Just to start a new thread that might be of help to new visitors - or old visitors -
When in Jamaica, please please have respect for the culture and do not wear inappropriate attire when off the beach. Also, a cover up would be appreciated when hanging out in a beach bar.
I've been a visitor to Jamaica for over 30 years, first to Negril and I can tell you one of the downfalls of that community was when visitors thought it alright to walk up nude or barely clothed to town or into a restaurant. I hate to hear that this attitude is coming now to Treasure Beach.
If these visitors want to flaunt their bodies, they should seek out a nudist community...or stay in Negril. Jamaicans are modest, respectful and should not have to endure the attitude of "it's mine, I paid for it so I can do as I please".
Respect.

Very well said Coverup

Yes yes yes. Thank-you Coverup.

Driving through Negril has gotten ugly. If I wanted to see people's parts hanging out of their bathing suits I would find a magazine that featured them. It is a shame people cannot distinguish between their individual freedoms and their offensiveness to others. How selfish and oblivious can one get.

I agree with you we need more respect..

I can't help but laugh. Have you been to a dance recently!! Some of those outfits don't hide much and when dem start fi wine up pon one anedda. An before anyone say dat is different, remember, dem haffa go outta street/walk pon de road to get to de dance!

I think you are going way overboard,naked is one thing but walking around a beach in 90 degree heat when people are on their holidays just does not seem all that bad to me,if you think people pay thousands of pounds to have fun in the sun and then you think they are going to mess about putting long frilly underskirts on and a poloneck sweater to please fuddy duddys,you think wrong!...now going to church dressed like that is another matter,relax chill out get on with aligning your underskirt!

If you go inside a church in Italy, ladies shoulders must be covered, they must have on a skirt and they must also be wearing a head covering. This shows respect for the customs and beliefs of those who live in Italy. In most restaurants you must be wearing shoes and a shirt, even if it is a very casual place. Though these are rules, they are done to not make others uncomfortable. Things are much more relaxed in Treasure Beach, but we still must remember we are visiting a small place where the local people have gone out of their way to welcome us and be kind. It is good manners to be kind in return and to not do things they might find offensive. That is what people who care about each other do.

Foreigners who decide to stay awhile, purchase a vehicle or land or do any other business in Jamaica should be aware that dress codes exist in many places besides on the road or in a beach bar. Please be aware that it is considered disrespectful for a man to enter public buildings without a shirt and women may be turned away from the tax office, hospitals, immigration offices and other municipal buildings if they wear sleeveless tops or short shorts. Sometimes the Jamaicans will look the other way and let you get away with it, but it is not considered proper and your standing in the community will be diminished.

I went to a local store in TB to pick up some grocery items. It was hot and I was full of suntan oil and had no shirt. I was told to put on a shirt. I did. Then as I was sitting on the bench outside the store, a local came in. He had on NO shirt, yet nothing was said to him. Why is that? Discrimination ot a double standard?
Also, as far as short shorts or bikinis, did anyone think that maybe some of these folks do not realize that some Jamaicans consider it disrespectful? Some customs in country's are spelled out real well. This is not. In all of my readings of do's and dont's this is one I did not see...

who would go to the tax office dressed in a dancehall outfit anyway?
some people are moaning about the beach road,people have obviously been on the beach ,having fun it is what people travel all the way for if their bodies disgust you look away or if your heads are already covered just cover your eyes too and live in a world where everybody is silenced and told what they can do and what they can wear and how and when,come on there is having a bit of respect and then there is people trying to be a bit too controlling.

If I spend lots of money and patronize the hotels, businesses and people of TB, and am then enjoying a hot day at the beach, and then someone says "let's walk back on the road", am I going to put on a shirt? Heck no!

If we take the BEACH out of Treasure Beach, what else is there? Respect is due, sure, but come on, it is a fishing and beach community. People coming from colder climes are thrilled to take advantage of an opportunity to dress down....and do we seriously expect folks to bring anything other than beach attire, especially when they're paying extra for luggage these days? I believe most TB residents aren't upset by any of this.

i totally agree with you mnken...................ur totally right

"a coverup would be appreciated when hanging out at a beach bar"
IT IS A BEACH BAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!
However, you are right about being upon the road !
ONE LOVE !!
Mike

dont you think teacher should dress respecfully,what example are they setting for the younger generation.

Sorry, disagree, that you don't like the customs here. Maybe you would be happier somewhere else?

Lets face it,alot of people are just more attractive with a little fabric on their bodies. Letting it "all hang out" at the beach bar is understandable ,but it is easy enough to carry a wrap or t-shirt, for the road home.No need to offend anyone.Respect yourself and the world around you.The customs of Treasure Beach are what has made it "Treasure Beach". There are alot of other places to go if you need to embar"ass" yourselves!

Jill, intolerance is never a good thing in a free society. I am happy living "somewhere else" right now, but it's always nice to be back home where I thankfully still have the right to wear what I like. I'm also happy that you have that right as well. Live and let live.

There is a code of conduct that a lot of foreigners just don't understand. As a Jamaican (and a very liberal, tolerant one at that), I can not stand to see people walking on the road in their bathingsuit. For some reason it just looks wrong. Treasure Beach is not just a tourist destination, it is very much a living breathing community apart from tourism. The understood code of dress in most tourist destinations is that on the roads or streets as well as under covered areas (bars, restaurants, shops etc), people should dress appropriately. For the man that was told to put his shirt on but the Jamaican didn't have to, I suspect that he might have been doing some sort of labour in the area and had his shirt off. For that he might have been forgiven.

