Feminism is described as the belief that both men and women should have equal rights in all areas of life socially, economically and politically. What does it mean to be a feminist in the Caribbean countries? Does it bear the hallmarks of global feminism? I will attempt to answer these questions by drawing my arguments on this issue mainly from two sources. One is by Gabrielle Hosein, who talks about why the feminist movement has been slow to take in the Caribbean. She writes, "Examining the Caribbean consumption of North American-produced feminist knowledge, I demonstrate why ideas, critiques and preoccupations, even feminist ones, cannot merely ‘go global.' The second source titled “Decolonizing Feminism: The Home-Grown Roots of Caribbean Women’s Movement” by Paravisini-Gebert. It tackles the history of the rise of feminism in these countries and how it has evolved over the years. It underscores the importance of fashioning a movement that is specific to these women as they are not merely dealing with gender inequality but also imperialism and colonialism. So, is feminism a one-size-fits-all concept or does it need to be haute couture, seamlessly tailored for each setting?
Lately, there has been a call for this movement in the Caribbean to be global or emulate the global feminism led mainly by white women in Europe and America where individualism is highly encouraged and does not take into account that these women face the same issues and thus cannot afford to fight individually. As it turns out, white is not always right. However, issues of racism and sexuality were not addressed and thus there is now a call to fashion the movement to the needs of the women involved. In this case, it means poor women, black women, and women of indigenous races in the Caribbean region.
The movement, at first, was not efficient because they had not accounted for these gross differences with the majority of the Caribbean inhabitants being of African descent and making up the majority of the working class. The non-inclusion of these women was prompted by a destructive school of thought that poor, working-class women were not feminist enough to participate. These are ideologies carried over from colonial times that need to be destroyed before any progress can be achieved in the movement.
Is feminism just a bunch of angry women who do not know their place in society? Do you believe that men and women are equal or are women's sole purpose in society to get married and be a housewife? I beg to differ as there is mounting evidence that we are becoming the men we wish today’s men were. Racism, class-based prejudice, and even heterosexism has prompted the movement to be updated to include these women and fight for their rights as well. "Class and racial struggles assumed priority over the gender struggle, even though class and racial struggles might have been experienced in gender-specific, and indeed sex-specific" (Fox-Genovese, 95). Lizabeth in her article "Decolonizing Feminism: The Home-Grown Roots of Caribbean Women's Movements" discussed how important it is to move away from the Eurocentric feminist theories as they do not account for the issues of racism and imperialism.
The second source proved to be a rich plethora of information on the feminism struggle in the Caribbean and how far-reaching the effects of colonialism have crippled it.
There is a persistent issue of the appropriation of the European culture whereby women who have Eurocentric features like being of a lighter skin-tone are more privileged and thus do not realize the struggles their fellow women undergo. Such thoughts are indicative of the deep roots the colonialism planted and have largely crippled the inclusion of women of African in the movements. However, the tune is changing, and these women have decided to form their powerful movements where they are slowly accepting their heritage in all its entirety, dark skin tone, kinky hair, straight or gay. These women have united to fight for the greater good and have realized that the global feminist movement does not suit them.
The main challenge I have encountered in researching this topic is the scarcity of earlier literature on feminism and the major issue they have all recounted is the reluctance of the women to participate as well as men because feminism is one-sided which begs the question, how can one not be rooting for themselves? There has also been little scholarship on feminism in the Caribbean which means that the women most in need may not be aware of their situation and how to fight for equality.
Feminist courses are now being offered in these countries in institutions of higher learning and now more than ever, women are being encouraged that no dream is out of their reach including marrying a househusband. So, ask yourself whether you will have a main course meal of feminism served with a side dish of more feminism.
Works Cited
Fox-Genovese, E. Within the Plantation Household: Black and White Women of the Old South. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998.
Hosein, G. J. Feminist Theory and Activism in Global Perspective: FR Conference Proceedings e116-e129. [Web].
Paravisini-Gebert, L. Decolonizing Feminism: The Home-Grown Roots of Caribbean Women’s Movements. Daughters of Caliban: Essays on the 20th Century Caribbean Women. Springfield, Bloomington: Indiana University, 1997.
