An Inspirational and Introspective Gathering of Men in Dominica (Oct 30th – Nov 1st 2012)

Last week, in the days approaching Dominica’s 34^th year of formal independence, invited guests of UN Women and members of the Caribbean Male Action Network (CariMAN http://cariman-org.tumblr.com/) – a diverse and dispersed web of Caribbean men connected by common concerns with issues of gender - arrived on the ‘Nature Isle’ to participate in a 3 day conference. The conference, supported and coordinated by UN Women, was entitled ‘Men as Partners for Gender Equality and the Elimination of Violence Against Women’.

As Dr Peter Weller the regional director of CariMAN (and psychologist by trade and training) laid out in his opening notes, the 3 day meeting intended to provide a forum for self inquiry and the questioning of gendered concepts, assumptions and experiences. The attendees were a diverse group of lawyers, researchers, students, teachers, social workers, religious leaders, sexual health activists, police men and NGO workers hailing from all across the Antilles and its diaspora. Thomas Holmes (Ministry of Education, Dominica) the head of CariMAN Dominica chapter also offered a warm welcome to all present; as did Gabrielle Henderson (UN Women), the event coordinator.

Day 1:

After the formalities and protocols of the introductory session, the group opened out into a round with chairs placed along the perimeter of the room to offer an open space for exchange and conversation. ‘Arts in Action’ (http://www.artsinaction.org/meet-the-team/), an applied performance arts collective based at UWI St Augustine, then entered the space calling us to our feet. They immediately stimulated the room and all within it: inviting us to move through the space and interact with one-another to the irresistible rhythm of the djembe drum. Call and response exercises and short thought provoking skits (e.g. ‘I Tarzan, she Jane’ – on gender roles and sexualities) followed, offering an invigorating beginning to the process of gendered self reflection we had been called to undertake. And with their uninhibited and fun approach, it felt as though a ‘safe space’ of respect for confusion, questions and difference had been implicitly inaugurated.

And confusion, questions and differences would most certainly emerge as the group began making sense of the many presentations that followed. Dr Hazel Da Breo (Psychotherapist / Family Therapist) and Alex P Vega (PhD Candidate/ UN Women Consultant), both offered thought provoking presentations questioning gender essentialisms and patriarchal forms of oppression (Da Breo); and interrogating common understandings of gendered identities and sexualities (Vega).

The goal of both presentations was to destabilize dominant gender concepts – and more importantly challenge the audience to cognitively unpack their own taken-for-granted gender concepts - which are understood by the presenters to reinforce/re-inscribe a patriarchal order of things in Caribbean societies (and worldwide). New terms and, idioms were offered as a means of talking about sexualities, gender, women and relationships in non-sexist ways .

Yet the presentation of concepts deriving from North American and European queer/feminist academic theory to an audience of Caribbean men was always likely to demand a process of dialogue to reconcile diverse gendered understandings that emerge from quite different contexts. Much work and negotiation took place on the part of the men present as they sought to square the open-ended notions of gender and sexuality they were being told about, with the gendered meanings operating in the contexts in which they live.

Fundamental questions concerning what makes a man or woman; who can ‘mother’ or ‘father’; and what range of sexualities exist in the world were discussed. During these discussions much laughter reverberated through the room. For the most part baffling and transgressive ideas were processed in the spirit of humour, rather than dismissed or ignored. Disagreements did arise, but these were understood to be integral to the gender work the men were engaged in. Indeed, one delegate remarked: “a quarrel is required” to work through the themes discussed, and render them appropriate oneself and others around us. Many questions remained, and came to be accompanied by new ones throughout the day. However, in the interest of the conference aims – the process of inquiry had begun.

Day 2:

Presentations by a number of researchers and NGO workers followed on the second day:

Corin Bailey (Sociologist/ Social Geographer, UWI, Cave Hill) presented research on violence and masculinities among Caribbean young men. He concluded that despite some alternative ‘positive trends’, valorised dominant masculine attributes reinforce and naturalise violence among young men; and between young men and their female partners.  

Nicholas Gilbert (Researcher IGDS/ Life Skills Coordinator, Ministry of National Security, Trinidad and Tobago) presented on masculinism and criminality. He concluded that masculinist ideals concerning individual strength, independence, the imperative to provide for family and a rejection of feminine forms are all generative of criminality within the Trinidadian prison in which he did his study.  

In response to these two presentations the discussions shifted towards the relationship between ‘fatherhood absence’ and Criminality. A pastor from Guyana highlighted the paradox whereby patriarchy has been deemed a central problem and cause of violence/criminality (with masculinism and hegemonic masculinities constitutive aspects of patriarchy), and yet mother-centered households who are lacking that patriarchal figure are also seen as the cause of violence/criminality. This latter question concerning of the pathologisation of female centered households lies at the centre of my inquiry on fatherhood and male kinship in Dominica... and as such the discussion shifted us organically towards the proposal for inquiry that I would present.

Adom Philogene Heron (PhD Candidate, Social Anthropology, St Andrews) – ‘Exploring Everyday Experiences, Practices and Ideas Concerning Dominican Men in Family Life’. (Download PDF Here).

Alice Taylor (Promundo) highlighted the international work done by Promundo in their Multi-Country Gender Based Violence Prevention Project. (http://www.promundo.org.br/en/)

And here’s an interesting report of Promundo’s on men as caregivers (http://www.chsj.org/uploads/1/0/2/1/10215849/men_who_care.pdf)

Keshan Latchman (Global UNiTE Campaign, Trinidad) Presented on ‘The importance of Involving Youth in Prevention Strategies for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls’. He discussed his use of outside informal settings for engagement with young people (rather than confined classrooms); the use of popular cultural forms to stimulate discussions on gender based violence; and the utility of social media to create spaces for discussion and intervention on gender based violence.

Petit Frere (Lyme Lavi, Haiti) then discussed the rethinking power project in Haiti. He cited interesting reflections on experiences of community support among religious leaders in challenging domestic violence; and also distributed bright and bold posters/ promotional materials that his Lyme Lavi use in their work to end gender based violence.

Sheldon Mycoo (Cariman Trinidad and Tobago) then offered detailed mapping study of the organisations and projects that might fall under the remit of CariMAN in Trinidad and Tobago. This assessment set out to identify needs/ demands for projects across the country; and hence locate where and to whom CariMAN can offer assistance.

Finally, Abbas Mancy (Cariman Guyana) offered a series of lessons learned from a football tournament project amongst men and boys focused on ending gender based violence in Guyana.  

Day 3:

A day of action oriented planning.

The group divided into our various territorial chapters and we each offered a series of reflections on the workshop thus far as well as laying out concrete strategic and practical plans for future CariMAN projects in our respective contexts.  A clear agenda was laid out by each group, and we finally offered our parting comments, thanks and meditations on the rich experience of the three days.

Together the group then boarded the bus that had brought us to the conference each day and we ventured out up Dominica’s steep and rugged mountainous terrain for a visit to the island’s Fresh Water Lake. The cloud cloaked mountains that cradle the cold lake siting beneath them provided a tranquil yet invigorating setting for final reflections, conversations, and for some, a cold swim before a warming alcoholic tonic to cap a stimulating week.