CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2351 Lecture
POLITICAL SYSTEMS Chapter 9
I.
Political Systems
1. Lewellen’s development of Political Anthropology
a) Political Anthropology did not appear as a specialization within social Anthropology
until as late as 1940 and did not really start until after World War II
b) African Political Systems (1940) edited by Meyer Fortes and E. E. Evans-Pritchard is
considered the foundation work of political anthropology
c) Fortes and Evans-Pritchard in their introduction state that “we have not found that the
theories of political philosophers have helped us to understand the societies we have
studied and we consider them of little scientific value” (Lewellen 3)
d) This is representative of Political Anthropology in its developmental period where little
heed was paid to political science, political sociology or political psychology (does not
sound very holistic)
e) In the mid-1960s this changed as anthropologists turned increasingly to the study of
modern nation-states and began to assimilate systems theory (all the major paradigms in
anthropology) and decision models (deals with making decisions) brought in from other
disciplines {game theory transparency}
2. Lewellen’s 8 major thrusts of political anthropology
a) In the past, the classification of political systems was an important area of research
1 This provided a basic vocabulary and insights into how systems work at different
levels of complexity
b) The evolution of political systems interests U.S. researchers (not British or French)
c) The study of the structure and function of political systems in preindustrial societies
1 According to Thompson and Hickey, the Structural-Functionalist perspective views
society as a system of interdependent and interrelated parts. Each part fulfills a
specific function within the structure of the system and this contributes to the overall
functioning of the system (organic)
d) In the last decades the theoretical focus has been on the processes of politics in
preindustrial and developing societies
1 an outgrowth of this idea in the 1970s was action theory with an emphasis on the
manipulative strategies of individuals
2 Action Theory can be defined as a perspective within the process approach in which
the focus is on the strategies of individuals for gaining and maintaining power
3 The process approach or process theory refers to an approach too “amorphous”
(according to Lewellen) to define. The theory emphasizes change and conflict
(though apparently not “conflict theory)
e) Conflict Theory is a theory in sociology similar to “the process approach” where the role
of conflict and power in a society are emphasized (Kornblum)
f) There is a wide and growing literature on the political response of formerly tribal
societies to modernization
g) Wallerstein’s World System theory (core, semiperiphery & periphery) has given rise to a
number of studies that interpret politics in the light of the spread of capitalism out of
Europe beginning in the 16th century
h) One dominant theme is how subcultures embedded in state societies; nonviolently and
often quite subtly manipulate power to their advantage
i) The feminist movement in academic scholarship as a whole has introduced a new and
important voice into political anthropology, questioning basic assumptions about power
and offering new data and interpretations
3. Definitions concerning issues of power
a) Kottak 223 claims that power is the ability to exercise one’s will over others
b) Authority is the socially approved use of power 223
c) A simple equation for the notion of authority is power+legitimacy=authority
d) Fried’s definition of Political organization: It comprises those portions of social
organization that specifically relate to the individuals or groups that manage the affairs of
II.
public policy or seek to control the appointment or activities of those individuals or
groups
e) This definition is much less applicable to bands and tribes
f) Kottak prefers to speak of sociopolitical organization (the regulation or management of
interrelations among groups and their representatives) because it is difficult to detect any
“public policy in the smaller groups
4. Elman Service’s 223 four types or levels of political organization
a) Band or a small kin-based group found among foragers 223
b) Tribe or groups having economies based on non-intensive food production (horticulture
and pastoralism) 223
c) Chiefdom refers to a form of sociopolitical (note: society is a part of the political process)
organization intermediate between the tribe and the state 223
d) State—It is a form of sociopolitical organization based on a formal government structure
and socioeconomic stratification
e) In anthropology almost any typology is open to the threat of Bongo-Bongoism or when a
generalization is made there is often the observation that the Bongo-Bongo tribe does it
differently
f) Service’s four types can be combined into Uncentralized groups (Bands, tribes) and
Centralized groups (Chiefdom, state)
g) Uncentralized systems are groups that possess little that could be called government
without a permanent political elite
1 Power in these societies is fragmentary and temporary, dispersed among families,
bands, lineages and various associations (larger political groups may form to meet as
threat, but they disperse when the threat ends)
2 Politicing is constant in these groups as individuals seek support for leadership
positions
3 There is no monopoly on coercive force and there is no centralized economic system
based on taxes or tribute
h) Centralized groups
1 Centralized political systems are those that encompass societies where power and
authority involve 1 person or a group of persons
2 Centralized systems are seen as containing inequality when compares to
uncentralized systems
3 Fried suggests that recruitment into political positions is no longer equal, but may be
based on membership in a certain class or elite lineage
Bands
1. A problem concerning the term band arose during a 1965 Conference on Band Organization
because it was being applied to groups ranging from 25 to those containing 400 rendering the
term virtually meaningless
2. Lewellen (27) notes that bands are typically small with about 25 to 250 individuals grouped
into nuclear families,. Wenke disagrees on the number and claims 15 to 40 people
3. Bands existed exclusively until about 10,000 tears ago, but modern bands may not be
extremely reflective of what these prehistoric bands were like
4. This is especially true since the prehistoric bands lived in much richer environments with
easier access to foodstuffs than modern bands
5. Lewellen notes that 99% of humanities 2-3 million year sojourn on earth has been spent in
small bands
6. These bands today often exist in areas that are too marginal to support pastoralism
7. Type of Subsistence: Hunting and gathering with little domestication
8. Type of leadership: Informal and situational leaders; may have a headman who acts as arbiter
in group decision making
9. Type and Importance of Kinship: Bilateral (both matrilineal and patrilineal) kinship, with
kinship used differentially depending on the size and composition of the band
10. Major means of social integration: marriage alliances unite larger groups; bands united by
kinship and family; economic interdependence based on reciprocity
III.
11. Political succession: may be hereditary headmen, but actual leadership falls to those with
special knowledge and abilities
12. Major types of economic exchange : reciprocity (sharing)
13. Social stratification: egalitarian
14. Ownership of property: little or no sense of personal ownership
15. Law and legitimate control of force: No formal laws or punishments; right to use force is
communal
16. Religion: no religious priesthood or full-time specialists; shamanistic
a) Shamanism refers to a human who can make contact with the supernatural on behalf of
other people. A spirit medium
Tribes
1. Heider claims that tribes are midsized societies composed of a few hundred to a few thousand
people
2. Helm’s 3 objections to the idea of tribe
a) it does not encompass a discrete group of societies that share common qualities
b) it is not sufficiently different from other types such as bands or chiefdoms
c) it suggests a degree of social integration or at least boundedness that is often nonexistent
3. Lewellen’s 2 reasons for its use
a) it is recognized that both in sociopolitical complexity and in evolutionary development
there must be a form that bridges the gap between hunting and gathering bands and
centralized systems
b) cross-cultural studies do reveal features in common to many of these groups
4. Type of subsistence: Extensive horticulture and pastoralism
5. Type of leadership: Charismatic headmen with no “power” but some authority in group
decision making (Abrahamson and others do not see authority as having a component of
power…if it did not then why would people listen to the big man)
a) Kottak 230 claims that the big man (almost always a male) is a sort of headman that has
supporters in several villages and regulates regional political organization
6. Type and importance of kinship: Unilineal (patrilineal or matrilineal) may form the basic
structure of society
7. Major means of social integration: Pantribal sodalities based on voluntary associations and/or
age grades
a) Pantribal sodalities are a non-kin group called an association or sodalities serve as links
for local groups (like a labor union in a modern state) 232 These groups can also be
secret societies 235
b) Voluntary associations (Kornblum 681) are formal organizations whose members pursue
shared interests and arrive at decisions through some sort of democratic process
c) Age sets are related to age grades although not all cultures with age grades have age sets
1 an age set is a group uniting all men and women born during a certain time span; this
group controls property and often has political and military functions 246
2 an age grade refers more to a status in society rather than just an age group 234
3 There are 4 age grades commonly recognized in Africa 235
A Recently initiated youth
B Warriors
C One or more grades of mature men who play important roles in pantribal
government
D Elders who may have special ritual responsibilities
8. Political Succession: No formal means of political succession
9. Major types of Economic exchange: Reciprocity; trade may be more developed than bands
10. Social stratification egalitarian
11. Ownership of property: Communal (lineage or clan) ownership of agricultural lands or cattle
12. Laws and legitimate control of force: No formal laws or punishments; right to use force
belongs to lineage, clan or association
13. Religion: Shamanistic; strong emphasis on initiation rites and other rites of passage that unite
lineages
IV.
V.
Chiefdom
1. Heider claims that chiefdoms range from several hundred to many thousand people
2. A chiefdom passes a tribe in 2 ways
a) a higher population density
b) it is more complex with centralized authority
3. It has a more permanent form of government and chiefs have access to coercion, but no
absolute power
4. Type of subsistence: Extensive agriculture and intensive fishing
5. Type of leadership: A charismatic chief with limited power based on bestowal of benefits on
followers
6. Type and importance of kinship: Unilineal, with some bilateral; descent groups are ranked in
status
7. Major means of social integration: Integration through loyalty to a chief, ranked lineages, and
voluntary associations
8. Political succession: Chief’s position not directly inherited, but chief must come from a highranking lineage
9. Major types of economic exchange: Redistribution through the chief and reciprocity at the
lower levels
10. Social Stratification: Rank (individual and lineage)
11. Ownership of property: Land communally owned by lineage, but strong sense of personal
ownership of titles, names, privileges, ritual artifacts etc.
12. Law and Legitimate Control of force: May be informal laws and specified punishments for
breaking taboos, chief has limited access to physical coercion
13. Religion: Inchoate (first stage of development) formal priesthood; hierarchical, ancestorbased religion
14. In chiefdoms there is a greater degree of specialization, but there is no permanent class of
artisans (Craftsmen work part time and farm for a living)
State
1. The earliest scholars believed the rise of cities and states and other elements of evolving
cultural complexity needed no explanation (this was the work of gods)
2. Many scholars were satisfied with the theory that the village farming way of life combined
with a simultaneous rise of cultural complexity readily accounted for this event
3. However, many agricultural groups never developed into states and one early complex culture
(Peru) may have evolved without a primarily agricultural economy (this explanation is not
sufficient by itself)
4. Many theorists tie agriculture and population growth as explanatory mechanisms
5. Some of the notable theories are Wittfogel’s Hydraulic theory, Diakonov’s Marxist based
theory, Carneiro’s theory of environmental circumscription (pressure from an inability to
move eventually causes war) and Robert Mc C. Adams’ theory {TRANSPARENCIES}
6. One theory should be added, specifically, Marvin Harris’ technoenvironmental determinist
argument which views social organization and ideology as resulting from a society’
technological adaptation to its physical environment (Lewellen 57)
7. Lewellen notes that few anthropologists today would hold to a single-cause model for the
evolution of states and that all are based on interactions between 4 factors.
a) population
b) environment
c) technology
d) irrigation
8. Kottak (242) claims that the presence and acceptance of stratification is one of the key
distinguishing features of a state
9. Weber defined 3 related aspects of stratification
a) Economic status or wealth
b) Power or the ability to exercise one’s power over others
c) Preasige or the basis of social status (esteem , exemplary qualities etc.)
10. Wenke claims early states formed “essentially” independently in at least six areas of the
ancient world: Mesopotamia, Egypt, The Indus Valley, China, Mesoamerica and Peru
VI
11. Ethnographic and historic accounts also place early state formation in Africa, Madagascar and
other places
12. Heider claims that a state is a social unit composed of thousands to millions (with my
addenda: in some cases billions) of people
13. Service offers a key thought on the difference between a chiefdom and a state, specifically,
the presence of the consistent threat of force by a body of persons legitimately constituted to
use it
14. Cohen sees the state as differing from a chiefdom because it is more permanent than a
chiefdom
15. Type of subsistence: Intensive agriculture
16. Type of leadership: Sovereign leader supported by an aristocratic bureaucracy
17. Type and importance of kinship: State demands supra-kinship loyalties, access to power is
based on ranked kin groups, either unilineal or bilateral
18. Major means of social integration: State loyalties supercede all lower level loyalties;
integration through commerce and specialization of function
19. Political succession: Direct hereditary succession of sovereign; increasing appointment of
bureaucratic functionaries
a) Bureaucracy is defined by Kornblum (165) as a specific structure of statuses and roles in
which the power to influence the actions of others increases as one nears the top of the
organization
b) Max Weber identified the following typical aspects to bureaucratic organizations
(Kornblum 165)
1 Positions with clearly defined responsibilities
2 Positions ordered in a hierarchy
3 Rules and precedents
4 Impersonality and impartiality
5 A career ladder
6 The norm of efficiency
20. Redistribution based on formal tribute and/or taxation; markets and trade
21. Social Stratification: classes (minimally of rulers and ruled)
22. Ownership of property: Private and state ownership increases at the expense of communal
ownership
23. Law and Legitimate control of Force: Formal laws and punishments; state holds all legitimate
access to use of physical force
24. Religion: Full-time priesthood provides sacral (sacred ceremonies) legitimization of the state
25. Wright and Johnson see the state as having at least 3 levels in the decision making hierarchy,
such as village headman, provincial governor and national leadership
Subsets in Service’s system and potential flaws
1. No society should be expected to match all the characteristics of its type
2. What the following sections on the typology show is cultural complexity; therefore one
should not assume that politics (band, tribe, etc.) is the primary determinant for description (if
one used kinship the headings might be patrilineal, matrilineal etc.)
3. Certain characteristics are better predictors than others
a) Lewellen claims subsistence level is a poor predictor of social organization
b) the best indicator of political type is population density
4. The dividing of groups suggests that each type is distinct from another when in reality they
are points on a continuum
5. It cannot be assumed that a higher level of cultural complexity leaves behind all the
characteristics of the lower levels nor that cultural complexity is simply additive
a) as an example, reciprocity is a significant means of exchange in all societies—high and
low
b) In terms of the additive aspect bilateral systems of kinship appear in the simplest and
most complex levels, but are replaced by unilineal kinship at the intermediate levels
6. The mentioning of religion is due to a strong relation between cultural complexity and
religious organization, but because there is little or no relation to actual belief the individual
beliefs are not mentioned
a)
The actual beliefs mentioned before refer to specific religions or beliefs such as magic,
animism, polytheism, monotheism
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2351 Lecture
FAMILIES, KINSHIP AND DESCENT Chapter 10
I.
