January 15th blog by Makayla, Aleema and Rosalyn

 

January 15th

Hi everyone! Today, we had a more academic and preparatory day to help us envision how the rest of this semester will go. Candice walked us through to of our major classes Living and Learning and Caribbean Culture and Society, where we learned about the many creative ways that we will be able to demonstrate our learnings on Trinidadian culture and our experience here. In past years, students did belly dancing, performances modelled after the Moko Jumbie stilt walkers, and even did monologues dressed up as an important Trinidadian drink… Rum! 

Following our sit-down class, we made our way over to the Massy Supermarket using public transportation (Maxi’s) and were able to observe a wonderful combination of local products and some goods that many of us are used to seeing back at our supermarkets in the US. 

I was able to catch a beautiful sunset from my dorm window after our J-Term class discussion on the Pride movement and gender equity in Trinidad. 

In the afternoon, we explored the Pride movement in Trinidad and Tobago, which didn’t start just with parades in 2018 but grew from decades of community organising. We also discussed the role of social media, intergenerational dialogue, and international support in shaping #PrideTT, which made us think about how Pride can be both a celebration and a form of resistance. We are really excited to see how these ideas come to life in local events and conversations!

In today’s class we also read an article titled “The (Heterosexual) Regendering of a Modern State: Criminalizing and Implementing Domestic Violence Law in Trinidad and Tobago” by Mindie Lazarus-Black. This reading was a good one! It was engaging to read about the ways in which Trinidad & Tobago has combated the ever present issue of violence against women and how the government can play a role in it. In fact, this reading made me question whether intervention in the form of social policy and law is the answer to these types of issues. Although policy is integral for issues such as medical support for trans people or gun reform, there are instances where government intervention is more so a problem rather than a solution. For example, the solution to the lack of autonomy women have over their bodies should not be more laws that grant women access to their autonomy, rather a woman’s body should not be up for political debate or intervention at all. The same can be said of the Domestic Violence Act of 1991. Although the act attempted to help women, for many, it became another obstacle to the support that many women needed. I do not want to take away from the significance of policies that aid in women’s rights to justice, I am however wanting to highlight that policy is not always the solution and if it is, critiquing laws to promote reform is necessary and only then leads to real change.