Zahra Gordon

The soca hit, Kick Een She Back Door, by Onyan and the Burning Flames has garnered much opposition from women’s groups and feminists in the Caribbean since its 2012 release. Organizations such as Red Thread, Women Against Rape (WAR) and Code Red For Gender have all argued that the song’s lyrics advocate violence against women and rape. There have been calls for its banning in the band’s native Antigua, as well as in Guyana, Grenada and most recently, Trinidad & Tobago.

The song seems to be gaining more popularity in T&T in recent months although it was released more than a year ago. I don’t have any questions about the song’s violent nature – I’m not even sure sexual innuendo is an accurate description. Yet, the recent petition calling for a ban on the song in T&T has me asking, Why? Why this song in particular?

My contention with the call for the ban is this: what about all the other songs that advocate violence against women, rape, hyper-masculinity and reinforce dangerous gender stereotypes more subtlety? Don’t these songs collectively have as much influence as this one overtly violent song?

 

I’ve attended a few parties recently and did make righteous attempts not to dance to the song, but have since given up on such righteous indignation. Once I sat down as the DJ put the song on and a male friend asked why. I said, “This song is about rape.” His response: “What?” He then laughed slightly. Quite honestly, the tune is catchy and if I’m not going to dance to Kick Een She Back Door at a party then I might as well stay at home.

It’s not that I don’t support the ban (or maybe, I don’t), but I think the call for a ban in T&T is reactionary. The call for bans in Antigua, Grenada and Guyana have all fallen on deaf ears and the song continues to receive airplay. In fact, the song won the Antigua Road March (most played song during Carnival) AFTER the call for a ban. In fact, according to Onyan, he and the Burning Flames are being requested to perform all over the region and have other bands requesting permission to cover the song.

I have seen people’s reactions to the song – the majority are enthusiastic. Even women do the high jump and feign the kicking in of some one’s back door when the song comes on.  This is not surprising. There was no call for a ban on the song Bedroom Bully – not in 1993, when Shabba Ranks first sang it and not in 2012 when Busy Signal released a remake. Bedroom Bully is yet another song that advocates rape and the meme that popped up alongside the 2012 rejuvenation of the song didn’t help either – it is literally a cartoon of a man dragging a woman to a bed. Granted, there was a female version of the meme in which the woman drags the man, but it was not as prevalent. So where was the call for a ban on Shabba Ranks or Busy Signal whether or not he was associated with the meme? 

Are we also going to call for a ban on misogynistic dancehall music in general? Or misogynistic hip-hop? I heard a Trinidadian radio station playing Rick Ross’ controversial U.O.E.N.O verse just the other day – the same verse in which he glorified rape. And I can’t count the many times I have been at a party and had to check some fool for grabbing me from behind without my permission and trying to dry hump me on the dance floor. Do we not remember Jamaican-style Passa Passa glory days? “Gyal play dead” or in other words “gyal lie down and let a man aggressively ram his pelvic area into your body.” 

It seems to me that the extent to which misogyny, sexism and gender-based violence permeates our community extends further than the songs that we listen to. In fact, what’s more likely is that the songs reflect a society already desensitized to violence and in particular violence against women. So feminists and women’s groups in the region should continue in their efforts to open dialogue, to advocate for sensitivity training across industries, to get programs in schools, push for legislation that does not further traumatize victims, etc. I don’t think a ban on one song can change people’s attitudes.

It’s also interesting to note the ways in which some “isms” seem privileged. Again, while listening to the radio the other day, Bunji Garlin’s 2005 Blaze de Fire came on and it occurred to me that there were homophobic lyrics to the song. It also occurred to me that I was singing along… In the same way that Onyan is perceived as encouraging men to violently perform anal rape, Bunji Garlin encourages his audience to “bun” (burn/set fire) to homosexuals. The lyrics: Bun! Some of dem big funny man who taking dem man over gyal.” (He also categorizes homosexuality as a crime by associating the “big funny” men with thieves and rapists) But there was no Bunji ban (please correct me if this issue was up for public discussion that I am not aware of). 

Still, my Kick Een saga had one redeeming moment. At a recent party,  my friend’s husband, who has his own subscriptions to machismo, say that he was turned off by the screaming and “murder, murder” lyrics which were added for comic? effect to Kick Een. His redeeming qualities went up about 5 notches when the song came on and he pulled out his car keys. “I don’t have to kick in no door,” he said. ” I have keys.”