Sex, Gender and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sex, Gender and Society - Essay Example The fact of gender stereotyping therefore has put the spotlight back on the Caribbean male. (Lewis, 1994, p 76). In other words, it has become one of the most perceptible gendered realities that the men in the Caribbean territory are in crisis in the modern world and the Jamaican realities of gender regarding the marginalisation of black male substantiate the argument. In fact, the marginalisation of black male in the Caribbean territory, especially in Jamaica, has emerged one of the pertinent discourses in the contemporary discourses of Sex, Gender and Society. "Central to this discourse is the notion that men are increasingly missing from the higher echelons of the family, the classroom and the labour force. The marginalization thesis prompts a variety of understandings. On the one hand, the increased presence of Jamaican women in education, the labour force and as household heads suggests that the nation's traditional patriarchy is being reordered to produce a new female-dominated gender hierarchy." (Lindsay, 2002, p 56). This paper undertakes a reflective analysis of the thesis, with reference to the territory of Jamaica, that Caribbean men are in crisis examining the relevance and accuracy of this argument and finding the most illumining recommendations as resolution. One of the salient recent developments in feminist and gender studies in the Caribbean region is the emergence of studies of masculinities and the most appealing argument, based on the marginalisation thesis, is that the Caribbean male is an endangered species. There have been convincing data evidences and empirical supports to this significant argument by Lindsay, and the evidences from the education sector best substantiate the point. Thus, "the Anglophone Caribbean is one of the few regions where secondary school enrolment of girls exceeds that of boys. Additionally, by the 1986-87 academic year, total female enrolment at the University of the West Indies slightly exceeded that of males. By the end of 1992, 70 per cent of all graduates from the University of the West Indies Mona campus were female." (Reddock, 2004, p ix-x). Therefore, it is obvious that there are stunning empirical evidences to prove the accuracy of the argument which states that Caribbean men are in crisis. Accor ding to Lindsay, a clear understanding of the data regarding Caribbean women's participation in different areas of the family, workplace and classroom rarely suggests the increasing female dominance and converse male marginality. To her, the marginality of males in the land results not from any concrete material reality, but from a gender based methodological frame which identifies some data source and ignores others. That is to say, there are arguments in favour as well as against the data evidences of male marginalisation. "While a number of scholars have been able to challenge the marginalization thesis successfully, it continues to have great impact, causing expressions of concern from the highest levels of government and from quasi-governmental institutions at national and regional levels." (Reddock, 2004, p ix-x). Therefore, it is all but easy to conclude that there is great accuracy of the marginalizati