Carribean Feminism

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Issues of Difference in Contemporary Caribbean FeminismAuthor(s): Rawwida Baksh-SoodeenSource: Feminist Review, No. 59, Rethinking Caribbean Difference (Summer, 1998), pp. 74-85Published by: Palgrave Macmillan JournalsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1395724 .

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I s s u e s o f Difference i nContemporary CaribbeanFeminism*Rawwida Baksh-Soodeen

4 Abstractrv

^: Thispapernterrogatesaribbeaneministheory ndactivismnrelationo them Euro-Americanxperiencend o challengesmergingrom heThirdWorld is-= course.The authorarguesfrom the standpoint osition hat secondwave2 CaribbeaneminismasbeenargelyAfro-centricndsimultaneouslynterlocked- withprocessesf independencendnationaldentitytruggles. hesuggestshattheres aneed or hemovementoreflectheexperiencesf women fother thnicgroups n theregion.nthisregard,nTrinidadndTobagoheIndo-Caribbeanvoicehasbeenemergingndbroadeninghefeminist ase. nmorerecent earsaIso the divisionsbetween eministand non-feministroupsare subsiding,

strengtheningheultimateapacity f thismovementorchangentheregion.KeywordsCaribbeaneminism;ace; lass tandpoint;dentity;etworkingThispaper arries uttwomain asks.First,where pplicable,t links heissuesof differencen Caribbeaneminist Oliticso theEuro-Americanexperience,nd in particularhoserelated o raceandclass.Second,targueshat nthediscussionfraceandclassdifferencesithinCaribbeanfeminism,herestheneed odistinguish:i)thedifferentobjective)ealityfrom the Euro-Americanxperience;ii) the 1lnkbetween eminism,nationalism,ndanti-imperialisttrugglesntheCaribbean.he atterssimilar o thestrugglesf ThirdWorldwomennternationallyincludingthose ocatedn theFirstWorld);ndtiii) heultimatelymbracingatherthandivisivenatureof Caribbeaneminism. beginby examiningheconceptandexperiencef internationaleminismn the contemporaryperiod.ThenI turnto the Caribbeanxperiencef feminist rganizingfrom he ate1970s o thepresent,nddiscusshemovement,tsattemptsto transform,hange ndtranscendnternal ifferences.

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Theuniversal nd the particular sThe 'secondwave'of thefeministmovement hichbegann theUSAand oBritainn the late1960s ook forgrantedhat therewasa potentially ni- 3ficatory ointof viewonwomen'sssueswhichwouldaccommodateiver- wgences ndnot be submergedy them' Delmar, 986:10).Underlyinghis nwas the assumption f theuniversalityf women's ubordinationnd tscorollary,hepossibilityf a global isterhood hich ould hallenge atri-archalpoweranddominance. he buzz-wordsisterhood'nd ts relatedslogan sisterhoods global',actively elt and used n thisearlyperiodofeuphoria, haracterizedheprevailingonsciousness.In additionDelmarnoted hat:

in spiteof the success f womenssiberationn bringingo the foreand rein-forcing eelingsof sympathy nd identitybetweenwomen,politicalunity(another f themeaningsf 'sisterhood')annotbe said o havebeenachieved.Unitybasedon identity asturned ut to be a very ragilehing.(Delmar?986:11)Differences ithin he Euro-Americanovementn the1970swerebased |on different xplanationsf women's ubordination,nd hencedifferent lproposedtrategiesorchange.The (r)actionsesultingrom his plitwereliberal eminism,marxisteminism, adical eminism,ndsocialistfemin-ism(Jagger ndRothenberg,984,cited n OllenburgerndMoore,1992:17).These choolsof feministhought ndaction mergedt different is-toricalpoints,but,by the1970s-80s, heyco-occurreds differenttrandsof the movement.Theyalso provided he ideologicalrameworksoranalysing he causesof women'soppressionwithinthe Euro-Americanfeministmovement.Apartfrom these four frameworks,ace/ethnicitybecame he keyplatformorexposing ifferencesnwomen'sivedexperi-encesof subordination,esultingn feminists efininghemselvess 'black','nativeAmerican',Asian',womenof colour'and so on. It is, however,importanto establishhat he atter roupswere hemselvesotmonolithicin their deological osition n thecauses f gendernequality.nherpaper,'Cartographiesf Struggle:hirdWorldWomen nd hePolitics f Femin-ism',ChandraMohantytates hat n a collection fwritings y blackandThirdWorldwomen nBritain ntitledChartingheJourneyGrewalt al., |1988), he editors arecarefulo focuson thecontradictions,onflicts, nddifferencesmongblackwomen,while simultaneouslymphasizinghatthestarting oint orallcontributorsasbeen"thehistoricalinkbetweenus of colonialism nd mperialism"'Mohanty, 991a:8).In ChartingheJourney,he editors' tate:

