food | Opal Palmer Adisa

On Wednesday, April 1, 2026, the Institute for Gender and Development Studies Regional Coordinating Office, The UWI, hosted the official launch of Caribbean Men in the Art Demystifying Masculinities with Essays, Interviews, Poetry and Stories, co-edited by Professor Opal Palmer Adisa and Dr. Keino Senior. The event drew a packed and engaged audience, signaling the urgency and relevance of its theme.

This impressive collection features 39 contributors from across the Caribbean and its diaspora, bringing together essays, interviews, poetry, and short fiction. It stands as both a scholarly intervention and a creative exploration of how masculinities are constructed, performed, and reimagined in the region.

The launch itself embodied this blend of scholarship and lived experience. Remarks on the significance of the editors’ work were delivered by Professor Amar Wahab, Director of the School of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at York University. Greetings were also brought by Sharon Coburn Robinson, Principal Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs, on behalf of the Honorable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.

Dr. Senior, in his editorial response, stated that the book is a critical work challenging dominant Caribbean masculinities. Using a theatre metaphor, it explores how gender roles are performed and controlled, arguing for multiple, fluid masculinities. It calls on artists and scholars to reimagine, challenge, and create more inclusive, equitable expressions of manhood.

The evening was enriched by artistic performances, including a stirring musical presentation by Miss Sashekia Brown accompanied by Mr. Stephen Shaw-Naar of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. Guest speaker Mr. Marlon Simms, Dean of the School of Dance at the same institution, offered a deeply personal reflection on masculinity, crediting a nurturing stepfather who allowed him emotional freedom and play, conditions that made his dance journey possible.

Additional presentations by contributors such as Mr. Amilcar Sanatan, Dr. Jahlani Niaah, and Miss Wendy Ann Brissett and Professor Opal Palmer Adisa underscored the range and depth of the collection.

At a time when Caribbean societies continue to confront high levels of gender-based violence, Caribbean Men in the Arts offers a critical and necessary intervention. It challenges narrow and often harmful constructions of masculinity that equate manhood with dominance, emotional suppression, and violence.

Instead, the book opens space for imagining multiple masculinities: ones that embrace vulnerability, creativity, care, and self-awareness. As such, it is an invaluable resource for tertiary institutions, secondary schools, and anyone committed to reshaping gender relations in the Caribbean.

The launch concluded with the symbolic presentation of copies to the University of the West Indies library, ensuring that this important work will be accessible to future generations of scholars and students.