Masculinity in the Trinidadian Diaspora in Sections of an...

Sections of an Orange dives into the personal stories of men and women living in Trinidad and Tobago and the Trinidadian diaspora in New York. Anton Nimblett allows the reader to experience the struggles with the characters, and there are feelings of isolation, longing, deception, and most commonly—love. Caribbean conceptions of gender and sexuality are usually geared towards the traditional types. In other words, boys are to playing football, and not helping their aunts sew and cook. Men are supposed to work hard and provide a home and raise a family with a â€Å"‘proper girl from university† (56). Women are depicted as having strong roles, taking care of the men, being the backbone of the family. Living in the Trinidadian diaspora versus in Trinidad and Tobago seems to give the characters a new space in which they could express themselves sexually. Miss Emelda in â€Å"Into My Parlour† tries to get gossip worthy information from her neighbor Miss Betty. It seems that people have been talking about Miss Betty’s nephew, Terrance, Miss Emelda says, â€Å"‘Yuh nephew was never one to be put playing with the fellas. I even uses to see him helping you sew and thing so too†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (33). Miss Betty feels that she should have known better than to fall into the trap of Miss Emelda getting comfortable and trying to find out her business. Miss Emelda digs some more but Miss Betty does not budge thinking to herself she will not let Miss Emelda â€Å"get the best† of her (35). The thing is Miss