TEDx Antigua

Kai's presentation, "Spiritual Change - The Journey to Rasta" will share with us, and the world, her personal and spiritual voyage. Kai Davis represented her country as a dancer at a number of festivals between 1990 and 2002.

Lia's speech addresses the impact of climate change, looks at ways in which local Antiguans have become climate innovators and discusses small but innovative ways in which we ourselves can also be climate innovators. Born to adventurers, Lia Nicholson's grandparents sailed the family to the twin island state of Antigua & Barbuda in the 1940s.

Gomes, a devout Christian, focuses on Breath, Mind, Spirit during his talk and how simple meditation and breathing techniques can improve health and return balance to life. Sifu Jurey Gomes is a recognised and decorated martial arts practitioner and founder of the Fist of Nothingness system of martial arts.

Marcella's speech will tackle the issues of displacement from her home country Dominica to her adopted home of Antigua. Follow her as she finds herself, her home and her place in this world. Marcella André-Georges is an entrepreneur and transformative leader.

Calypso Joe's talk, "Our Story in Song - Examining the social consciousness of calypso" will focus on the lingering impacts of slavery, colonialism and racism on society and will end with the positive charge of nation building. Joseph "Calypso Joe" Hunte started his musical career as a student in the Johnson's Point Primary School drama program.

I'm really proud of the work that went into producing all of this. TEDx Antigua showcased some of Antigua's Great Minds and allowed the world to see a snippet into our culture and what makes us, us. The Ted Talks all grouped under the tagline, "Fungee & Pepperpot a recipe for development and change" did just what it's organizers hoped it would, incite in the minds of others the need to reshape and rethink our perspective on how we should attain spiritual, economical, and regional development.

Happy International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day, and I am proud to be a woman. I am proud to be feminine, proud to be flawed, proud to be educated, proud to be able to express myself freely. However, while the benefits of the Women's suffrage movement have been garnered by many, they are not enjoyed by all. Some Women are still not privy to an education. Some Women are still regarded as second-class citizens. Some Women are still victims of abuse and rape. Some Women are being trafficked and their bodies desecrated. Some Women are still forced to marry. And because some Women suffer, all Women suffer. Because some Women are degraded, all Women are victims of the same degradation. When one is over-sexualized, we all are. As women, we need to stop degrading each other, because it may make others think it is okay to degrade us. Instead, try your beat to uplift each other, correct each other, love each other. And when we all band together as one movement, together we can change the way society perceives us and mold our own destinies without the cap imposed on us by Male superiority. Together we can achieve true equality. Today being a day that supports the movement that recognizes women as human beings is an important day for all of us. Men should support this movement  as they have mothers, daughters, sisters, wives. Even though they may think it doesn't affect them, it does. The world hurts when there is no equality. Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche voices my views perfectly, she says "Gender as it functions today is a grave injustice. I am angry. We should all be angry. Anger has a long history of bringing about positive change. But I am also hopeful, because I believe deeply in the ability of human beings to remake themselves for the better." 

- Annetta Deborah Jackson

It's Quite Clear I'm a Feminist

“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” ― Gloria Steinem

It's quite clear that i'm a Feminist. I post about it often enough and debate on the radio long enough to be classified as one. However, i think that many people have misconceptions about what feminism actually is and who feminists really are. When people post on the Internet calling feminists crazy or unnecessary, i feel deeply hurt. I don't think that society truly realizes the importance of this empowering movement and how it's beneficial.

First off, being a feminist does not make you a man hater. This is just the same as saying that being white makes you racist or being Islamic makes you a terrorist. Generalizing a group based on the behaviour of a smaller set doesn't speak to the full picture.  In every group there will be a radical few who take things out of proportion, but that should not define them. I identify myself as a feminist and i don't go around scorning men and nitpicking every thing that they do crying 'sexism'. That doesn't make anything better. Feminism is about seeking equality. It is about women having the ability to live as freely as men do without restriction and without scorn. Equality is the key word, and if you are seeking equality, you cannot promote hatred.

Secondly, feminist don't all look a certain way. When persons think of a feminist, their mind usually paints up a picture of a masculine woman who doesn't wear make-up and rants all the time. Quite frankly, if this was the face of feminism, it would not fully reflect the persons the movement represented. The housewife can be a feminist, the Muslim girl with a hi-jab can be a feminist, the Caribbean girl in her mass costume can be a feminist, the model on the runway can be a feminist, the video vixen can be a feminist, the sex-worker, the girl next door, even the boy around the corner. Weaved, Natural, Bare, or made-up... any man or woman can be a feminist.  Not including these persons greatly limits what the movement stands for. Wearing make-up doesn't make you less of a supporter of equality than the next person... so why does this happen. EQUAL rights for women, that is what this movement is about, and all women from every spectrum should be able to identify with it. 

Thirdly, feminism is not about female domination. Whoever told you that isn't a feminist. Female domination totally negates the purpose of the movement which is equality. It will not promote any positive change as it fosters injustice on the other end of the spectrum. The vox populi of many persons when they think of feminism is female dominance... this isn't the case. We're just looking for equal rights, opportunities, and representation. Female domination would not fix the problem... Feminism is about equality for both males and females, none with more socio-political and economic influence/dominance than the other. Both sexes being able to co-exists freely without friction, hate, and submission to the other.

