Gend3031

GEND3031 Study Guide

Topic 1: Femininity (Essay 1: How does feminism challenge conventional ideas about “women’s place” within the family and Caribbean societies?)

Key Terminology:
Hooks, Bell. Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. London: Pluto, 2000 * Feminism is ‘a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression’, hence it is not a movement that is anti-male or attempting to turn the tables to oppress or marginalise males. Ergo the problem is with sexism and not with males. The key aim of feminism is to bring about gender equality as well as equity for both males and females

Reddock, R. and Barrow, C. (ed) (2000) Caribbean Sociology. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers. * Feminism is the awareness of the oppression, exploitation and or subordination of women within society and the conscious action to change and transform that society. Feminist consciousness will be around as long as there is female oppression

Arguments: Patriarchal Definition of Femininity
Wieringa, Saskia in Patricia Mohammed, Gendered Realities: Essays in Caribbean Feminist Thought. Kingston, Jamaica: (University of the West Indies, 2002.)
Essentialism
* Essentialist theorists on the other hand, have highlighted that ‘women’s sexual difference from men is the cause of women’s oppression.’ Therefore women have been deemed biologically unfit or unequal to their male counterparts by this theory. The foundation of the argument is based on biology and genes, which essentialists have claimed makes each gender distinct, causing women to be ‘“naturally” suited to fulfil certain roles regardless of intellect, desires, expertise, or experience.’

Arguments: Against Traditional Views of Femininity
Constructivism
* Whilst essentialists believe that it is the woman’s innate sexual difference that causes her oppression, constructivist feminist theorist Wittig, has noted that oppression is what causes sexual difference and not the sexual difference that causes oppression. * Whilst essentialists have considered sexual behaviour to be fixed constructivist believe such behaviours are ‘fluid and changeable human action in its historically determined forms.’

Morris Zelditch in Parsons, Talcott, and Robert Freed Bales. Family, Socialization and Interaction Process,Glencoe, IL: Free, 1955.
Nuclear Family * Within the nuclear family there is a tendency to differentiate roles. In this Western middle class family structure, the male is given the role of “task leader”, giving him the right to dictate directions, opinions and suggestions. The female receives a more subservient and submissive role, where she is expected to give emotional and moral support.
Gemma Tang Nain and Barbara Bailey. Gender Equality in the Caribbean: Reality or Illusion. Kingston [Jamaica: (I. Randle, 2003.) * By subscribing to societies norms, many women have thought there placements in society to be ‘natural’ rather than choice * However, the inconsistency can be measured by research and historical documentation which has proven otherwise; demonstrating that socialisation as well as culture is a greater contributor to gender inequality than anything other one factor

Janet Momsen in Hilary Beckles and Verene Shepherd. Caribbean Freedom: Economy and Society from Emancipation to the Present : A Student Reader. Princeton: (M. Wiener, 1996). * Janet Momsen- ‘women were physiologically better able to withstand the stress of the middle passage and slave life, although they were less well-nourished than men.’ This was the main reason for a female dominant labour force in the plantation society * Despite women being the dominant labour force, men held elite positions, a key feature in plantation society.

Patricia Mohammed and Althea Perkins. Caribbean Women at the Crossroads: The Paradox of Motherhood among Women of Barbados, St. Lucia and Dominica. Mona, Jamaica: (Canoe, University of the West Indies, 1999.) * Women have experienced progression and have transitioned to roles beyond the home, but have not escaped a life that revolves around child bearing and child rearing. Patricia Hill Collins has highlighted that though a considerable number of black women have shifted from domestic services to industrial and clerical work, things have only slightly changed, if they have changed at all, as women have been incorporated into low wage sectors, gaining salaries which cannot suffice family expense Bureau Of Women's Affairs, "The National Policy Statement on Women." The National Policy Statement on Women. Government of Jamaica, n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. http://www.bwa-jamaica.gov.jm/documents/national-policy-statement-on-women. * Most employed women are in female-dominated occupations that have low status and wages and poor working conditions. Odette Parry in Patricia Mohammed, Gendered Realities: Essays in Caribbean Feminist Thought * Women on a wider scale have participated in, have attained and are attaining higher level education, but by remaining in the lower paying sectors of the labour market, they have been prevented from gaining economic strength, which would lead to more egalitarian arrangements Verene Shepherd, Women in Caribbean History: The British-colonised Territories. Kingston: (I. Randle, 1999.) * Dispelled such assertions, highlighting that Caribbean women have had a long history of political activity especially in public affairs, as they were active in slave rebellions and at times were even vanguards

Gemma Tang Nain and Barbara Bailey. Gender Equality in the Caribbean: Reality or Illusion. * Suggestions for female improvement Beijing Platform for action in 1995; a conference whose goal is equality for all women. * Some of the suggestions put forward by this conference are that: 1) women should have equal access to education. 2) illiteracy among women should be eradicated and 3) sufficient resources should be allocated for maintaining the implementation of educational reform. * Suggestions are easy to make. However, implementing such suggestions is where matters become problematic. * Whilst women have received the right to have equal educational opportunities, it has not challenged the patriarchal systems, thus according to Barbara Bailey education “reproduces and reinforces the social order.”

