Caribbean can be chilly when it comes to welcoming gays

[Troublemaker]

NETHERLANDS ANTILLES?In St. Maarten, we criss-cross the island, searching in vain for a lesbian who will talk to me ? though later I hear the caf?s in Marigot are full of them.

In Jamaica, some dance hall performers sing about shooting gay men in the head, pouring acid over them and raping lesbians.

So far this year, 100 LGBT folk have reportedly been attacked in 43 mob incidents. Yet there's a huge, lively underground scene.

In Cuba, gays and lesbians can't get permission to start their own advocacy organization.

Meanwhile, the government is working on same-sex partnership recognition as well as free sex-change surgery and hormones on demand.

This is the Caribbean, with some of the most complex and least understood gay and lesbian destinations in the world.

Some travellers write off the whole district as homophobic, forgetting that each island has a distinctive history and culture; each has a unique intersection of sexuality, race, and class.

I visited three islands and spoke to residents, activists and tourism professionals.

Over the next few months, Pink Planet will look at Cura?ao, St. Maarten and Saba.

Original Article.....http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/274493

[BobbyMoon]

Thanks for that article.

I have always heard not so nice things about how the certain areas of the Caribbean welcomes gays and lesbians.

Thats why me and my partner decided on Mexico!