Window on Humanity Conrad Phillip Kottak Third Edition Chapter 14 Gender © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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) © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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) © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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) © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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) © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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) © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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) © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.

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 © 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All right reserved.