Families
A) Levy and Fallens claim that it has been assumed that in every society there is something
called the “family”
B) Levi and Fallens also argue that the socialization function is the basis for the family,
therefore, it does not follow that:
a) there is a single such unit in every society which carries out all aspects of socialization
b) in every society this unit is the nuclear family
C) Nuclear families
1. The nuclear family is defined by Heider as the basis for all social organization. It
consists of a mother, a father, and their children, often living in an independent
household, apart from relatives
2. Murdock sees four key functions for the nuclear family
a) sexual
b) economic
c) reproductive
d) educational
3. Murdock further notes that without 1 and 3 society would be extinct, without 2 the world
would cease and without 4 culture would end
4. Kottak 256 notes that most people belong to at least 2 nuclear families at different times
in their lives. These are:
a) Family of orientation 273, which refers to the nuclear family in which one is born
and grows up
b) Family of procreation 273, which refers to the nuclear family established when one
marries and has children
5. Kottak 256 claims that nuclear family organization is widespread, but not universal
6. Heider goes further and suggests that the nuclear family 251 is far from the most
common form cross-culturally and that even in the U.S. these families split up, recombine
or are submerged in other social groupings such as the extended family
7. Heider 252 also suggests that ethnographers have assumed that family and household are
synonymous
8. However, household is defined as a basic economic interacting unit often made up of
both kin and friends who happen to live in the same house and does not constitute a
single family unit
9. Kottak 257 notes that for many U.S. citizens and Canadians, the nuclear family is the
only well-defined kin group
10. Family isolation occurs in these nations due to geographic mobility which is associated
with industrialism
a) This makes a nuclear family focus a characteristic of many modern nations
b) Among middle class people in the U.S. this idea leads to neolocal residence patterns
11. Although the nuclear family is a cultural ideal for many in the U.S. nuclear families
accounted for just 24% of American households in 2000
12. This means that 76% live in some other type of household in the U.S.
13. In foraging societies levels of social complexity are less than in industrial societies
14. Despite this the nuclear family is often the most significant kin group
15. The 2 basic social units of traditional foraging are the nuclear family and the band
16. Kottak 262 notes that while nuclear families are as impermanent among foragers as they
are in other societies they are usually more stable than bands
D) Non-nuclear families
1. Non-nuclear families fall under the category of a grouping that is not nuclear and at the
same time not an extended family either
2. In terms of the 76% who do not live in nuclear families, issues such as single mothers (12
million), single fathers (2 million) arise due in part to the 19 million divorced U.S.
citizens in 2000
a)
Women joining the cash work force are seen by Kottak as a part of the reason for the
high incidence of non-nuclear families
3. D.I.N.K.’s (Double income no kids) are also a part of the non-nuclear family group and
generally arise among middle class marriages where both individuals may be
professionals
4. D.I.N.K.s can often be yuppies or young urban professionals who have decided to enjoy
the fruits of their labor instead of opting for a family
5. Another type of family is the “blended family” or kin units that are formed when parents
remarry and bring their children to a new household
6. In my opinion, there are two possible views of blended families
a) a blended family is a nuclear family where the children are melded into a single
family and are, therefore, a metaphorical or possibly actual nuclear family
b) a nuclear family is rooted in biology, therefore, because both parents have not sired
the children it is not a nuclear family, but a new type of family (suggested by it being
given the name blended implying difference from the nuclear family)
7. If the nuclear family is rooted in biology then one should raise the question of adoptive
families (not whether or not they are families, but whether or not they are nuclear)
8. If the family is composed of only the parents and adoptive children then the argument
would be that it is non-nuclear family
9. However, if the parents have biological children (exclusively theirs) then a part of the
family is nuclear and part of it is a non-nuclear family
10. It could also be argued that anthropological notions “secularly” expressed in Hillary
Rodham Clinton’s book It takes a Village reflect another sort of non-nuclear family
11. She argues an African based notion that it takes a village to raise a child and a village is
not only the family, but also schools, churches, businesses, civic organizations and even
cyberspace
12. She specifically, claims that “children are not rugged individualists…they depend on the
adults they know and on thousands more who make decisions every day that affect their
well-being
13. This argument would suggest that if a community raises a child then the child has
multiple “parents” and that biological parenthood is somehow modified by the
community.
a) If this thinking is true then what does the terminology really mean?
b) In terms of pure biology the name nuclear family works
c) In terms of agents of socialization it does not
E) Extended and expanded families
1. Heider defines an extended family as having more than two generations (Kottak claims 3
generations) and may include siblings and their spouses, grandparents and grandchildren
or cousins all living together
2. In the extended family household, Levy and Fallens claim that they do not believe that
the main unit of socialization is the nuclear family subunit
3. They suggest that “family” should refer to not to not a single social unit in each society,
but to any small, kinship structured unit which carries out aspects of the relevant
functions
4. Kottak (258) talks of expanded family households that are inclusive of non-nuclear
relatives
a) this family type has a greater incidence among the lower class than among the
middle class and may in part be related to economics
5. Another type of expanded family is a collateral household which includes siblings and
their spouses and children
6. The expanded family households in some cases are unable to survive economically as
nuclear family units so relatives band together and pool their resources
F) Postmarital residence patterns
1. Heider notes that the location of the residence for newly married couples has important
consequences for their economic, political and social activities
2. Several kinds of postmarital residence patterns are:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
matrilocal or living with a wife’s kin group
patrilocal or living with a husband’s kin group (associated with patrilineal descent)
neolocal or establishing an independent residence
avunculocal or living with an uncle
natolocal this is a part of “delayed transfer marriage” (a Chinese form) where brides
are separated from their husbands on the third day and return to live with their natal
families
1 the wives live apart from their husbands for the first 3 years of marriage
2 Conjugal visits do occur with the husband visiting the wife’s parents house
3 The wife may pay 2 to 3 visits to the husband’s house per year
4 A pregnancy ends natolocal residence
5 Changes in industry (the daughter helps to support her parents while at home)
have led to longer stays with the parents sometimes from 4 to 6 years
It should be noted that patrilocality and matrilocality are known as unilocal rules of
postmarital residence
G) Descent
1. A descent group 263 is a permanent social unit whose members say they have ancestors
in common
2. The members of this group believe that they share and descend from common ancestors
3. Descent group membership 263 is often determined at birth and is life long so in that
sense it is an ascribed status
4. Descent groups can be unilineal (matrilineal, patrilineal) where descent is traced through
only one parent (the most widespread descent group)
5. They can also be non-unilineal or ambilineal 266 where descent is traced through either
or both parents
a) ambilineal groups differ from unilineal in that they do not automatically exclude
either the children of sons or those of daughters
b) This group allows people to choose the descent group that they want to join and can
change their descent group or belong to two or more groups simultaneously
6. Patrilineal descent refers to people automatically having a lifetime membership in the
father’s group
a) In the patrilineal system, the children of all the group’s men join the group, but the
children of the female members of that group are excluded
7. Matrilineal descent refers to people joining the mother’s group automatically at birth and
stay members for a lifetime
a) matrilineal descent groups include only the children of the group’s women
8. Heider 266 notes that descent groups in general usually have several attributes
a) They are exogamous or marry outside of their group
b) They are corporate where some property is usually owned jointly in the name of the
group as a whole (it may be land, livestock, or sacred objects or even sacred
knowledge
c) They are totemic. Descent groups often are associated in some ritual or symbolic
sense with particular animals, birds, or other aspects of nature (totemism is one of
the most widespread religious beliefs)
d) Vancouver trip to Stanley park and totem fun? {transparencies on totem poles}
9. Lineages clans and sibs are also a part of descent groups
10. Lineages (Heider) can be defined as the smallest unilineal descent group, in which
