Women in Barbados living with Type 2 diabetes face significant challenges, and a new study is shedding light on their experiences.
Researchers from The UWI Cave Hill Campus and the University of Toronto Mississauga are exploring the deep connections between food, health, and the everyday realities of Black women managing diabetes. Their research isn’t just about the medical side, it’s about how diabetes shapes identity, relationships with food, and the gendered and racialized risks involved.
Dr. Tonya Haynes, Head of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) Nita Barrow Unit, and Dr. Nicole Charles of the University of Toronto Mississauga conducted 58 in-depth interviews with Black Barbadian women from working-class and middle-class backgrounds. These included Barbadian women living with diabetes, Black women caring for patients with diabetes, and healthcare workers who provide diabetes-related care. Participants also submitted journal entries detailing their personal journeys with the illness.
Beyond personal stories, Haynes and Charles analyzed digital newspaper archives to track how diabetes has been discussed in the media. They looked at risk factors, public health campaigns, and even how sugar and diabetes appear in Caribbean folk and popular music.
They shared their findings at a public lecture on February 12, 2025 at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, under the title ‘In the Flesh: Critical Reflections on Black Women’s Experience of Food, Embodiment, and Type 2 Diabetes.’
“Examining the semantic, affective, representational, moral and political thickness of food and sugar is central to understanding women’s experiences of Type 2 diabetes,” Haynes explained.
She highlighted that many women in the study struggled with the high cost of food in Barbados, making it difficult to follow medical advice on diet and nutrition. Charles added that this made food a significant source of stress.
“The fatigue, the fear, the worry. These are themes that are repeated throughout Barbadian women’s stories, and which exist alongside the physical deterioration of the body, that is the failing organs, loss of limbs, etc.,” Charles told the audience.
These stories challenge the idea that people with diabetes simply fail to follow doctors’ orders. The reality is more complicated. Charles pointed out that Barbados’ dependence on imported and ultra-processed food makes healthy eating unaffordable for many. Women also shared how hard it was to follow restrictive diets while balancing caregiving responsibilities.
Another key theme was how diabetes changes the way women see their bodies.
“Women recounted tales of their diabetic body as feeling old, maternal, tired and frail. They described swollen feet, darkened feet, being fat and flabby, frequent urination and bed wetting, difficulty sleeping, itching vulvas and vaginas, with many invoking lower limb amputations as the nadir of abjection – a cautionary tale,” Haynes shared.
Beyond physical symptoms, societal attitudes about weight and diabetes shape women’s experiences. The researchers noted that the medical system focuses heavily on obesity and weight loss while overlooking other critical issues like malnutrition, body dysmorphia, and disordered eating.
“It is noteworthy that in none of our interviews with medical professionals did the topic of malnutrition, body dysmorphia or disordered eating among diabetes patients emerge. One senior medical professional we interviewed went as far as to suggest that diabetes is not stigmatised at all, and perhaps what women are experiencing is a form of self-imposed stigmatisation which leads them to hide their condition,” Haynes stated.
She criticized the lack of attention to the mental health and body image struggles that come with diabetes, calling it “a significant oversight” in how Barbadian women receive care.
The researcher emphasized the need to examine gender inequality in these narratives and praised the women who courageously shared their experiences, hoping their voices will drive change.