Thisbook s aboutan idea.An deaof 'Blackness'n contemporaryritain. nideaas yet unmaturednd nadequatelyefined, utproceedinglong ts path 75


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> in both real' c)cialifeand n thecollective warenessf many f its subjects.= Bothas anideaanda processt is, inevitably,ontradictory.ontradictoryna itsconceptuali7atic)necausets inguisticxpressions definednterms f color,> yet it is anidea ranscendentf color.Contradictoryn itsmaterialmovementsO becauseheunityof action, onsciousr otherwise,f Asians,LatinAmericans and Aratxs, aribbeannd AfricansSivespolitical xpressiono a common> 'color', venastheState-createdissuresf ethnicityhreateno engulf ndover-whelmusin islands f cultural xclusivity.Ze (Grewalt al., 1988:1. Mohantyinks hefeminismn theadvancedndustrializedountrtesasedon race/ethnicityo the emergent hirdWorld eminism.n fact,shegeo-graphicallye-orientshe discussionf ThirdWorld eminismo includeimmigrantsndsubjected eoples f colour n theNorth. n summarizing

the constructionf ThirdWorldeminismn the discourse,he arrives tfourmaincommonalities:1 The deaof thesimultaneityfoppressions fundamentalo theexperi-enceof socialand politicalmarginalitynd the groundingf feministpOliticsnthe histories f racism nd mperialism;2 The crucial ole of a hegemonictate n circumscribinghirdWorldwomen's aily ivesandstruggle;3 Thesignificancef memory ndwritlngn the creation f oppositionalagency; nd,4 The differences,ontlicts, ndcontradictlonsnternalo ThirdWorldwomen's rganizationsndcommunities1991:10).In 'Conceptsn FeministTheory:Consensus nd Controversy',paperpresentednitlallyn Trinidad ndTobagoat the inauguraleminarnWomen's tudies f the Universityf the West ndies,AmritaChhachhi(1988:76-9) attemptso answerhe question f whethereminlstheoryis 'white'or'black'. heargues hat eministheories,ikeall other ocialtheories, reexpressions f two factors:he social,economic,ndpoliti-cal context n which heyemerged;nda synthesis f past ntellectualra-ditions.FromChhachhi'sointofview, herejectionfall feministheoryas 'westerns,Eurocentric',r 'ethnocentric',esults roma fallureO diS-tinguishbetween he applicationf feminist heorieso the historical,political, nd socio-culturalpecifitiesf black{Third orldwomenSndthe notionof all theoryas 'white'.Chhachhi rgues hatat the levelofbasicconceptualnalyticalools,there s 1ittle isagreementmongblackandwhite eminlstsShesuggests:

mostoften he limitationsf Euro-Americaneministtudiesie at the secondand hirdevelsof analysisn thatabstractoncepts re mposedmechanicallyand ahistoricallynd hencebecome substituteor an historicallypecific6 analysiswhich akes ntoaccounthecomplexitiesf social eality.(Chhachhi,988 79)f


