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“Thief A Wine”: Caribbean Cultural Norm Or Rape With Clothes On?
“Men, parties are not pussy festivals. Women are not toys. We do not attend parties to be your designated flesh lights wardrobed in sexy clothes and heels.”
A few days ago I watched a clip on Instagram in horror as I witnessed a white female tourist get aggressively man-handled at a dancehall party in Jamaica. She was dancing alone, and while she seemed intrigued by the party scene it was clear she looked nervous when a man approached her to dance.
Of course our culture dictates that men are allowed to do whatever they please for the sake of having fun at the emotional expense of women, so this male stranger picks this young lady’s petite body up, forces her knees to lock into his, then literally spins her around and begins violently thrusting into her as if he was a dog in heat. I had to click out of that video prematurely because I was mortified.
As a woman who used to frequent Caribbean parties a lot, I will say that these events are not for the faint of heart. Sure, they can be lots of fun; after all, I did attend many fetes and shook my hips to my heart’s content for many years. But I have since retired my Flag Woman tendencies solely because of the men who upheld our Caribbean fete tradition of “thief a wine” to my detriment.
