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Sex, Gender, and Culture

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Sex, Gender, and Culture

Possessing different organs of reproduction does not explain why males and females behave differently or are treated differently by society

No society we know treats females and males in exactly the same way; usually females have fewer advantages

Even within families in egalitarian societies, males usually have more access to economic resources, power, and prestige

As many of the differences between females and males reflect cultural expectations and experiences, many researchers now prefer to speak of these as gender differences (as opposed to sex differences, which are purely biological)

Gender Misconceptions

Research does not support the belief that girls are always more dependent, more sociable, and more passive than boys

Some of our common ideas about female-male differences are unfounded. During one study among an Australian aborigine community, women were initiators of aggression 43 percent of the time

In contrast to Western cultures, female aggression among some Australian aborigines is not viewed as unnatural or deviant, but is considered a natural expression of anger

Gender Concepts

Not all cultures conceive of gender as including just two categories

Categories may consist of “female,” “male,” or “other”

In places like the U.S. and in many Western societies, there are only two genders—female and male

Your gender is assigned at birth based on external biological attributes, yet not all people feel comfortable with their assigned gender

Transgender is used to describe people who don’t feel that their assigned gender fits them very well

“Two-Spirits”

The division into two genders—male and female—is common cross-culturally but is not universal

Some societies like the Cheyenne Native Americans of the Great Plains recognize male, female, and a third gender, or “two-spirits” (which corresponds to the European term, berdache)

“Two spirits” were usually biologically male but would wear a woman’s dress and take on many of the activities of women

A “two-spirit” could also be taken as a second wife, although little is known as to whether the husband and “two-spirit” wife engaged in sex

Socially, “two-spirits” were not the same as women and had special roles in weddings and childbirth

“Two-Spirits,” continued

Although rare, “two-spirit” females occurred among native North American societies like the Kaska of Yukon territory, the Klamath of southern Oregon, and the Mohave of the Colorado River area. They could marry women and were known to have lesbian relationships

In Oman, xanith is a third gender whereby people refer to themselves as “women” but wear clothing that is neither male nor female. Their clothes and dress are “in-between”

Unlike a woman who is secluded to her house, a xanith can come and go, working as a servant or homosexual prostitute

A xanith may marry. If he has intercourse with his bride, he becomes a “man”

Biologically Male “Two-Spirit”

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Physique and Physiology

Humans are sexually dimorphic, meaning that the two sexes of our species are generally different in size and appearance

Human females have wider pelvises and a larger proportion of their body weight in fat

Human males are usually taller and have heavier skeletons. They have greater grip strength, proportionately larger lungs and hearts, and greater aerobic capacity

Because females bear children, natural selection may have favored earlier cessation of growth, less ultimate height, and more fat for greater reproductive success

Gender Roles

All societies assign or divide labor differently between males and females, according to gender roles

There seem to be universal or near-universal patterns in gender role assignments

Although many labor tasks are assigned to both genders, there are some patterns that seem to correspond with one gender more than another

For example, males almost always hunt and trap animals and females usually gather wild plants

Possible theories for differences in female versus males labor activities, include:

Strength theory

Compatibility-with-child-care theory

Economy-of-effort theory

Expendability theory

As For Strength Theory?

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Gendered Contributions to Work

Until recently, anthropologists tended to ignore household work. More attention was given to subsistence activities like gathering, hunting, and farming

Less attention was paid to gender contributions to secondary subsistence activities (including the processing and preparation of food often done by women)

Studies of horticultural and intensive agricultural societies so far suggest that women typically work more total hours per day than men, yet we do not know if this is universal

In many societies where women earn wages, they are still responsible for the bulk of the household work and child care

Subsistence Work: Agriculture

Different patterns of the gender division of labor predominate in different areas of the world

With intensive agriculture, men’s contribution to primary subsistence tends to be much higher than women’s (particularly with plow agriculture)

Gender and Other Types of Subsistence

In horticultural societies, women’s contributions are relatively high, compared to men’s

In societies that depend on hunting, fishing, and herding, men usually contribute more calories than women

E.g, Among the Inuit who participated in hunting and fishing, men

did most of the primary subsistence work

In societies than depend mostly on gathering, primarily women’s work, women tend to do most of the food-getting

Haitian Girls at Work

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Political Leadership and Warfare

In almost every known society, men are usually the political leaders

For instance, according to one cross-cultural survey, men were leaders in about 88 % of the surveyed societies

Even in matrilineal societies men usually occupy formal political positions

Among the Iroquois, women had control over resources, influence over political affairs, and the power to impeach but did not hold office

Iroquois Confederacy

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Warfare

There are several possible reasons why males usually engage in fighting, rather than females, including: strength theory, and the expendability theory

For instance, a women’s potential fertility might be more important to a population’s reproduction and survival than her potential usefulness as a warrior

Men dominate politics because they get around more in the outside world than do women

Men’s activities typically take them farther from home; women tend to work more around the home

In settled !Kung groups, women no longer engaged in long-distance gathering seemed to have last their former influence in decision making

Theories of Differences in Gender Status

There are many theories about why women have relatively high or low status, including:

A women’s status will be high when she contributes substantially to primary subsistence activities

Men will be more valued and esteemed than women where warfare is particularly important

Men will have higher status where there are centralized political hierarchies

Women will have higher status where kin groups and couples’ places of residence after marriage are organized around women

Theories of Differences in Gender Status, Continued

What does predict higher status for women?

