Humboldt State University's Vox Club

Condom Tally

7542

# given out since August 2002:

231

# given out Fall 2005

Independent Study Project Jeanie C.

Women Making the Most of It:

Sexuality, Fertility, and Gender in the Anglophone Caribbean

The Caribbean: those very words conjure up an image of palm trees rustling in the gentle breeze; the tropical sun sparkling off the emerald and sapphire sea as it laps on a pristine white sand beach; a rainbow of boats sailing the bay; and easy-going locals playing calypso melodies on steel drums. The Caribbean is such a wonderland, in the eyes of a carefree tourist. However, for a visitor with a different frame of mind, the Caribbean can also be seen as something more: as a region with an intense and insightful history; as a politically diverse chain of independent nations that function autonomously and cooperatively; and as a proud and resourceful people working for a better future for all.

In my search for a different and more meaningful view of the Caribbean, I chose to focus on the issues that most interest me, in a way that comes most naturally to me, by studying sexuality, fertility, and gender issues in English-speaking Caribbean nations. Due to the influence of European colonial settlement, the entire region is culturally and linguistically diverse from island to island. In fact, certain islands are literally split in two, with different official languages, separate government structure and currency, and distinct architectural styles. Primarily because of the language barrier, I chose to study the Anglophone Caribbean so that I could conduct interviews, and generally understand more about the surroundings than if I had visited Spanish or French-speaking nations. Likely for the same reason, there was a greater wealth of literature and research available to me on the issues and nations of focus for this report. (It is important to note that the European languages spoken in the Caribbean were influenced by African syntax, leading to a slightly different form of the language.)

Anthropologists, historians, and public health analysts have given a good deal of attention to the family life and sexual issues that are uniquely particular to women in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Accumulated research, and W. Penn Handwerker’s resource access theory, suggest that from the time that their ancestors were brought from Africa to today, Afro-Caribbean women have quickly and continuously adapted to changes in the resource access structure of the day, utilizing their sexual and reproductive abilities to empower themselves to the fullest extent possible for the time.

PART ONE – A Historical View of the Sexual Status of Women

PART TWO – Sexuality, Fertility, and Gender Issues Today

Contact Jeanie at choice@humboldt.edu if you would like to learn more about her research findings.