Jump Up, Turn Up, Dress Up: The Men Playing Mas at Carnival

Wearing colorful costumes at Caribbean carnivals isn’t just for women — but the gender politics are more complicated than ever

Photos courtesy of the author

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With the sweet sound of soca as their backdrop, Caribbean carnivals roll through the region’s various islands each year, each one a multiday blur of revelry, libations… and feathers. So many feathers. Feathers in every shape, color, and size imaginable — feathers that form the very foundation of “playing mas,” a centuries-old tradition of costumed celebration. And while it’s most often women wearing vibrant and flamboyant regalia, if you look closer you’ll see decked-out men throughout the crowd, pelting waist and wining to their heart’s content.

“For me and many others, there was a feeling of discovering a whole new world,” says Steven Lofters of his maiden reveling experience. He is one of the directors of the Jamaica-based band Xaymaca International, which, like all carnival bands, is responsible for creating sections with corresponding costumes for masqueraders. After his first time playing mas in 2006, Lofters founded LEHWEGO, a popular blog that shares insight on…