Sex and the Caribbean 

An Interdisciplinary Symposium at the University of Essex

 Tuesday 3 May 2011

Organised by
Jak Peake (LiFTS)

The Caribbean has been at the crux of discourse on human identity, sexuality and sex since Columbus’s contact with the region onwards. From this early clash of cultures and bodies into the modern era, the Caribbean can be conceived of as an area of not only sociological engineering, but also of sexual generation. In the tourist literature of and about the region, Caribbean destinations are often portrayed as cosmopolitan, exotic and sexually permissive hotspots—even as prime locations for sex tourism.

Carnival, with its focus on dance, the body and masquerade, perhaps plays a contributing factor in the image of Caribbean sexual permissiveness. However, despite the ostensibly open sexuality of carnival, some parts of the Caribbean have proved staunchly conservative with regards to homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality.

This symposium considers issues of gender, sexuality, cosmopolitanism, exoticism, eroticism with respect to the Caribbean.

Speakers and Titles

Programme

Registration and accommodation

Readings and Discussion from Novelists

Lawrence Scott
(Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Best Book in Canada and the Caribbean, 1999)

Monique Roffey
(Orange Prize Shortlist, 2010)

Sponsored by
American Tropics: Towards a Literary Geography (AHRC project)
Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies