Coolie womanist..
This week was Republic Day/Mashramani/Carnival in Guyana. I have had some conversations about race.. strange conversations because I am conscious that overwhelmingly, Guyanese of African origin are more visible in the Carnival like Mashramani thing - when commentators will talk of how people of all backgrounds enjoy the thing.. But.. the leaders know that better a party in the streets than people marching...
A friend sent me this :
while another friend (Indian origin) tells me of her conversation and argument with a man (of Indian origin) who said that black women are easy for sex and how Indians in Guyana were 'polluted' by being close to Black people..
Another blogger of 'Indian' origin asked me if I could read her blog to see if she sounded racist.. and I did not reply because I had no answer to deal with anybody's racism if I am not going to deal with my own complex views of other "races"
And then I tell a right wing Indian (Hindu) man I know to go read Audre Lorde's essay on Uses of the Erotic : The Erotic as Power because he say he is bored with his school work.
Audre Lorde is a black woman who this coolie man would have been glad to not go back to India for in case I missed out on her writings..Another black woman whose writings I like is bell hooks.. .
The cosmic whirl continues and the students of one of bell hooks' students gifts me with this book "Womanist Forefathers : Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois" By Gary L Lemons. A big book, and I am busy so I open and go to two chapters down in the book and browse through rather than read and find that I am spending too much time thinking of the little that I have read.
I learn that :
Womanist - A black feminist or feminist of colour.. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female.. Not a separatist.. Traditionally universal as in : "Mama, why are we brown, pink and yellow and our cousins are white, beige and black?" Ans : "Well, you know the coloured race is just like a flower garden , with every color flower represented" (Alice Walker, 2003)
Gary L Lemons draws the lineage between Frederick Douglass and W.E.B Du Bois, African American activists , as womanist forefathers to the contemporary pro-feminist (pro-womanist?) black men who are activists and academics who challenge patriarchy in their own lives, and in their work.
According to Professor Lemons, Pro-woman(ist) describes a gender progressive black male who supports the social, economic , sexual and political rights of "woman" transnationally and womanist thinking (as a black feminist or feminist of colour simultaneously).
A friend sent me this :
"Despatch from Governor Light to Lord Stanley.
Government House, Demerara 30 Nov 1842
"Some eight or ten Coolies may probably desire to remain behind [i.e., not return to India], having made connexions with black women"
while another friend (Indian origin) tells me of her conversation and argument with a man (of Indian origin) who said that black women are easy for sex and how Indians in Guyana were 'polluted' by being close to Black people..
Another blogger of 'Indian' origin asked me if I could read her blog to see if she sounded racist.. and I did not reply because I had no answer to deal with anybody's racism if I am not going to deal with my own complex views of other "races"
And then I tell a right wing Indian (Hindu) man I know to go read Audre Lorde's essay on Uses of the Erotic : The Erotic as Power because he say he is bored with his school work.
Audre Lorde is a black woman who this coolie man would have been glad to not go back to India for in case I missed out on her writings..Another black woman whose writings I like is bell hooks.. .
The cosmic whirl continues and the students of one of bell hooks' students gifts me with this book "Womanist Forefathers : Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois" By Gary L Lemons. A big book, and I am busy so I open and go to two chapters down in the book and browse through rather than read and find that I am spending too much time thinking of the little that I have read.I learn that :
Womanist - A black feminist or feminist of colour.. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female.. Not a separatist.. Traditionally universal as in : "Mama, why are we brown, pink and yellow and our cousins are white, beige and black?" Ans : "Well, you know the coloured race is just like a flower garden , with every color flower represented" (Alice Walker, 2003)
Gary L Lemons draws the lineage between Frederick Douglass and W.E.B Du Bois, African American activists , as womanist forefathers to the contemporary pro-feminist (pro-womanist?) black men who are activists and academics who challenge patriarchy in their own lives, and in their work.
According to Professor Lemons, Pro-woman(ist) describes a gender progressive black male who supports the social, economic , sexual and political rights of "woman" transnationally and womanist thinking (as a black feminist or feminist of colour simultaneously).