Persons who state that feminism has not done any good need to re-evaluate everything. Women who aren't feminists should re-evaluate themselves. The fact that I can go to school and have the education to type this post is due to feminism. The fact that my friend can be a female-pastor is due to feminism. The fact that I can give my opinion without being killed is due to feminism. My ability to chose not to be married off at 14 is due to feminism. The fact that i have the ability to vote is due to feminism. The fact that i can work to provide for myself and have the money to buy my own make-up and not depend on a man is due to feminism. The fact that my brother thinks its okay to cry without feeling 'emasculated' is due to feminism. The fact that i can see both male and female nurses is due to feminism. So much progress has been brought about by this movement and it has the capacity to do so much more.

It's quite clear that i'm a feminist and if everyone was a feminist the world would be a slightly better place.

We Should All Be Feminists

I am all about empowerment, and I'm all for equality. So when i stumbled upon Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche in the summer of 2013, I did more research into Feminism and what it really meant. Despite popular opinion, feminism is not a cult of women seeking vengeance against men and wanting to dominate them, however it is an ideal to strive for. It is the belief that both men and women can live in an equal society, free from demands ascribed to them based on gender. Feminism also preaches that we have no set expectations from males and females based on gender. Feminism does not say that one gender is more valued, but it preaches that both have just as much potential. In today's society, where survival is not based on physical advantage but on intellect, their is no need to preach of a superior gender. I now personally self identify as a Feminist because i believe in equality. I don't hate men, frankly i get along with them very well, i just believe that there should be a balance. I don't preach down on persons who disapprove of feminism, nor do i lean towards shrouding myself in masculinity to feel empowered. I wear lipstick, i like braids, i love fashion [as you can see], i read stereotypical romance novels, things that are deemed by society as decidedly non-feminist. Here is an excerpt from Chimamanda's speech which inspired my feminist stance . . .

On How Gender Roles Hurt Boys

"We do a great disservice to boys in how we raise them. We stifle the humanity of boys. We define masculinity in a very narrow way. Masculinity is a hard, small cage, and we put boys inside this cage.

We teach boys to be afraid of fear, of weakness, of vulnerability. We teach them to mask their true selves, because they have to be, in Nigerian-speak—a hard man.

In secondary school, a boy and a girl go out, both of them teenagers with meager pocket money. Yet the boy is expected to pay the bills, always, to prove his masculinity. (And we wonder why boys are more likely to steal money from their parents.)

What if both boys and girls were raised not to link masculinity and money? What if their attitude was not "the boy has to pay," but rather, "whoever has more should pay." Of course, because of their historical advantage, it is mostly men who will have more today. But if we start raising children differently, then in fifty years, in a hundred years, boys will no longer have the pressure of proving their masculinity by material means.

But by far the worst thing we do to males—by making them feel they have to be hard—is that we leave them with very fragile egos. The harder a man feels compelled to be, the weaker his ego is.

And then we do a much greater disservice to girls, because we raise them to cater to the fragile egos of males.

We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller.

We say to girls: You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful but not too successful, otherwise you will threaten the man. If you are the breadwinner in your relationship with a man, pretend that you are not, especially in public, otherwise you will emasculate him."

This is an excerpt from WE SHOULD ALL BE FEMINISTS by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Copyright © 2012, 2014 by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc

Relationships

“The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Relationships are an important part in the lives of people everywhere. Interaction with family,friends, and even significant others help to shape people into who they are. Romantic Relationships especially are a very big deal. It seems as if lack of a boyfriend means that you aren't doing something right or that something is wrong with you. Being surrounded by a flurry of couples on a daily basis can do a lot to a person's self esteem. However, i'm not in a rush to get myself a boyfriend and it's taken  me quite a while to be comfortable with that idea. I used to think that i wasn't pretty because i didn't have a boyfriend, and i racked my brain questioning myself as to what was wrong with me. I used to pick out my flaws and say maybe this is why i'm not good enough or whatever... But then one day i said... who is going to love me if i don't love myself. Like the quote at the beginning of this post says, the most powerful relationship i will have is the one i forge with myself. Having a boyfriend isn't going to make me love myself or make me look any different. Learning to love myself, be at one with myself, and accept it is all apart of being happy with myself.

However, even though i have reached this understanding, lots of people elsewhere haven't. Some women still feel the need to let a man define them. " A busy, vibrant, goal-oriented woman is so much more attractive than a woman who waits around for a man to validate her existence"(Mandy Hale). We should teach girls that there is more to aspire to in life than to be at the side of a man. We should instill in our girls the values which consist of hard work and making a good name for yourself instead of going to guy after guy to be happy. I'm not saying that boyfriends are bad, but our approach towards the concept should definitely be changed. Having a man isn't everything, sometimes when you evaluate things you would have been better off single. You should be fully comfortable with yourself before you go around asking other people to add their luggage and issues to yours. Relationships require balance and you should only get into one if you have the right reasons. I'm going to wait until i find the right person before i have a relationship. You have to love yourself before you can think of loving anyone else. And the fact of the matter is, having a boyfriend right now wouldn't make an explosive difference in my life.  If there is a guy who can accept my quirks and flaws i'll be happy to give him a chance.

“Hope for love, pray for love, wish for love, dream for love…but don’t put your life on hold waiting for love.” ― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

“Single is no longer a lack of options – but a choice. A choice to refuse to let your life be defined by your relationship status but to live every day Happily and let your Ever After work itself out.” ― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

“Being brave enough to be alone frees you up to invite people into your life because you want them and not because you need them.” ― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass