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Women and the culture of gender in Belize, Central America
Abstract
This dissertation examines the beliefs, values, and behaviors that constitute the "culture of gender" in Belize, Central America. The author begins with an overview of feminist theory and other changes in anthropological theory that have influenced her own understanding of social inequality and culture change. She moves from this to a detailed discussion of the historical and demographic features of gender relations in Belize along with a critique of the historiography of the country. One chapter provides a structural analysis of the position and status of women, which is balanced by a micro analysis of how these structural features affect individual women's lives, focusing mostly on the experiences of Creole, Garifuna, and East Indian women. Three chapters contain oral individual narratives that give specific examples of the constraints women live under. The chapters also emphasize how these women have managed change in the contexts of their personal lives and through their participation in women's groups. The process of gender enculturation is analyzed as an impediment to individual and culture change while women's groups are viewed as facilitators of both individual and structural change.
Subject Area
Cultural anthropology|Womens studies
Recommended Citation
McClaurin, Irma Pearl, "Women and the culture of gender in Belize, Central America" (1993). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9408311.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9408311