Parsons, Talcott, and Robert Freed Bales. Family, Socialisation and Interaction Process. Glencoe, IL: Free, 1955. (Raschid)

Lindsey, Linda L. Gender Roles: A Sociological Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
Theoretical Perspectives: Functionalism pp. 4-7 * Functionalism is based on premise that society is made up of interdependent parts, each of which contributes to the functioning of the whole society * Functionalists seek to identify: * The different parts of society and how these functions within the larger society (micro perspective) * How the entire society operates or functions (macro perspective) * The three major theoretical paradigms (Dahrendorf) * Functionalism: * The major parts of society * The interactions of these parts * The consequences of each for the operation of society * Social conflict: * The division of society * The major patterns of social inequality * The categories of people who attempt to protect privilege * The categories of people who want to improve social position * Symbolic interaction * The experience in society * How human beings in interaction generate, sustain and change social patterns * Behavioural change of individuals in one situation to another * Functionalism and the role of women * In preindustrial societies men were hunters and were frequently away from home. Their responsibility was to bring food to the family. As for women their mobility was limited by pregnancy, childbirth, nursing of children, and caring for the household * Due to the development of men and women in preindustrial societies men activities/action is of greater values than female ones. This pattern has become institutionalised * Functionalism in the modern family argues similarly. The husband-father takes on the instrumental role of maintaining the basic social and physical integrity of family by providing food and shelter. The wife-mother takes on the expressive role by providing emotional support through the nurturing qualities and sustaining the family unit. A deviation from these roles would lead to disequilibrium. A functionalist argues that in modern times the ambiguity in gender role is a major element in divorce * Functionalism offers a reasonably sound explanation for the origin of gender role differentiation. However, functionalism has difficulty in analysing the current diversity of family patterns and marital roles since traditional roles have evolved.

Theoretical Perspectives: Conflict Theory pp. 7-11 * Conflict theory arises from the 19th century writings of Karl Marx. Marx believed that there is conflict when there is struggle among social classes competing for control over the means of production * Conflict theorists argue that the traditional family structure is a master-slave or exploiter-exploited relationship. The household is an autocracy with the husband’s supremacy unquestioned. Friedrich Engels argue that women’s emancipation can only occur when women take part in production on a large scale and that domestic work is no longer the dominant source of work for women

Theoretical Perspectives: Feminist Theories pp.13-17 * Feminism involves the opposition to the sexism and patriarchy inherent in most societies. Feminist theory provides the ideological framework for addressing women’s inferior social position and the social, political, and economic discrimination which perpetuates it * Liberal feminism * Liberal feminism is based on the Enlightenment tenets of faith in rationality, a belief that women and men have the same rational faculties * Liberal feminist model believe that women need to be integrated into a wider array of roles such as employment outside the home and that men need to assume greater responsibility for domestic tasks * Liberal feminists believe it is not necessary to have a complete restructuring of society but merely to alter it to incorporate women into equitable roles * Socialist feminism * Socialist feminism is based on the Marx-Engels model that suggest the inferior position of women is linked to a class-based capitalistic system and the family structure within such a system * The socialist feminist view maintains that in order to free women the capitalistic economic system needs to be changed. They believe that through a socialist revolution sexism and economic oppression of women can be changed * Unlike liberal feminism, socialist feminism believes there need to be a fundamental change required in the institutions of the economy and the family if women’s equality is to be achieved * Radical feminism * Radical feminist theory came into being during the late 1960s and early 1970s during the civil rights and anti-war movements of the time * Contemporary radical feminists view sexism as the core of patriarchal society, with all its social institutions reflecting this reality. In order to overcome this radical feminists believe that women must create their own separate institutions (women-centred institutions) and sever their relationships with men

Gender Role Development: Margaret Mead pp. 20-21 * Does biology play a role in determining the sociocultural, attitudinal and behavioural differences between male and female? Anthropologist Margaret Mead argues that it is cultural rather than biological that women and men act the way they do * In her studies in Papua New Guinea (1930s) she was able to find three tribes Arapesh, Mundugumor, and the Tchumbuli * In the Arapesh tribe both men and women exhibited the qualities of nurturance and compliance. Both men and women took to child rearing and childcare responsibilities. She argued that there were no distinguishing difference between male and female roles * In the Mundugumor tribe both male and female exhibited strong independent characters. Both mothers and fathers demonstrated little in the way of tenderness toward their children. Like the Arapesh the Mundugumor did not differentiate personality in terms of gender * The Tchumbuli demonstrated reverse gender roles. The women engaged in fishing, weaving and trading activities making them the economic providers * Through this research she demonstrates that masculine and feminine are culturally created rather than biologically determined. Although it is true that we can identify biological differences between female and male, the idea of masculinity and femininity is not biological