He cites the work of men who have been working against racism and sexism. It is fascinating to see the work from these men.. Kevin Powell with the essay Confessions of a Recovering Misogynist, Mark Anthony Neal who is a NewBlackMan, and Thandabantu Iverson who was scared to read Audre Lorde because people might think he gay, and who felt that her essay Man Child.. was powerful. Many of the men grew up without fathers or witnessed violence from their fathers, and yet they grew to reject that violence as being part of male. This is different from the other story of how absent fathers contribute to the delinquency and 'single parents' are seen as problems.
As a coolie man reading what this black man has to say about being pro-womanist.. he had his own list of things which he had to do.. and I thought of these in my coolie context , if it is possible to disrespect him and think through how I would fit in them.
1. Affirming humanity of all (black) men regardless of class or sexual difference (I assume that means sexual orientation)
Spiritually, I am supposed to be compassionate.. and the Bhagvad Gita talks a lot about recognising there is no difference from the other men who anger or shock me with their behaviour or attitudes. Though, in thinking through the humanity, it helps a bit to understand behaviour.. problem is ensuring that understanding the behaviour does not mean challenging it or be seen to accepting it. Professor Lemons is a minister of religion.. but the book does not dwell too much , well at least the parts I read, on how spirituality fits into all of this - if it does.
2. Confronting Misogyny
Professor Lemons had Misogyny and Homophobia together.. I think they are separate since I am finding that there are many misogynists who are not homophobic, and many homophobic people who are not misogynists. Misogyny asserts itself all over the male world.. and it is complex in the coolie world. I remember this line from the a woman in the Canadian film Masala "Indian men are mother loving, women hating.... " In dealing with domestic violence and child abuse, I have learnt that there are women who are capable of inflicting great pain on children especially. Last year , I had written some thoughts. My most recent confrontation of misogyny was this gay guy who does the fashion write ups for a local newspaper. One particular review really laid into the girls and how they spoke and looked, and I wrote him and told him that I wished that one day he would come to love women, appreciate their history and aspirations and have some empathy for the beauty contestants who he was writing about. I have another homophobic theory that many of the gay men who are involved in the beauty and fashion thing do that not because they like women,but because they want to reinforce the cultural values that tell a lot of women that she not beautiful until she dress up or make up or hair up or whatever.. many men dont have to do that, a lot of us think we are beautiful no matter how the market might push other images at us of what men should look like.
Confronting homophobia
A preacher woman told me that she is not homophobic.. despite her sustained efforts to peddle the child abuse myths about gay men, and to participate in campaigns to undermine rights of LGBT people. She also believe it is okay to beat children as a form of punishment. Recently, I did an article for Hinduism Today which is to be published in April on Hinduism and Homosexuality : Views from Guyana. It was great to find that there are men in Guyana who are questioning their homophobia.. though a big shot coolie man told a friend of mine that homosexuality is unnatural and that I am a dangerous man. and in Trinidad, the Hindu Senator Panday, when he could not find any Hindu scripture to back up his homophobia, made up something from the Bible. A lot of work has to be done to let men understand their homophobic prejudices.. but it not impossible.
Idea that Strong (black)man.. real coolie man rooted in machismo which oppresses women
A lot of my Indian men friends don't talk much about loving women. A few of them are happy in their relationships and marriage and many of them do not need to have plenty women to assert their masculinity and tend to frown on infidelity. The talk though, in some places.. still has this thing of control.. even amongst some who are 'educated' and dealing with this requires a lot of work. I will always remember a senior coolie manager at the sugar company, after my first TV appearance for Help & Shelter, doing the limp wrist thing in my direction to call me woman. There was another senior coolie manager though, who told me that the work was good and he agreed with me.. a year later I saw that he was in court for assaulting his wife and chasing her with a gun.
