![]() | Aminata Cécile Mbaye Dr. - Utrecht University |
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03.07.2025-29.08.2025
Gender and Toxicity in the French Caribbean
My project, aimed at exploring the intersection of health, toxicity, and gender, is structured around four primary objectives: (1) Investigating the economic and political dynamics of the circulation of agricultural chemicals and pesticides (such as chlordecone and its contemporary counterparts like glyphosate) in the French Atlantic, with a particular focus on the gendered aspects of this circulation. (2) Examining the local interplay of medical and environmental practices and knowledge concerning the impact of toxicity on gender dynamics. This involves tracing the historical global movement and usage of substances like chlordecone, understanding their ontological interpretations, and exploring traditional healing perspectives. A significant part of this objective is to analyze the discourses and practices surrounding female workers in banana plantations and their health concerns. (3) Providing a nuanced exploration of chemicals and pesticides, where notions of safety, efficacy, and the health of humans and the environment are intricately linked and reinterpreted. This will involve discussions of these issues in the context of class and gender, approached from social and political viewpoints. (4) Offering insights into the diverse ways in which alternative ecosystemic practices, concepts of wellbeing, more-than-human support networks, and decolonial ecological approaches by Antillean individuals influence and transform health and well-being practices and ideas, especially in relation to gender.
These objectives are meticulously crafted to develop a comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay between health, toxicity, and gender, particularly within the context of the French Atlantic.
The anticipated outcomes of my research, which will be further elaborated in the three articles I plan to develop during my Brocher residency, highlight a significant gap in the medical and environmental knowledge surrounding chlordecone. Specifically, there is a lack of consideration for gender dimensions in assessing the health and well-being of the populations in Martinique and Guadeloupe. The data gathered from Martinique reveals several key insights:
- Current medical, environmental, and political measures aimed at mitigating the toxic impact of chlordecone and other chemicals in the French Caribbean islands largely overlook the critical role of gender dynamics and histories in the Caribbean context.
- The political and environmental narratives disseminated among the population, whether opposing or supporting these measures, often perpetuate heteronormative and patriarchal views rooted in the legacies of colonialism and post-slavery regimes.
- The prevailing concepts of health and environment, as presented by all parties involved in the chlordecone issue, tend to reinforce heteronormative frameworks, thereby sustaining stigmatizing behaviors and attitudes towards various expressions of same-sex sexuality.
- By specifically associating chlordecone toxicity with prostate cancer, French environmental and health authorities have inadvertently focused state attention primarily on male bodies, neglecting the impact of toxic chemicals on the health and well-being of female individuals.
Overall, my research aims to address these oversights by integrating a gender-sensitive perspective into the discourse on health, toxicity, and environmental practices in the context of the French Caribbean's experience with chlordecone.