#lgbjamaica

[lgbhistory]

Jones (or Jonesie)

Jonesie lived in Jamaica, Kingston. She was born circa 1920.

She is mentioned in the essay of Makeda Silvera “Man Royals and Sodomites: Some Thoughts on the Invisibility of Afro-Caribbean Lesbians,” as Makeda writes about conversations with her grandmother about lesbians in their community. Jonesie was one of those lesbians.

Besides, Ria Brodell wrote about Jonesie's life in her project "Butch Heroes".

Jones or,as some people called her, Jonesie was described as a “mannish-looking Indian Woman with flashy gold teeth."

She dressed in her husband’s clothes, smoked Craven A cigarettes and could often be found in her yard with her dogs, always barefoot.

She was loud and brazen, but generous and easy to talk to.

She loved to reminisce about her past and especially about her love of women, she would say things like, “Dem girls I use to have sex with was shapely. You shoulda know me when I was younger, pretty, and shapely just like the ‘omen dem I use to have as my ‘omen.” She would brag about how she could go to Coronation Market and pick up any woman she wanted.

The fact that Jonesie was married provided her with a certain amount of protection, because at the time if you were a "man royal" or a "sodomite",you would be persecuted, especially if you were unmarried.

People made fun of her, not because she was a lesbian, but because she would stumble home from the rumshop drunk. Jonesie was tough and no one would really mess with her and she threatened to beat up anybody who tried.