“The Caribbean today is characterized by grave intolerance and mistrust at all levels.” by Brianna Nelson https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp Understanding what influences these harsh realities in the Caribbean. en-us 2019-11-27 02:11:57 UTC 2023-02-06 11:58:47 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/269c.png Introduction nelsonbrianna39 https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp/wish/416971471 Throughout history, the Caribbean has faced a multitude of changes. Before the arrival of the Europeans, there were the indigenous tribes who lived in these islands. From South America, these nomadic people finally settled where they formed civilisations/tribes known as the Tainos (Caribs) and Kalinagos (Arawaks). These tribes lived peacefully until they were bombarded by the Europeans.  This was the beginning of colonisation, where the Spanish, French, Dutch and the British began taking control over the indigenous people of the different islands. This led to the genocide of the indigenous tribes and the importation of slaves from West Africa to work on plantations. After the freeing of the slaves, indentureship encouraged East Indians to settle in these islands where labour was needed for the working of the plantations. Due to this history, a melting pot of cultures was made into what one knows as the Caribbean today. Although there is a high level of diversification of the Caribbean, many factors have led to the mistrust and intolerable nature of it. This includes religion and its views on the LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual) community, colourism and gender inequality throughout society.]]> 2019-11-27 02:30:38 UTC https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp/wish/416971471 Religion and its views on the LGBTQIA community nelsonbrianna39 https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp/wish/417543007 Colonisation and the Encomienda system has played a pivotal role in the influence of religion within the Caribbean space. Europeans expectation of religion was to provide a counter to the alleged excessive brutality and lawlessness that was traditionally associated with the indigenous tribes. In the fifteenth century, the arrival of the Spaniards created a "solution" by introducing Roman Catholicism into the Caribbean space. This was known as the Encomienda system. During the Spanish hegemony, many Catholic clergies came to the region where; they were not only to spread the religion but to influence the minds of people of the newly found land. Their stated purpose was to minister to the needs of the colonists and to convert and educate the 'native' peoples, which would lead to the salvation of souls and ultimately a better colonial society. Despite these instructions, their evangelical mission was inhibited by their materialistic attitudes to the business of colonisation. Therefore, their acquisition of wealth and the extraction of labour from the native people became their main goal, like the secular settlers. This led to widespread genocide of the native settlers by the enslavement of working on fields and growing crops for the Spanish. Due to the lack of time, they died from malnutrition and starvation. Their lack of immunity from foreign diseases brought by the Spanish also contributed to their extinction. In the seventeenth century, the end of the Spanish hegemony caused the Caribbean to be opened up to more diversified doctrines and teachings. Other Christian religions were introduced such as; Anglicanism (Church of England), Moravian, Methodism, Presbyterianism (Church of Scotland) and the Dutch Reformed and Lutheran churches. These institutions all continued the belief that Africans were not to be included with their faith communities. Change only happened when the Quakers and Baptists arrived. 
Today, Christianity is the dominating religion in the Caribbean space. Within Christianity, the religion is based on the teachings of the Holy Bible. The Bible stated in the book of Leviticus, chapter eighteen; verse twenty-two, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination". This scripture with many other scriptures found in the Bible influenced many ideals of the Caribbean. Most islands, especially former British colonies, assumed the natives to be "corrupt and licentious" and formulated harsh laws against same-sex relations. These 'buggery' laws are a remnant of the colonial era as well as the nonrecognition of same-sex marriage or unions. Trinidad and Tobago is one such example where same-sex relations, marriages and unions are illegal, with a maximum twenty five year prison sentence. On April 12th 2018, the high court of Trinidad and Tobago ruled Sections thirteen and sixteen of the Sexual Offenses Act "unconstitutional, illegal, null (and) void.” The LGBTQIA community celebrated the ruling on July 28th 2018, with its first-ever gay pride parade. The country's religious leaders of the Christian, Hindu and Muslim faith held a conference asking the government to uphold heterosexual marriage. They also called on the government to amend the country's Marriage Act that allows only a biological man and woman to marry and not to amend the Equal Opportunity Act to accommodate the LGBTQIA community. This act prohibits discrimination of some types and doesn't offer protection for this community. Also, Winston Mansingh, president of the Faith-Based Network said, "...morally and spiritually our position is an accurate one, our position is a healthy one and one beneficial to mankind." He also states the religious leaders' goal is to maintain the institution of the family. Even in Jamaica, two young men were seen having sexual intercourse in a University bathroom. They were assaulted by security guards and followed by a mob that cheered them on. This goes to show that this colossal level of homophobia is still evident within the Caribbean. The LGBTQIA community feels a sense of vulnerability due to the deep rooting of religion on how Caribbean countries function. Many of the institutions and legislation was influenced by this. These ideals create a barrier and leave room for discrimination and hatred within the societies. Legislation, which was mentioned above, gives no protection for this community and promotes some level of mistrust. Religious leaders also made no adjustments or promotion in the support of the community's actions. They were fully against this motion which shows that their intolerability was fully based on the ideals of religion.]]> 2019-11-28 16:56:00 UTC https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp/wish/417543007 Colourism nelsonbrianna39 https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp/wish/417643517 In the eighteenth century, when chattel slavery was concurrent, the slave masters created a divider. They used a hierarchical structure based on skin tone (colourism). Colourism refers to the prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group (Oxford Dictionary). When the slave masters had sexual intercourse with the slaves, it resulted in lighter-skinned children (mulattoes). Although slaves, many of them received preferential treatment. This generated a disparity between the slaves because of the way they were treated. Most of the mulattoes, because of their skin colour, were house slaves whereas the darker slaves worked outside in harsh conditions. Many of the mulatto slaves would shun their darker relatives. This resulted in the jealousy and disdain within the slave community. In the early formation of Caribbean societies, educational institutions, operating under religious institutions, only catered to privileged whites. As time progressed, this bracket was extended to the mulatto population. No attempt was made for population-wide education.