everyone knows the other members of the groups and how they are related
a) In societies where these lineages make up parts or segments of larger units they are
called segmentary lineage systems
b) A Segmentery lineage system refers to the idea that as a lineage grows with new
generations it becomes too large and unwieldy
c) When it becomes too large sublineages or branches (possibly composed of sons and
grandsons from a younger brother) split off and form independent lineages
11. Clans are social groups made up of people descended from a common ancestor through
the male or female lines
12. Sibs are unilineal descent groups like a clan, but without the clan’s territorial limitations
13. Other combinations dealing with clans and sibs have developed in some societies
a) A phratry is a loose social association of several (2 or more) clans or sibs
b) A Moiety (literally half) occurs when the entire society is divided into 2 groups,
usually matrimoieties and patrimoieties
c) Moieties are usually found in societies made up of clans and sibs
d) An example of a moiety is the Grand Valley Dani of New Guinea
1 The main function of their moiety is to regulate marriage
2 One must not only marry outside of one’s clan (exogamy), but also cannot marry
into any other sib belonging to their moiety (this severely restricts potential
marriage partners)
14. Common to both the notion of lineages and clans is the idea that members descend from
an apical ancestor
a) An apical ancestor is the person at the apex or top of the common genealogy
b) An example is that Adam and Eve were the apical ancestors of the Jews
15. A lineage uses demonstrated descent 264 where members can recite the names of their
forebears in each generation from their apical ancestor to the present
a) The recitations may not be accurate, but they are important subjectively
16. Clans use stipulated descent 264 where clan members merely say they descend from the
apical ancestor, but they do not trace actual genealogical links between themselves and
their ancestors
17. Apical ancestors can also be an animal or plant (known as a totem)
H) Kinship
1. Kinship calculation is the system by which people in a society reckon kin relationships
2. Often this examination of kinship is relative to the person describing the relations or the
ego (or “I” in Latin)
3. The way of labeling categories of relations is known as kinship terminology. This
includes several vocabulary terms.
a) Terms of reference are used when speaking about another person (He is my father)
b) Terms of address which are used when speaking to another person (Hey Mom!)
c) These terms may refer to affines who are relatives by marriage
d) They may also refer to consanguines or biological relatives
e) They can also cover both affines and consanguines such as the term “uncle”
4. Kin terms are different from what Kottak calls genealogical kin types
5. Genealogical kin types refer to the actual genealogical relationship such as “father’s
brother” rather than uncle
6. Kin terms reflect the social construction of kinship in a given culture
a) an example is the term “uncle” which can reflect either a mother’s brother, a father’s
brother or someone who married a mother’s sister or a father’s sister
7. Kroeber notes that a culture-neutral (etic) approach can be used to analyze a kinship
system
8. He notes that despite apparent variation in kinship terms eight dimensions can be used to
establish kin relationships when speaking to an informant
a) Generation—this distinguishes people of one’s own generation from that of one’s
parents and that of one’s children
b) Age within a generation—this distinguishes, for example, one’s older brother or
sister from one’s younger brother or sister
c) Lineal versus collateral—this distinguishes direct line ancestors and descendents
from those who are farther removed, such as the English term aunt or cousin
d) Gender of the other—distinguishes between male and female relatives such as
uncle/aunt and brother/sister
e) Gender of the speaker—in systems in which men and women use different terms for
the same relative
f) Gender of the person who links the speaker with a relative—in systems where for
example, a father’s brother would be distinguished from a mother’s brother
I)
g) Consanguinal versus affinal---this distinguishes an aunt by marriage from an aunt
who is a parents sister
h) The other’s condition of life—this indicates whether the relative is alive or dead,
single or married
9. In the early days of kinship analysis emic terms were used, but serious misunderstandings
arose due to this usage
10. In the U.S. bilateral kinship or the idea that people tend to perceive kin links through
males and females as being similar or equivalent is used
a) As an example, both kinds of uncles are brothers of one or the other parent, yet they
are seen as roughly the same type of relative
Kinship Terminology
1. In any culture kinship terminology is a classification system
2. Kottak 268 notes that there are only a limited number of patterns in which people classify
their kin
3. Kottak sees 269 4 main ways of classifying kin in the parental generation (use book)
a) lineal
b) bifurcate merging
c) generational
d) bifurcate collateral
4. Kottak attempts to offer functional explanations or an attempt to relate particular customs
(such as the use of kin terms) to other features of society such as rules of descent and
postmarital residence
5. The U. S. uses the lineal system of classification
a) Lineal kinship terminology is usually found in societies such as the U.S. where the
nuclear family (neolocal) is the most important group based on kinship
b) The economic association with lineal groups is industrialism and foraging
c) Lineal kinship is important because it distinguishes between lineal and collateral
relatives
1 A lineal relative is an ancestor or descendent or anyone on the direct line of
descent that leads to and from the ego
2 Collateral relatives are all other kin (269) including siblings, nieces and
nephews, aunts and uncles and cousins
3 Affines are also present and are relatives by marriage whether of lineals (son’s
wife) or of collaterals (sister’s husband)
6. Bifurcate merging kinship terminology bifurcates or splits the mother’s side and the
fathers side, but it also merges the same sex siblings of each parent
a) A mother and a mother’s sister would be merged under the same name the same as a
father and a fathers brother
b) However, there would be different terms for a mother’s brother and father’s sister
c) This system is usually used by societies with unilineal (patri and matri lineal) descent
rules and unilocal (matri and patri local) postmarital residence rules
d) The economy types are horticulture, pastoralism and agriculture
7. Generational kinship terminology uses the same name for parents and their siblings
a) In this terminology there are only 2 terms for the parental generation that can be
referred to as father and mother
b) Generational kin terminology is typical of societies with ambilineal descent (descent
groups where membership is not automatic or bands)
c) The use of intimate terms suggests that people have close personal relations with all
their relatives of the parental generation
d) In ambilineal societies postmarital residence is usually ambilocal (live with either the
husband’s or wife’s group
e) The economy types are agriculture, horticulture and foraging
8. Bifurcate Collateral terminology
a) It has separate terms for each of the 6 kin types of the parental generation
b) The 6 types that are differentiated
1 father
2 mother
3 fathers brother
4 fathers sister
5 mothers brother
6 mothers sister
c) This terminology is not as common as the other types
d) This terminology may also be used when the ethnicity on both sides of the family are
different (using the names in the foreign language
CULTURALANTHROPOLOGY 2351 Lecture
MARRIAGE Chapter 11
I
Marriage
A) Marriage definitions and Ideology
1. Spiro’s “comprehensive” definition of marriage is “any socially sanctioned relationship
between non-sanguinally related cohabiting adults of opposite sex which satisfied felt
needs, mutual, symmetrical or complementary
2. Kottak 281 suggests that no definition of marriage is broad enough to apply easily to all
societies and situations
3. Kottak would object to Spiro’s definition because some societies recognize same sex
marriages
4. Heider notes that a key idea is that marriage brings together 2 individuals as well as 2
groups of people (outside of polygamy and homosexual marriage where the parents may
not support homosexuality)
5. Stockard notes that marriage is best understood within the context of all other facets of
culture, including polity and economy, kinship and marriage and religion and ideology
6. Marriage can be understood only as a product of a specific culture within a particular
history and environment
7. Marriage is constructed from the many distinctive values, practices and institutions that
shape every society
8. Practice theory focuses on how people’s lived experience recreates larger cultural
structures such as descent lines and lineages, residence patterns and marriage patterns
9. Gender theory suggests that cultures are seen as systems of inequality created by social
processes, located in all domains of social life, including economy & polity, kinship and
marriage, and religion and ideology
10. Stockard sees marriage as a critical moment when social inequalities between husband
and wife, mother, inlaws etc. are both visible and reproduced
11. In terms of Kottak’s example form the Nuer an important idea is brought up by the issue
of female-female marriage, specifically, 2 types of “fatherhood”
a) genitor is the biological father of the children
b) pater is the socially recognized father
c) When George Clooney in O Brother where art thou? Says he is the paterfamilias is
he actually referring to genitor or pater?
