The modern Caribbean woman -- she is every woman; a phenomenal woman; and a woman of class and stature

Who is the modern Caribbean woman?

By Julie Charles

Although she is born and bred in steep tradition filled with a rich culture and heritage, there is much that the Caribbean woman carries on her platter.  Should she be a mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, modern day professional, and the defender of her culture or is her role one of revolutionising the expectations?

Today’s Caribbean woman has evolved into a superwoman, carrying the burdens of society on her shoulders much like her ancestors did before her but with additional responsibilities.  She is a decision maker in government, head of financial institutions, and CEO of mighty conglomerates, yet still she is expected to be wife and mother, friend and counsellor, spiritual guide and all around guru for all that ails the nations.

Can she really fulfil this enormous task?   

She already has with her, strength and intelligence, mixed with good old fashion common sense.   She has forged ahead while her other worldly counterparts are still wondering where to begin.

How does she accomplish so much, yet able to raise a nation?  Simply by allowing the wisdom of the mother, grandmother, aunts, and other elders filter through her.  She understands fully that she is nothing without her heritage or her ancestors.  She infuses what she knows with what she continues to learn and makes her decisions.   She then monitors the situation until a better solution can be found and then she implements.  She appears fearless when it comes to living and, although fear is necessary to remain alert, she understands that fear is a healthy emotion and uses it wisely.

Can she stand the test of time?  Not only can she stand the test but she can pass with flying colours.  Why? Because her character is made of strongest steel, her mind is as sharp as the sharpest cutlass, her body is well taken care of and her spirit is the core of who she really is.   Her spirit is resilient, no matter the obstacles.  It is constantly fed by her beliefs, which were ingrained in her as a child but has carried her through to womanhood. She is indeed invincible, for no matter the situation or circumstance, the modern Caribbean woman does not falter.  She may buckle but she does not fall.

Am I only speaking of a professional woman?   No, this refers to all Caribbean women, as they are special women found nowhere else in the world.  They are all shades of brown and black, they are of many different shapes, they are from many backgrounds but one thing makes them unique and that is they are uniquely Caribbean.  Their skin bathed by the warm Caribbean sun, their eyelashes brushed by the Caribbean breeze, and their hearts warmed by the love of their country.

Caribbean women for many years carried the weight of their communities on their shoulders and it was a responsibility that they readily accepted.  They were able to shape the society and teach boys how to become men.  This mantle has now been passed on to the modern Caribbean woman. She has to fulfil all that is expected of her.

The expectations are:

• She is to raise her children to be meaningful contributing adults
• She is to ensure that her husband is taken care of
• She is to take care of her aging parents and relatives
• She is expected to be a good friend and confidant
• She is expected to excel at her job whatever it may be – from office attendant to prime minister
• She is expect to continue learning no matter the format
• She is expected to volunteer of her time and resources to ensure that her community remains healthy and safe
• Her spiritual life must be healthy so that she can provide guidance to those in need
• She is expected to take care of her health so that she does not inherit those known Caribbean diseases should as hypertension, diabetes, and most recently HIV/AIDS
• Finally, she is expected to have some fun through music and dance. It was embedded in her to enjoy the riddims of the drums and ring out in all Caribbean music.

The modern Caribbean woman is a woman who is light years ahead of her time.  She is a pepper pot of modern day teachings with old people sayings.  She loves fully and is not afraid or ashamed to show it.  Her beliefs have been instilled in her as a child and they have not departed but rather, they have gotten stronger with each passing day. She knows that modern technology has its place in her world, but she will never forsake her old teachings and remedies.  She is an eclectic mix of the old and the new worlds.

The modern Caribbean woman -- she is every woman; a phenomenal woman; and a woman of class and stature.

February 18, 2012

caribbeannewsnow

What is 'The Help?' A Caribbean perspective

By Rebecca Theodore


It is a fantasy of a post racial America narrated in the voice of a black person by a white woman. It is a story of African American maids in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1950s and 1960s. It is a time and place when black women helped raise white babies, and yet could not use the same bathroom as their white employers.

Set in the Deep South, ‘The Help’ portrays African-American women in subjugated roles and relies on tired stereotypes of black men. ‘The Help’ misrepresents African American speech and culture and omits civil rights activism.

‘The Help’ calls up memories for many affluent whites of being nurtured and cared for by black women, who might have been more like mothers to them than their own white birth mothers.

It is in ‘The Help’ that novelist Kathryn Stockett opens up old racial wounds and presents a deluded picture of hope for black people, who are still considered to be subhuman by mainstream white America.

And I am not amused.

I am not amused because Stockett has maligned the lines between black and white women in America and the Caribbean and it is not impolite of me to write about it. I did not experience slavery or the ravages of the civil rights movement but I am the offspring of slaves who left the same African port but anchored on a different shore, therefore I have the right to speak for I have no fear of being heard.

I do not speak African American vernacular English because I was born on a Caribbean island called Dominica, where vestiges of slavery still decorate the landscape. I was taught the perils of slavery by West Indian historian, Dr Eric Williams in the ‘Making of the West Indies’ and ‘Capitalism and Slavery.’

And I am disturbed.

I am disturbed because Ms Stockett has crossed a terrible line, writing in the voice of a black person. I speak a different accent and I do not understand that voice. The ‘infantilization’ of black women in ‘The Help’ also includes me and my Caribbean sisters everywhere, for we know what it is like to be told in America, “You have a different accent.”

Ms Stockett, Caribbean women may not have raised white babies to be racist like you but there are many Caribbean domestic workers living in the South. The brutal rapes and sexual harassment that they experience behind the iron gates and closed doors of white employers never make the headlines because they are denied the right to organize and bargain collectively.

Domestic workers are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act. They have little recourse to challenge abusive behavior and no union protection. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bans sexual harassment in the workplace, but domestic workers do not enjoy this privilege because the private space of a home, behind closed doors or iron gates does not constitute a workplace.

Reports from the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women concludes that half of all foreign domestic women workers in the South report that they are victims of verbal and physical abuse and rape.

Yes, Ms Stockett, their hushed violence continues in silence while you profit as the hero.

You have used racism as a means to engender white solipsism by allowing white women the power to make it seem that their experiences are wholly representative of all women’s experiences, thus resulting in misinterpreted myths and the advancement of your history by exploitation and greed.

And I am angry.

I am angry because you have made slavery appear as a convenient formula for others to follow. You have used racism as stigmata for entertainment and have belittled the experiences of domestic workers in America and the Caribbean.

But I’ll forever be a confident black woman.

I will be a confident black woman because I know my history and I have powerful black role models as my guide. You have used the dependable voices of Abilene, Minnie and Skeeter to further deify systematic racism in America.

But at the end, you still needed black women to tell your story. At the bitter end, Ms Stockett, you still need black women as your guide.

August 17, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International