This harsh reality has trickled down into today's Caribbean society. Similar to racism, colourism has long been a source of division within not only Caribbean communities, but on a global scale. This has created a gap in Caribbean society. People with a darker skin tone are still being seen as less desirable in comparison, to people with a lighter skin tone. In the Caribbean, there is a social class and standard associated with being light-skinned. Many of those ideals are still instilled in today's society. The act of relaxing young girl's hair at a pubescent age-"I couldn’t wait to straighten my hair,...How glorious to finally get rid of those horrible kinky plaits and look beautiful (i.e. whiter)". This was from an article by Stacy Leigh Ross who gave an insight into the poisoning of colourism at a young age. She even went on to quote her grandmother, "Comments like “do you want to plait or do you want to knit” referring to the hair type of the children I might have should I bring home a ‘nappy-headed’ boyfriend". Even within the workforce, a friend of mine's mother was told her skin was too 'pigmented' for her to obtain employment as air hostess. Cricketer, Chris Gayle also shed some light on blatant colourism in Jamaica. Certain black men of this calibre, knowing or unknowingly, select lighter-skinned women as spousal partners. Due to this predicament, many dark skin people have sought out after skin lightening agents. Skin bleaching is rampant within Jamaica, where dance hall artiste, Spice wrote a song on colourism. "Black Hypocrisy" gave an insight into how she faced criticism from her community because of her dark skin. She also posted a photo on October 23rd 2018 where she altered her appearance to meet Eurocentric beauty standards (light skin, blonde hair, blue eyes etc.). This sparked controversy and brought to light colourism in Jamaica. The skin bleaching epidemic has only increased because darker-skinned folks are trying to secure unearned benefits they see bestowed on lighter-skinned Jamaicans and foreigners. In Caribbean societies, lighter-skinned people are assumed to be more knowledgeable and deserving of senior professional roles than their darker-skinned colleagues. This creates a sense of mistrust as darker-skinned people are treated unfairly and discriminated for their skin tone. In other words, light-skinned people are seen as privileged and this has also created a sense of mistrust within the Caribbean community. There is also some form of intolerance, where the society still instils that having a lighter skin tone indicates superiority.]]> 2019-11-29 03:17:59 UTC https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp/wish/417643517 Colourism nelsonbrianna39 https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp/wish/417826793 By Stacey Leigh Ross
https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/colourism-by-stacey-leigh-ross/]]> 2019-11-29 18:38:50 UTC https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp/wish/417826793 Gender inequality nelsonbrianna39 https://padlet.com/nelsonbrianna39/caribcivctp/wish/417829313 Gender inequality has stemmed down from early beginnings. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender (Lumen Learning). In the Caribbean, men are seen as being superior and therefore more authoritative positions than women. Religion has made a huge impact when it comes to patriarchy. In the Bible, Ephesians chapter five; verse twenty-two states, "Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body." Along with other verses throughout the Bible, have influenced how Christianity operates as a religion. Currently, there has never been a female pope or priest in the Roman Catholic churches in the Caribbean. Not only Christianity, but there are no female pundits (Hinduism) and female imams (Islam). During colonialism, male slaves were preferred and 'higher-yielding' in comparison to women. The abolishment of slavery continued this toxic favouritism. Social norms believed that education was more important and necessary for boys than it was for girls. Therefore, the majority of schools' populations were predominantly male.
Although to an extent gender inequality has decreased, there is still some levels of discrimination towards females. This can include reduced salaries from that of their male counterparts. Even though women are more educated than men, they make up most of the unemployment rate. In politics, female ministers are more likely to head ministries traditionally associated with women, such as Education, Tourism, Social Development, Housing and Culture. There is also the topic of domestic violence. The decline of women's work decreases their bargaining power within the home and this leads to widespread partner violence. Both women and girls are affected by violence, and a significant percentage of girls report forced sexual initiation. The ideal implemented in society from early on has made a large indentation on society. Mistrust has been made evident especially in the workforce. Females have to question whether they were adequately compensated in comparison to their male cohorts. Even though policies from the United Nation have been implemented, there are still clear levels no change.
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