How
homophobic is the Caribbean?
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How homophobic is the Caribbean? Find out where you can be
gay and "feel irie" on your next island hop
"You don't go to a Caribbean island for a gay vacation."
Period. So warns this year's Spartacus guide--and, if asked,
few gay and lesbian travelers might disagree. The guide's authors
have a point, because let's face it, Grand Cayman is not Palm
Springs. And ne'er the twain shall meet.
Or will they? There are signs the Cayman Islands--infamous
for denying docking fights to a 1998 Atlantis Events all-gay
cruise--are set to join a handful of other Caribbean destinations
in, if not openly courting gay travelers, at least challenging
reputations for rampant homophobia.
Even in Jamaica--which Amnesty International describes as
"suffering from an appalling level of homophobia"--there's
been some movement, though incremental: The couples-only
resort chain Sandals, with several locations in Jamaica,
lifted its longtime shunning of gay couples in 2004.
Still, if by "gay vacation" one means a tropical
holiday in a seaside resort town packed with gay clubs, saunas,
a Hamburger Mary's franchise, and same-sex couples openly
engaging in PDAs, the Caribbean region offers slim pickings.
And the March barring of a gay cruise to St. Kitts and Nevis
highlights the ongoing struggle of gay tourism in this diverse
region. |
