Daggering- The Dance

Until recently, Jamaicans celebrated February as Black History Month, following on the African American tradition, which is aimed at commemorating our history and achievement as Africans in the West. Now, we celebrate February as Reggae Month in order to mark the immense contribution of Reggae music to the development of Jamaica. At this time, Dancehall, which is currently Jamaica’s most popular genre and an offshoot of Reggae, has come under serious fire and is currently a hot subject on the lips of many as the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica has banned songs containing the word “Daggaring/ Daggering” from the Jamaican airwaves.

“Daggering” is a term which has recently become popular in the Jamaican entertainment industry. It is commonly used as a noun or verb, bearing spellings such as: dagga, dagger, and daggar. The term refers to the engagement of a man and woman in aggressive dance imitating sex–both man and woman attempting to show their sexual prowess. There are a slew of songs and activities celebrating Daggering. Some songs are even done on popular Gospel, Calypso, Dancehall and even Kumina rhythms. The wildfire that Daggering has sent across Jamaica has made it the center of national discussion. Even today’s Sunday Gleaner is dominated by this controversial theme–It seems everyone has caught onto Daggering (like it or not)!

Like a lot of Jamaicans, I got very passionate before properly researching the issue. There are many themes, which emerged as I gathered information: the Dancehall sub-culture, identity, morality, religion, history, socialization, human rights, sexuality, gender, social stratification, poverty, power and politics. The artists, dancers and fans who promote the new dance certainly don’t perceive it as immoral. On the contrary, the actors always seem to be having a good time or are caught up in their protagonist roles. Critics are however, horrified by the physical movements and lyrics that popularize it–it’s unfit for the mass media, it’s promoting violent sex, it’s immoral for our children to see and hear, it defies our preservation of sex as a private act.

For me, the dance and songs containing the word “Daggering” represent another attempt to diversify and enrich the Dancehall culture, increasing its entertainment value and appeal. Erotic songs have emerged throughout the course of the development of popular Jamaican music, giving rise to popular acts like Lady Saw and Queen Patra. In fact, many of our artists debut as specialists in producing either or both “erotic” or “violent” songs.

Over my life I have experienced several bans on songs, because they drew such controversies as being disrespectful, overly sexual, or violent. Each time an expression is banned, another one emerges from the woodwork. Will it ever end–This endless ocean of controversial expressions? Our artists are banned and ostracized everywhere for their flaming or lusting tongues. Some Jamaicans have even led a public protest against those purveyors of the Daggering message, but what about the host of other stakeholders who should be chastised for permeating our airwaves with this ‘evil’.

It is full time that we lobby Government for the implementation of a standardized rating/classification system to guide the publication of information emerging from the creative geniuses of all Jamaicans. I believe the Jamaican Broadcasting Commission needs to dig deeper into its pockets and create a sustainable solution and human rights approach to the management of information available to the public. From my experience, censorship contributes to the growth of underground movements, and thus:

I believe it is important that we, as a society, assess the situation keenly, recognizing that the rating system X for erotic and V for violent content can be applied to songs, books, videos, and as such, restrict their use to private spaces, without encroaching on freedom of expression.

The truth is, we need to cap Daggering and other controversial (erotic and violent) content, but we must do so recognizing the rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders. However, we can’t stop eroticism by censorship, but we can certainly encourage social responsibility about sex and the use of  sexual content by: implementing a rating system; educating people about their human rights and responsibilities, especially children’s right to protection from harmful and exploitative content, freedom of expression and association, privacy, and safe environmental conditions; and put policies and legislation in place to guide  behavior, assess and monitor public spaces accessible to our children, such as public transportation and street dances.

The pornographic industry is very big in Jamaica, as elsewhere in the world, and therefore there is high demand for erotic songs and dances like Daggering. This might just be an opportunity for Jamaica to dominate a new sub-genre of music, continuing on its path as a major contributor and shaper of world music.