Carnival is woman : feminism and performance in Caribbean mas / edited by Frances Henry and Dwaine Plaza.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Henry, Frances, 1931- editor.

Plaza, Dwaine, editor.

Series:

Caribbean studies series (Jackson, Miss.)

Caribbean studies series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Carnival--Caribbean Area.

Carnival.

Women--Caribbean Area--Social conditions.

Women.

Feminism.

History.

Caribbean Area.

Social conditions.

Women--Caribbean Area--History.

Feminism--Caribbean Area.

Women--Social conditions.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

vii, 201 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2020]

Summary:

"Women are performing an ever-growing role in Caribbean Carnival. Through a feminist perspective, this volume examines the presence of women in contemporary Carnival by demonstrating not only their strength in numbers, but also the ways in which women participate in the event. While decried by traditionalists, the bikinis, beads, and feathers of "pretty mas" convey both a newly found empowerment as a gendered resistance to oppression from men. Although research on Carnivals is substantial, especially in the Americas, the subject of women in Carnival as a topic of inquiry remains fairly new. These essays address anthropological and historical facets of women and their practices in the Trinidad Carnival, including an analysis of how women's costuming and performance have changed over time. The modern costumes, which are well within the financial means of most mas players, demonstrate the new power of women who can now afford these outfits. In discussing the commodification and erotization of Carnival, the book emphasizes the unveiling of the female body and the hip-rolling sexual movements called winin or it. Through display of their bodies, contemporary women in Carnival express a form of female resistance. Intent on enjoying and expressing themselves, they seem invigorated by their place in the economy, as well as their sexuality, defying the moral controls imposed on them. Through an array of methods in qualitative research, including interviews, participant observation, and ethnography, this volume explains the new power of women in the evolution of Carnival mas in Trinidad amid the wider Caribbean diaspora"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Preface

Introduction / Frances Henry and Dwaine Plaza

Women and the De-Africanization of Trinidad Carnival: From the Jamette to Bikini, Beads, and Feathers / Dwaine Plaza and Jan DeCosmo

Stories of Resistance and Oppression: Baby Doll and Dame Lorraine / Frances Henry and Jeff Henry

Jamette!: Women and Canboulay in 1881 / Philip W. Scher

Taking the Queen to the Streets: The Jaycees Carnival Queen Competition and the Pretty Mas' Aesthetic / Samantha Noel

Practicing Jametteness: The Transmission of "Bad Behavior" as a Strategy of Survival / A. D. Jones

"Thirty Gyal to One Man: Women's Prolific Presence in the Trinidad Carnival / Asha St. Bernard

From Devi to Diva: Indo-Caribbean Women Rising in Trinidad's Chutney Soca / Darrell Gerohn Baksh

Caribana in Toronto: From Male Dominance to Female Agency / Dwaine Plaza

Glossary

About the Contributors

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Carnival is woman

ISBN:

9781496825452

9781496825445

1496825446

1496825454

OCLC:

1099270663

Publisher Number:

99983803007