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Religion was a major factor practiced in all of the previously stated civilizations. The indigenous people, West Africans and Indentured Indians all practiced their unique forms of religion. However, as a form of conformity and power over these masses, their religion were not recognized by the whites. They were then given the solution of converting to the Christianity. This conversion allowed their marriages to be recognized, but with this advantage comes a major disadvantage, which was allocated roles for women. In other words this conversion promoted housewifization and domestic females.

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Figure 10

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Figure 9

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Figure 8

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Portia Simpson Miller, Former Jamaican Prime Minister  

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Portia Simpson Miller, Former Jamaican Prime Minister  

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Figure 7

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Figure 6

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Not all working female slaves served in domestic roles; while the Big House, laundry kettles, and gardens had its share of Negresses, the fields were also flocked of 'field wenches'-referred by overseers, who shared the burdens of cotton picking along side their own black husbands. In a stark contrast to their white mistress' and the masters' ruffle-flounced daughters, their worlds were unimaginably divided in extreme proportions.

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Figure 5

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The Servants: Butlers, Maid, Domestic Help, Baby Sitters, ECT.

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Domestic jobs were a major occupation for African-American women for many years. As most people remember from the movie “The Help” many black households depended on the money to maintain their households. In addition to agricultural labor, female slaves knew what it was like to work in plantation owner’s homes and the practice continued as …

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White men taking advantage of enslaved African woman 

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White men taking advantage of enslaved African woman 

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Figure 4

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West African women, Sexuality to                             Economy  

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West African women, Sexuality to                             Economy  

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*Note: there is an attachment*

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The African female was ascribed not only economic responsibilities when purchased as a slave. Often sexual duties and childbearing were of primary importance to the plantocracy and white men were inexplicably drawn to the 'exotic charms' of African womanhood.

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Enslaved West African Women had more responsibilities in comparison to her male counterpart, some of these being;

bare children as well as feed and take care for them

. Female slaves toiled on the plantation, as seen in Figure 6

work in the household as domestic enslaved i.e. cook, clean and take care of their slave owner’s children, as illustrated in Figure 5

Females were raped by white masters which left them psychologically and physically scarred. *figure4*

Even though they were given some privileges, they still were at the bottom of the social strata

The hierarchical order on the Plantation was as follows;

1. White slave owners,

2.  female slave owners,

3.  male slaves and then

4.  female slaves.

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Other Indigenous Civilizations and the Roles of Their Women 

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Other Indigenous Civilizations and the Roles of Their Women 

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The role of woman During Ancient Latin America

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The role of Woman during the Ancient Latin America

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Painting by John Gabriel Stedman in 1818 of a Carib family

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Painting by John Gabriel Stedman in 1818 of a Carib family

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                                    Tainos

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                                    Tainos

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Indigenous Arawak people of the Caribbean and Florida, were the principal inhabitants of most of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Puerto Rico.

http://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/pre-colonial-history/taino-indigenous-caribbeans/
Feb 12, 2016

The importance of family alliances were reflected in daily village life, that is, they shared food, property, land,canoes and tools.
The women and girls of the villages had allocated duties, which comprised of ;
planting of crops
Preparing and cooking food, which was first consumed by the men in the village then the women and young children were allowed to eat.
The women were also skilled in weaving and spinning, making artifacts such as hammocks and baskets as seen in Figure 2

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Figure 3

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Figure 2

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Figure 1

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          Breaking the Glass Ceiling,                                                           Women's toil from Housewife to CEO

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          Breaking the Glass Ceiling,                                                           Women's toil from Housewife to CEO

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Name: Ayoka  Babatunde
Year: 1
Semester: 2
Degree Program: Sociology
Tutor: Aakeil Murray
ID number: 816003625

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The Mayan civilization was known as America's first advanced civilization, occupying central American, Belize, Guatemala and the western edge of Honduras. Being one of the most dominant civilizations of mesoamerica, the Mayan people lived in many divided cities headed by hereditary priest-kings. They mostly comprised of peasant farmers which the women as seen in Figure 1 above prepared the harvested crop for the family.

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May 1836, the first indentured laborers landed in Guiana. The indentured Indians were a patriarchal dominant society.
From this the prediction of oppressed women can be made. The roles of indentured Indian women consisted of;
Working on the plantations
Tending to the children as illustrated in figure 10
Cooking for their family
and being subordinate to the males on the plantation
The indentured Indian women experienced the same if not worse treatment as the West African enslaved women had.

