Challenges in the Caribbean

Challenges in the Caribbean

The Caribbean is known to be a place that has been colonized, changed and heavily influenced. Upon the arrival of the Europeans, the Caribbean lifestyle was affected and changed forever. Along with the arrival of the European settlers, many of their values, customs and traditions were brought over. The peoples of the Caribbean countries that were brought over had roots tying back to Africa, China, India and Portugal. These groups of people were colonized by three of the most powerful countries in the world; Great Britain, Spain and France left such a big impact on the colonized countries that much of their influence is present in the Caribbean today (Hernandez-Ramdwar, Lecture, Oct. 10 2005). As many Caribbean countries have gained their independence from the colonizers, their influence on the Caribbean culture, traditions and societies is yet to be freed (Hernandez-Ramdwar, Lecture, Oct. 10 2005). As many historical events took place in the Caribbean, the social construction of the Caribbean lifestyle was altered. These social constructions involve the concept of a patriarchal society because they were challenged by structural functionalists' views and perceptions. As patriarchy faced many challenges in the Caribbean, so did the other social constructions that were affiliated with it. Matrifocality, constructions of masculinity and patriarchy are all reforms of the Caribbean society. Without the co-existence of one social reform, the others would not be able to exist. Thus, it can be stated that the relationship between matrifocality, constructions of masculinity and patriarchy in the Caribbean is that they all are interrelated and allow each other to exist; without the dependence and influence of one another, these social reforms would not have much significance to the Caribbean society.

In the 1940's, anthropologists, known as the structural functionalists, arrived in the Caribbean to analyze family structures in Caribbean societies. These researchers observed families in British Guyana, Barbados, Carriacou and Jamaica (Barrow, 420). Structural functionalists brought over their ethnocentric perspectives of an ideal family life in Caribbean societies. Because the Afro-Caribbean families being monitored were not "nuclear, co-resident or stable", the notion that nuclear families were not the norm in the Caribbean was established (Barrow 421). With this realization, the term "matrifocality" was used to describe Afro-Caribbean family structures, specifically in Barbados. In her article, Men, Women and Family in the Caribbean, author Christine Borrow argues that matrifocality is a "response to certain economic circumstances", which tales back to high male unemployment and increasing job opportunities for females (Borrow 421). The matrifocal family structure shifts the domestic and economic power from the male to the female in Caribbean households (Barrow, 423). As the Afro- Caribbean society builds on this structure, the development of female authoritative households becomes stronger. During the early stages of motherhood, the female finds herself to be dependent on her partners and the father(s) of her children. As the child develops into an adult and contributes towards the economic needs of the household, the female becomes an authoritative and decision making figure (Borrow, 423). Because females were in a dominating stage, this affected the notion of masculinity. Masculinity can be described as a social construction that deals with "how a man views himself and how he is viewed by others" (Barrow, 342). Barrow's article, Caribbean Masculinity and family touched on the constructions of masculinity in Barbados in the 1950's. Social scientists and anthropologists that arrived in the Caribbean conducted studies that explored the feelings of males in the social structure. Afro-Caribbean men in Barbados felt that masculinity involved the upbringing of children into a patriarchal society. This means that children should be exposed to heterosexual couples that are

preferably married and stable nuclear family structures (Borrow, 340). In her article, Barrow states that constructions of masculinity deal with the oppression of women and the implication of

patriarchal rituals (Barrow 342). In the Caribbean, structural functionalists defined masculinity in two distinct roles which was the role of a family member in orientation followed by the dominant figure on the procreation process (Barrow 341). Masculinity was structured and implemented at a young age in the Afro-Caribbean society. Once a young man developed from the orientation stage to the procreation stage, he took on the role of the breadwinner and head of the household. (Borrow, 341). Constructions of masculinity outline in social reforms that the male should be the protector, the economic provider, the authority giver and the breadwinner (Hernandez-Ramdwar, Lecture, November 2, 2005). It is this notion that allows a society to continue to construct masculinity to a higher degree because masculinity outlines a male's honor, dignity and respect in this community. For men, constructions of masculinity in Barbados in the 1950's accompanied the attempt to overcome of male marginality. The construction of masculinity implements the role of a male in a patriarchal society. Between 1838-1835, East Indian indentured workers arrived in Guyana and Trinidad (Barrow 342). The arrival of almost 400,000 East Indians was accompanied by a strict obedient and patriarchal lifestyle. Male dominance was a part of the Indian culture and it was known that traditional relations between husband and wife were characterized by male dominance, female oppression and sexual degradation (Roopnarine 347). As East Indians arrived in the Caribbean for indentureship, one of the biggest tasks the Indian male society faced was maintaining the Indian rituals. Noopnarine states that the extent to which patriarchy existed was expressed by the "Pati brata dharm" (Roopnarine 348). It was a known fact that an Indian women's life was subjected to her selfless devotion to her husband. Patriarchy for East Indians meant a variety of things such as the effort to subjugate women, to eliminate their independency and to suppress their economic and social

dependence (Roopnarine 348). All three social structures, matrifocality, masculinity and patriarchy played a big role in conducting the social structure in the Caribbean.

Due to historical events that took place in Caribbean history, these three social structures were challenged, affected and even altered in different ways. In the Caribbean, specifically Barbados, matrifocality was the result of male marginality. Male marginality occurred