The Caribbean Woman
September 22, 2007
What is the “Caribbean woman”? Who is she? Is she a woman from the Caribbean? Does she even exist? An article by Claudia Liburd at SKNVibes speaks with several women from the Caribbean in an effort to help define the “Caribbean woman”. After reading the article all you’re left with is a list the qualities any woman (or contemporary man) from any part of the world may possess.
Melissa Giddings, one of the Caribbean woman Liburd spoke to, said,
“There are so many definitions of the Caribbean woman to me. Firstly, she is a mother, whether she has born a child or not. She is a teacher, an educator, a friend, the girl next door but I think what defines the Caribbean woman is who she truly wants to be, whatever that is and just being comfortable with who she is and accepting herself.”
That defines any woman, does it not?
Janelle Edward, another female mentioned in the article, said,
“Being a Caribbean woman to be is being rich in culture because Caribbean women are known for being the bearers of their histories, ancestors and their roots. The Caribbean woman is strong and independent and able to carry the title of mother, wife Jevene Christom, and sister while still maintaining a professional outlook in the global world.”
If the Caribbean woman possess all the qualities these young women listed then every woman could be considered a Caribbean woman. This article should have been titled “Qualities of Caribbean Women” instead of “Defining the Caribbean Woman” because it clearly did not define the Caribbean woman as something unique, which the name implies.
The article can be found here. What are your thoughts?
-Annand
Comments
8 Responses to “The Caribbean Woman”
Got something to say?
Annand,
Many women have these qualites. Being caribbean, Indian, middle eastern etc, does not matter. Many women have secured indenties. The values identified in the article of what makes a caribbean woman is not unique to women, it is unique to a woman who comes from the caribbean. The qualities are unique because of the personal experience attached to it.
Andrew,
You said, “The values identified in the article of what makes a caribbean woman is not unique to women, it is unique to a woman who comes from the caribbean”. What values is that?
Admin,
Have you read the article throughly? Caribbean women find that their history is deeply rooted and the indelible fact is that it is entirely unique. But my experience in reading authors and historians crossculturally has ultimately brought me to this point: We are quite similar as human beings. Our experiences may all be different..but the fundemental supposition remains identical. In understanding more on the issue..I suggest readings from Bese Head (african lit) and Natalya Elsadway (an egyptian psychologist). Both of these authors indulge in writing about women and their psychosocial plights from a middle eastern and South African perspective. What you will find in their rethorics are the misconceptions women have of each other crossculturally.
I did. My questions is, what makes them unique? Is it the qualities they listed or is it simply the fact that they are Caribbean?
They are not unique on a global scale. They are unique or so to speak because of experience.. but the same can be said of women cross culturally..
Where we are from does not make us special or unique, who we are does.
As the author of the mentioned article I must say that Caribbean women are defined by their unqiue personal experiences. I am not entitled to define all Caribbean women as I am just one, however based on the interviews you will see that Caribbean women create their own definitions through the process self awareness and discovery. I hope that clears up your debate. Thank you for your interest in my piece.
Warm Regards,
Claudia Liburd.
Claudia,
Thanks for the qualification. My sentiments exactly. It is the experiences that make caribbean women what they are but the same can be said about women cross-culturally. Awareness and discovery are characteristics that play in many culturally bound states albeit they are all different but the principles remain. It is like math… formulas can be re-arranged to accommodate a variety of imput in a set subset. but the formula for it to be effective must remain in the set domain and do no deviate beyond the inappropriate boundries. Howvever, the question that I hope you could address is: If two women, one of caribbean and the other of european decent were raised in opposite worlds. meaning the caribbeanite in northern Europe and the European in Trinidad…what whould they have to say about the process of self awareness and discovery? The question i would like addressed is on a sociogenetic platform.
Andrew