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What Pride Means to Me: Part 2

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Despite the strike down of the buggery law in 2018 that marked a significant milestone of success for the LGBTQ+ community, I cannot help but feel disenchanted that there is still no legislation that explicitly protects against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender expression. This disenchantment framed my initial mood going into Trinidad and Tobago’s Pride parade this year. I felt that more people needed to mobilise in protest to demand reform and I had no intentions of attending the parade in celebration but rather to remind people that Pride is political. However, these sentiments changed upon the commencement of the festivities. Seeing the crowd of queerfolk and allies breathed a sense of life into me, especially after two years without any parade in light of COVID. I was quickly reminded of some important reasons for having this parade. Unfortunately, the experience of being queer and trans for many of us is framed by shame, guilt and trauma. We have
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Vaccination Inequalities in Trinidad and Tobago

 The COVID-19 pandemic continues to amplify the inequalities that exist in our societies. This is more transparent in Trinidad and Tobago than ever before. Systemic inequalities continue to favor some individuals when it comes to securing a vaccination, while others are left to navigate the system, and sometimes to no avail. So why are some persons able to access the vaccine with such ease over others?  Despite the government advising persons that vaccination sites will only administer vaccinations on an appointment basis, some personal accounts seem to contradict this. While some seem to have luck getting through to local health centers via phone calls and Whatsapp, others have taken different routes. In one instance, I have heard of someone leaving their home in Western Trinidad and was vaccinated in the South without scheduling an appointment. This act of disregard for government advisement demonstrates the desperation of Trinidadians as the positive cases roll in by the hundreds ea
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The Lives We Value: Homophobia and TT Media

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  Homophobia is not simply the “fear” of gay persons, and rather a more appropriate term for this is heterosexism, but it is a man’s internalized fear of being emasculated. (Copyright 2019 Brandon Kalyan. Used with permission.) Yesterday, the LGBTQIA community was shaken upon hearing about the loss of one of its own, Marcus Anthony Singh, a talented fashion designer and performer of drag who was also known as Maria Venus Raj. Without delay, the media has swooped in to cover the story like corbeaux. As expected, the homophobic comments began rolling in. Within our Caribbean context, we have a culture of homophobia that stems far back into our colonial past, and that polices the way that men and boys are expected to look and behave. When they step outside of these bounds, they are met with hostility and shaming. It is for this reason that the island of Jamaica has been referred to as the most homophobic place on earth. " 'If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them h
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Compassion During The Pandemic

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Given the uncertainty of this time, mental health is of utmost importance right now. Many people are reporting feelings of depression and anxiety. As a result, we are seeing a lot of content suggesting ways that we can manage these feelings which has inspired me to write about my own way of doing this. I have been intimate with depression for a while now and I would like to think that I am well-equipped to manage its symptoms when they arise. However, as both anxiety and depression go hand in hand, I've realised that anxiety is a whole other ball game. I always say to myself, "I'd rather be depressed than have an anxiety attack" because of how debilitating this experience can be. Navigating this can be quite difficult, especially when we are in the middle of a severe attack, but it is possible. For me, the three components of self-compassion as outlined by Kristin Neff, PhD have given me a particular sense of ease whenever anxious thoughts and feelings arise: thes
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"All Ah We Is Not One"

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Scott Marchack This blog post is meant to be a submission for a critical thinking project I have been tasked with for my Caribbean  Civilization  course. I have been asked  to reflect on  the statement “All ah we  is  one” and give my perspective on it while keeping relevant themes of the course  in mind; in particular, the theme of Caribbean identity.   I will attempt to  discuss this in two parts.  Firstly, from the aspect of identity and  whether  there truly exists a  Caribbean identity. Secondly, I  believe the term in question is often used as a signifier of  Caribbean unity, which is another aspect I intend to explore .  On this note,  I believe that  as a people we can hold a sense of “Caribbean-ness” rather than lay claim to the existence of  a  Caribbean identit y. Furthermore,  I am  unconvinced of the idea of unity that this term suggests . Instead, I am in favour of M.G Smith’s theory  of a plural society  inhabited by many groups with  little tolerance for one anothe
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