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West African Women (From slavery to role diversity) 1500's - present 

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West African Women (From slavery to role diversity) 1500's - present 

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The first shipload of enslaved West Africans came to the Caribbean in 1518.
These enslaved women contributed to the function of the plantation life style in various ways. I has been misinterpreted that these women only had domestic functions, however, they played major roles in the plantation society.
Enslaved West African women were subordinate because of race but were also oppressed due to belonging to the female gender. Women slaves played a key role in the development of slave communities through the development of African Sexuality, Family Structure and Economic Productivity.

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Also known as Caribs are Amerindian people whose origins are from the northern coast of South America, & southern West Indies. They lived in the Lesser Antilles islands.

The early Kalinago culture was patriarchal in nature.

The important domestic duties, food & clothing provision, plus farming were all carried out by the women (see Figure 3 of Carib woman in traditional dress above).

The women, with their children, also slept in separate houses from the men.

The women in were held in high esteem.

Also the island Carib society was more socially egalitarian than that of Taíno society.

http://alchemipedia.blogspot.com/2009/12/carib-island-carib-kalingo-people.html

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Indigenous people, also known as the aboriginal people, were nomads whom settled in various parts of the world. They are considered to have a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre- colonialization, in other words they existed pre-literature and pre-history.
The women whom belong to these civilizations, were major contributors to their functions though the mostly conducted "traditional female roles". These roles comprised of caring for the offspring of the tribe, preparing food for the family and being subordinate to their male counter parts.
Some of the major indigenous civilizations are; the Mayans, Tainos and Kalinagos.

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Caribbean women has experienced a lot in their life time. However, they have also developed themselves in more ways than one.
Contemporary Caribbean women have achieved role diversity, developed rights and are continuing to educate themselves, breaking the glass ceiling.
Some of the achievements and progress Caribbean women have made through time are;

International women's day

rights equal to their male counterparts, such as the right to vote and work breaking the housewifization stereotype.

Feminist movements

Sports, music, fashion, modeling and other entertainment avenues

Caribbean women are a major factor in the success, development and diversity of the Caribbean society presently. The Indo-Trinidadian community have developed themselves, leaving behind the dominant patriarchal practice. They are now seen as equals and the women are quite successful, Trinidad and Tobago's former Prime Minister, Mrs Kamla Persad Bissessar is one of the many examples of this development.
Afro-Trinbagonian women have also made much development compared to their West African ancestors. Though most are statistically proven to still practice, female single parent families or matrifocality, they have empowered themselves to become major role models in society today. Wendy Fitz- Williams, former miss universe and single mother is an exceptional illustration of this development.
Caribbean being such a diverse society, in every aspect, manifested mixed races whom are also breaking the glass ceiling.
However, though some women have broken the glass ceiling, many are still trapped and in need of empowerment. Feminist movements and celebrations such as International Women's Day and Mother's day are major contributors for women to one day no longer be oppressed, restrained or discriminated against. The future holds women empowerment, for equal rights and justice, and when that goal is accomplished we can all review women's toil to CEO.

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Exemplary females with roots in the Islands
NAOMI CAMPBELL
Country: Jamaica
Claim to Fame: World renowned supermodel
The Britain born supermodel, with Jamaican roots, Naomi Campbell began her modeling journey at 17. Naomi Campbell was the first black woman to appear on the covers of French and British Vogue and the first black model to appear on the cover of Time.

In addition to modeling, Campbell has pursued acting and music careers, the latter of which has been particularly successful in Japan. Her singing career peaked with the hit "Love and Tears." Her debut album Baby Woman sold over 1 million copies. She is active in promoting the welfare of children in Africa and has worked with Nelson Mandela since 1997.

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Top Caribbean Power Women: Leaders in Politics, Music, and More

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In honor of Caribbean Heritage Month, BlackEnterprise.com highlights top leaders of Caribbean descent in sports, politics, entertainment and more. RIHANNA Country: Barbados Claim to Fame: Award-winning singer; holder of the most BillBoard No. 1 singles The Bajan beauty hit the music scene in 2005 with her single "Pon de Replay."

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1. https://othersociologist.com/sociology-of-sexuality/

2. https://www.google.tt/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fgenderinincaempire.wikispaces.com%2Ffile%2Fview%2Finca_women_weaving.jpg%2F70875015%2F684x513%2Finca_women_weaving.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fgenderinincaempire.wikispaces.com%2F&docid=e7mpXvhjjgOlhM&tbnid=UDfuFr6iDC4NrM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjs35zCz7PTAhWB1CYKHb9dAIIQMwgkKAUwBQ..i&w=684&h=513&bih=638&biw=1366&q=inca%20women%20roles&ved=0ahUKEwjs35zCz7PTAhWB1CYKHb9dAIIQMwgkKAUwBQ&iact=mrc&uact=8

