Daughters of Caliban

by Consuelo Lopez Springfield (Editor)

Haitian women and "voodoo" healing; Cuban women in the midst of economic crisis; Jamaican women and the unspoken racism of beauty contests. These are just three of the dimensions of this multifaceted survey of contemporary Caribbean women. Looking at a region where race and gender play vital roles in forming cultural identity, this book explores a range of themes of interest to women. The essays mix sociology, economics and cultural studies to bring to life some of the most important issues facing the region's women. It analyzes the economic impact of globalization by looking at women's work in free-trade zones and inter-island trading. It examines health and the law, focusing on AIDS, folk medicine and legal discrimination, and the recurring cultural concerns in such fields as language, religion and music. Covering Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico as well as the Commonwealth Caribbean, this book reveals many of the common challenges facing women across the region. With contributions from a range of feminist scholars, from the Caribbean, North America and Europe, it offers an insight into women's thinking in a dynamic movement in the Caribbean's social development.

338 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 1997

Reviews

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a good introduction into Caribbean studies. If I read this as part of a class, or after studying the region, I'm sure I'd find the insights invaluable. As it was, I felt adrift in a sea of academic ramblings.

My favorite essay was Elisa J Sobo's "Menstrual Taboos, Witchcraft Babies, and Social Relations." She writes about rumors and folklore in rural Jamaica: "tying"--in which a woman feeds an unsuspecting man her menstrual blood in his food, and thus he is enthralled to her; if a man doesn't have sex often enough, his semen builds up in his lower back and can cripple him; in lesbian sex, the "male" female "stretched her external genitalia into an insertable pseudo-penis with the aid of an oil made for this purpose." I really wish I knew how much of her scholarship I can trust.