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Memes, as used in popular culture, as ways of expressing ideas or passing thoughts in humorous ways. These images, created by myself can be seen as creative and funny ways to express frustration at gender inequality in the Caribbean.

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Over the course of Caribbean Civilization, what I have learned from listening to Dr. Campbell's lectures, and attending weekly tutorials has greatly widened my perspective on the issues of our society.
In particular, our studies on the topic of gender resonated with me on a personal level due to my experiences with the gender roles in my family.
Conducting research into the history of these gender roles has proven to be very informative, and has encouraged me to expand my knowledge on the history of the Caribbean.

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                                                                                                                                                Reflection

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                                                                                                                                                Reflection

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Duval, Sarah. "Gender Equality in the Caribbean." My Black Matters. N.p., 22 Dec. 2015. Web.

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To be a transgender, lesbian, or bisexual woman in the Caribbean means to not only face public shame but to also face violent brutality.

Duval concluded her article with statements on the issues being faced currently by women of the LGBT community. Furthermore she stated that social and systemic changes were needed drastically in the Caribbean to truly achieve gender equality

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The state of gender differences in the Caribbean

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The state of gender differences in the Caribbean

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An article by Sarah Duval, written December 22, 2015 is of great relevance to this discussion.

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According to Duval, the Caribbean is also placed within the top 10 countries that have reported incidents of rape

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A depiction of the "invisible glass ceiling" effect.

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Statistics also show that women  face discrimination in the workplace, in that they are often unable to be promoted past a certain point.
The concept of such a barrier existing that prevent women from rising is coined as the "invisible glass ceiling" effect by feminists

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In many places in the Caribbean, gender inequality is still a rampant concern for women.
In short, domestic violence is an issue many woman have to face in the Caribbean due to family strains resulting from poor economic conditions.

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                                                                                                                      However, we're not quite there yet...

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                                                                                                                      However, we're not quite there yet...

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Since then, our Caribbean society has made great progress towards true gender equality once again. For instance,  The Hon. Kamla Persad-Bissessar in Trinidad and Tobago, who served in office as the Prime Minister of her country from 2010-2015.

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The arrival of the European upset this balance, however, setting in action a chain of diasporic events that brought European and Asian gender inequality customs to the Caribbean.

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"Native Americans." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web.

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We can see that in pre-Columbian times, the Neo-Indians had a mostly balanced society, where men and women had different jobs and duties in upholding their tribes, but both were considered equally important.

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                                                                                                                          Movement towards equality in modern times

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                                                                                                                          Movement towards equality in modern times

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The indian men had access to education before the women did, although both genders were among the first to be educated together.

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Being the minority, women were also greatly coveted as wives. This benefited them due to the dowry tradition that originated in India.

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Venkat, Hema. "Trinidadian Postcard of Indentured Women." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016

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Women earning their own wages was also a very unusual practice in India itself, which led to tension between the men and women, often having violent outcomes.

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The women coming to Trinidad in 1845 were being paid even lower wages than the men, as their employers saw them as "assistants" rather than full workers

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FirstPost,News Feature, Sandip Roy, Posted: Jun 21, 2014. "Indian Slaves (indentured Labourers) -FOR BRITISH PROFIT." N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

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Indentured labourers from India who migrated to the Caribbean took great risks in doing so. This is particularly true for the women.
The women of India would have fled from lives of prostitution, abuse, and inescapable poverty due to the caste system. They were used to being treated poorly, and below the men in the patriarchal society of India.

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                                                                                                                                             Indentureship

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                                                                                                                                             Indentureship

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                                                                                                                                          The Neo-Indians

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                                                                                                                                          The Neo-Indians

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                                                                                                                                              The plantation

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                                                                                                                                              The plantation

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Honychurch, Lennox, Dr. Depiction of a Neo-Indian Village. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web.

Note the women performing household tasks - such as preparing meals - and the men going out on boats to fish

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Only in the late eighteenth century did planters place much value in women, when it became clear breeding strategies were necessary due to rising slave prices

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Women on the Coffee Plantation. Digital image. Www.gettyimages.com. Unknown, n.d. Web.