B) Incest, Exogamy and Endogamy
1. Kottak 282 claims that exogamy or the practice of seeking a husband or wife outside
one’s group, has adaptive value because it links people into a wider social networks that
nurture, help and protect them in time of need
2. Kottak claims that exogamy is one of the most accepted explanations for the incest taboo
3. Endogamy also takes place (Cajuns) and refers to a rule for the practice of marriage
between people in the same social group (304)
4. Formal endogamic (286-287) rules are less common than exogamic rules
5. However, most societies are endogamous units just without formal rules requiring
someone to marry within the society
a) This was suggested to me by an interviewee during my work with women in the
Chinese American community
b) The implication was that I had what is termed “yellow fever” or the desire by nonracial Chinese for racial Chinese over other ethnic groups and their own
c) The dating of one of the interviewees would have been slightly unethical and the use
of a thesis topic to pursue dating would have been highly unethical
d) The lady who suggested this probably did not mean these remarks against my
character, but what she was expressing is the idea that some (not all) in the Chinese
community in the U.S. have a rule of endogamy
e) This issue while apparently one of race is actually probably not about that, but about
a desire to preserve ethnicity and identity for the community
f) This does not only apply to ethnicity, but also to religion
1
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Christianity has a rule of endogamy where Christians are not supposed to marry
those from other religions
2 Do other religions have this rule?
The caste system in India is an extreme example of endogamy where social classes were
highly structured and one did not marry outside one’s class
Despite the idea of endogamous marriage among groups subsets within these groups are
exogamous
Royal incest is similar to caste endogamy
There are 2 functions of brother sister marriage
a) the manifest function of a custom refers to the reasons the natives give for it
1 In Hawai’i Polynesians believe in an impersonal spiritual force called mana
2 They further believed that the chief had the most mana
3 Relatives of the King had just less than he did so it behooved the king to marry
his (full blooded) sister to
4 The manifest function was related to ideas of mana and divinity
b) the latent function is an effect the custom has on the society that the native people do
not mention and may not even recognize
1 A latent function is to provide their children with the most mana in the land
(unquestioned inherited rule)
2 Royal sibling marriage therefore, limited conflicts about succession because it
reduced the number of people with claims to rule
3 Royal incest also kept wealth (often equated with power) in the family
Incest 282 refers to sexual relations with someone considered to be a close relative
The Oxford dictionary offers this definition of incest “it is sexual commerce with near
kindred”
Kottak notes that all cultures have taboos against incest
Goody, however, sees incest as difficult to define cross culturally
The English idea of incest concerns wives (affines and not consanguines) and
consanguines
The Mossi tribe in Africa (Burkina Faso) children marry their father’s wives after he dies,
however, his actual mother may be exempt (this is unclear)
The Tallensi people (Northern Ghana) have no word for incest merely what is translated
as adultery, but is actually in a wider context than the term adultery
On the kibbutz in Israel individuals generally do not seek to marry the individuals that
they were raised with because they were seen as siblings (they are raised in collective
groups with little interaction with their parents)
Incest is supposed to be characterized by a particular horror, however, in other societies
this is not so
a) as an example the Tallensi see a brother marrying a sister as only disreputable
Heider’s 6 contributing factors to incest prohibitions
a) the Biological inbreeding disadvantage—children of close relatives may have
physical defects so incest prohibitions are effectively primitive eugenics codes
(serious questions arise over the scientific basis for this idea)
1 Eugenics is defined as encouraging the production of healthy children
2 Kottak 286 claims that a decline in survival and fertility does occur with
brother-sister mating across several generations (according to tests run on
laboratory animals)
3 However, Kottak sees human marriage patterns as being based on specific
cultural beliefs rather than universal concerns about biological degeneration
several generations in the future
4 How would a sociobiologist respond to Kottak’s assertion?
b) A second factor is that close family members have an instinctual repulsion toward
incest (if this were absolutely true incest would never occur)
c) The advantages of social alliances between families or clans that result when
marriages within families are prohibited
1 People doing this would have long-term advantages over those who do not
d) It is held that incest laws prevent social role conflicts that might arise between core
relatives
1 as an example Oedipus killed his father and married his mother so Antigone his
daughter was also his sister
e) A psychological argument is that people who are raised together will be very
attracted to each other and must be strongly prohibited from marrying and having
sexual relations (Sigmund Freud was an advocate of this idea)
f) Another psychological argument is that people who live in the same house for
prolonged periods of time develop a habit of avoidance
20. My opinion on the notion of incest is rooted in the idea that there is some evidence for
Heider’s contributing factors arguments, therefore incest is not explained fully by any of
them suggesting a multi-causality possibly based on different cultures
C) Marriage rights (290)
1. Leach in 1955 noted that several types of rights are allocated by institutions classified as
marriage
2. Leach (290) notes that marriage sometimes, but does not always accomplish 6 issues
a) Establish the legal right of the father of a woman’s children and the legal mother of a
man’s
b) Give either or both spouses a monopoly in the sexuality of the other
c) Give either or both spouses rights to the labor of the other
d) Give either or both spouses rights over the other’s property
e) Establish a joint fund of property—a partnership—for the benefit of the children
f) Establish a socially significant “relationship of affinity” between spouses and their
relatives
3. Kottak 290 notes several exceptions to the notion of marriage espoused by Leach based
on the idea of same sex marriage
a) In terms of legal rights, a lesbian couple could have one or the other artificially
inseminated to produce a child
1 Kottak asks the question why can’t both lesbian mothers be the maters (socially
recognized mothers) or two legal mothers
2 The legal question is essentially one of “adoption” since only one is the
biological mother
3 Also the biological father and sperm donor could potentially seek some rights
over the child despite the signing of a waiver
4 The only real way to have two biological mothers would be genetically
engineering the egg with partial DNA from both mothers and even then there
would still be a male donor to consider (biological father)
b) Kottak claims in same sex marriage either or both spouses could have a monopoly on
the sexuality of the other (only a few groups recognize same sex marriages)
c) He claims if they were legal that same sex marriages could easily give each spouse
rights to the other spouse’s labor and its products (if they were allowed)
d) He also claims that there is no reason why same sex marriages could not give
spouses rights over the others property (in the U.S. this is disallowed)
e) The right to establish a joint fund for property could also be used by married gays
(this is disallowed in the U.S.)
