Discusses the relationship between economic conditions and discourses surrounding partner choice in Cuba. Holds that economic changes caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union have necessitated strategies economic survival which differ from previously-held ideals of romantic partnerships. Suggests that anxieties surrounding changes in gender and kinship relations also reflect broader concerns about Cuba's social and economic hierarchies and the future of socialism.
Examines the play The Case of Miss Iris Armstrong and documentary film Sweet Sugar Rage. Looks at the way the sexual division of labor on Jamaica's sugar plantations was based on the following gendered myths: women's labor capacity is lower than their male counterparts; and men are the breadwinners for their families.