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Thecurrent ostmodernismtreamwithinphilosophy ashada profoundimpacton the socialsciences, umanities, nd feminist heory.Two keyconcepts eveloped ytheFrankfurtchool re criticalheory' nd stand-pointepistemology',othof whichhave nfluencedeminist oliticsCriti-cal theorychallengedhe use of the scientificmethod or socialenquiry,rejectinghe idea hat here anbe 'objective' nowledge ltogether.tand-pointepistemologys theconcept hat esspowerfulmembersindividualsand groups)are potentially apableof a morecomplete iew of socialreality hanthe privileged, recisely ecause f theirdisadvantagedosi-tion(s). n order o survive, hey havea 'doublevision',a knowledge rawareness f and sensitivityo both the dominantworldview and theirown minority erspectivee.g., female,black,and poor)(Nielsen,1990:10). Feminist tandpoint pistemology(ies)ocus on the specificity fwomen'soppression,inking his to womenbeingable to see the view-pointsof bothwomen,andmen(thedominant roup), ndhencehavingan understandinghat s potentiallymorecomplete, eeper, nd sensitivethanmen's Nielsen,1990:24-5).Critical heoryand standpoint pistemologiespeak o the notionthatthere s no single rath, hatthe location f individualsndgroups n thesocial structure eterminesheirconstruction/interpretationf truthorreality, ndthatthe oppressed avea morepowerful laim o a completeunderstandinghandominant roups.These oncepts avecontributedoprovidinghe theoreticalpace or the challengeo white eminists osedby ThirdWorld eministswhether eographicallyocated n the NorthorSouth).Andfurther,hey help o explain he presentmovement f ThirdWorld eminism'standpoints f race,class,and nation rom he periph-eryto the centre, he so-called utting dgeof the discourse.

Considerationson race and classThe Caribbean as arguably een the site of the greatest olonialpen-etration nternationallyinceEuropebegan ts mercantilistxpansionnthe fifteenthentury.n no other egionwereentirepeopleswipedout andartificiallyeplaced y hundreds f thousands f people romother onti-nents or the sole purpose f servingEuropeanconomicnterests.n thecontemporary eriod,European olonialism as been replacedby USimperialism, ost starkly een in PuertoRico and the US Virgin slandswhichareAmericanolonies.But he restof the Caribbeanerritoriesreperceived y the US as its satellites, nd are hence he targetof aid andtradearrangements.heCaribbeanasalso been he focusof USmilitaryaggressionhrough protracted ar againstCuba,and againstGrenadaduring ts period f revolutionaryovernmentn 1979-83. It further on-trols, puppeteers, nd destabilizesCaribbean overnmentso serve ts 77


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I>"capitalistand geo-political nterests. n the most recentperlod, the= Caribbean as also been a willingmarket or US goods and services,, includingatelliteTV,andtelevision vangelism.

O The history f the Caribbeanerritoriesscolonies f Europeanmperial powershasbeenoneovershadowedyAfricanlavery. esultingrom his= is the present-dayemographicandscapen whichAfricans redominate,except n theSpanishCaribbeannd n TrinidadndTobago,Guyana, ndX Suriname. hepost-colonial iscourse, hichhasemergedince he Inde-E pendencemovement f the late 1960s and 1970s,1has attemptedo

I grapplewith heexperiencef colonialismroman anti-imperialistrame-work, which ncluded he perspectivesf raceand class.If, in the pre-Independenceeriod, he major mpetuswas thestruggleornationalism,I in the post-Independenceeriod, he key ssueshavebeen tructuredaceandclass nequalities,heiralleviation ystate ntervention,ndthecon-tinuing xistence f colonial conomic ndpoliticalorceswhichperpetu-ate these social structures. n the Caribbean,he post-IndependenceI discourse as beenone of reclaimingdentity. hereclaimeddentity as| been predominantly frican.Imagesof 'shipwreck' nd 'exile' arecommon o the literaryworkof post-Independenceriters uchas DerekWalcott,VidiaNaipaul,GeorgeLamming,WilsonHarris,and Samuel

