The Woman Who Fathered Me A Caribbean Womans Role in...

The Woman Who Fathered Me: A Caribbean Womans Role in the Family Female children born into low income families in Jamaica and other islands of the Caribbean are burdened with a stereotype that their male counterparts will never know. When faced with the gender oppression their society has constantly been feeding, and the fact that so many women must act as the single financial heads of their families, many women of the Caribbean must settle for low paying occupations associated with female or domestic labor. For women born into families at the bottom of the economic ladder, there is little hope of social mobility or escape from the fist of poverty. In most cases, the cycle continues to feed itself from mother to daughter. In my†¦show more content†¦Here where the fences penetrated each other and in silent collaboration produced a corner there were three. The three were shuffling episodes and exchanging confidences which informed their life with meaning. The meaning was not clear to them. It was not their concern, and it never would be. Th eir consciousnesshad never been quickened by the fact of life to which these confidences would have been a sure testimony. The sun let its light flow down on them as life let itself flow through them. I begin my paper with this excerpt because it says a great deal about life for women, and especially mothers, in the Caribbean. I recently took a travel study course through the English department to study Caribbean literature in Barbados and we were asked to read Lammings book before we left. Reading it I had assumed that the lifestyle and events he was describing had to be somewhat dated, but after two weeks on the island I realized that things are just now beginning to change as far as womens identity and role in the family. It has only been with in the past thirty years that women in the Caribbean have collectively begun to gain consciousness, unite, and come forward in their pursuit of equality with their male oppressors. Not only is it beautifully written, but Lammings description brings up two important issues that are crucial to the thesis of my paper. First, as seen through all the different fathers of Miss Fosters six children, the commonShow MoreRelatedEssay on The End of Oppression for Jamaican Women5572 Words   |  23 Pages12) Women have different roles in politics, economics and religion than their counterparts. It is important to know not just the general role of women, but it is also important to know where they come from. Women have not played a big role in politics, have been oppressed economically, and have not received equal pay. In the Rastafarian culture women are subservient, this is slowly changing. Where does this leave Jamaican women? A race looking for strong women role models. Black women do notRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesBlack, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered Janis Appier, Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of