CARNIVAL 2023 is over, but it is still generating much discussion, primarily about the designs of some of the costumes worn by too many females in the eleven bands that paraded through the streets of Castries on Monday and Tuesday of this week.
To be clear, this piece is not about carnival per se, but about the items of clothing worn by female revellers. The male revellers were always, and not surprisingly, decently attired, their shorts reaching down to their knees. Too many female revellers were dressed in costumes that were downright disgusting and lewd.
Yes, Saint Lucia Carnival has evolved from when it was first recorded here in 1947. Even more changes were made to the event when the dates were changed from February to July so that it would not be overshadowed by carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. Changes were also made for more global visibility for carnival.
However, such changes must be for the betterment, advancement and further improvement of carnival and by extension the culture of Saint Lucians. Our culture should not evolve in a downward spiral of debauchery and immodesty, which is what we see is happening, though no one in authority seemingly wanting to apply the brakes to stop the headlong rush to the bottom of the barrel.
We are talking about carnival bands decking out their female revellers in outfits that show 95 percent or more of their nakedness, which was on display for the world to see this past Monday and Tuesday. Shockingly, this has been the trend over the past few years, however, each year the bands seem to push the envelope to the point where they have now moved from panty and bra costumes, to thong and nipple coverings. Nothing was left to the imagination. A lewd and crude display of all that the females had to offer.
In other words, we seemed to have surpassed normal limits of costume creativity. If we understand the origins of our carnival, why and how our carnival came into being, we will know that this type of ‘creativity’ should not be allowed in our carnival. Somebody has to stand up and say enough is enough. The minds that produce these costumes are not creative minds but simply minds that are infected by lewdness, smut, immorality and a lust for lasciviousness and the erotic.
We expect a backlash from our so-called artists and vaval lovers for saying this, but we will stand our ground. A thong and piece of material covering only the nipples of our female revellers cannot be deemed creative. Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a bikini bottom, but at the back the material is reduced to a minimum.
The thongs on display this past Monday and Tuesday barely covered the female revellers genitals, anus and perineum, and left uncovered their buttocks. The back of the thong consisted of a thin waistband and a thin strip of material, designed to be worn between the buttocks, that connects the middle of the waistband with the bottom front of the thong.
What place does such exposure have in our carnival except to feed the voyeuristic and sexual desires of some so-called carnival lovers?
We understand that carnival is much more than dance, music, colour and shimmering costumes, and that the Government of Saint Lucia has invested heavily in it to give it more visibility on a global scale. However, this does not mean that this integral part of our culture should be downgraded to a thong.
Should we now parade in our carnival like the Emperor, who in the fairy tale, claimed to have new clothes on but in reality, was naked, a fact brought to light not by the adults in the country, but by a child.
What moral guidance and example do we offer our children? May Heaven help us all.