The findings of a questionnaire survey distributed to 153 female university students in Barbados and Jamaica in 2008 reveal the attitudes to diverse female sexualities in the Caribbean. The participants in the survey discussed changing beliefs about sexuality in Caribbean society. The findings show that slowly, as a consequence of globalization and the mass media, people are increasingly open-minded about sex. Women are confidently expressing and increasingly asserting themselves as equal partners. There is greater debate in Caribbean society about female same-sex relationships, and deeper awareness of sexual harassment is evident. Nevertheless, for some respondents, the same degrading notions of women as sex objects and promiscuous beings continue to exist.
Considers the extent to which feminism and gender studies courses adequately explore diverse erotic desires in the Caribbean region. It offers a comparative investigation of questionnaire responses from Black female undergraduate students in England and Jamaica to assess the connections between their perceptions about sexual differences.
241 p., Examines the experiences of Panamanian Afro-Caribbean women and their membership in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) training and careers. The shortage of Science and Math teachers in 48 of 50 States heightens the need for those trained in STEM. Females of African phenotype have persistently been underrepresented in STEM. However, this trend does not appear to have held for Panamanian Afro-Caribbean women. The current study explores issues related to STEM participation for these women by addressing the overarching question: What key factors from the lived experiences of Panamanian Afro-Caribbean women in STEM careers can be used to inform work with females of African phenotype in their pursuit of STEM education and STEM careers?
Author discusses the complexities of identity representation in terms of her Afro Caribbean/"third" world background and her historically African-American university (HBCU) affiliation. Notes how her academic identity marked by her first and third world educational experiences as a Caribbean person of color in the U.S. positions her between the borders of insider/outsider.