Selvon.Naipaulhas been he onlywell-knowniterary oicespeakingothe Indo-Caribbeanxperiencef indentureshipndexile.The issueof raceThe secondwave'of thefeministmovementn theCaribbeann the 1970sintersectedwith this post-Independenceiscourse n interestingvays.Issuesof raceand classwerealmost xclusivelybout he experiencesfthe 'creole'2 r black/white/colouredopulationsf the societies.Therewas no multiculturalrameworkdespite sociologicalheory f 'culturalpluralism'eveloped yM.G.Smithn the1960s)withinwhich hespecificexperiencesnd nterests f non-Africanomen ouldbe viewed r con-textualized.n fact, hishasonlybegun appeningspecificallyn TrinidadandTobago) ince he mid-1980s, nd nterestingly,t has ts roots n theI assertion ytheIndian opulationf theirdistinct acial ndculturalden-tity. wouldhencedefine hedominant iscourse ithinCaribbeanemin-ist politics theoryand practice) s Afro-centric,s opposed o eitheraEuro-centricr multiculturalaradigm.Caribbeaneminist istoriographyheritedrom hepost-colonialtudieson African lavery uchsociological onceptsn relation o the Africanslavewomanas 'matrlfocality',malemarginality',female-headedouse-

8 hold'andso on. In the Caribbean,heres a well-establishediewof the4


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Africanwomanas a slave,as a symbol f strengthndpowerholdinghe =family togetherunder slavery.Edith Clarkewrote My MotherWho -FatheredMe;LucilleMathurinwroteRebelWomann the BritishWest 3IndiesDuringSlavery; istrenTheatreCollective f Jamaicawroteabout XNanny, heMaroonlavewho ledherpeople o rebelliongainst hewhite 2planter lass.RhodaReddock'shD hesis, Women, abour ndStrugglein 20th Century rinidad ndTobago', resentsheAfrican lavewomanas workercomparedo the European ourgeoisdealof the womanashousewife. henotionof thewoman s workerwasalsotrue ortheIndianwomanunder he systemof indentureship.ence, he bourgeois ouse-wife ideal was only practised mongthe whiteplanter/merchantlassduring he colonialperiod,andwas adoptedby theAfrican nd Indianmiddle lasses although ot entirely)n thepost-colonialeriod. incehedominant iscoursewithinCaribbeaneminisms Afro-centric, hatthismeans s thatfeminist nalyses f Caribbeanocietyhave ended o focuson the blackand colouredpopulations nd 'creole' ulture.Hencethelower-classamilys alwaysdiscussedn terms f thefemale-headedouse-hold despite he fact that amongIndians in societieswith significantIndianpopulations),he lower-classamily hows orms angingrom hejoint Indianfamily, he three-generationxtended amily, he nuclearfamily, o thefemale-headedousehold.Further,eminist rganizing asalso been argely iewed s thedomain fAfricanwomen,rather han as a space in whichwomen of differentracial/culturaldentities ndexperiencesnteract.Womenwho havebeen'lefi out' in this process nclude he remainingndigenousnhabitants,Indian,Chinese, ndothergroupsuchas theIndonesians.heexperienceof thewhitewomanhasalsobeen eftout,deliberatelythink,becausehediscourse asemergedrom hestandpoint f peoplewho havebeenbru-tally enslavedby Europeans. he white woman s henceperceived sbelongingo theoppressor ace,class,andculture, espite he factthatafew white womenhave also been part of the feministmovementnCaribbean.ndianwomen, ikemyself,who are activelynvolved n themovementhave ourselves ome to an analysisof colonialism argelythroughheAfro-centrediscourseeveloped t theUniversityf theWestIndies. t is onlyduring he 1990sthatI havepersonallyegun o grapplewith the specificityf Indo-Caribbeanomen's xperience. vidence fthis is, however, eginningo emerge, oth n thediscourse3nd organi-zationally. n the latter, he HinduWomen'sOrganizationHWO)wasformed n TrinidadndTobagon the mid-1980s.The issueof racialdifference ithin he Caribbeaneministmovements,however, istinctrom hatexperiencedn theUSAandEurope.nthefirstplace, it maybe said that the post-colonialCaribbean as a majority 79


