From: Red*
Message:
Here is something that a few of us have been working on for the last
couple of months.
Dancehall Fans Against Homophobia (www.dfah.org): Press Release
In 2005, the reggae subgenre of dancehall is under attack from a variety
of sources. Most of these attacks relate to the homophobic content of
some dancehall record releases. However, many of these attacks are so
woefully inaccurate as to be dangerous in their own right. Dancehall
Fans Against Homophobia is a newly formed organisation of dancehall fans
who are as fed up with governmental and media attacks on dancehall as
they are with the handful of deejays currently releasing homophobic records.
/DFAH/ - pronounced /differ/ – because we’re /DFAHrent/
1) We are fans and supporters of reggae, dancehall and Jamaican music in
all its forms.
2) We are opposed to homophobia and homophobic lyrics.
3) We call on record companies to desist from releasing homophobic
records and to encourage their artists to perform lyrics dealing with
other issues.
4) We will no longer buy records with homophobic lyrics.
5) We call on soundsystems to desist from playing homophobic records, or
from making homophobic comments on the mic at dances.
6) We will no longer support homophobic soundsystems.
7) We reject the demonisation of reggae and its fans by parts of the media.
8) We are opposed to state bans on artists.
9) We recognise the long history of homophobia in Jamaica and that there
can be no "quick fix". We propose that the way forward lies in dialogue
and not in gesture politics.
10) We would like to open up a dialogue between reggae fans, artists,
labels owners, soundsystem operators and the reggae community worldwide.
If dancehall fans are interested in signing up to these principles, they
should log on to http://www.dfah.org, and step on prejudice, in all its forms.
Press enquiries & media comment -
To uk-dance - this is the first public outing of DFAH. If you support
our founding statement above, please sign our online petition
(http://www.dfah.org/petition.htm). We are hoping to build up the
petition side of the website before going for a full media launch. Those
of you who are interested in the debates so far should visit our news
section (http://www.dfah.org/blog/index.htm).
Special thanks to DJC Design (Disco Dave) for his work on the
website. DJC Design's portfolio of commercial projects can be found at (http://www.djcdesign.co.uk)
Red Star on Red Alert
