Chapter 8 Sex and Gender

Sex and Gender Sex refers to the biological differences between male and female. Gender refers to the social classification of masculinity and femininity.

But are human understandings of sex and gender universal? The hijras are an ambiguous gender role in India. Though born male, they are considered neither man nor woman. Hijras undergo an operation in which their genitals are surgically removed.

Margaret Mead Developed the central anthropological principle that gender is a cultural construction Key findings in three New Guinean societies Arapesh: Both sexes acted in ways Americans consider “feminine.” Mundugamor: Both sexes acted in ways Americans consider “masculine.” Tchambuli: Men acted in ways Americans consider “feminine” and women acted in ways Americans consider “masculine.”

Cultural Construction of Gender The idea that gender characteristics are not inborn but constructed within each culture Native Americans Afghan girl/boys A society’s gender ideology is its totality of ideas about sex, gender and the natures of men and women, including their sexuality, and the relations between the genders.

Homosexuality and Culture Adolescent boys in Sambia have homosexual relations as part of initiation but enter heterosexual marriages as adults. In the United States, consistent heterosexuality is considered essential to masculine identity.

Sexuality and Culture Sexual norms affect sexual behavior. Cultures differ in: age that sexuality begins and ends. ways people make themselves attractive. importance of sexual activity.

Gender Stratification The ways gendered activities and attributes are related to the distribution of resources, prestige, and power in a society

Gender Relations: Complex and Variable Male dominance, called patriarchy, was considered almost universal. Matriarchy, or female dominance, has not been found to be equal to that of male dominance in any society. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/upshot/when-family-friendly-policies-backfire.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1

Female Initiation Among the Kikuyu, Kenya How does a woman’ social role change as a result of circumcision? Do we have anything comparable in the U.S.?

Bringing It Back Home: Female Genital Operations Approximately 100 million females in the world, mainly in Africa and the Middle East, undergo some form of female genital operations. The practices vary from a ritualized drawing of blood to the removal of almost all of the genitals, stitching together the wound, and leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual flow, sometimes called female genital mutilation.

Bringing It Back Home: Female Genital Operations Where traditionally practiced, female genital operations are viewed as essential gender rites. They are intended to preserve a girl’s virginity before marriage, to symbolize her role as a marriageable member of society, and to emphasize her moral and economic value to her patrilineage. Scientific evidence demonstrates that female genital cutting raises the likelihood of a woman’s death in childbirth.

Bringing It Back Home: Female Genital Operations A view held by some anthropologists and some members of cultures that practice this ritual, urges that the practice be examined in its cultural context. While some women from societies that practice female genital operations defend it as affirming a woman’s value and enhancing cultural cohesion, others speak out against it.

Bringing It Back Home: Female Genital Operations You decide: Should female circumcision be outlawed globally as a violation of women’s and children’s rights, even if it is a valued cultural tradition in many societies? Since female circumcision is often associated with religious belief, does outlawing the practice violate our Constitution’s freedom of religion clause?

Bringing It Back Home: Female Genital Operations You decide: What can anthropologists contribute to the debate over female genital operations and other debates which pit universal human rights against local cultural patterns? What does the example of female genital operations suggest about the possible limits of the anthropological principle of cultural relativism?