Lecture:
GENDER
Gender Studies &
Anthropology
the cultural construction of gender
multiple
genders
sexual division of labor
gender stratification
Feminist Anthropology
1970s
Focus
on womens lives (Nanda, Abu-Lughod)
Response to androcentric bias
Are Gender Differences
Biological?
Universal?
Learned?
The Cultural
Construction of Gender
Sex
·
Biological differences between male & female
·
Genetically determined
·
Genitalia
·
Parental Role
Gender
The social classification
of masculine & feminine
Cultural
Construction of Gender
Gender characteristics are not inborn
Constructed within each culture
Signals
reproductive strategies
Attract
& Retain Mate
Gender Roles: Cultural
expectations of men & women
Multiple Gender
Identities: Alternative Gender Roles
Neither man nor woman
Described in many societies
Two-spirit
of North America
Hijra
of India
Two-spirit role
Alternative
gender role
Supernatural
powers
Man
living as a woman
Hijra
Unique social position
Alternative
gender
Independent
of caste system
Eunuchs
Emasculated
Rite
of Passage
Fictive
Kinship
Bahuchara
Mata
Hindu
Goddess of Hijras
Ritual Function
Births
Marriages
Sexual Division of Labor: Patterned ways in
which tasks are allocated to men and women
Gender Stratification
Differentiation
Leads
to unequal access of control over various domains
Women in the Arab
World
The Arab World:Defined by:
Language
Religion
Family
Patriarchy
Veiling
Veils
pre-Islamic tradition
Quran:
Mandates
modesty in dress
Resurgence
of veiling: Turkey & Egypt
Awlad Ali
Bedouins
Egypt
Sinai Peninsula
Desert
Nomadic
Herders
resources
labor
Patrilineal
Men
& Women Separated in Social Lives
Private/Public
Dichotomy
Women:
home and children
Men:
public, prestigious economic & political
roles.
For
Women:
Code
of Honor
Moral
Virtue
Modesty
Women & Art
Oral Narratives
Lyric Poems
Personal
Sentiments