Women seem to have somewhat higher status where kin and marital residence are organized around women

Among the Iroquois:

Related women lived together in longhouses with husbands who belonged to other kin groups

In the longhouse, women’s authority was clear and they could ask objectionable men to leave

Women controlled the allocation of food they produced

Women were involved in the selection of religious leaders

In politics, women could control the selection of councilmen and could institute impeachment processes, even though they could not speak or serve on council

Status continued

A comparative study of gender attributes in 61 countries:

Countries that rely on agriculture, such as Nigeria and Peru, have the least favorable attitudes toward gender equality

Industrial societies such as Russia and Taiwan have moderately favorable attitudes

Postindustrial societies such as Sweden and the United States have the most favorable attitudes toward gender equality

Status and Education

One of the critical differences in status among females of industrial societies versus postindustrial societies may be formal education

Education almost always increases status

The more girls and young women are educated, there is a greater likelihood that their status will increase

Although it is not understood how this happens, education usually results in lowered fertility, which perhaps frees women to pursue other interests

Gender and Personality

Societies bring up boys and girls differently because adult males and females tend to perform different types of roles

Researchers now use systematic observational studies for various non-Western societies regarding gender and personality

In the area of aggression, boys try to hurt others more frequently than do girls (as found in the Six Cultures project)

Generally, there seems to be a tendency for girls to exhibit more responsible behavior, including nurturance

Girls seem more likely to conform to adult wishes and commands

Boys try to exert more dominance over others to get their own way

“Are boys really more aggressive and girls really more empathetic--or do we just see what we expect in them?”

Quote and Image:

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Quote and Image: http://www.scientificamerican.com

Cultural Regulations of Sexuality

All societies seek to regulate sexual activity to some degree--there is a lot of variation in this aspect cross-culturally

A society’s degree of restrictiveness is not always consistent throughout the life span of an individual or for all aspects of sex

Premarital Sex

The degree to which premarital sex marriage is approved varies greatly from society to society

Some societies not only allow premarital sex on a casual basis, but specifically encourage trial marriages between adolescents

Among the Ila-speaking people of central Africa, girls were given houses of their own where they could play at being wife with the boys of their choice

On the other hand, among the Tepoztlan Indians of Mexico, girls were confined after their first periods. A girl was not supposed to encourage boys at all

Sex in Marriage

Attitudes toward marital sex and the frequency of sex vary widely from culture to culture

Couples in most cultures prefer privacy, although it is difficult to attain in societies that have multi-family dwellings

In some societies, only by having sex outdoors can couples ensure privacy

Some societies prohibit sexual intercourse before such activities as hunting, fishing, planting, brewing, and iron smelting

People in most societies abstain from intercourse during menstruation

Extramarital Sex

In about 69 percent of the world’s societies, men have extramarital sex more than occasionally, and in about 57 percent of the societies, women do so as well.

Nevertheless, only a slight majority of societies say they allow extramarital sex for men, and only a small number (11 percent) say they allow it for women

There is a difference between restrictive code and actual practice

Cross-culturally, most societies have a double standard with regard to men and women, with restrictions considerably greater for women

The Chuckchee of Siberia allowed a married man to engage in sex with his host’s wife, with the understanding that he would offer the same hospitality when the host visited him

Homosexuality

The range in permissiveness or restrictions toward homosexual relations is as great as that for any other kind of sexual activity

Perhaps because many societies deny that homosexuality exists, little is known about homosexual practices in the restrictive societies

Among the Papago of the southwestern U.S., there were “nights of saturnalia” in which homosexual tendencies could be expressed

The Berber-speaking Siwans of North Africa expected all males to engage in homosexual relations

Fathers made arrangements for their unmarried sons to be given to an older man in a homosexual arrangement

Such prescribed homosexual relationships between people of different ages are a common form of homosexuality

Homosexuality, continued

95 societies have been found that practice female-female sexual relationships. It is more common than previously thought.

The Kaguru of Tanzania have female homosexual relationships between older and younger women as part of their initiation ceremonies

Sexual Restrictions of both Heterosexuality and Homosexuality

Some societies may be intolerant of all kinds of behaviors that minimize population growth, including homosexuality and abortion/infanticide for married women

Societies with famines and severe food shortages are more likely to allow homosexuality