Tag Archives: gender issues

Many women arrive in clinic apologising for their bodies. “Doctor, I know… it’s my weight.” They say it before I check their blood pressure. Before I review their blood tests. Before I ask about sleep, stress, grief, work, hormones or the fact that they have not eaten a quiet meal …

Disclaimer: I don’t work for Tribe Carnival. I am not a fan of the waste-generating, classist, exclusionary commercialization of Carnival. As a former Minshall and 3Canal player and fan, if I were to resume playing mas myself, it would most likely be with a mas band like Berkley Mas or …

There is a troubling pattern in our public life: moral leaders who sound their trumpets loudly, yet hollowly choosing the easiest battles while leaving the hardest untouched. Their sermons bloom like roses, but without thorns: ornamental, perfumed and harmless. They raise their voices against costumes, symbols and sensuality but fall …

January arrives quietly. After the noise of Christmas and the forced optimism of New Year’s resolutions, the world exhales. The decorations come down. Life resumes. Carnival beckons. It is in this quieter month—often overlooked, rarely celebrated—that we mark Cervical Cancer Awareness. There is something painfully appropriate about that. Cervical cancer …

He was ranting angrily about his wife of 25 years. He often came to me to vent; she did too. There was little to do but listen. They were spectacularly unsuited for each other, but the thought of getting a divorce was an unthinkable one, because according to the way …

The life that Safiya Sinclair describes in How to Say Babylon bears many similarities with lifestyles throughout our region. I have heard enough stories to convince me. The specific nature of her relationship with the Rastafari culture can easily be transferred to fit the widespread value systems that allocate superior …

“[…] The Women Soca Warriors are going to get pummelled because we deliberately chose to ignore their programme. “It seems to me that we are a culture that likes to see women being humiliated. We will invest heavily in men’s sports, especially football, but will neglect our women and make …

Chapter 6: I got really angry… In many marriages, there is balance in terms of personalities. One party can go from 0 to 100 really quickly, and the other is often the voice of reason and calmness. Prior to May 16, 2024, I was the former in my marriage, while …

The People’s National Movement (PNM) has appointed Arima MP Pennelope Beckles as its opposition leader. Beckles, 64, was endorsed by the PNM’s General Council today after producing writing support of six from the opposition’s 13 MPs: Symon de Nobriga, Marvin Gonzales, Colm Imbert, Kareem Marcelle, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, and Keith …

“[…] Our reality is that: women still make up only 23% of members of Parliament; the unemployment rate for women remains higher than for men, especially among young women aged 15-24 (CSO, 2022); and one in three women in Trinidad and Tobago has experienced intimate partner violence (UN Women Caribbean, 2023). “[…] The late Hazel Brown, one …

During the Bush 2.0 Administration, pious Christian Nationalist and Attorney General John Ashcroft demanded that two nude statues, called Spirit of Justice and Majesty of Justice, in the Great Hall be covered up with blue drapes, because he deemed the human nudity “indecent” and “distracting”. These were works of art …

Chapter 1: Tiny Weird Identifiable Lump (TWIL)… TWIL showed up in April—or rather, I found TWIL in April. It is strange because self-exams were not a routine for me, even though I knew the importance. I always had dense tissue and would get an annual ultrasound just to make sure …