Time for women to speak out

07.JUNE.11

There is no denying the fact that the changeover, in 1977, to the June/July period for Carnival festivities has brought enormous benefits to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}} It has helped to release our rich musical potential to the extent that today, our soca is on par with any in this genre. Vincy music has earned a name for itself the world over.

Having established such a platform, our artistes are well-placed to build on this; and in a world where more and more opportunities are opening up in the fields of music and culture, our music can rise to unprecedented heights. Unfortunately, side by side with our growing success in the musical world, there has arisen a downside. It is in the rapidly deteriorating moral standards, exhibited in our mode of dress, our public behaviour, especially during Carnival, and the celebration of lewdness. Our soca music is being contaminated by these negative trends to the extent that it tends to cloud the rich musical content in the productions of our artistes.

This year, that negative trend has continued and many of the more popular songs for the Carnival are downright disgraceful as far as their lyrics are concerned. Although smut in calypso is nothing new, in years gone by, calypsonians were suggestive, rather than explicit in their lyrics. It seems as though that is now outmoded, and the soca artistes are vying with each other to see whose lyrics would win the prize for being the most explicit. The lines are openly raw and sexually explicit, and our young and eager disc jockeys and radio announcers are falling over themselves to play these songs.

We need to pause and think of the impact of these on our children. Do we want our young ones to be extolling the “virtues” of “sucking Grandpa cocoa”, or calling out for “big stick”, or even wanting to “come in your country”? Are those the moral standards we are setting? What is particularly reprehensible is the way in which our women, especially young women, are targetted in the negative lyrics. The impression being created is that our young women are sexual objects, just waiting for men to do all kinds of things to them, which they would welcome. How can we be satisfied with such portrayals?

It is the responsibility of our women to speak out on these issues. We have a young generation to nurture and guide, and cannot remain oblivious to their moral standards. Already, if one looks at how our children are being influenced by sexually promiscuous movements in dance, we have reason to be alarmed. Even the television advertisements promoting Carnival activities are following a similar trend. They are aired at prime time, so, if you are encouraging your children to look at the news, those images are hitting them. Even those who have no interest in Carnival have to deal with them. Our silence can only be interpreted as indifference. It is more than time to let our voices be heard.