Event

The Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) continues their Lunchtime Seminar series with the topic, Exotic and Erotic: Mixing Stereotypes in the Dougla Woman’s Body presented by Sue Ann Barratt.

The seminar takes place at noon, feel free to bring your own lunch.

To view a printable version of this information, please click here.

About the Presentation

This presentation evaluates preliminary findings from a series of focus group discussions designed to explore the contemporary experiences ofdougla individuals in Trinidad and Tobago.  They emerge from a larger study of the politics of mixedness in the Caribbean with a focus ondouglaness.  Findings suggest that gender mediates experiences of dougla ethnicity, especially for women.  According to these women, who identify as dougla based on their ethnic inheritance and their physical appearance, to be a dougla female is to negotiate persistent expectations of hypersexuality based on beliefs that they have inherited an ‘idealised’ combination of stereotypical sex characteristics from their African and Indian parents.  They suggest that they are perceived as exotic, with body shape and hair texture often used to judge their beauty, desirability and authenticity as mixed females, and it is their exotic quality that marks them as erotic.  The implication, according to focus group respondents, is an unwanted invasion of their sexuality and sexual harassment.

General Topic: Ethnicity and Gender: The Politics of Dougla Identities

About Sue Ann Barratt

Sue Ann Barratt, PhD is a graduate of The UWI, holding a BA in Media and Communication Studies with Political Science, MA Communication Studies, and PhD Interdisciplinary Gender Studies. Her current research areas are interpersonal interaction, social media use, gender and ethnic identities, beauty and body image, and carnival studies. She is an Assistant Lecturer at the IGDS, St. Augustine Unit, and is dedicated to gender awareness and sensitivity training through face-to-face sessions and mass media outreach.

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For more information contact IGDS: Tel: 662 2002 Ext 83573/83577 | Email: igds@sta.uwi.edu

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