ZeePedia

GENDER AND CULTURE:Gender Stratification, Suggested Readings

<< ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE (continued):Family Structures
GENDER ROLES IN CULTURE (continued):Women Employment, Feminization of Poverty >>
img
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
Lesson 18
GENDER AND CULTURE
Meaning of Gender
Gender refers to the way members of the two sexes are perceived, evaluated, and expected to behave. It is
not possible to determine the extent to which culture or biology determines differences in behaviors or
attitudes between males or females.
Although biology sets broad limits on gender definitions, there is a wide range of ideas about what it means
to be feminine or masculine. Margaret Mead demonstrated this gender based variation in her classical study
of sex and temperament in New Guinea
Gender Roles
In some cultures, gender roles are rigidly defined, in other cultures they can overlap. In general terms,
however, there is considerable uniformity in gender roles found throughout the world.
Men engage in warfare, clear land, hunt and trap animals, build houses, fish, and work with hard substances.
Women, on the other hand, tend crops, prepare food, collect firewood, clean house, launder clothes, and
carry water (tasks compatible with child rearing).
Yet there are many exceptions to the rule. For example, in parts of Eastern Africa and in other parts of the
developing world, women carry enormous amounts of firewood on their backs. For the foraging Agta of
the Philippines, hunting is not an exclusively male activity.
Status of Women
The status of women is multidimensional, involving such aspects as the division of labor, the value placed
on women's contributions, economic autonomy, social and political power, legal rights, levels of deference,
and the extent to which women control the everyday events of their lives.
The status of women varies around the world, but it is unfortunate that in most cases it continues to remain
below that of men.
Gender Stratification
Gender stratification contrasts the status assigned by different cultures on the basis of gender. It is
important to release that status is itself a multidimensional notion involving issues of economic, social and
political empowerment. Stratification on the basis of gender is a common phenomenon.
The relationships between men and women vary in both degree and in extent across different cultures of
the world. Many cultures in Asia for example are very stratified along gender lines. On the other hand,
foraging societies, like the Mbuti Pygmies of Central Africa, possess a very egalitarian gender approach (all
their elders are called `tata').
Gender stratification need not be static. However, in most critical areas, women tend to be subordinate to
men in most societies of the world. It is difficult to measure the comparative status of men and women in
different societies since there are various components of stratification, which can vary independently of
each other
Useful Terms
Status: social ranking
42
img
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
Acquisition: gaining
Interaction: communication
Abundance: profusion or great quantity
Multidimensional: many sided
Stratification: hierarchical division
Irrational: without logic
Suggested Readings
Students are advised to read the following chapters to develop a better understanding of the various
principals highlighted in this hand-out:
Chapter 11 in `Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective' by Ferrarro and/or Chapter 19 in `Anthropology' by
Ember and Pergrine
Internet Resources
In addition to reading from the textbook, please visit the following web-pages for this lecture, which
provide useful and interesting information:
Gender and Cultural Anthropology
http://vlib.anthrotech.com/Cultural_Anthropology/Gender/Feminism/
43
Table of Contents:
  1. WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?:Cultural Anthropology, Internet Resources
  2. THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE AND THE APPLICATION OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
  3. MAJOR THEORIES IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Diffusionism
  4. GROWTH OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY (continued):Post Modernism
  5. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Comments on Fieldwork
  6. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):Census Taking
  7. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
  8. ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES
  9. FOCUSING ON LANGUAGE:Languages of the World, Structure of Language
  10. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE (continued):Levels of Complexity, Cultural Emphasis
  11. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURES:Optimal Foraging, Suggested Readings
  12. FOOD AND CULTURE (continued):Food Collectors, Food Production
  13. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURE (continued):Pastoralism, Agriculture
  14. RELEVANCE OF KINSHIP AND DESCENT:Kinship Criteria, Rules of Descent
  15. KINSHIP AND DESCENT (continued):Tracing Descent, Primary Kinship Systems
  16. THE ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE:Economic Aspect of Marriage
  17. ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE (continued):Family Structures
  18. GENDER AND CULTURE:Gender Stratification, Suggested Readings
  19. GENDER ROLES IN CULTURE (continued):Women Employment, Feminization of Poverty
  20. STRATIFICATION AND CULTURE:Social Ranking, Dimensions of Inequality
  21. THEORIES OF STRATIFICATION (continued):The Functionalists, Conflict Theorists
  22. CULTURE AND CHANGE:Inventions, Diffusion, Donor, Conventional
  23. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Cultural Interrelations, Reaction to Change
  24. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Planned Change, Globalization
  25. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION:Bands, Tribal Organizations, Chiefdoms
  26. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):State Systems, Nation-States
  27. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):Social Norms, Informal Mechanisms
  28. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE:Emotional Development, Psychological Universals
  29. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE (continued):Origin of Customs, Personality Types
  30. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE:Ideology in Everyday Life, Hegemony
  31. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE (Continued):Political ideologies, Economic Ideology
  32. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES:Variation in Associations, Age Sets
  33. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES (continued):Formation of Associations
  34. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE:Similarity in Human Adaptations
  35. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE (continued):Inter-group Relations
  36. CULTURE AND BELIEFS:Social Function of Religion, Politics and Beliefs
  37. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE:Changing Definitions of Local Knowledge
  38. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE (continued):The Need for Caution
  39. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT:Influence of Development Notions
  40. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Contentions in Development
  41. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Operational
  42. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART:Relevance of Art, Art and Politics
  43. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART (continued):Art as a Status Symbol
  44. ETHICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY:Ethical Condemnation, Orientalism
  45. RELEVANCE OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Ensuring Cultural Survival