Since the 1960s, many scholars have noted how Cuba’s virtually all-male leadership burdened women with the most work “for the Revolution” yet they enjoyed little power over policies not immediately relevant to their gender. Women were expected to fulfill domestic chores, stand in line for rations, work outside the home, volunteer for no pay and, of course, look “feminine”, that is, keep up the standards of beauty promoted in the government press for the benefit of men. Consistent with these expectations, the emblem for the FMC shows a woman dressed in militia uniform, carrying a weapon in one arm and a baby with the other. With the weight of the globe behind her, she has no free hand. Ernesto Chávez Collection, University of Florida.
