The following was published by the Bahamas Information Services. It is not our practice to comment on faith and morals. Life is what it is. We congratulate the University of The Bahamas for undertaking this study– Editor
Nassau, THE BAHAMAS — A controversial practice that has long occupied a prominent and visible space in the Bahamian society for generations, sweethearting, is the latest subject of empirical, scholarly research published by University of The Bahamas (UB).
UB’s open-access journal, the International Journal of Bahamian Studies (IJBS), has released a “special” edition of its 31st volume on the phenomenon of having more than one sexual partner at a time, commonly called sweethearting. It contains seven scholarly research articles which address a range of topics including a description of this practice, and how factors like adult aggression, emotional dependency, and sexual promiscuity come into play. There is also a personal account through the eyes of an adult considered by Bahamian society as an “inside” child. The authors gave highlights of their research during a lecture held at UB’s Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre on Tuesday 17th February.
“We have a lot of gossip, hearsay, guesswork in our society, but we don’t have a lot of rigorous empirical studies based on real research that involved interviewing people, statistical studies,” noted IJBS Managing Editor, Dr. Raymond Oenbring. “So that’s an important part of the journal and publications like this, is that it provides some data to support that.”
The IJBS’ editorial also explained that traditional words associated with intimate partnerships in The Bahamas need to be reconsidered and augmented to reflect prevailing sexual relationships, irrespective of sexual orientation. The point was made that it must reflect current sexual norms, and the attitudes of residents, rather than those who represent secular or sacred authorities.
UB scholar Mr. William Fielding, who, along with Dr. Terry Campbell, Head of UB’s Nursing Department, and Dr. Shamel Yvonne Rolle-Sands, Director, Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) Academy, conducted several studies on sweethearting, namely, “A Description of Sweethearting in The Bahamas”; “Emotional Dependency and Sweethearting in The Bahamas (I): Marital Infidelity”; and “Emotional Dependency and Sweethearting in The Bahamas (II): Sexual Promiscuity among Unmarried Persons”. Mr. Fielding also teamed up with Dr. Theresa Moxey-Adderley to conduct research on the topic, “A Description of Intimate Partnerships in The Bahamas and Their Association with Adult Aggression and Other Experiences”.
“What we’re trying to do is to go a little bit deeper and look at effects, consequences, causes, associations that people may not see,” said Mr. Fielding. “Once we get a better understanding as to what is going on and how the mechanisms work, then we can start to get a move away from just the subjective, emotional chatter that we have on the veranda, if you like, and just be a little bit more objective as to how we discuss this important subject.”
Dr. Rolle-Sands, highlighted the potential impact the studies can have on mitigating toxic relationships and ultimately domestic violence incidents like “crimes of passion”.
“Understanding the emotional drivers behind sweethearting can help us to move from judgment, because oftentimes we think of it only from a moral perspective,” said Dr. Rolle-Sands. “So, we need now to move from judgment of morality toward prevention and support. By addressing underlying emotional needs, we can promote healthier relationships, safer families, stronger communities, and by extension, a stronger Bahamas.”
UB Associate Professor Dr. Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean and UB alumna, Kendria Culmer, collaborated to produce the research, “Sweethearting in The Bahamas: Malfeasance or Misorientation?” The study provides a descriptive frame of the persistent issue of marital infidelity or sweethearting in The Bahamas, and the cultural value placed on the extramarital relationship.
UB Professor Dr. Marie Sairsingh, and UB English major, Rashay Forbes, collaborated to produce the research article, “Feminist Modes of Resistance within the Dynamics of Sweethearting in Jeanne Thompson’s Father’s Day”, which examines the topic of sweethearting as depicted by former judge and playwright, Jeanne Thompson.
The journal’s new issue also has an auto-ethnography of sweethearting, by an anonymous author, which explores the phenomenon through the eyes of an “inside child” whose parents committed adultery. The account provides a unique perspective from which others can reassess their understanding of infidelity in marriage and deepen their awareness of the outcomes associated with infidelity.
“The emotional side of sweethearting may be something that people overlook,” noted Mr. Fielding. “They may think about the financial side, they may think of the physical side, but there’s something deeper going on there. And, so, it enables us to go a little bit deeper and seeing what may be the consequences to the nation of this. Not necessarily in a negative way, but in the sense of ignoring it, and in accepting it, what is it that we are accepting?”
As UB advance new knowledge for national development, this research work peels back the layers of a practice that has long impacted the Bahamian society, while also bringing objective scholarly perspectives for a broad-based understanding of the factors, motivations, and impacts.
The latest edition of the IJBS is accessible on the UB website. Click here to read it: https://journals.sfu.ca/cob/index.php/files/index
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