1. Window on Humanity Conrad Phillip Kottak Third Edition
Chapter 14
Gender
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2. Overview Sex and gender Patriarchy and violence Sexual orientation
Gender among foragers, horticulturalists, and agriculturalists
Gender roles and stratification
Gender and industrialism
Patriarchy and violence
Sexual orientation
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3. CHAPTER 14 Gender Sex and gender
Human sex-gender roles and sexuality are influenced by both biological predispositions (nature) and environment (nurture)
Sexual dimorphism – differences in male and female biology besides the contrasts in breasts and genitalia
Sex differences are biological
Gender – the cultural construction of male and female characteristics
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4. CHAPTER 14 Gender Sex and gender
Gender roles – tasks and activities that a culture assigns to the sexes
Gender stereotypes – oversimplified but strongly held ideas about the characteristics of males and females
Gender stratification – an unequal distribution of rewards (socially valued resources, power, prestige, human rights, and personal freedom) between men and women, reflecting their different positions in a social hierarchy
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5. CHAPTER 14 Gender Cross-cultural gender patterns
Subsistence contributions of men and women are roughly equal
Female labor predominates in domestic activities and child care
Women tend to work more hours (subsistence + domestic activities) than men do
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6. CHAPTER 14 Gender Cross-cultural gender patterns
Differences in male and female reproductive strategies
Women work to ensure survival of their children by:
Establishing a close bond with each baby
Having a reliable mate
Men
Longer reproductive period than women
May choose to enhance their reproductive success by impregnating several women over a longer period of time
Double standards (e.g., regarding premarital or extramarital sex) restrict women more than men – example of gender stratification
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7. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among foragers
Economic roles and gender stratification
Gender stratification:
Most marked when men contribute much more to the diet than women do (e.g., Inuit)
Reduced when gathering—generally a female activity—is prominent (e.g., tropical and semitropical foragers)
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8. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among foragers Public-domestic dichotomy
Domestic-public dichotomy (or private-public contrast) – strong differentiation between the home and the outside world
Women tend to work closer to home more than men do
When domestic and public spheres are clearly separated, public activities frequently are more prestigious – promotes gender stratification
Gender stratification is reduced when the domestic and public spheres are not sharply separated
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9. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among foragers Sex-linked activities
Certain roles tend to be more sex-linked than others
Example: hunters and warriors are usually men
But activities and spheres of influence of men and women may overlap (e.g., Ju/’hoansi San)
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10. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among foragers In foraging societies:
Public and domestic spheres are least separate
Hierarchy is least marked
Aggression and competition are most discouraged
Rights, activities, and spheres of influence of men and women overlap the most
All humans were foragers until 10,000 years ago – thus, relative gender equality is most likely the ancestral pattern of human society
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11. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among horticulturalists
Women are generally the main producers in horticultural societies
Reduced gender stratification in matrilineal-matrilocal societies
Female status tends to be high in matrilineal-matrilocal horticultural societies
Descent-group membership, succession to political positions, allocation of land, and overall social identity are all based on female links
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12. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among horticulturalists
Increased gender stratification in patrilineal-patrilocal societies
Patrilineal-patrilocal complex – patrilineality, patrilocality, warfare, and male supremacy
Linked to pressure on resources
Intervillage warfare often increases as resources become scarce
Patrilocality and patrilineality keep related men together in the same village, where they make strong allies in battle
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13. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among horticulturalists
Increased gender stratification in patrilineal-patrilocal societies
Patrilineal-patrilocal complex tends to enhance male prestige, increase gender stratification (e.g., societies in highland Papua New Guinea)
Women engage in subsistence and domestic activities, but are isolated from the public domain
Males dominate the public domain – grow and distribute prestige crops, prepare food for feasts, arrange marriages, trade pigs and control their use in ritual
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14. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among horticulturalists
Increased gender stratification in patrilineal-patrilocal societies
Extreme male-female avoidance in densely populated areas of Papua New Guinea where there is strong pressure on resources
Men regard contact with females (including sex) as dangerous and polluting
Separate men’s houses
In contrast, sparsely populated areas of Papua New Guinea lack taboos on male-female contact
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15. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among agriculturalists
Women typically are not the primary cultivators in agricultural economies
