By Nordia Henry, Staff ReporterMY JOB has given me some unique experiences and recently I got a nerve-wracking one which shoved me into another world. For this article I had to hang out with a group of lesbians to get an inside scoop of their world.
At 7:30 p.m., my colleague and I arrived at the place and was met by our contact. On our way into the building an entourage of ladies was standing on the steps and our contact said, "We have some new ladies tonight, K... and N..."
After a warm welcome, our contact said to the entourage, 'They are not our type, they are straight.'
Then we got a faint 'hello'.
After that we were ushered inside a room where we were scheduled to speak with two ladies about their lesbian lifestyle.
The first woman looked like she's was no more than 30 but, in fact, she's 42. She came across like an impish, vibes mistress. Let's call her Tina.
Tina attended a non-traditional school, was married for under 10 years and the mother of four grown children.
I enquired as to what caused the crack in her marriage, she said, "It was not my feelings for women that caused the break-up, but while married I had extra-marital affairs with men."
This grabbed me so I did a Q & A with her.
NH: How long have you been a lesbian?
T: I have been a lesbian for over 20 years
NH: Was your sexual preference a choice?
T: Yes, it was a choice and the first time I got touched by a woman it felt damn good.
NH: Tell me about your first lesbian encounter?
T: The first time I got touched was by my sister-in-law. We were sleeping and she turned and her foot rub against my leg and I felt good. Then she moved again but this time her foot caught me (in my private area) and I felt sexy and things progressed from there.
After that we grew to like each other and became partners. We went to straight parties and danced together. No one suspected but one day I beat her up badly. I saw her talking to this guy and thought, 'Oh she a dis mi.' That ended our relationship.
NH: Do people know that you are gay?
T: I don't think a lot of people know but the most important people do know. My children and my family know and they say we still love you, you are a big woman and we can't tell you how to live your life.
NH: Have you ever experienced hostility for being a lesbian?
T: First of all, if I'm walking on the street and someone ask me my opinion on homosexuality, I will tell. If someone see me walking and say, 'Yuh a lesbian?' I will say YES. Sometimes people who know will say, 'Sodomite gal, guh whey', but I respond, 'Bring yuh wife, girlfriend, sister or mother, cum nuh, mek mi deh wid dem.'
NH: How does a woman satisfy you more than a man?
T: When I'm with a woman the emotional and sexual part is 100 per cent better. It also gives me more power as a woman because we understand each other more, we know how and where we like to be touched and we defend each other more.
NH: How can we dispel the myths of lesbianism because most people 'bun fire' on men to men but not women to women?
At this point Lisa jumped into the conversation. Lisa is a woman of robust build and speaks with an American accent. She has been a lesbian since she was 19 years old and agrees with Tina that sexual encounters with a woman are much better.
L: The first time I was touched by a woman was the best. I think that 70 per cent of Jamaicans are curious and 50 out of that 70 have had bisexual relationships. So, it is very hypocritical for butch (lesbians) to be more accepted and fire bun fi di men. It's every man's greatest fantasy to be with two women so they don't mind two women together because they get to fulfil their fantasies.
Hands of temptation
During this conversation, Tina looked at my colleague, ran her hands up and down her legs and uttered with a roguish grin, 'nice eeh'. Instantly, my colleague jumped and grabbed her pouch closer to her stomach, looking very traumatised and like she was getting ready to sprint out of the room. Later, she confessed that she was silently consoling herself with the words, "They're just people, they're just people."
At this time I almost toppled off the chair because I was dying with laughter.
I figured Tina had done that on purpose. She must have picked up on how tense and scared we looked.
After a minute, Lisa stated emphatically: "Lesbians are human beings. They love just like ordinary couples, everything that goes for the straight couples the same for gays. The only difference is women loving women. The closeness we have, others don't have it because society bash out on us so much. We have to be in di closet so that binds us closer and that's why they say gays are more jealous. But all we are saying is let us be, let us live our lives, once we are not corrupting small children, let us as big people live our lives the way we choose."
