Social Class, Identity and Di Loose Gyal
Did you miss me?
Let's hope so...
I was having an intellectual conversation with a group of intelligent graduates recently (bear with me as I create the scenario) and we were discussing the issue of social class in Jamaica and whether identity is a product of social class or if it is an independent entity. In arguing either point of view the factor of perception came in: whether the person wants be perceived as the class they belong to or another group. Let's look at how all this affects.... di loose hole gyal.
Social Class refers to a certain stratification within society where its members share common characteristics: be it in concepts about political, economic and social structures, be it colour... whatever it may be... they have some common characteristics.
Identity is defined as a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations (eg: cultural identity). We see then that identity is a fully SUBJECTIVE phenomenon.
Need I define di loose hole gyal? I doubt it.
Let's get into it then ....
Upper, Middle and Lower, are the most common social classes; However there are variations, Upper Middle, Lower Middle, etc... In Jamaica we have our own ways of knowing which class someone is from. Most often its their colour or their command of the English language, their attire and the list can go on and on. However many people are not comfortable within their social class and as such do not IDENTIFY with that class and try somehow to attain acceptance elsewhere.
Sean Paul is perhaps not the best example, but he is a so-called "rich kid" who did not conform to the confines of his upper class upbringing and decided to pursue a musical career which is a path lower classes take in order to attain social mobility. Due to his choice he has become accepted across all three classes. More "uptown" music like rock'n'roll and the heavy metal derivations would not see this level of acceptance due to the "high culture" nature of the product (basically, only these more privileged people will appreciate this style of music).
The man from Tivoli (or wherever) who falls into some money, what's the first thing he does? Yep, you guessed it, he goes to Adam Stewart's showroom and buys a Range Rover. He wants to make it known that he has money now and is no longer a "suffera".
Between all the dynamics involved in social class relations and identity who strolls in but... di loose gyal.
In many instances she is not lower class, but a greedy middle class dweller looking for more, always looking for more.
She wants to get places, she wants to be "uptown", she wants money... but she lacks the drive, the ability and is just plain lazy, so she decides she's gonna sleep her way to the top and she may very well do so providing an STD doesn't cloud the glass ceiling. [There may be other reasons, I just chose to list these]
The argument arose among this same group of intellectuals: could the loose gyal be seen as a legitimate upper class dweller seeing that all she does is roll around in the beds of rich old men...?
The same girl who sleeps with Tom this week for the grocery, sleeps with Dave for two weeks for the rent, wants a pair of name brand shoes and sleeps with Alex to get that..can she be seen as an upper class female with dispensable income?
She is creating the illusion that she is indeed a "regular uptown girl" who can do whatever she likes because she has the money, but behind closed doors she works real hard for that money...o soooo hard for it honey (lol... see what I did there?).
But at the end of it all... She effectively fooled the crowd. Without knowing her sex list we (the ones looking on) see her as being legitimately at the top of the food chain, we don't know where her income comes from (and we rarely question the source of income of the wealthy) but we know she has wads of cash to dash.
However, for those who know how she attained her Jimmy Choo shoes, can they still see her as how she wants to be perceived ....?
Let's hope so...
I was having an intellectual conversation with a group of intelligent graduates recently (bear with me as I create the scenario) and we were discussing the issue of social class in Jamaica and whether identity is a product of social class or if it is an independent entity. In arguing either point of view the factor of perception came in: whether the person wants be perceived as the class they belong to or another group. Let's look at how all this affects.... di loose hole gyal.
Social Class refers to a certain stratification within society where its members share common characteristics: be it in concepts about political, economic and social structures, be it colour... whatever it may be... they have some common characteristics.
Identity is defined as a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations (eg: cultural identity). We see then that identity is a fully SUBJECTIVE phenomenon.
Need I define di loose hole gyal? I doubt it.
Let's get into it then ....
Upper, Middle and Lower, are the most common social classes; However there are variations, Upper Middle, Lower Middle, etc... In Jamaica we have our own ways of knowing which class someone is from. Most often its their colour or their command of the English language, their attire and the list can go on and on. However many people are not comfortable within their social class and as such do not IDENTIFY with that class and try somehow to attain acceptance elsewhere.
Sean Paul is perhaps not the best example, but he is a so-called "rich kid" who did not conform to the confines of his upper class upbringing and decided to pursue a musical career which is a path lower classes take in order to attain social mobility. Due to his choice he has become accepted across all three classes. More "uptown" music like rock'n'roll and the heavy metal derivations would not see this level of acceptance due to the "high culture" nature of the product (basically, only these more privileged people will appreciate this style of music).
The man from Tivoli (or wherever) who falls into some money, what's the first thing he does? Yep, you guessed it, he goes to Adam Stewart's showroom and buys a Range Rover. He wants to make it known that he has money now and is no longer a "suffera".
Between all the dynamics involved in social class relations and identity who strolls in but... di loose gyal.
In many instances she is not lower class, but a greedy middle class dweller looking for more, always looking for more.
She wants to get places, she wants to be "uptown", she wants money... but she lacks the drive, the ability and is just plain lazy, so she decides she's gonna sleep her way to the top and she may very well do so providing an STD doesn't cloud the glass ceiling. [There may be other reasons, I just chose to list these]
The argument arose among this same group of intellectuals: could the loose gyal be seen as a legitimate upper class dweller seeing that all she does is roll around in the beds of rich old men...?
The same girl who sleeps with Tom this week for the grocery, sleeps with Dave for two weeks for the rent, wants a pair of name brand shoes and sleeps with Alex to get that..can she be seen as an upper class female with dispensable income?
She is creating the illusion that she is indeed a "regular uptown girl" who can do whatever she likes because she has the money, but behind closed doors she works real hard for that money...o soooo hard for it honey (lol... see what I did there?).
But at the end of it all... She effectively fooled the crowd. Without knowing her sex list we (the ones looking on) see her as being legitimately at the top of the food chain, we don't know where her income comes from (and we rarely question the source of income of the wealthy) but we know she has wads of cash to dash.
However, for those who know how she attained her Jimmy Choo shoes, can they still see her as how she wants to be perceived ....?
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