“In Brazil, women, children and older slaves were apparently seen as particularly suited to the tasks of cocoa farming, with the results that elite planters bought more female than male slaves in the nineteenth century”[1]. Typically, women were given jobs based on their strength such as removing and sorting the beans. “Varied written accounts (supported by photographic evidence) suggest that women were employed to remove coca beans from the pods, spread out the beans to dry, and polish them. Meanwhile, male workers took care of the cocoa trees; clearing the forest and planting new trees, weeding and pruning. Men would also harvest and break the pods”[2]. This goes to show that although roles were separated, both were crucial to the cocoa production.
Pay for women was consistently lower than that of the pay of men, especially when pay was based on the day rather than the volume of beans picked. “In addition, [women] had responsibility for producing and preparing food and providing other services such as healthcare for their families and neighbors”[3]. Not only were they expected to do their job on the farms, but also provide for their family, meaning their duties were not done when they left work.
In an attempt to raise awareness of the conditions of the cocoa industry, Divine Chocolate company decided to do a photo shoot to show off the woman in the industry. Instead of portraying them in the conditions they actually were in, “Divine Chocolate and St. Luke’s supplied the women’s outfits and gave them a stipend to have their hair styled for the shoot; the women were also compensated for the time they spent modelling”[4], which gave the image that women were treated fantastically. This created an image that women’s roles were delicate, instead of putting a spotlight on the hard work that the women actually contributed. “We ‘see’, analytically, that women’s everyday endeavors and experiences, which are mostly ignored in the literature on globalization, indeed constitute globalized formations (of ideas, capital, etc.)”[5]. On top of this, it was reported that the photos that were taken incorrectly depicted these women to be wealthy, instead of addressing their normal day to day attire. The article wanted to show off the women, rather than showing the reality. “The Divine women have clearly fashioned their bodies using transnational goods and aesthetics. Unlike National Geographic’s women bedecked in colorful tribal dress or unclothed with bare breasts (Allman 2004), the Divine women wear alluring, factory made, wax-print cloth. Their perfectly coiffed hair and gleaming skin suggests a regime of bodily care, using industrially made soap and cream. They sport delicate gold and silver jewelry, as opposed to bright, hand-woven or beaded necklaces, lip and neck plates, or lobe-stretching earrings (with the exception of Naomi Amankwaa in Figure 5, who wears what appears to be a tightly woven or beaded bracelet)”[6].
Cuyagua Unit Blog 