ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author makes an initial exploration into the implications of this phenomenon for Jamaica in terms of class and cultural politics, as well as its relation to the politics of sustainable development. Jamaica’s middle classes have tended to display externally oriented, cosmopolitan consumer habits, as have similar class groups in postcolonial societies elsewhere. Ital chic represents a significantly conservative politics, because it dislocates ital from the complex and contested domain in which it originated. Political consumerism has become a formidable global force, with consumer choices emerging as an easy-access form of market-based politics. There are a number of categories in which ital chic seems evident, relating to hairstyles, wellness, fashion, and food. As the sharpest Rastafari elements are pacified or at least sanitized, ital chic may provide middle-class Jamaicans with a currently fashionable way to embrace a locally rooted lifestyle without sacrificing a cosmopolitan orientation in terms of comfort and style.