f) Leach’s last issue of establishing an affinity between spouses and their relatives (Gay
marriages are unofficial so he implies that the affinity is not established)
1 He further claims that same sex marriages have been recognized in different
historical and cultural settings
g) Why does Kottak devote 2 pages of his text to discuss the issue of gay marriage?
h) Is this discussion based more on anthropology or more on an expression of a political
ideology and a lobbying for gay marriage by pointing out the unfairness of policy in
the U.S. and that it must be o.k. because other societies allow it?
i) What perspective does this lean towards cultural relativism or cultural determinism
(an ethnocentic perspective)
1
It is culturally relativistic in the sense that it is arguing for homosexuals being
allowed to practice their own “cultural” values
2 It is deterministic because it argues for cultural change based on what other
societies do and it is Kottak trying to sell you on his own perspective
3 Cultural relativism would say we do things a certain way in the U.S. and it is o.k
The Nuer or other groups do what they feel to be correct and it is o.k It is for
this reason that there is no need to lobby for change on either end.
D) Marriage as group alliance
1. In non-industrial societies marriage is more often a relationship between groups than one
between individuals
2. However, this does not preclude the existence of romantic love or the growth of love
between the partners
3. In societies with descent groups, people enter marriage with the help of the descent group
4. Descent-group members often have to contribute to bridewealth
5. Bridewealth 293 is defined by Kottak as a customary gift before, at, or after marriage
from the husband and his kin to the wife and her kin
a) Bridewealth compensates her family for the loss of her companionship and labor
b) The institution is also called progeny price since rather than the woman herself it is
the progeny who are transferred permanently to the male’s group
c) Bridewealth is an insurance against divorce
d) As the value of bridewealth increases marriages become more stable
6. Dowry can also be given which is a marital exchange in which the wife’s group provides
substantial gifts to the husband’s family
7. Dowry tends to create low female status and in India can lead to wife burning (in order to
free the husband to remarry and receive a new dowry
8. Kottak 294 sees the notion of dowry “burnings” as attached to the idea of patriarchy is a
political system ruled by men in which women have inferior social and political status,
including basic human rights (this idea is associated with feminism)
9. It could be argued that abuse can readily occur in any hierarchical system (it does not
always) where a superordinate and subordinate group occur.
E) Marriage types
1. “Delayed transfer” is where the marriage takes place and the bride does not live with her
husband outside of conjugal visits for 3 to 5 years (or longer) and resides in a natolocal
setting with her parents.
2. “minor marriage” occurs in Taiwan and South China and involves an infant girl being
brought to her future husband’s household.
a) The future husband is raised with the future wife
b) These marriages are more troubled that the regular sort of marriage
3. Cousin marriages
a) Parallel cousin—marriage between children of the same gender siblings such as
mother’s sister or father’s brother (less common than the next type)
b) Cross cousin marriage 282 the children of a brother and a sister father’s sister’s
children and mother’s brother’s children are cross cousins
4. Levirate—the brother of the dead man marries the widow and assumes the responsibility
of taking care of her and her children
5. Sororate—a widower is remarried to his dead wife’s sister
6. Ghost marriage (Nuer) if a man dies without sons one of his kinsmen marries a woman,
usually the widow to have sons in the deceased man’s name and they are considered to be
the dead man’s lineage and are considered his sons (the woman is the wife of a ghost
7. Wedding of the dead (Kligman 220) is a Transylvanian custom where brides living or
dead wear white, however other participants (bridesmaid excepted) wear black and
mourn
a) this marriage style is not binding because one of the individuals is dead
8. The “male bride” marriage--In Japan there is the notion of the ie or house composed of an
extended family in a patrilineal society where it is crucial to preserve the ie
a)
If there are no sons available a Japanese ie may adopt an adult male who adopts their
family name and marries a daughter producing children with the family name
b) The wedding is performed with the man in the role of a bride and the daughter in the
role of the husband
9. Arranged marriage—In Japan a nakodo or go between (Marriage broker) is called in to
organize a marriage based on compatibility education, social standing, astrological
readings, religion and personal attractiveness
10. An arranged marriage is where young people are used to create alliances between groups
and is based in groupism
11. Arranged marriages are endangered because for several reasons related to education (in
Nepal literacy allows individuals to bypass traditional methods), modernity and
globalization (people learn that there are other formats in marriage P.R.C. and
telenovellas)
12. Love marriage—based in individualism, it allows autonomous individuals to emphasize
their own feelings of love and romance looking for like-minded individuals to fall in love
with (the other option outside of arranged marriage)
13. Monogamy—(Heider) having only one spouse at a time
14. Kottak 299 claims that in the U.S. serial monogamy is practiced where individuals
sometimes have more than one spouse but never, legally, more than one at a time (299)
15. Plural marriage 304 also known as polygamy is any marriage with more than 2 spouses
16. Polygyny—a variety of plural marriage in which a man has more than one wife
a) Many cultures approve of this practice, but most of the men in those cultures are
usually monogamous
b) One reason for this is equal sex ratios (U.S. 105 males are born for 100 females)
c) In adulthood the ratio equalizes and then reverses because U.S. women outlive U.S.
men
d) Multiple wives generally indicate high social position for the male
e) Plural wives are often arranged in a hierarchy where the first wife normally has the
highest status
1 In historic China, multiple wives were actually numbered (su taitai or 4 th wife)
2 In modern Hong Kong the meaning of the term has changed slightly where the
term taitai refers to a rich airhead wife
17 Polyandry is a rare form of polygamy and involves a woman having more than one
husband
a) In some cases this is fraternal where brothers marry one wife
18 There are also polyandrous-polygynynous marriages where multiple husbands can have
multiple wives
a) in the case of the Paharis (northern India) children to any wife would call the
brothers/fathers father
F) Divorce
1. The ease of divorce varies across cultures
2. Divorce tends to be more common in matrilineal than in patrilineal societies (especially
when bridewealth is concerned)
3. Political and Economic issues can complicate the process of divorce
a) Divorce 298 tends to increase after wars and decrease in bad economic times
b) Family ties, inertia, concern about public opinion and other issues can keep
marriages intact even if the love etc. ends
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2351 Lecture
GENDER Chapter 12
I.