Liberation of coolie manhood and masculinity
A lot of coolie men have been killed by their drinking buddies and friends in the last year or so. It is difficult to work out what the notions of being male and masculine are now.. rum plays a big part in some sections of the society.. and having a woman or plenty women is apparently a big part of what manhood is about. There is an increase in the intensity of domestic violence now
There are other guys though who have quietly challenged roles.. deciding not to drink, to stay close to home, to their children.. to listen to their children. Not a lot because the cultural pressures are there to retain the status quo. I remember my father reading this book of Indian women's stories from Trinidad & Tobago - and he wondered where I got the book and wanted to keep it since he had never thought of hearing those stories in Guyana beyond man trouble or anything like that. The book though is out of print and was only for a University audience it seems.
Trying to work out this thing about absent father/present father/is your father ow lef he 'lone.. and elders
Yep, coolie people are family oriented, and no matter, though different fathers play different roles in their sons lives.. some encourage them to greater things, some work through life's challenges with them, others curse them.. it is a battle, but there are many coolie men who are abandoning their children (many pay for abortions or cajole, coerce, demand them) in different ways - even as others are becoming better fathers and husbands. There are no templates really.. and I do not have children nor do I intend to have any, but I think it is a good idea, that being womanist means interacting with the men around you, fathers, brothers, others and celebrating the affirmations which come from the strangest places , and to also give those out. A lot of us have to come to terms with our fathers because they are around.. and you are told. he good no matter with and you have to learn the distinction between forgiveness and forgetting.
Feminism is a white people thing and that coolie women who stand up for themselves are 'western'
Since I started the work with Help & Shelter , I learnt that many people felt that this was going to break up the family. One religious leader had referred to the 'western' trained Indian women who stood up for themselves.. and talked not about equality, but equity. So it not easy for an Indian woman who might want to break out of any moulds.. the Hindu religion includes Shakti, the divine female.. so why this fear when the female power manifests itself at home, or at work or in the society? While many of the women who have achieved much might not call themselves the 'F' word.. I have learnt there are different feminisms and I am happy that I am not scared of any of the women who go beyond what the society expects them to be. I am a conservative though.. and the sexual politics thing.. you know, if a woman want to wear her hijab and cover up, it should be as okay as if she want to wear a bikini and backball an 8 year old boy..or win' down to the ground in front of the President.. that don't work for me... even as other say that I should lef her alone since she asserting her sexuality.
So.. coolie womanist, is it possible. not sure.. not yet.. maybe.. but it is good to see other men who are travelling this journey and are not afraid of women anymore.
As a coolie man reading what this black man has to say about being pro-womanist.. he had his own list of things which he had to do.. and I thought of these in my coolie context , if it is possible to disrespect him and think through how I would fit in them.
1. Affirming humanity of all (black) men regardless of class or sexual difference (I assume that means sexual orientation)
Spiritually, I am supposed to be compassionate.. and the Bhagvad Gita talks a lot about recognising there is no difference from the other men who anger or shock me with their behaviour or attitudes. Though, in thinking through the humanity, it helps a bit to understand behaviour.. problem is ensuring that understanding the behaviour does not mean challenging it or be seen to accepting it. Professor Lemons is a minister of religion.. but the book does not dwell too much , well at least the parts I read, on how spirituality fits into all of this - if it does.
2. Confronting Misogyny
Professor Lemons had Misogyny and Homophobia together.. I think they are separate since I am finding that there are many misogynists who are not homophobic, and many homophobic people who are not misogynists. Misogyny asserts itself all over the male world.. and it is complex in the coolie world. I remember this line from the a woman in the Canadian film Masala "Indian men are mother loving, women hating.... " In dealing with domestic violence and child abuse, I have learnt that there are women who are capable of inflicting great pain on children especially. Last year , I had written some thoughts. My most recent confrontation of misogyny was this gay guy who does the fashion write ups for a local newspaper. One particular review really laid into the girls and how they spoke and looked, and I wrote him and told him that I wished that one day he would come to love women, appreciate their history and aspirations and have some empathy for the beauty contestants who he was writing about. I have another homophobic theory that many of the gay men who are involved in the beauty and fashion thing do that not because they like women,but because they want to reinforce the cultural values that tell a lot of women that she not beautiful until she dress up or make up or hair up or whatever.. many men dont have to do that, a lot of us think we are beautiful no matter how the market might push other images at us of what men should look like.