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In the early days of chattel slavery, the women were not considered at a high regard.
Many planters, when purchasing slaves from West Africa, chose to outfit the majority of their workforce with African males, as they considered the men to be far more capable at doing what the women did (Campbell 2012)
The women were assigned to more menial tasks, such as tending to the animal pens or weeding the crops.
The men were kept in the field, or rented out in jobbing gangs. Some were given the more dangerous tasks of specializing in the factories, more importance was placed on their role by their overseers.

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Slaves Greeting Plantation Owner Visiting the Slave Cabins. Digital image. www.alamy.com. Unknown, n.d. Web.
A depiction of a white planter, with his wife on his arm as he visited the slave lodgings.

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European women, while high in status compared to the enslaved Africans, were little more than accessories to the managers and owners of the plantations.
The white men in power held the women as trophies or as a portrayal of their wealth. The women of the sugar cane estates on the Caribbean plantations were given an education on select subjects, and taught European etiquette.

The white woman simultaneously occupied a position of power based on race, class, and condition of freedom yet one of subordination based on gender

Sturtz, Linda. The “Dimduke” and the Duchess of Chandos: Gender and Power in Jamaican Plantation Management—A Case Study. N.p.: n.p., 1999. Print.

On the other hand, the white men of the plantation had all the power as owners of their respective estates.

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@ancientorigins. "Wickliffe Mounds: A Pre-Columbian Native American Site." Ancient Origins. N.p., n.d. Web.

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In pre-colonial times, the Neo-Indian societies are believed to have persisted so long due to this societal structure. In some cases, the women found themselves with more rights than the men. For instance, they also had the right to divorce.
Nevertheless, when the Europeans rediscovered the New World, in enslaving the Natives they imposed a new structure onto the women of the tribes, in that they became more strictly - housewives and caretakers of the home. This was in fitting with the European standards of labour division, which were unequal, and was male-dominated.

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@isaacmeyers. "Native American War Paint." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

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The men of the Amerindian tribes would be responsible for the defense of the villagers

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Neo-Indian, or Amerindian, gender roles were very well defined. Deceptively so, in fact, as the European observers were of the belief that the workload was unevenly distributed in favor of the men.
However,  it has been found that men and women shared a mostly equal role in the functioning of their society. Though their daily tasks differed greatly, all were considered essential to their people.
For instance, the women would share some of the hard labour with the men, often seeing to the agricultural aspects, as well as some of the more household tasks like fetching water or cooking.
The men would be responsible for hunting, warfare and held much power in politics and religious affairs.
While the women worked hard on a daily basis, they were held at high regard, equal to that of the men in the tribes, due to their instrumental roles in keeping their villages running.

"Encyclopedia of the Great Plains." Encyclopedia of the Great Plains | NATIVE AMERICAN GENDER ROLES. N.p., n.d. Web.

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Photo of Machel Montano and Nicki Minaj Performing Together. Digital image. Unknown, n.d. Web.

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In modern times, we see women becoming idols of music, oftentimes performing solo acts that can equal those of men with respect to profits as well as feedback from society.

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Bajan Artist Rihanna Performing. Digital image. Unknown, n.d. Web.

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Cotton Culture - Covering in the Seed. Digital image. Social-Science-Soapbox. N.p., 7 Mar. 2011.Web.On the plantation, prior to the late 18th century, women were often made to work on the fields alongside the men, despite their comparative lack of strength.

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The Amerindians of the new world, before rediscovery of the Americas, had clearly defined gender roles in their civilization. The dynamic between the men and women of these native tribes have been studied and contrasted alongside those of both pre-slavery Africans and Africans on the plantation, as well as those of modern day society
With this in mind, it has been the point of discussion that civilization as a whole has collectively moved towards gender equality between men and women.

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Civilization has made great progress towards gender equality between men and women since pre-colonial times