Gender
A) Gender definitions
1. Gender 309 refers to the cultural construction of gender difference
2. The term sex usually refers to the biological
a) male and female differ in their x and y chromosomes in terms of sex
b) Men have an x and a y chromosome and women have 2 x chromosomes (Dos Equis)
c) The father determines the baby’s biological sex because he is the only one that can
transmit a y chromosome (the mother provides the x)
d) The chromosomal difference is expressed in hormonal and physiological contrasts
e) Humans are sexually dimorphic 311
f) Sexual dimorphism refers to differences in male and female biology besides the
contrasts in breasts and genitals
3. Women and men differ in several ways
a) Primary attributes--genitalia and reproductive organs
b) Secondary attributes—breasts, voice, hair distribution
c) They also vary in average weight, height, strength and longevity
d) It should be noted that secondary attributes are not entirely representative of the sex
of birth or the chromosomes
1 Breasts can be grown by males using female hormones and can be removes by
women who wish to appear male
2 Even with genetic men and women, men may sometimes have extremely large
breasts for a male and women can have extremely small breasts for a woman
3 Some women have naturally low voices and some men have high voices and
again in a sex change these can be altered (through voice training)
4 Hair distribution can naturally vary among males (Anglo Americans versus
native Americans or East Asian Americans) and females (Asian American
women versus Italian American women)
5 Again people taking hormones of the opposite sex may change the amount of
hair on their bodies
6 I once knew a woman (pretty) who had more hair on her arms than I do
7 Again there are exceptions to the ideas of :
A a specific height (Scandinavian women versus Italian men)
B strength (a lot of women who went to my High school were stronger than me
and even stronger than some football players) (David Perkins and Rosie
locker incident)
C Longevity (some women die earlier than men
8 It should be obvious that the attributes being discussed are merely taken on
average and generally among specific groups such as Scandinavians the women
may be a bit shorter than the men
e) Kottak 312 notes that in many societies men tend to be more aggressive than women
are, many of the behavioral and attitudinal differences between the sexes emerge
from culture rather than biology
4. Culture takes biological differences and associates them with certain activities, behavior
and ideas (tertiary sexual attributes)
5. Some cultures recognize more than 2 genders
6. My argument is that the issue of gender is much more complex than just the recognition
of “more than 2” genders and that gender is very complex and exists in a continuum and
that even a continuum is too simplistic to truly represent all aspects
7. It should be noted before the following discussion that there are both men and women
who dress etc. as the opposite sex, but that I take the male to female version because
these individuals are the most common and to shorten the discussion
8. Bolin’s definition of a “drag queen” is that is a crossdressing (dressing in women’s
clothes and taking on female mannerisms) role within the gay community, but are
separated and disliked within the gay community because they embody the stereotype of
a homosexual as an effeminate man (they can also be heterosexual)
a) this suggests that they have adopted a part of female culture (or gender) yet would
still see themselves as male
b) However, despite appearances they would consider themselves as male and
homosexual
9. Bolin notes that transvestites are often heterosexual individuals (in many cases married)
who dress in women’s clothes because it excites them sexually as a fetish
a) a fetish can be defined as an irrational reverence for an object such as women’s (or
men’s for women) clothes, panty hose etc. (Cheech and Chong song)
10. Crossdressers dress in women’s clothes because they want to feel like women for a while,
but do not want to become a woman. They are heterosexual.
a) Ethno-theory attributes the pressure to perform in the male role as a causal factor in
crossdressing as a part of the effort on the part of the male to reduce role strain
b) Again elements of female culture are appropriated suggesting not a fully “male”
gender
11. Bolin suggests that transsexuals are seen as those who feel like a female trapped in a
man’s body and actively pursue sexual reassignment surgery
12. Dr. Benjamin the preeminent expert in the field suggests that transsexualism and
transvestitism are symptoms or syndromes of the same underlying psychopathological
condition, specifically, sex or gender role disorientation and indecision (not mentally ill,
but a problem that he sees as based on psychology)
a) It should be noted that in the case of transsexualism “very preliminary” studies
suggest that in the case of male to females there are some structures in the brain that
are unlike males and like females (this is from only one study that studied the brains
of deceased transsexuals)
13. Dr. Benjamin offers a continuum based typology of these conditions
a) pseudo transvestite—Drag queen
b) Fetishistic Transvestite
c) True Transvestite—cross dresser
d) Non-surgical transsexual—(a more serious condition) where female hormones are
taken, but they do not want to become fully female
e) Moderate intensity transsexual—wants to be female
f) High intensity transsexual decides to live in the female role and have sex
reassignment surgery
14. Boler claims that transsexuals differ from transvestites because some prefer men, some
women and some are bisexual whereas transvestites are heterosexual
15. Some transsexuals (male to female see themselves as lesbians if they date women)
16. Androgynous—combines characteristics of both sexes some times this can be with
clothing (It’s Pat) or biological
17. Hermaphrodites are physically both sexes in terms of physical organs
18. Eunuchs both physical and metaphorical are arguably neither sex and may not be
attracted to either sex
B) Gender some useful definitions
1. Gender roles 313 refers to tasks and activities a culture assigns to the sexes
2. Gender stereotypes 313 oversimplified but strongly held ideas about the characteristics of
males and females
3. Gender stratification 313 describes 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
4. In stateless societies gender stratification is often more obvious in regard to prestige than
it is in regard to wealth
5. Ong notes that we must distinguish between prestige systems and actual power in a given
society (high male prestige may not entail economic or political power held by men over
families
C) Recurrent gender practices (Table 12.1 on pg. 314)
1.
