I’ve chosen to incorporate both my keyword reflection and this week’s reading/lecture material into one post. 

The Keyword that I wanted to focus on was “agency”. I really liked how this group defined agency as any attempt to renegotiate power relations. As the group mentioned, agency can be affected by external factors that may diminish a person’s/group’s agency, in order to benefit other outside groups. Which is why I really liked that this group also mentioned the active-role aspect of agency, and how a group can experience outside influence (ie. colonialism), but they still can exert agency on the situation (or outcome). Of course, agency isn’t always readily available depending on the situation, but I think this definition does show the power that there is within having agency – especially for those who are part of marginalized communities. Reading this definition made me think about this week’s reading and the discussion of gender and the matrifocal social structure. 

I found this week’s reading by Hall quite interesting, especially with the ereba-making and how it demonstrates the ways in which women work together. Additionally adding that “Ereba, with its deep cultural roots, is one of the most powerful symbols of the grassroots collaborative work among rural Garifuna women” (35). I feel as though grassroot movements are a huge portrayal of agency. I didn’t have any knowledge on this practice before, so I thought it was quite interesting to know how there were many different takes of what exactly matrifocality was, as well as just how important matrifocality is in the organization of Garifuna society. I find that in many cases when discussing women’s issues, women-centered rituals/practices, or social-cultural related issues surrounding women – the conversation tends to steer back to comparing these topics to men’s experience (and issues). I think the comment on not reducing matrifocality to the absence of a man (or assuming a heteronormative perspective) is super important. Since it gives the opportunity for agency, as well as being able to analyze the intersectionality of gendered experiences – and addressing them separately, in order to make progress. Through many of my previous classes, I’ve really learned how important it is to address and incorporate intersectionality into all social issues and social/cultural inequalities. This part of the reading with Hall, Blackwood, Kerns, England and Gonzalez all having different perspectives on matrifocality, made me think about just how intertwined many social structures are with one another. Something like ereba-making could be seen as a simple practice to an outsider, however it’s actually something much bigger and more complex when intertwined with these social structures, and power hierarchies of society. Alongside the grassroots movements, collaborative work among women, gender and development (GAD);  highlighting the intersectional variation among the experiences of Garifuna women, I think can all be considered acts of impactful agency to an extent.