3. https://www.slideshare.net/RecklessLee/the-role-of-woman-during-ancient-latin-america

4. http://alchemipedia.blogspot.com/2009/12/carib-island-carib-kalingo-people.html

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Caribbean Civilization was an enlightening course experience. It has opened my eyes to the many falsities I had previously learned, giving me new, refined and  more accurate knowledge about the Caribbean, its history and its identity. At the beginning of the course, I was completely confident  in my previously learned knowledge, one may even say overconfident or ignorant to there being any other truth to the history of the Caribbean other than what I had been taught from primary to secondary school.
However, after listening to the lectures and attending my tutorial sessions, I gained much knowledge about the precolonial and colonial era of the Caribbean region. Information such as, the white laborers being treated just as badly as the slaves and some even worse.
Though all the topics were interrelated, the topic of Caribbean sexuality and Gender relations, impacted me the most. This was due to my strong beliefs in women rights and coming from a family of strong, independent, successful women. Learning about the experiences pre-colonial women experienced and what some women experience in society today, made me even more passionate about the topic, me being a young woman myself growing in society.
The online lectures though quite accommodating were not as encouraging as I had anticipated it to be. Since I am more of a face to face interactive learner the way in which the course was broadcast was to my disadvantage. However, its attempt to encourage regionalism among the students did somewhat help as they were conversing during the lecture presentation.
In summery Caribbean Civilization was an insightful, knowledgeable experience, which should offer physical and online lectures, accommodating everyone.

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Caribbean Civilization is a revisionist course which comprises of various topics in relation to the Caribbean, its history and its identity. However the topic of my personal bias is, Caribbean Sexuality and Gender Relations. This topic has the objectives of:

Being able to relate Victorian gender ideology to androcentric historiography in the region, explaining the contributions and manifestation of gender roles over time in Caribbean society and obtaining enough knowledge to discuss the concept of hegemonic masculinity in relation to Caribbean society.

These objectives were taught through three major sub-topics;

Gender in the Caribbean.

Tracing Gender Issues in Caribbean Society.

Caribbean Masculinity.

The topic is a combination of two factors which aids in the manifestation of our Caribbean identity. According to Dr Zuleyka Zevallos, an Australian sociologist, "sexuality is the description of ones sexual identity, attraction, and experiences which may or may not relate with sex and gender. This includes but is not limited to heterosexuality, homosexuality (gay or lesbian), bisexuality, queer and so on. Sex and gender do not always align. Just as gender is a social construction, so too is sexuality. This is another way of saying sexuality is socially determined and it varies in its expression across culture, time, and place."
Through this portfolio one will gain knowledge of the roles of Caribbean women through time, from the pre-colonial era to present. Since much focus was not aimed on the roles of women in the course, this portfolio shall give a better understanding of the turmoil women underwent to become where they are in today's society.
The dynamic diversity of changes in the roles of Caribbean women can be analyzed through many factors such as, a review of Caribbean women, that is indigenous civilizations, African women and Indian women, analyzing traditional matrifocality, contemporary Caribbean women

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Matrifocality is a concept referring to households that consist of one or more adult women and their children without the presence of fathers.
Single-parent families headed by women, for example, are matrifocal since the daily life of the family is organized around the mother.

African-Caribbean families.
Approximately 80 to 90 percent of families in the Caribbean are from an African background, and came as slaves to the region. Most of them settled in Jamaica, Barbados, and other Caribbean islands. Almost half of the population in both Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana is of African descent (Barrow 1996).

Matrifocal house hold range from four basic types of family structures that affect childrearing, values, and lifestyles. Hyacinth Evans and Rose Davies (1996) describe these as (1) the marital union; (2) the common-law union (the parents live together, but are not legally married); (3) the visiting union (the mother still lives in the parents' home); and (4) the single parent family.
These house holds were created through enslavement and the plantation society. Since the planters only thought of their personal economic profits, the kept the enslaved men working at all times, sometimes even selling them to other colonies to keep them from creating a family and becoming less productive on the plantation. As a result of these selfish acts, the enslaved women lead their household, from performing their expected duties on the plantation to supporting her family.
This form of family, quite popular in the Caribbean region is illustrated through many literature, one of these are the famous,
" My Mother Who Fathered Me"  Edith Clarke 1957

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Caribbean women have come a long way through history, from the indigenous women,  enslaved West Africans  and indentured laborers, to the women whom make up society today.
Some Caribbean women whom have made extraordinary advancements in society today are;
Audrey Jeffers ,through social work,  Kamla Persad-Bissessear and Portia Simpson Miller  through politics.
The journey of the opportunities women are able to access today can be examined through, traditional matrifocality and the contemporary Caribbean woman.