In the Caribbean, researching women's lives in the past is made easier by the discovery of a few key sources which allow an insight into the private sphere of Caribbean women's lives. These records of women who have lived in the Caribbean since the 1800s consist of memoirs, diaries and letters. The autobiographical writings include the extraordinary record of Mary Prince, a Bermuda-born enslaved African woman. Other sources which have been examined are the diaries of women who were members of the elite in the society, and educated women who worked either in professions or through the church to assist others in their societies.
Attempts to develop an indigenous reading of feminism as both activism and discourse in the Caribbean. Draws on the ideas emerging in contemporary western feminist debates pertaining to sexual difference and equality and searches for a Caribbean feminist voice which defines feminism and feminist theory in the region, not as a linear narrative but one which has continually intersected with the politics of identity in the region.
The heterosexual family has become naturalized as an aspect of the state's struggle for legitimacy during decolonization. Influencing views of Black masculinity, this has led to the criminalization of homosexuality