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Africanpopulationwho are politically,f not economically,n control.Thus hebitternessf theAfro-AmericanlEuropeaneministtruggles notevident n the Caribbean. incecolonialism oth past and present s amajor orceat work n the Caribbean, fro-Caribbeanomenhave(inreaction o the sexism of the left politicalgroupings o which theybelonged) sserted n autonomouspace orstruggle, utcontinueo col-laboratewith Caribbeanmen n left political arties, ndthe labour ndNGO movements, articularlyn political nd economicssues. thinkthat the possibility f a multi-culturaleminist latform xistsbecause,whileAfrican ndIndianwomen, n the one hand,havedistinct ulturalidentitiesndexperiencesf oppression,n theother,hey hare commonexperience f plantation laveryand indentureship.n Trinidad ndTobago, or instance,e wouldbe difficuleor an Afro-Caribbeaneministto argue hae eroppression asbeengreater hanmine,when lavery asabolishedn 1838, but indeneureshiplmose ceneuryater n 1917.Myfatherwas among he ase hlldren o havebeenbroughtrom ndia s anindeIleuredabourern 1912.The issueof classTherearethreemainaspects f the 'class ssue'withinCaribbeanemin-ism, which may be broadlyrelatedeo ies emergence nd subsequenedevelopmenen ehe1970seo ehepresene.The firse ew womeneo define hemselvess feminisesn the 1970scameeo eheir nalysisargely hroughheirnvolvementn nationalisteruggles,left political roupings,rade nionss heblackpowermovemexle,ndsoon. Alehoughheir elf-definitions femlnistwas n reaceiono thesexismof ehemen n ehesemovemenes,heir eminism idnot assume heradlcalformof whiee eministsn eheUSandBritainn a similar ieuatiOn.hiscan only be explaitled y ehe aceehae hey aw ehemselvesirse ndfore-mose s blackwomen lving n socieeies hlchwere n early ransitionromcolonialrule,whererace and classwere till inextricablyinkedO thepolltical/economic/socialierarchies,ndwhereblackmenobviously lsobelongedo theoppressedroup. eneeds o be poineed ue,however,haeehesewomenofeenbelongedo an emerging lack includingndian) du-catedmiddle lass.They ouldbedefined s 'black ocialiseeminists', howouldhaveempathized ith the writings f AngelaDavis, or example,and with the general truggleby blackwomenof the Euro-Americanfeministmovement.Thesecond spect f class s apparentn thesubsequentevelopmentf themovement. eminist ebates n the media,public ora,demonstrations,coincidedwith the UN Decade or Women nd a raised onsciousness4