Gender and Family Relations pp. 182-208 * Motherhood * The demographics of motherhood has changed dramatically especially since the 1950s as women achieved career and educational goals. For instance marriage and motherhood is often delayed, which explains why so many women are having children in their 30s and 40s. * Many career oriented women are also unwilling to give up either motherhood or professional roles, they are adapting their beliefs about family and parenting accordingly * Indicated in recent research younger professional women are already demonstrating higher rates of childlessness than older professional women. This demonstrates the further weakening of the motherhood mandate in modern society * Linda Lindsey argues that the acceptance of feminist values by a larger proportion of women would also likely affect notions about motherhood. * Gerson shows that college women who subjectively identify with feminism are less interested in having children – this indicates a negative relationship between feminism and motherhood * With the rise of feminist ideas the traditional definitions of motherhood are being challenged * The African-American Family * Due to economic oppression rooted in racial discrimination for African American it has shifted the gender roles significantly among Africa-American families * With the underemployment of black men, black women have assumed provider roles for the family * Trends that have emerged from black families headed by women is the emergence of ‘black matriarchy’ which means the decision-making and other family power and responsibilities rest in the hands of women rather than men * Recent research indicate that among African-American families 47 per cent are female-led households * The idea of black matriarchy has done untold damage by creating and reinforcing stereotypes of superhuman women and weak and absent men, who are then blamed for the circumstances in which they find themselves

Women, Work and the Workplace pp. 234-258 * Women’s Employment: The Effects on Society * Trends suggest that women in younger age groups (20 to 34), married women with children, and better-educated women will enter the labour force in greater numbers * If trend continues one of the most pressing needs women face is childcare options. The situation is especially acute for dual-career families and single-parent families * Effects of Women Working on Their Families * An employed wife and mother affects her family. This is especially true for female heads of households and dual-career families may feel these strains most strongly because the woman tends to be employed on a full-time permanent basis * The effect of working women on their children is equivocal. Some writings have suggest maternal deprivation, however other sources have shown otherwise

Topic 2: Slavery and the implications today (Essay 3: To what extent do contemporary Caribbean societies reproduce power inequalities that existed during enslavement?

Definition: According to the Oxford dictionary new edition 1982, a slave is a person who is the legal property of another and is bound to absolute obedience, human chattel.

Bush, Barbara. Slave Women in Caribbean Society, 1650-1838. Kingston: Heinemann (Caribbean), 1990. * Marriage and morality amongst slaves, according to contemporary observers, either did not exist, or existed only in unstable, uncivilized forms, such as polygamy. * Slaves were not just immoral but amoral. * Miseries and toils of everyday labour left slave women exhausted, preventing them from taking up roles in the household and marriage * African slaves suffered cultural dislocation and total severance from their traditional kinship ties * Slave society was characterised by unstable personal, sexual and familial relationships and atmosphere of cultural and social anomie * MG smith suggested that it would have been impossible for slaves to establish stable marriages in slavery, as they lacked kinship and lineage groups to sanction and give permanence to unions * Marriage was not encouraged in British West Indian slave societies such as Jamaica and St. Vincent * Planters linked promiscuity to inherent African traits, NB: Promiscuity was used to define any sexual behaviour which deviates from the narrow limitations of lifelong monogamy * Negative interpretations of the slave experience informed studies of modern black family structure, portraying them as pathological or an unhealthy and inadequate deviation from the norm

Beckles, Hilary, and Verene Shepherd. Caribbean Freedom: Economy and Society from Emancipation to the Present:A Student Reader. Princeton: M. Weiner, 1996.

