Gender And Sexuality by Leia Mohammed https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7 en-us 2017-04-16 18:42:31 UTC 2023-02-17 07:01:25 UTC hello@padlet.com Introduction: Gender and Sexuality leia_mohammed https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/166487085 Androcentrism's reign in the Caribbean pays its homage to its historiography. Even in today's modern Caribbean Society with all its "advances" our underlying dictating doctrine of thought is still somewhat archaic. How men view women, the roles they play and how the even view themselves are all based on religious doctrine. 

It started with Glory, Gold and God and the misconstrued image of "God" continued to not only influence us but mould our culture and its dogmas and thereby the society. Scripture in particular as well as writings and interpretations of the scripture have been used to subdue women, determine their roles, suppress their nature and classify them.

 Emphasis placed on female subordination to her husband/man and her expected duties in the home and for service to her husband's needs. This predetermined role is expected of today's women still. So much so, to the point that, even though Trinidad and Tobago has had several prominent females in areas such as politics, science and several other very important male dominated roles within the public domain the presence of women is still quite minuscule. Inequality reigns over the corporate world and most leadership roles.

The greatest impact however, is how men view women. When society excuses the fact that men view women as sexual objects with no reprieve. Again this dogma was derived from the religious doctrine. Religious doctrine have been used to suppress women's sexuality, their needs and desires. Women who indulge in their sexual desires are still even today treated as heretic and women are even classified. These classification are often time derogatory in nature towards women.

In the audio file below entitled, LEGGINGS by Kleon McPherson is a classic example of the Caribbean male's mind when it comes to women. (Please note that this is not meant to marginalise and target and/or bash men).

In this Mr. McPherson attempts to address a very common fashion for women in the Caribbean called Leggings. In this piece of spoken word there are a couple statements I would like to draw the attention of the reader to because it addresses the way Caribbean men think and how crassly they view women. 

In it he says "... inciting voluptuous carnal desires; sometimes worn with a large t-shirt, blazer, dress top or short vest; which are occasionally exposed revealing cow heels, goat hooves and the dreaded camel toe...". This refers to the look of a woman's extremity in said leggings as animal parts. The fact that a man can think he can demean a woman to that as mere animal parts goes to show how deep set this psychosis which was propagated religious doctrine actually is. 

"... as its absorbing aesthetic features arouses any heterosexual man's visual palette.." Again here we have an example of a man just giving into his carnal desires which is the norm. We as women serve to satisfy the "visual palette".

"LEGGINGS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE! I REPEAT LEGGINGS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE!" In this he refers to women above a certain weight and age. So the classification of degradation is not confined to sexual desires but also includes some form of shaming women. Projecting that women should have a certain body type which is appealing to what they deem attractive. Another classification women have to endure is that of being taken as promiscuous and therefore must endure the subjection. "... some women wear clothing that suggest body parts are for sale..."  ]]> 2017-04-16 23:14:12 UTC https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/166487085 leia_mohammed https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/167405797 2017-04-21 02:14:14 UTC https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/167405797 Gender Inequality in the Caribbean leia_mohammed https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/167406093 Never before has one term held such aptitude before, such as "The Glass Ceiling". The Glass Ceiling phenomenon refers typically to women being given the illusion of being able to move upwards in the corporate world but being blocked by an invisible force. But this analogy extends beyond this, we treat the idea of gender inequality as a glass ceiling, we look past it as though it is not there. All the while women endure marginalisation due to gender biases. With all things we must start at the beginning.

All past civilisations have contributed one way or another to the foundation of what is today. In all of the past societies from the Neo-Indians, to the enslaved Africans, to the East Indian indentured labourers, and even within the white community, men and women had different duties. (Please do note that the information of what we now know today is a faulty combination of bias/one-sided accounts and reconstructed fragments of whatever was left behind).

 Women have been responsible for the running of the house hold for varying reasons mainly because of our physique and being regarded as the weaker of the two sexes. Additionally men held all the roles of importance from religion to politics. The woman's place was to raise the children and tend to the needs of the house or in the case of the white woman to ensure that those needs were being met by acting out inhumane punishments to those slaves that did not come up to her expectations.

Fast forward to today's Caribbean society even though there has been some change as a society the progress has been very limited. Gender Inequality has transformed into the following according to the article above:
  • Occupational segregation with women tending to have lower-waged occupations in the economy and a lower female labour force participation. Higher educational achievements of girls does not yet translate in a higher participation in the labour market and closing of the wage gap.
  • A high proportion of female-headed households in poverty and with high dependency ratios.
  • Social isolation of elderly men.
  • Educational gaps at secondary and tertiary levels with mixed results for boys and girls. Drop out of boys increases the potential of deviance and anti-social behaviour. Drop outs of girls might be related to teenage pregnancies resulting in incomplete education.
  • Gender-based violence as being endemic among the researched countries. The Report reveals a predominance of male perpetrators (reported cases), women and girls as the vast majority of victims, and men and boys increasingly reporting gender-based violence. 
In essence as a society Gender Inequality has worsen to the point where it is now a social ill, preventing growth and reaching our potential. How do we shatter the Glass Ceiling of Gender Inequality? Awareness, open-mindedness to change and implementing new structures as the article below discussed. Here are some of the worth while mentions:

"In the first place, we look at socio-econo­mic inequality and poverty and the necessary transformation of the prevailing development model towards one that incorporates new patterns of sustainable production and consumption, and of redistribution of wealth, income and time.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, 78.1 per cent of employed women work in sectors defined by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) as low-productivity sectors, which implies lower pay, less contact with technology and innovation, and, in many cases, poor-quality jobs.
The labour market is the master key to equality; the redistribution of income and the guaranteeing of rights begin there. The proportion of women in the labour market has increased in countries in the region. 
What are needed are public policies to avoid reproducing gender stereotypes, taking into account the different roles that women play, and strengthening their insertion in the labour market and their professional development at the highest level, to capitalise on their training and skills in sectors of higher productivity. This would undermine the foundations of the horizontal and vertical segmentation that characterises the labour market for women today."
]]> 2017-04-21 02:18:03 UTC https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/167406093 leia_mohammed https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/167420108 2017-04-21 05:45:42 UTC https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/167420108 Conclusion: The view of Gender Inequality by the Society leia_mohammed https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/167509829 In the following video the author of this project seeks to apply all the information learnt throughout the course on Gender Inequality, in a surreal environment. In doing such, the author seeks not only to analyse the view point of the people in society but also seek to understand the misguidance in their ideologies, if there be any. ]]> 2017-04-21 15:05:00 UTC https://padlet.com/leia_mohammed/ipyjn25ifxn7/wish/167509829