Social changes accompanying the advent of agriculture affected women negatively
Women’s domestic role is viewed as inferior, in contrast to men's valuable public activities
Decline of descent groups and polygyny, and the increased importance of the nuclear family, isolated women from their kinswomen and cowives
Female sexuality is carefully supervised, while men enjoy easier access to divorce and extramarital sex
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16. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender among agriculturalists
Female status is not inevitably low in agricultural societies
Example: Betsileo of Madagascar
Betsileo women contribute more than 50 percent of the labor in rice production and preparation
Despite patrilocality, descent rules permit married Betsileo women to keep membership in and a strong allegiance to their own descent groups
Betsileo women also participate in various public activities (e.g., holding political office, selling in markets, investing in cattle, sponsoring ceremonials, arranging marriages)
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17. CHAPTER 14 Gender Patriarchy and violence Patriarchal societies
Patriarchy – a political system ruled by men in which women have inferior social and political status, including basic human rights
Exemplified by practices such as dowry murders, female infanticide, and clitorodectomy
Domestic violence
Family violence and domestic abuse of women are worldwide problems
Abuse of women is more common in societies where women are separated from supportive kin (e.g., patrilineal-patrilocal societies)
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18. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender and industrialism
Early American industrialism
1890s – more than 1 million American women held unskilled factory positions
After 1900 – European immigrants moved into factory jobs previously held by women
Notion that women were biologically unfit for factory work emerged as machine tools and mass production reduced the need for female labor
Notion that women are unfit for hard physical labor faded during the world wars (e.g., Rosie the Riveter)
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19. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender and industrialism
Increased female employment spurred by:
Inflation
Culture of consumption
Baby boom
Industrial expansion
Women in the workforce today:
Nearly half of Americans who work outside the home are women
Women fill more than half of all professional jobs
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20. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender and industrialism Feminization of poverty
In the United States, poverty is becoming feminized – women (and their children) are increasingly represented among America’s poorest people
Number of single-parent, female-headed households in the United States has more than doubled since 1959
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21. CHAPTER 14 Gender Gender and industrialism Feminization of poverty
Feminization of poverty is also evident worldwide
Increase in female-headed households due to:
Male migration
Civil strife
Divorce
Abandonment
Widowhood
Unwed adolescent parenthood
Notion that children are women’s responsibility
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22. CHAPTER 14 Gender What determines gender variation?
Gender roles and stratification have varied widely across cultures and through history
Gender is flexible – varies with cultural, social, political, and economic factors
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23. CHAPTER 14 Gender Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation – a person’s habitual sexual attractions and activities
Heterosexuality – sexual preference for members of the opposite sex
Homosexuality – sexual preference for members of the same sex
Bisexuality – sexual preference for members of both sexes
Asexuality – indifference toward, or lack of attraction to, either sex
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24. CHAPTER 14 Gender Sexual orientation
All human activities and preferences, including erotic expression, are to some extent learned, malleable, and culturally constructed
Individuals in a society differ in the nature, range, and intensity of their sexual interests and urges
Culture molds individual sexual urges toward a collective norm
Sexual norms vary cross-culturally and through time
Attitudes about masturbation, bestiality, and homosexuality vary widely between and within societies
In many societies (e.g., Azande, Etoro), various forms of same-sex sexual activity are considered normal and acceptable
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25. CHAPTER 14 Gender Sexual orientation
Homosexual behavior among the Etoro
Extreme tension surrounding male-female sexual relations
Belief that semen gave life force to a fetus
Men were believed to have a limited supply of semen
Sexuality depleted this supply, sapping male virility and vitality
Heterosexual intercourse was necessary (for reproduction) but would eventually lead to a man's death
Thus, heterosexual sex was discouraged and removed from community life (could only take place in the woods)
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26. CHAPTER 14 Gender Sexual orientation
Homosexual behavior among the Etoro
Heterosexual sex was discouraged, but sex between males was viewed as essential
Boys had to be inseminated orally by older men, so they could grow into men and eventually give life force to their children
Such homosexual acts took place in the village
Etoro homosexuality was governed by a code of propriety
Sexual relations between older and younger males were considered essential, but those between boys of the same age were discouraged
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27. CHAPTER 14 Gender Sexual orientation
Flexibility in sexual expression is part of our primate heritage
Chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates engage in masturbation and same-sex sexual activity
Human sexuality—how we express our “natural” sexual urges—is shaped by culture and environment
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