Women of Belize : Gender and Change in Central America

"Provides a vivid and evocative portrait of the dynamics of gender and the evolution of women's consciousness in this small but very complex multiethnic society. McClaurin's own voice throughout the book is eloquent and subtle, always attentive to both the private and the public implications of women's words."--Daphne Patai, author of Brazilian Women Speak: Contemporary Life Stories "Insightful and inspiring."--O. Nigel Bolland, Colgate University "McClaurin has sensitively enabled three Belizean women to speak frankly about their difficult lives. [Her]self-awareness and interpretations deepen our understanding of these women and their environment."--Zee Edgell, author of Beka Lamb This engaging ethnography is set in the remote district of Toledo in Belize, Central America, where three women weave personal stories about the events in their lives. Each describes her experiences of motherhood, marriage, family illness, emigration, separation, work, or domestic violence that led her to recognize gender inequality and then do something about it. All three challenge the culture of gender at home and in the larger community. Zola, an East Indian woman without primary school education, invents her own escape from a life of subordination by securing land, then marries the man she's lived with since the age of fourteen--but on her own terms. Evelyn, a thirty-nine-year old Creole woman, has raised eight children virtually alone, yet she remains married "out of habit." A keen entrepreneur, she has run a restaurant, a store, and a sewing business, and she now owns a mini-mart attached to her home. Rose, a Garifuna woman, is a mother of two whose husband left when she would not accept his extra-marital affairs. While she ekes out a survival in the informal economy, she gets spiritual comfort from her religious beliefs, love of music, and two children. The voices of these ordinary Belizean women fill the pages of this book. Irma McClaurin reveals the historical circumstances, cultural beliefs, and institutional structures that have rendered women in Belize socially disenfranchised and economically dependent upon men. She shows how some ordinary women, through their participation in women's grassroots groups, have found the courage to change their lives. Drawing upon her own experiences as a black woman in the United States, and relying upon cross-cultural data about the Caribbean and Latin America, she explains the specific way gender is constructed in Belize. Irma McClaurin ia an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Florida. This engaging ethnography is set in the remote district of Toledo in Belize, Central America, where three women weave personal stories about the events in their lives. Each describes her experiences of motherhood, marriage, family illness, emigration, separation, work, or domestic violence that led her to recognize gender inequality and then to do something about it. All three challenge the culture of gender at home and in the larger community. Zola, an East Indian woman without primary school education, invents her own escape from a life of subordination by securing land, then marries the man she's lived with since the age of fourteen--but on her terms. Once she needed permission to buy a dress, now she advocates against domestic violence. Evelyn, a thirty-nine-year old Creole woman, has raised eight children virtually alone, yet she remains married "out of habit." A keen entrepreneur, she has run a restaurant, a store, and a sewing business, and she now owns a mini-mart attached to her home. Rose, a Garifuna woman, is a mother of two whose husband left when she would not accept his extra-marital affairs. While she ekes out a survival in the informal economy by making tamales, she gets spiritual comfort from her religious beliefs, love of music, and two children. The voices of these ordinary Belizean women fill the pages of this book. Irma McClaurin reveals the historical circumstances, cultural beliefs, and institutional structures that have rendered women in Belize politically and socially disenfranchised and economically dependent upon men. She shows how some ordinary women, through their participation in women's grassroots groups, have found the courage to change their lives. Drawing upon her own experiences as a black woman in the United States, and relying upon cross-cultural data about the Caribbean and Latin America, she explains the specific way gender is constructed in Belize. This Book Is About The Women Of Belize, Central America, And How A Few Of Them Are Working To Change The Gender Rules, Ideas, Attitudes, And Behaviors That Govern The Meaning Of What Is To Be A Woman In Their Communities And Country. Others, At A Different Stage, Are In The Process Of Figuring Out How To Do The Same. Everyday Around The World, In India, Africa, Latin America, Europe And The United States, Women Confront The Power And Control Of Gender. They Face Personal And Social Constraints That Are Generally Communicated Through Words, Cultural Symbols And Practices, Individual Deeds, And Institutional Policies. In Response, Some Women Have Moved To Set Limits To The Degree To Which These Cultural Elements Determine Their Lives. Ch. 1. Women Of Belize -- Ch. 2. So Where The Hell Is Belize? -- Ch. 3. From The Marketplace To Lemongrass -- Ch. 4. Rose's Story (garifuna) -- Ch. 5. To Be A Girl: Gender-role Enculturation -- Ch. 6. Zola's Story (east Indian) -- Ch. 7. Women's Subordination In Modern Belize -- Ch. 8. Evelyn's Story (creole) -- Ch. 9. The Quest For Female Autonomy: Women's Groups In Belize -- Ch. 10. Dis Heah Time No Stand Like Befo' Time. Irma Mcclaurin. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Three women living in Belize in Central America describe their experiences of motherhood, marriage, illness, emigration, separation, work or domestic violence, and how it led them to recognize gender inequality. The book shows how they challenged the culture of gender in their home and community.