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internationallyn'the ssueofwomen',whichedto anewgroup fwomen l ecjoininghemovement. ifferences,elatedo theclassstatusof individual ItOwomen,became pparent.nTrinidadndTobago,or example, iffering "class nterestsedto thesplit n 1984ofTheGroup, small onsciousness- wraising roupwhichhad ncludedwomen rom he1970s.Ontheissue f mviolence gainstwomen, herewasgeneral greement. owever, henevernationalssues elatingo class nequalitiesrose, herewasadecidedwith-drawal nthepartof thenew middle-class'eminists, hocouldperhapsbe characterizeds having radicaleminist pproach.Thirdly,heCaribbeaneministmovements arguedby ts detractors)obe comprisedmainlyof articulate,well-educated,middle-class, rbanwomen.Thissuggests, mongother hings,a staticEuropeanonceptofclassas a statusascribed t birth,andhencewhichgoverns ndmakespossible(or not possible)certainopportunitiesnd experiences. hisnotionof classdoesnot speakto the oftenveryrapidsocialmobilitywhichwastypicalof someCaribbeanocietiesn thepost-Independenceperiod. n a singlegeneration,t hasbeenpossible ormanywomen omoveoutoftheir lassof birth hroughducation.Marriageasnotbeenas important n agentof socialmobility orwomen n a post-colonialcontextwhere hemajority f thepopulation elongedo theworkingclasses,or where,amongthe Africanworking-class opulation, hefemale-headedouseholdmodelpredominates.f I may use my ownexperiences a concrete xample, havemoved rom heindentureshipof my father o post-doctoralducationn a singlegeneration. owhileit maybearguedhatmycurrenttatus s middle lass, hissaysnothingof my personal istory f poverty, f beingdefined nddefiningmyself sa lower-class omanand,further,t saysnothingof thecontradictionsfacedbothin the (objective)pposingpolarities f thedifferent lasseswhichI encounteredintheeducationystem orexample),butalsoofmyowncontradictionsndambivalence.inally,nrelationo myexperi-ences, t saysnothingof thepolitical, ocial,andcultural hoices havemadeandcontinueo make.Therearevarying ynamicsegardinglasswithin he Caribbeaneministmovement. eciliaBabb,a Rastafari oman romDominicawholives nBarbados, hoseclass osition wouldbe veryhard odefine ndwhoalsodefines erself sa lower-class oman, aidata CAFRAmeetingn 1990thatfor'grass oots'women, he issue s survival,hatof puttingoodonthe tablefor theirchildren, ften in situationswhere heyarethe solebreadwinners.ndthat, until hissurvivals managedt is verydifficultforgrass ootswomenoengagentheoreticalebate,mobilization,obby-ingandgroupdemonstrations,nissueswhichmpact nthevery urvivalwe aretrying o hard o ensure'1991:9). 81


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zrs I concludehissectionbypointing uttwo more actorswhich ccountor= the specificityf Caribbeaneminist olitics.' Thefirst s the issueof scale.Caribbeanountries reusually mall slandO states(except or Belize,Guyana,Suriname,nd FrenchGuiana),with relativelymallpopulationsanging roma coupleof hundredhousand- to a few million.At its peak, he Caribbeaneministmovement asnever-F includedmore hana few hundred elf-definedeminists. he impact fX smallgroupsof women n these societieshas to be understoodn the- contextof thesizeof thesocieties;hegroups' utreachhroughhemediaand public ora; heircoincidence ith the internationaleministmove-l mentand the UN Decade or Women; ndthe presence f organizations| and nstitutions ith regional utreachuchas theWomen ndDevelop-

ment Unit (WAND) n Barbados, nd the CaribbeanAssociationorFeministResearch ndAction CAFRA).The second actor s related o the transition hich s observable ithinCaribbeaneminist rganizationsrom he earlyperiod f the 1970sandmid-1980s o the late 1980s-1990s. n the 1970sto mid-1980s,he self-definedeministsended o see themselvess distinctrom nstitutionalizedwomen's rganizations,hich heyperceiveds traditional,s servingomaintain he statusquo regarding omen's lace n the society hroughwelfare-orientedutreach. heseorganizationsncludedhe Business ndProfessionalWomen'sClubs,the Soroptomists,he Lionesses nd theMothers'Unions f churches. hecurrent eriod f the 1980s-1990s as,however, een the activebuilding f bridges cross his divideand alsolinkingwiththeGender ndDevelopmenttudiesCentres t theuniversityl campuses, nd women'smachineriesn the various overnmentsf theregion,and inter-governmentalnstitutionsuchas the Caribbean om-munity (CARICOM), NIFEMand UN/ECLAC. his networkingsrelated, n theonehand, o the ncreasedwarenessf feministoncerns ythe traditional omen's rganizationsnd,on theotherhand, o a generalshiftaway rom deologicalogmatismn thepartof self-avowedeminists.ConclusionIt is possible o identifya numberof unique eaturesbased on theCaribbean'sxperience f feminist rganizing. irst,Caribbeaneminist

I politicsmaybe ocated t the ntersectionetweenwoseparate iscourses.I Theone s thepost-Independenceiscourse hichhasbeengrappling iththepastandpresent xperiencesf colonialismndneo-colonialism,roman anti-imperialistramework hich ncludesheperspectivesf raceandclass;and the other s the feminist iscourseXs)hichoriginate(d)nter-2 nationally. hedominanttreamwithinCaribbeaneminismmaybe saidi


