‘Exposing’ Culture among Jamaican Youth

by Levi (Destiny) Johnson | February 4, 2022

The Problem

As of now, it is assumed that many Jamaican Gen Zs have gotten wind of the situation involving two—potentially LGBTQ+—high school students, who were romantically and/or sexually involved. It is presumed that after a breakup, one party revealed sexually explicit content that put the other in harm’s way—and intentionally outed* them.

In Jamaica, many persons have negative perspectives on the members of the LGBTQ+ community—which is more imposed on queer (or queer-affiliated) Black men and AMABs*. The release of identifiable sexual content will most likely put one, or both, of these persons in the eyes of persecution—and can lead to them being attacked if identified in public.

Revenge Porn

Revenge porn—known in Jamaica as “being exposed”—is defined as the revealing of sexually explicit images or videos of a person posted on the internet—usually by a former sexual or romantic partner—without their consent in order to cause embarrassment or harm.

By releasing this video, especially given Jamaica’s atmosphere, it could be said that one party intended for harm to come to the other.

Common victims of Revenge Porn are:

• Women or AFABs* in abusive relationships and,
• Closeted persons in homophobic societies or families

Revenge porn can have detrimental effects such as:

• loss of employment
• beingly publicly attacked or ridiculed
• suicide, or suicidal thoughts
• other mental health issues for victims

Confidentiality in relationships is essential to having a healthy one—and in the case of Jamaican queer relationships, it could be the difference between living and dying.

If you’ve come across this video, please do not share it. If you have already shared it, retrace your steps and speak to those with who you’ve shared it.

Do not contribute to the impact on the life of a human being, in a way that makes them susceptible to being gruesomely harmed.

^{_{*Outing (in this context) is a term known to mean exposing someone’s sexuality or gender identity, that they did not wish to disclose.}}

^{_{*AMAB – assigned male at birth *AFAB – assigned female at birth}}

_{^{“I personally haven’t seen this video. But just thinking about how widespread it prolly is, and will be, gives me knots in my stomach. The poster’s actions deserve fitting consequences.”}}

_{-Levi (19), ZenJA Associate Branch Leader}

_{^{“Outing someone is never ok. I hope they encounter no violence or discrimination as a result but the reality is, they might. The person who shared it originally really opened up the doors for harm.”}}

_{-Asid (18), ZenJA Resident Creative}

^{_{“The fact that y’all are more concerned about someone’s sexuality than the fact that someone was EXPOSED. If this was a female so many of you would be rallying around and saying how wrong it is to expose someone. Pull up your socks, your homophobia is showing”}}

_{-Jade (19)}

^{_{“It is one of the most despicable actions you could commit on someone whom you love, share/d a bond with, or anything similar. In the current Jamaican climate, we are not accepting of LGBTQ+ persons. They don’t receive the respect they deserve. Whoever released that intimate video should be punished to the highest extent of the law as you have placed someone’s family, life, mental health among other unmentionable things in jeopardy.”}}

_{-Karyl (17), UNUSYV member}