Downtown Ladies

            Gina A. Ulysse shares the insider/outsider status of Jamaica Kincaid, but her status is a bit more complex because she isn’t actually from the country she’s writing about; she’s from the same region. She was born in Haiti, and she says in the Introduction she hadn’t been back in fifteen years when she began her doctoral work. How much time does a person have to spend in a place in order to be connected to it or be part of it? Wouldn’t living in another country for over a decade sever at least part of the ties to your former home? Ulysse says she’s engaging in a “transnational black feminist analysis,” she’s clearly been influenced by black feminists, and she’s from the Caribbean, so really, isn’t she uniting black and Caribbean feminism in her work—as Barriteau would encourage?

            Ulysse argues ICIs are marginalized both as black women and as participants in activities that are “treated as peripheral” by society and the state. ICIs are objects of disdain because of their ability to move goods and money as well as their lack of regard for social rules. They do not remain in their “place.” Visible ICIs are often “perceived as thieves, who lie, cheat the government, and import knock-offs” for which they overcharge. These stereotypical ICIs are “an affront to middle class sensibilities.”  Visible ICIs are often women from the lower and working classes, while invisible ICIs—who go about their business with little or no interference from the state—are from the middle and upper classes. They operate on a much smaller scale, and they do not suffer the stereotyping of the ICI as loud, unladylike, unrestrained, etc. These differences indicate a continuation of the lady/woman dichotomy established during the nineteenth century.

            Many ICIs participate in what Ulysse calls a “beautification culture.” It is an important aspect of both individual and group construction of a feminine identity. It is a way for these women to reclaim the femininity that has historically been denied them, and it is also part of their self-making practices. Ulysse’s own self-making practices were not consistent during her stays in Jamaica. Through her clothing and hair style choices, she often transgressed class and racial boundaries. She claims she “seldom presented or behaved as a member of the black middle class”, and there were “inconsistencies” in her performance of class. It doesn’t seem like it would matter how Ulysse, as a person coming in from the U.S. to do research on these women, dressed or styled her hair because she isn’t actually trying to live among them. She isn’t becoming an ICI herself. But it matters because she has that “insider” or “native” status, which adds another layer to her position as researcher. More is expected of her by the women she’s interviewing and writing about because of her race, and this, combined with their stories of being forgotten once past researchers gathered the data they needed, motivates her to remain involved with and connected to them.