Welcome back to #Y4SJBookClub

Today we are going through Chapter 1 of "Sexing the Caribbean" by Kerala Kempadoo

Please share widely and contribute your own thoughts about the chapter.

The convention is:

No brackets are paraphrases from the book (brackets is tweeter opinion)

Global media often portrays the Caribbean as exotic and "backward"

A sex crazed and not advanced society.

This book aims at undoing this Colonial view of the Caribbean.

(some Caribbean people share that colonial view 😒)

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As Frantz Fanon (we should be reading his work soon as well) said:

"Colonial Discourses are deeply embedded in the psyche and behaviour of the colonised"

(we see this frequently in how we police women like its the early 20th century still)

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Caribbean sexuality is of significance to understanding the past, present and future of the Caribbean

(one YSJ member highlighted how 🇹🇹 has not done a proper post colonial introspection. Hopefully works like this help)

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The book uses the broadest definition of the Caribbean as possible, but indicates that some sections would only apply to sub definitions of the Caribbean.

For this book
Caribbean = all the islands plus Belize, Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana

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There are two core concepts which are core to discussing Caribbean sexuality

- Hypersexuality

-Hetero-patriarchy

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Hypersexuality refers to the idea that Caribbean people possess hyperactive libidos and overly rely on sexuality as part of their identity

(not an endorsement of this idea but an indication that it is a core aspect when discussing sex in the Caribbean)

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Hetero-patriarchy refers to the privileging of HETEROSEXUAL, PROMISCOUS, MASCULINITY
and
Subordinating FEMININE sexuality

(lock and key bullshit which conservative Caribbean people like to propagate)

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In turn, this ends up normalising a power dynamic which is intolerant and oppressive of any practice outside of the traditional sexuality/gender regime

(you know... Our horrid treatment of lgbt people. Especially trans and gender non conforming people)

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(There is no post colonial solution which does not have women {including trans women} and other gender minorities. There is no post colonial solution which does not have lgb and other sexual minorites)

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Because of the Hetero-patriarchy structure within the Caribbean, lgbt folk and sex workers are often cast as outlaws within their own homes.

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(no book is without biases, and here are the authors. Which have a lot of overlap with our influences)

Influences include:
Walter Rodney
CLR James
Frantz Fanon

(shout out the first round of #Y4SJBookClub)
Also, scholars in "third world" feminism such as

Chandra Talpade Mohanty
Himani Bannerji

Were influential to the author.

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This book was not a solo endeavour and the author gives credit to all who were involved which includes 🇹🇹's own Prof Rhoda Reddock

(if you are trying to lead a movement without being aware of Prof Reddock's research you are not doing the due diligence)

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The aim of this book is to produce knowledge about post colonial Caribbean lives.

Thinking further about Caribbean sexualised struggles, identity and potentialities in the 21st century

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(that brings us to a close to the 1st chapter of Sexing the Caribbean. A nice introduction as to what to expect in the book as we move on.

It is crucial to read and understand what exists in order to overcome it.

See you next Thursday for #Y4SJBookClub)
@threadreaderapp unroll

More from Culture

I just finished Eric Adler's The Battle of the Classics, and wanted to say something about Joel Christiansen's review linked below. I am not sure what motivates the review (I speculate a bit below), but it gives a very misleading impression of the book. 1/x


The meat of the criticism is that the history Adler gives is insufficiently critical. Adler describes a few figures who had a great influence on how the modern US university was formed. It's certainly critical: it focuses on the social Darwinism of these figures. 2/x

Other insinuations and suggestions in the review seem wildly off the mark, distorted, or inappropriate-- for example, that the book is clickbaity (it is scholarly) or conservative (hardly) or connected to the events at the Capitol (give me a break). 3/x

The core question: in what sense is classics inherently racist? Classics is old. On Adler's account, it begins in ancient Rome and is revived in the Renaissance. Slavery (Christiansen's primary concern) is also very old. Let's say classics is an education for slaveowners. 4/x

It's worth remembering that literacy itself is elite throughout most of this history. Literacy is, then, also the education of slaveowners. We can honor oral and musical traditions without denying that literacy is, generally, good. 5/x

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THE MEANING, SIGNIFICANCE AND HISTORY OF SWASTIK

The Swastik is a geometrical figure and an ancient religious icon. Swastik has been Sanatan Dharma’s symbol of auspiciousness – mangalya since time immemorial.


The name swastika comes from Sanskrit (Devanagari: स्वस्तिक, pronounced: swastik) &denotes “conducive to wellbeing or auspicious”.
The word Swastik has a definite etymological origin in Sanskrit. It is derived from the roots su – meaning “well or auspicious” & as meaning “being”.


"सु अस्ति येन तत स्वस्तिकं"
Swastik is de symbol through which everything auspicios occurs

Scholars believe word’s origin in Vedas,known as Swasti mantra;

"🕉स्वस्ति ना इन्द्रो वृधश्रवाहा
स्वस्ति ना पूषा विश्ववेदाहा
स्वस्तिनास्तरक्ष्यो अरिश्तनेमिही
स्वस्तिनो बृहस्पतिर्दधातु"


It translates to," O famed Indra, redeem us. O Pusha, the beholder of all knowledge, redeem us. Redeem us O Garudji, of limitless speed and O Bruhaspati, redeem us".

SWASTIK’s COSMIC ORIGIN

The Swastika represents the living creation in the whole Cosmos.


Hindu astronomers divide the ecliptic circle of cosmos in 27 divisions called
https://t.co/sLeuV1R2eQ this manner a cross forms in 4 directions in the celestial sky. At centre of this cross is Dhruva(Polestar). In a line from Dhruva, the stars known as Saptarishi can be observed.
"I really want to break into Product Management"

make products.

"If only someone would tell me how I can get a startup to notice me."

Make Products.

"I guess it's impossible and I'll never break into the industry."

MAKE PRODUCTS.

Courtesy of @edbrisson's wonderful thread on breaking into comics –
https://t.co/TgNblNSCBj – here is why the same applies to Product Management, too.


There is no better way of learning the craft of product, or proving your potential to employers, than just doing it.

You do not need anybody's permission. We don't have diplomas, nor doctorates. We can barely agree on a single standard of what a Product Manager is supposed to do.

But – there is at least one blindingly obvious industry consensus – a Product Manager makes Products.

And they don't need to be kept at the exact right temperature, given endless resource, or carefully protected in order to do this.

They find their own way.