Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under Creative Commons licence. New, imported masquerade styles , say traditional mas makers, do not make political statements or show off local artistry. But bikini mas is a complex phenomenon. A big part of it for some women is β¦ to show they have been working out and qualify as gorgeous, for affirmation as a woman and to send a message that you can be watched, but not touched.
In short, bikini mas authorises women to push back against the strict moral controls that religion and society place on them while allowing men more sexual freedom. This contradiction β which Trinidadian women live every day β has helped spur bikini mas to become a ritual for an entire generation of young women: Caribbean women have always been at the forefront of rebellions, from rising up against slavery in the s to leading the riots over access to water.
Well before slavery was abolished in , Trinidadian women played in Carnival bands. Sometimes they covered themselves in mud, expressing a sexuality even then decried as indecent. After abolition these working-class, African-descended women continued the Jamette tradition. They often cooked, washed clothes and socialised in shared urban backyards, and worked in a wide range of trades, from washerwomen or market vendors to sex workers.
Indeed, the Caribbean region has disproportionately high rates of sexual violence. Over the next months, NotAskingForIt campaign, featuring female students, workers, family members and bikini mas players, circulated social media across the entire Caribbean region. Bikini mas is not without its contradictions. Though all classes of women find the money to pay for an outfit, economics shapes access to these moments of female freedom. Classism features , too, in the way that many women who play in bikini mas bands are contained on either side by ropes and security personnel.
This reproduces historical ways that white upper classes used to cut themselves off from others while taking over the streets. But such cordoning also signals a harsh modern reality of violence against women: In Trinidad and Tobago, Carnival is where thousands of women express their aspirations for freedom and equality.
