of erotic asphyxiation. The officers showed tremendous restraint while they stood at attention even as the female revelers had their way with them. Carnival has a kind of free pass meaning once you are present in that space it implies that you are up for any and everything. The fact that the police officers were in uniform did not prevent them from being singled out as sexual objects. The fact that they had the power of arrest rendered them helpless as the revelers were the ones who detained them sexually to the intoxicating rhythm of the pulsating soca music. It is evident from the videos that the police officers were not seen as officers of the law at that moment by the revelers. It is safe to theorize that the revelers rendered the police officers powerless as they stood rather helpless even when one reveler had her hand around the officer’s throat. Can you imagine if the on duty police officer had shunned the revelers? This would have been interpreted again in another sexualized manner with the condemnation and questions concerning the officer’s sexual orientation. They would have faced taunting and teasing from the wider public. What if the officers in question were females and two male revelers made those sexual suggestive overtures. The script and comments would have been different and this again speaks to the double standard in all societies regarding how men and women are treated. Carnival, like any other celebration tends to unite people of various socio-economic backgrounds. One can only imagine what might take place next year. One can only hope that police officers do not attend such events in commando style. As a society we have always had this dichotomy of carnival versus dancehall. Carnival is marketed as an uptown browning event while dance is viewed as a downtown event for the masses who tend to be of a dark skin colour. Last but by no means least was the reveler who was in an advanced state of pregnancy. Gender Inclusivity. Throughout history, the objectification of women, have been associated with gender discrimination, body dysmorphic disorders and sexual violence. There are those who will question what of male objectification? In the age of social media, both male, female and non-binary bodies are increasingly represented as objects that can be worked on to become more sexually attractive to others. The fashion and beauty industries, which have historically thrived on the practice of objectifying women, are becoming more gender inclusive. At the end of the day carnival is here to stay. Soca loving followers will always gravitate towards hedonistic pleasure and as such we can expect to see more instances of sexual objectification at this annual festival. The attraction to carnival is different for various segments of the population. Additionally, there is also an economic side to carnival. The recently held Jamaica Carnival has exposed an urgent need that as a society the time has come for us to engage in a frank and honest discussion concerning gender inclusivity and dignity. In the words of Viv Richards, the true Caribbean people... we are carnival people, we are vibrant people, not dead people. We like to be heard and we like to have fun. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #carnival #bodyshaming #sexualobjectification #culture