small axe 59 • July 2019 • DOI 10.1215/07990537-7703253 © Small Axe, Inc. Constructing “Gaydren”: The Transnational Politics of Same-Sex Desire in 1970s and 1980s Jamaica Matthew Chin In a letter dated 9 May 1980, Frances Camden*, the treasurer of Jamaica’s Gay Freedom Movement (GFM), addresses Jackie Forster, the editor of the grassroots British lesbian publi- cation Sappho. 1 “Greetings from Jamaica,” she writes. “I had the pleasure of meeting you while in London in 1977. It is such a while ago that I guess you will not remember me. . . . Be that as it may, I hope we will be able to pick up the pieces and develop some sort of correspondence between Jamaican and British lesbians.” Camden goes on to describe the work of GFM and the participation of women in GFM’s eforts, and she concludes with a request: “We would appreciate if some sort of exchange of newsletters, ideas and other useful materials were encouraged and maintained.” 2 In a letter dated 17 June 1980, Forster enthusiastically replies, Please forgive me for taking so long to reply to your wonderful letter which we will publish in Sappho. . . . Yes, I do remember you and are touched that you remembered Sappho and me all this time. Great news about all the things you are doing. Wonderful people all of you! . . . My 1 In the discussion of the history of GFM, some individuals are named by pseudonym, indicated with an asterisk at frst mention. GFM founder Larry Chang and Jamaica Gaily News columnist Donna Smith gave me permission to use their real names; Jackie Forster has publicly associated herself with Sappho. For the rest, either I have not been able to contact them, or they have asked me to conceal their identities. 2 Frances Camden, letter to Jackie Forster, 9 May 1980. Downloaded from https://read.dukeupress.edu/small-axe/article-pdf/23/2 (2)/17/619161/0230017.pdf by FORDHAM UNIV user on 29 July 2019