This week, EASY Magazine continues with the second part of its series on the State of Women in Barbados in 2012. It is an in-depth series in which key women in Barbadian society talk candidly about how far women have come and where they are going. This week Marcia Weekes, the director of the movie Hush, looks particularly at young women and their role in society.
Generally speaking, the young women seem to be progressing academically at rates that are much better than the guys. What I am concerned about, though, is this whole fascination with image and how they look. It’s almost like there is a total cover-up of what is happening on the inside of these girls.
For most of them it’s about fashion and clothes and looking like a superstar, but inside emotionally there’s a lot that happening with these girls. We’ve seen that with Hush, with girls telling you about the abuse that they’re going through, whether it is something current or something that has happened in the past that they’ve haven’t dealt with.
There is a lot of pretence, which lots of young women cover up with the clothes they wear, but it’s manifesting in their behaviour. A lot of us have not dealt with what has happened to us in our childhood, and we see the promiscuity coming out. So much of that is stemming from what they have experienced in childhood and are still experiencing. A lot of it comes from low self-esteem and many women use clothes, jewellery, hair and nails to cover it up.
I met a lot of young people after Hush who remained and came to the retreat. My concern is for them getting the help they need so that their behaviour can change and they can achieve true success. It was after talking to them that I understood where the promiscuity is coming from.
We’re also seeing a lot of our girls being so aggressive. They travel with knives; they are ready to fight; and if you check, there is something that has happened emotionally that is causing them to behave this way.
Lesbianism is like an outlet for all of that, and they begin to express how they feel through that. Lesbianism is now becoming a fad. My fear is that too many parents are not talking to their children.
With the girls, lesbianism is more acceptable in society. When we did the Sexual Purity tour, these were some of the issues we were dealing with. The Hush movies have really changed me and how I see people because now I cannot look at people with judgement.
According to UNICEF, one female out of every three has been abused in the Caribbean. A lot of our women have not dealt with these issues. You have mothers that are raising up girls and they themselves haven’t dealt with the issues in their past. The mothers themselves are not whole. I would see a mother and daughter leaving home and what they are wearing would blow your mind.
I’m wondering what is going to happen with our guys. Are they going to find these women attractive after a time? I deal with children daily and I have three boys, so I’m speaking more out of empathy and concern.
When we did the Sexual Purity tour, it was such a success. We saw so many young people who want to make a change and be sexually pure. We also had those recommit their lives to Christ. But I keep focusing on the schools.
It appears that women are being progressive in society because women are having great jobs, but a lot of us are going on and we have not dealt with the past things in our lives. Then we’re raising children and they’re carrying on the same traits. It’s time to peel away the masks and deal with the real you.