Wish I was there to help set up the fire truck Axel. You need the right hoses, connectors, pump and nozzle. Sounds like a trip to Spanish Town Road.

Some dress (or undress) to pull the eye, some because they feel encumbered by fabric when near warm salt water.

Remember the peace of the womb?

First time and maybe still, some communities bath skyclad in the rivers while observing understood codes of behaviour.

The sensitive will know or ask what is appropriate. If respect for local culture is not practiced in dress it probably will be lacking in other areas.

Males are often confused by the mixed signals of the teasers in a culture where nudity is eroticised. Public diplay in the mammals is a sign of readiness to multiply and a call for a mate/s. We are mammals.

Just went through a brutal winer here and miss said warm salt water and my warm hearted friends.

Later.

This thread seemed to start with just another "fat joke," i.e. no one likes to look at unattractive naked fat people. That was a bit depressing, since its an old joke and not really very funny. But the discussion then somehow tried to raise itself to a cultural conversation, as if it represented a legitimate issue. I don't think it is.

TB's success with community tourism is the mutual respect that I've always found between the tourists and the people who live there. What ruined Negril (for some)and every other fine place on this earth wasn't ugly people going nude, shirtless, or in shorts, but the twin evils of investment and greed. How much of the beachfront is owned by Jamaicans? Negril has no Jamaican culture any more. It could be in California, France, Germany, anywhere. I can get Jerk Chicken in Albany. That doesn't make it Jamaica.

Most of us tourists understand that respect is due for people's sensitivities, and that except in places where it is explicitly tolerated, nudity is not generally accepted.

A beach-bar is a beach-bar; a restaurant is a restaurant. Most people can tell the difference and dress/act accordingly.

I hope that attractiveness of body type isn't going to be the entry requirement for a vacation in Treasure Beach. I wouldn't make the cut. Even though I'm not really fat (just big boned) I'm sure no one thinks me an attractive addition to the beach. I do hope that the businesses I patronize and the people I talk with appreciate my business and willingness to learn.

I may have missed it, but I've never seen anything really untoward in TB in the terms of dress.

I live in a tourist destination much more developed than TB and have to put up with a lot of @($&% during the summer tourist season. Unfortunately some of that comes with the territory, the bad with the good. TB for me has been welcoming, relaxed, and "live and let live." If the TB community goes for Spring Break, Singles resorts, Stadium concerts, Moneymoneymoney, then its own culture will simply be ignored like local culture is ingnored everywhere that's sold itself, and the "debate" on this thread will seem like a naive fairy tale fable from the past. The only culture will be the euro/dollar. It'll go something like "Once upon a time there was a nice town that wanted its visitors to have a good time, but not to act too crazy or go naked. Then the town advertised for Great Bars, Drinking College Kids, and anything money could buy. Money bought the town and it became very nasty, and all the local people could do was whatever the rich people told them to do." Let's not.

I can't wait for my once a year trip to TB in February, and don't expect anything but a wonderful, relaxing time in which I can re-charge for a return to my day-to-day work life. I hope nobody minds if me, my wife and daughter go swimming, wear shorts and sandals, walk the lanes, and eat at restaurants.

Couldn't have said it better myself Van. Thanks.

I think we all should behave as we would expect visitors to our own town, where ever it may be. I visited Negril (Hedo to be exact) and the only place it is accepted to be nude is the pool and the nude beach, where everyone is doing the same. They do actually put on clothing to have dinner I can't wait to visit Treasure Beach! I am absolutlely looking forward to an actual Jamaican cultural experience!!! Real people, food, drink and surroundings! Sounds perfect!

"Treasure Beach is not just a tourist destination, it is very much a living breathing community apart from tourism."

And thank goodness for that, it is part of the reason I enjoy spending time there.

Beach attire is great for being on the beach, personally I put on a cover-up when off the sand.

well u no what if this continues i guess there soon be a law in treasure beach to put on clothing wen in the sea or out the sea and no tourist wont be there because peolpe look for a warm holiday well if ur frm a cold place every one wantzz their rightsssssssssssssssssssssssss

ok so should i but on a long dress wen goin in tha sea too???????????

Let's all just take a deep breath and look at this subject as it was presented. I think "ohliz" summed it up the best.

"Treasure Beach is not just a tourist destination, it is very much a living breathing community apart from tourism."

And thank goodness for that, it is part of the reason I enjoy spending time there.

Beach attire is great for being on the beach, personally I put on a cover-up when off the sand.

No one is saying you need to be fully clothed to go swimming. The original objection was regarding someone wearing a bikini walking down the street, not the beach.

Let us not blow this subject out of proportion, but learn to respect a loving and caring community.

Okay, okay. When I read Ms. Henzell's thanks for the fire help, and all the other positive stuff it reminds me why I like Treasure Beach and save and wait all year for a few weeks TB immersion. I agree, your community (and dare I say mine for a few days a year) is more than tourism, and again, that's why I return. It's what should be and I wish you/us all luck in keeping it so. This year my wife's coming for her second trip and my daughter for her first. I hope to see friends again in a few weeks.

why not start a new topicccccc

The topic of maintaining and growing Treasure Beach as a unique and restful place should always be alive to comment.

Maybe the clothing issue has worn thin.

Thanks for your perspective Van. I hope this message travels far.

For someone who lives and works in a tourist area to look forward to staying in TB says much.

Moneymoneymoney is a useful tool but a ruthless master.