Lady v. Woman

       This week’s reading, Downtown Ladies, focused on the complex perspective of Lady v. Woman. It is set in Jamaica and takes special interest in the role of woman and in the role of lady, while capturing the socially constructed levels of difference. In reading many of the novels I must say that I have never actually seen the way in which complexion can construct barriers within one’s own seemingly identifying class. The lady was educated and refined, she upheld the heteronormativity that governed gendered ideals and she knew her “place”, this of course being the elite white female and on rare occasions maybe the lighter skinned black female. The woman is the role the black women took on it was the one in which she is built strongly, able to do hard labor, and definitely head of household. Even within these roles the red, yella, brown, and BLACK women would do everything in their power to try and “appear” as a lady. Being a lady was what gave you entitlement to femininity, so plainly women of color were not seen as feminine except in rare circumstances. The complexion component held that the closer you were to white the higher your class status was. So not only where they being denied the right to their femininity they were being oppressed by those who seemingly faced the same oppression as they did.

            The women worked as higglers and ICIs, though with seemingly identical concepts, they have two completely different meanings and draw different varying reactions both, however, looked down upon by the lady. The women worked to import the goods that themselves and others were being denied on the island. The government viewed this as a threat economically but also as a favor because it made the government appear as though it was capable of providing for its citizens. When the government caught on to just how profitable the industry of higglering was and grew tired of the businessmen’s complaints, the Revenue Board decided to bring about several importing restrictions and licensing requirements to restrict what exactly was being imported into the country. Most former higglers turned ICIs took to this new “official” title, however, acknowledging the strain placed on them by the taxation of the government on their business. Other higglers felt it was more of an insult and refused to go through the licensing process, and disliked to even be referred to as an ICI. When looking at this attempted government takeover of this importing industry the question of what exactly was the Revenue Boards indentations comes into mind. The government system fails to adequately provide for its citizens and refuses to allow them to adequately provide for themselves, is this really a fight for control/power?