Rodgers-Rose, La Frances. The Black Woman. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1980.
African Woman Prior to Slavery: * African women in Africa, were held in high esteem as a result of their reproductive function and were looked at in a god like manner to the extent that they were associated with giving birth to the universe. * Within West Africa Women held high economic positions and controlled certain industries, such as pottery as well as the making and selling of cloth. Whatever women earned belonged to them, thus women had access to the power of wealth. The West African woman was also the breadwinner; responsible for raising food for the family through money earned as well as by planting and maintaining crops. * Unlike European women, West African women’s roles extended beyond mother and wife. Women were chiefs in some West African societies and had their own organisations which men could not attend. * For the most part, women spent most of their time with each other than their husbands. * Chief among all her roles was that of Motherhood as the survival and care of children were the most important functions men and women could perform. * During the Period of childrearing a woman could not have been tied down to role obligations with the husband. In fact there was a three year separation between the two up until weaning. * This three year separation gave the woman the chance to space her children as well as recuperate from childbirth. The relationship between the West African man and woman was a visiting one as they lived in separate homes and only made contact when necessary

Beckles, Hilary. Centring Woman: Gender Discourses in Caribbean Slave Society. Kingston: I. Randle, 1999)
Black Women and the Political Economy of Slavery pp. 2-21 * By the mid 17th century slave owners had legislated the principle of matrilineal reproduction of slave status – this meant that the offspring of slave woman would be born into slavery * The womanhood of black slaves was legally constituted as a reproduction device that offered the continuity of the slave system * The labour regime in which the black women were placed was no different to the rigour of black male slaves: * Mature women hoed the soil, dug drains, cut and bundled canes, planted new canes and other physically demanding tasks * Younger women did light work such as weeding, grass picking, tending cattle and miscellaneous plantation tasks * Female children look after the stocks, carried water to the fields etc. * to be viewed by black males as slave work, rather tham woman’s work * The colonial gender discourse confronted and assaulted traditional concepts of womanhood in both Europe and Africa, and sought to redefine notions of black feminine identity * The black woman was ideologically constructed as ‘non-feminine’ by placing emphasis on muscular capabilities, physical strength, aggressive carriage and sturdiness * The ideological defeminisation of black woman contributed to a gender order that negated black motherhood and devalued maternity * Before 1780s slave women were given a short respite from labour in the advanced stages of pregnancy * Slave owners found themselves placed in a difficult and paradoxical position with respect to their gender thinking * Although they made claim to possession of an egalitarian ideology, within black women were not recognised as inferior or subordinate to black men – as demonstrated in their labour productivity – there was no intention on their part of weakening the dominant patriarchy to which the black male also subscribed and was partially empowered * Slave owners while promoting gender egalitarianism under the whip, sought to defeminise the black woman in this way by inferring a sameness with males * The high infant mortality also led to a shift in policy undertaken by the slave owners * By the late 18th century there was a development of ‘woman policy’ by promoting black motherhood and the representation of black woman as a natural nurturer – everyone’s nanny, granny and auntie * The promotion of pro-natal policies to encourage natural reproduction as a method to ensure labour supply in the long term * Slave owners encouraged young slaves to form Christian-style marriages as monogamous relations were considered more conducive to high fertility than African polygyny

Old Doll’s Daughters pp. 125-139 * Colour was a critical factor in status achievement and social experiences, and also enhanced ideological differences between the black and coloured communities * Bayley points out that free-coloureds treated their black domestics more harshly than did whites, probably because they saw in these women the origins of their own slavery background * Within the enslaved society domestic work was considered greater prestige than field work in the slave context * Domestic work was usually given to coloured women of lighter complexion – these women were often the illegitimate children of planters

Historicising Slavery in Caribbean Feminism pp. 174-193 * Historical paradigms derived from slave society continue to persist in present Caribbean society * For example, ‘white women consumed, black women laboured and coloured women served’

Hill, Collins Patricia. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge, 2000.

Orelus, Pierre W. The Agony of Masculinity: Race, Gender and Education in the Age of ‘new’ Racism and Patriarchy. New York: Peter Lang, 2010. * Orelus has claimed that, from slavery onwards it has been the privilege of straight white males to establish the norm and standards of masculinity. However the same can be said for females, as the white woman was set as a model for what a true woman should be * Upon being emasculated, many slave men resorted to violence against women and other male slaves. Slaves replicated the violent forms of masculinity, authoritarian, violent attitude and behaviour of their white male slave masters * Orelus quotes Bell hooks as stating that black men were most likely to accept norms of masculinity set by white culture. (rape, absenteeism, promiscuity and violence on a whole)

Topic 3: Regulation of sexuality (Essay 4: What are the restrictions to sexual emancipation and how valid is the claim that women are gaining more control over their sexuality in the Caribbean region?)

Terminology:
Sexuality

Regulation (Social Regulation)

Reading Summary:
Kempadoo, Kamala. "Sexuality in the Caribbean: Theory and Research (with an Emphasis on the Anglophone Caribbean)." Social and Economic Studies 52, no. 3 (September 2003): 59-88.

Marshall, Annecka, Sajoya Alcott, and Lorna Eaton. "Gender Dynamics and Approaches to Sexuality as a Key to Well-Being." Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies 35, no. 2 (June 2010 ): 1-19.

Weeks, Jeffrey. Sexuality 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2006.