Spate of broken penises in Jamaica

VIDEO: What is Daggering?



Spate of broken penises in Jamaica

Erotic 'daggering' dance craze causing bodily harm

By Kate Schneider

NEWS.com.au

June 03, 2009 10:10am

* "Daggering" dance craze controversial
* Spate of broken penises in Jamaica
* Facing government crackdown

AN erotic dance craze is thought to be the cause of a recent spate of broken penises in Jamaica, and now faces a government crackdown.

"Daggering", a lewd dance style where couples simulate dry sex in various positions to the beat of the music, is characterised by over-the-top gyrating, heavy pelvis-thrusting and daredevil leaps.

Many couples have taken the daggering dance from the club to the bedroom, with disastrous consequences.

Jamaican doctors were prompted to issue a warning on the dangers of daggering when presented with a range of fractured penises caused by rough intercourse.

The number of cases tripled in the last year, the UK's Sun reports.

The rising popularity of the new dance - and subsequent public protests - have prompted the Jamaican government to ban songs and videos with blatantly sexual content.
Jamaica's Broadcasting Commission, which defines daggering as a "colloquial term used in dancehall culture as a reference to hardcore sex or what is popularly referred to as 'dry sex' or the activities of persons engaged in the public simulation of various sexual acts and positions", enforced the ban in February.

"There shall not be transmitted through radio or television or cable services, any recording, live song or music video which promotes the act of 'daggering', or which makes reference to, or is otherwise suggestive of 'daggeringâ'," the Jamaican Broadcasting Commission's official statement said.

Daggering is a newly accepted name for an activity that has been present in Jamaica's dancehalls for many years. It is roughly the equivalent of the Caribbean's "cabin stabbing", another crude style of music and dance.

"Daggering is a dance that makes you unleash the beast! If you ain't know what I mean think about every sex position and put it in a dance," commenter Driva said of the dance.

A series of YouTube videos depict daggering as a rough, and sometimes violent, act which can be demeaning to women. One video shows popular group RDX performing its song Daggering live, with one member simulating extremely rough dry sex on the floor with a woman.
The community is divided over the dance, with singers up in arms over the ban, saying it stifles their right to free speech, but others welcome the ban.