Patriarchy

Patriarchy, and its specific effects on marginalized people, as well the gender roles in the Jamaican community, are major recurring themes in Fire Rush. Yamaye considers the ways in which Oraca, for example, is forced to move within the world, and connects to her. “Because nowhere’s safe—not the streets, governed by police with barbed-wire veins; not our homes, ruled by men with power fists as misshapen as their wounds” (53). In other words, both Black men and Black women in the UK, and in other countries where they are minorities, both have to feel fear from police officers. However, women are shouldered the additional burden of fearing domestic violence and abuse at home, which happens to Oraca, Yamaye, Charmaine, and many other women throughout the novel. That specific quote offers a clue about why some men may become more violent at home; they face dehumanization...