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to make heconnection etween ace,class,andnation n its theorizing,


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I^ 3 Thehistory nddifferenttrugglesf Indo-Caribbeanomen f Trinidadave= been substantivelyesearched y RhodaReddock n Women,Labour nd

X Politicsn TrinidadndTobagoIanRandle ublishers,amaica,994)andby>. PatriciaMohammedn GenderNegotiationsAmongIndians n Trinidad0 l 1917-1947(forthcoming999)., 4 The su-su's a group ractice f poolingmoney vera specifiederiod,hesum= of which s given o eachdonor n turn; t is a mutual aving ystem.Theword

= and heconcept re houghto originaterom heYorubasusu'Hancock,980:- 82;Warner-Lewis,991:31;cited n Baksh-Soodeen,99S:155).The gayap'sdefined s 'co-operativeroup abour ivenby neighboursnd riendsn someprivate ndertakinguchas farming r house-building,n returnorfoodanddrink'.Thewordhasa possiblemultipletymology,riginatingitherrom heform gayap'rom heAmerindiananguage, umanagotanWinerndAguilar,

1991:182),or from heWolof orm gaanyep'meaningallthepeople; e:ol-lective' Warner-Lewis,991: 169, cited n Baksh-Soodeen,99S: 67). Whilethese wo wordsarespecific o Trinidadiansage,otherwords ignifyinghesameactivities ndconcepts re o be found hroughoutheCaribbean.References

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BABB,Cecilia 1991) EmpoweringrassRootsWomen' AFRANeuJssVol.5,No.1:pp.8-10.BAKSH-SOODEEN,awwida1995) A Historical erspectiven theLexicnn fTrinidadian nglish',Ph.D.Dissertation,t. Augustine, rinidad ndTobago:Universityf theWest ndies.CHHACtIHI, mrita1988) Conceptsn Feminist heory: onsensusndCon-troversy'n MohammedndShepherd1976),pp. 76-96.CLARKE,dith1957)My MotberWhoFatheredMe,London: eorgeAllen ndUnwin.DELMAR, osalind1986) What s Feminism?'n Mitchell ndOakley 1986),pp. 8-33.GREWAL, habnam,KAY, Jackie, LANDOR,Liliane,LEWIS,Gail, andPARMAR, ratibha1988)editors,ChartingheJourney:WritingsyBlack ndThirdWorldWomen, ondon: hebaFeminist ublishers.MATHURIN, ucille 1975) RebelWomann the BritisbWest ttdiesDurittgSlat


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MOHANTY, Chandraet al. (199lb) editors, Third WorldWomenand the Poli- -tics of Feminism,Bloomington: ndianaUniversityPress. =-NIELSEN,Joyce McCarl (1990) 'Introduction' n Feminist ResearchMethods: oExemplaryReadings n the Social Sciences,Boulder:WestviewPress,pp. 1-41. mOLLENBURGER,ane and MOORE,Helen (1992) A Sociology of Women:The 2Intersectionof Patriarchy,Capitalism,and Colonization,New Jersey:Prentice- mHall.REDDOCK, Rhoda (1984) 'Women, Labour and Struggle in 20th CenturyTrinidad nd Tobago:1898-1960, Ph.D. Dissertation,The Netherlands:Universityof Amsterdam.

- (1994) Women,Labourand Politics in Trinidadand Tobago,Jamaica: anRandlePublishers.SMITH,M.G. (196S) The PluralSociety n the BritishWestIndies,Berkeley:Uni-versityof CaliforniaPress.WARNER-LEWIS,Maureen(1991) Guinea'sOther Suns: The AfricanDynamicin TrinidadCulture,Dover,Massachusetts: he MajorityPress.WINER, Lise and AGUILAR,E.L. (1991) 'SpanishInfluenceon the Lexicon ofTrinidadEnglishCreole'New WestIndian Guide,Vol. 6S, No. 3: pp. 153-91.

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