Confronting homophobia
A preacher woman told me that she is not homophobic.. despite her sustained efforts to peddle the child abuse myths about gay men, and to participate in campaigns to undermine rights of LGBT people. She also believe it is okay to beat children as a form of punishment. Recently, I did an article for Hinduism Today which is to be published in April on Hinduism and Homosexuality : Views from Guyana. It was great to find that there are men in Guyana who are questioning their homophobia.. though a big shot coolie man told a friend of mine that homosexuality is unnatural and that I am a dangerous man. and in Trinidad, the Hindu Senator Panday, when he could not find any Hindu scripture to back up his homophobia, made up something from the Bible. A lot of work has to be done to let men understand their homophobic prejudices.. but it not impossible.
Idea that Strong (black)man.. real coolie man rooted in machismo which oppresses women
A lot of my Indian men friends don't talk much about loving women. A few of them are happy in their relationships and marriage and many of them do not need to have plenty women to assert their masculinity and tend to frown on infidelity. The talk though, in some places.. still has this thing of control.. even amongst some who are 'educated' and dealing with this requires a lot of work. I will always remember a senior coolie manager at the sugar company, after my first TV appearance for Help & Shelter, doing the limp wrist thing in my direction to call me woman. There was another senior coolie manager though, who told me that the work was good and he agreed with me.. a year later I saw that he was in court for assaulting his wife and chasing her with a gun.
Liberation of coolie manhood and masculinity
A lot of coolie men have been killed by their drinking buddies and friends in the last year or so. It is difficult to work out what the notions of being male and masculine are now.. rum plays a big part in some sections of the society.. and having a woman or plenty women is apparently a big part of what manhood is about. There is an increase in the intensity of domestic violence now
There are other guys though who have quietly challenged roles.. deciding not to drink, to stay close to home, to their children.. to listen to their children. Not a lot because the cultural pressures are there to retain the status quo. I remember my father reading this book of Indian women's stories from Trinidad & Tobago - and he wondered where I got the book and wanted to keep it since he had never thought of hearing those stories in Guyana beyond man trouble or anything like that. The book though is out of print and was only for a University audience it seems.
Trying to work out this thing about absent father/present father/is your father ow lef he 'lone.. and elders
Yep, coolie people are family oriented, and no matter, though different fathers play different roles in their sons lives.. some encourage them to greater things, some work through life's challenges with them, others curse them.. it is a battle, but there are many coolie men who are abandoning their children (many pay for abortions or cajole, coerce, demand them) in different ways - even as others are becoming better fathers and husbands. There are no templates really.. and I do not have children nor do I intend to have any, but I think it is a good idea, that being womanist means interacting with the men around you, fathers, brothers, others and celebrating the affirmations which come from the strangest places , and to also give those out. A lot of us have to come to terms with our fathers because they are around.. and you are told. he good no matter with and you have to learn the distinction between forgiveness and forgetting.
Feminism is a white people thing and that coolie women who stand up for themselves are 'western'
Since I started the work with Help & Shelter , I learnt that many people felt that this was going to break up the family. One religious leader had referred to the 'western' trained Indian women who stood up for themselves.. and talked not about equality, but equity. So it not easy for an Indian woman who might want to break out of any moulds.. the Hindu religion includes Shakti, the divine female.. so why this fear when the female power manifests itself at home, or at work or in the society? While many of the women who have achieved much might not call themselves the 'F' word.. I have learnt there are different feminisms and I am happy that I am not scared of any of the women who go beyond what the society expects them to be. I am a conservative though.. and the sexual politics thing.. you know, if a woman want to wear her hijab and cover up, it should be as okay as if she want to wear a bikini and backball an 8 year old boy..or win' down to the ground in front of the President.. that don't work for me... even as other say that I should lef her alone since she asserting her sexuality.
So.. coolie womanist, is it possible. not sure.. not yet.. maybe.. but it is good to see other men who are travelling this journey and are not afraid of women anymore.
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