"Tuff" Women

This week’s readings were based on a continuation of Gina Ulysse’s book Downtown Ladies.  In chapter 5, she takes an in-depth look at the everyday lives of two ICIs participating in her research. In particular, she examines the “tuffness” they exhibit in order to survive in the arcade everyday which has contributed in the construction of masculine domination. Ulysse states,  “toughness was an armor, a survival mechanism of sorts worn in public, especially on the street , used to rebuff or discourage any unwanted interaction..” (182).What is interesting about this is that it has also contributed to the stereotype of what an ICI or a higgler is. “The tuff attitude distinguished the tourist from the local, the lady from the woman..” (183) Just because she exhibits this toughness in her business to protect herself this takes away from her femininity. Therefore making her socially considered a “woman” instead of a “lady”. Personally, I don’t see a problem with “tuffness” especially when you look at the two circumstances Ulysse documents when the woman does exhibit it or does not exhibit it. The men continue to harass you when you don’t exhibit it, but when you do sometimes they tend to apologize or even leave you alone. I do wonder in the case of invisible ICIs, who tend to be middle class, do they exhibit this type of “tuffness” or is it different?

In Chapter 6, Ulysse documents the shopping trip of two ICIs, Miss. T and Miss. M. She zeroes in on how they navigate the ins and outs of the world of import, export, and international travel. The shopping trip was the easiest part of this journey though Miss. Ulysse tends to have a problem keeping up though. It seems to be that the difficult part of this journey is the importing of the items into Jamaica. This difficulty is attributed to the searching of the goods, the duties being applied to each individual good, and having to have the appropriate documentation. The percentages of the duties are extensive when you look at it, but Ulysse asks a good question. In what way do these duties contribute to the economy? Ulysse points out that “appropriation of funds from this unregulated source is a common practice. It points to similar findings in other nations with proliferating informal economies.” (202) Still, I cannot help but wonder, what do they do with it? Does it go back into the government? Or Does it go into the pockets of high powered individuals?