I remember reading a brief article online about Rihanna\u2019s recent appearance and participation in her country\u2019s yearly Kadooment celebration and I was outraged at the media\u2019s response. Some called her costumes and moves \u2018scandalous,\u2019 \u2018raunchy\u2019 and \u2018overly sexual.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Ignorance!\u2019 I declared.\u00a0 \u00a0To me, these responses are rooted in these people\u2019s ignorance and their lack of knowledge about the roots and cultural celebrations and practices in the West Indies.<\/p>\n

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Being a proud West Indian who frequently participates in the yearly carnival celebrations dressed in costumes just as revealing as the one Rihanna wore and \u201cgetting on bad\u2019 like she did when she danced, I just could not understand Western media\u2019s outrage. Carnival and its celebrations is an integral part of West Indian life. A chance to play the role of someone we would otherwise not display publicly. \u00a0A chance to liberate yourself and release all inhibitions.\u00a0 It\u2019s good for the soul! Even the most religious and prude West Indians embrace and accept Carnival\u00a0as a necessary part of life. If only the Western media was aware on this, maybe they would not have responded to Rihanna the way they did. However, I doubt that the possession of this knowledge would change their perceptions.<\/p>\n

We saw the controversy develop around the \u2018dutty wine\u2019- a dance made popular by reggae dancehall culture. While some noted that the dance appears to be rooted in traditional West African fertility dances, others blasted it as a vulgar dance which exposes the scandalous nature of dancehall culture.
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