The table on 314 reflects activities ranging from hunters and gatherers to industrial
societies
2. This chart examines generalities rather than universals (there is a strong tendency for men
to build boats, but there are exceptions (Bongo-Bongoism)
3. It is important to note that there are swing activities where either sex is suitable for the
job
4. Some activities may be related to the greater size and strength of males
5. Kottak notes that this is not his own chart and that the chart does not break down
domestic activities as much as it details extradomestic activities
6. Kottak suggests 316 that women and men spend almost equal time on subsistence, but
that women do most of the domestic work
7. One notable issue is that women have primary authority over infants in 2/3rds of the
societies studied
8. One argument based on this issue is that this could be a mode of power since the teaching
of the next generation lies with them
D) Gender Among foragers
1. In foraging societies gender stratification was more marked when men contributed much
more to the diet than women did
2. Gathering is usually performed by women, but contrary to early findings, hunting usually
supplies more food
3. Men may hunt and fish and some women also may do this in terms of small game
4. When gathering is emphasized gender status is more egalitarian
5. Gender status is more equal when the domestic and private spheres are not sharply
separated
a) Domestic refers to the home
b) Public refers to arenas such as politics, trade, warfare and work
6. Cross-culturally women’s activities tend to be closer to the home than men’s are
7. Warfare is not found in most foraging societies so gender roles are roughly equivalent
E) Gender among horticulturalists
1. Gender roles and stratification vary most widely depending on specific features of the
economy and social structure
2. Women tend to be the main producers in these societies and they tend to do more
cultivating in matrilineal compared to patrilineal societies
3. Female status is high in matrilineal and matrilocal societies (male groups are dispersed)
4. Patrilineal and patrilocal groups tend to keep male relatives together (an advantage for
warfare)
5. Even in matrilineal society public authority may be (or appear to be) given to men, but
despite this much of the power and decision making may actually belong to the senior
women
6. Matrifocal societies reduce gender stratification
a) matrifocal refers to a mother-centered family often with no resident husband-father
b) Matrifocal societies are not necessarily matrilineal and a few are even patrilineal
7. Gender stratification increases in patrilineal-patrilocal societies
a) Martin and Voorhies (1975) link the decline of matriliny and the spread of the
patrilineal-patrilocal complex (warfare, and male supremacy) to pressure on
resources
b) These societies tend to have a sharp domestic-public dichotomy and men tend to
dominate the prestige hierarchy
c) Men use their roles in warfare and trade and their greater prestige to symbolize and
reinforce the devaluation or oppression of women
8. Kottak 323 notes that one of the most extreme examples of male-female sexual
antagonism arises in a horticultural society in New Guinea
a) Women are seen as stealing male semen and, therefore, male life force leading to the
eventual death of the male
b) Women in this society that have too much sex are viewed as witches and are
hazardous to their husband’s health
c)
Heterosexuality is so objectionable that it is removed from community life (sex can
only happen in the woods—a dangerous place)
d) Kottak argues that homosexuality (among the Etoro) rests not on genes, but on
cultural traditions
F) Sexualities and gender
1. Kottak notes that homosexuality while normal for the Etoro is stigmatized in our own
society and sodomy laws make it illegal in several states
2. In the U.S. homosexual activity has been hidden furtive and secretive
3. Sexual orientation has been seen recently as fixed and probably biologically based
4. However, there is not enough information to suggest that sexual orientation is based on
biology
a) Who would want to say it is due to biology?
b) Who would want to say it is due to environment or other factors (cultural)?
5. Sexual orientation can be defined as a person’s sexual attraction to and activities with
individuals 325
a) heterosexuality involves members of the opposite sex
b) homosexuality involves members of the same sex
c) bisexuality involves members of both sexes
d) asexuality is an indifference toward or lack of attraction to either sex
e) all 4 are found in North America and throughout the world
6. In any society individuals will vary in the nature, range and intensity of their sexual
interests and urges
7. Kottak 326 notes that some will follow norms, some will trail, some will resist and some
will experiment (society is sometimes tolerant of experimentation and sometimes not)
8. Sexual norms and mores are often in dispute
9. Kottak notes that 37 per cent of men surveyed admitted to having at least one
homosexual experience
a) what does this suggest?
b) This study was conducted near 1948…do you think that the numbers on this issue
have changed?
10. During a study period from the 1960s –1970s 50% of American farm boys had sex with
animals
a) what does this suggest?
b) How accurate is this figure? We do not know.
c) This notion of sex with animals is called bestiality
11. According to the prior study almost all men and over half of American women admitted
to masturbation
12. Cross-culturally there is greater acceptance of homosexuality than of masturbation or
bestiality
G) Gender among agriculturalists
1. As horticulture developed into agriculture women lost the role of primary cultivators
(men plowed due to greater physical strength and size)
2. Women became cut off from production and stayed at home to raise the large number of
children needed for agriculture (farm hands)
3. Belief systems developed contrasting men’s valuable extradomestic (outside the home or
public) labor to a woman’s “inferior” domestic role
4. The nuclear family became more common and isolated the woman from her kinswomen
and cowives (in a polygamous marriage). However, gender stratification is not inevitable
and is associated with plow agriculture rather than intensive agriculture
5. In terms of cowives Kottak 330 notes that many patrilineal, polygynous societies in West
Africa also include women with careers in commerce who can leave their children with
co-wives to pursue a career
H) Patriarchy and Violence
1. Dowry murders and sati (widow burning) were cited as blatant examples of patriarchy
a) I did not mention sati earlier because I feel that it is not necessarily associated with
patriarchy
I)
J)
b) Sati is often referred to as “self immolation” outside of Kottak
c) It is tied to religion and men can apply pressure to a widow to pursue this course
(they may even force her), but in some instances it is voluntary
d) It could be argued that men started the religion and instituted this practice, but if it is
the woman’s choice to do this (this practice does not extend to men)
2. Patriarchy describes a political system ruled by men in which women have inferior social
and political status, including basic human rights
3. This importance of males can lead to female infanticide or neglect due to the importance
of the male in passing on the lineage (patrilineal)
a) Essentially, if there is enough food to feed only one child and there are 2 children
(one male and one female)
b) In a poor family if a dowry has to be paid to wed a daughter then a daughter is an
economic liability
c) If a daughter’s labor will be lost to another house and she cannot be expected to
“repay” the cost of feeding her
d) in all of these instances the female infanticide or neglect (no food or only food left
after the males are full) can occur
4. Domestic violence is also seen as arising from patriarchy and is seen by Kottak 331 as
associated with a woman’s isolation from supportive kin ties
5. Violence also arises in neolocal-nuclear family areas such as the U.S.
6. Kottak 331 notes that domestic violence is one of an often interconnected manifestations
of patriarchy
7. In my opinion, it is almost impossible to prove a unicausal force for any event suggesting
that patriarchy as a sort of universal “evil” might be simplistic
8. However, I believe there is probably some connection between patriarchy and the
devaluation of women and associated events
9. It should be noted that the connection to these events may be overemphasized by Kottak
due to a strong feminist-liberal attachment to this ideology (politics again may be
involved)
a) this ideological basis is suggested by his statement “but patriarchal institutions
clearly do persist in what should be a more enlightened world”
b) The idea that getting rid of patriarchy and the notion of it being more enlightened
suggests the presence of bias and the clear absence of cultural relativism
(subjectively good, bad or indifferent depending on perspective)
Gender and industrialism
1. The domestic-public dichotomy has also affected gender stratification in industrial
societies
2. The traditional role of the female as a house wife developed with the industrial changes
circa 1900
3. Before this era women worked in farming and home industry
4. Attitudes about women working in the Industrial era varied by class and region with
some women working with men
5. In the U.S., immigrant men who were willing to settle for less in terms of wages
gradually replaced women as workers
6. Oddly, today many workers in 3rd world industrial sweat shops are women
7. The World War II era has brought an increase in female employment due to needs for
wartime production when men could not work
8. Today the trend of increasing female employment continues reflecting the baby boom
and industrial expansion
9. Nursing, teaching and clerical work were traditionally seen as female occupations, but
today women are spread out in more occupations (although they may be underrepresented
in fields such as Engineering or over represented in other fields)
10. Kottak noted that a woman’s role in the home has been stressed in periods of high
unemployment
The feminization of poverty
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The feminization of poverty refers to the increasing representation of women and their
children among America’s poorest people
This has been a trend since World War II, but has accelerated recently
Many American women continue to work part time for low wages and meager benefits
However, married couples are much more secure economically than single mothers
At a global level households headed by women tend to be poorer than are those headed
by men (poverty has health consequences)
Lastly, Kottak notes that one potential way to improve the situation of poor women is to
encourage them to organize
He also notes that new women’s groups can in some cases revive or replace traditional
forms of social organization that have been disrupted