Like any other large region,
attitudes towards homosexuality in
the Caribbean differ from place to
place. The Bahamas take the lead in
terms of positive attitude, with the
government openly condemning
homophobia, although there still
isn't much of a gay scene. Trinidad
and Tobago has had a gay rights
group since 1994, and the fairly
sizeable community is quite visible,
especially during Carnival. In
Puerto Rico and Jamaica, gay and
lesbian visitors are not only
accepted but sustained by a lively
gay social scene. On many islands,
such as Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao,
there is no organized gay life as
such, but because of the free-thinking
Dutch influence on these islands, a
live-and-let-live attitude prevails.
Barbados, the British Virgin Islands
and Saba operate in a similar
fashion. Martinique has an emergent
and fairly open gay community and St
Lucia has several gay-friendly
resorts, though attitudes in towns
and cities may be less friendly.
Other islands, however, are much
less tolerant: in the Cayman Islands,
a gay cruise ship was turned away
from the port; attitudes in the US
Virgin Islands - with the exception
of St John's nude beach - and in
Dominica are fairly intolerant. In
Cuba public displays of affection
between gays are very much frowned
upon, although there is a nascent
gay scene, albeit an underground one.
