Southern New Hampshire University
ATH-101 Introduction to Anthropology
Module 5 Overview
Learning Objectives
Compare the various types of marriage patterns within different societies
Make recommendations for anthropological solutions in crisis situations
ETHNICITY, MARRIAGE, AND GENDER
What is your reaction when you hear about the practice of polygamy? Or racism? Or gender
inequality? Different cultures will inform different perspectives on these ideas. There is
endless variation and diversity throughout cultures on these issues, and the differences
manifest themselves in a number of ways. This module will take a closer look at three key
areas where cultures may vary: social stratification, sex and gender, and marriage and kinship
patterns. It will provide the background for questions such as these: What boundaries or
aspects do I use to identify myself? Is there such thing as an egalitarian society? Who do I
consider family?
STRATIFICATION
What do anthropologists mean by the term.social stratification? Simply put, social
stratification “refers to a division of society into two or more groups that are hierarchically
ordered in relation to each other” (Bonvillain, 2010, p. 282). People in the different strata
have diverse access to jobs, education, and standards of living. In other words, individuals do
not have equal access to economic resources, wealth, or power because of socioeconomic
background, gender, or ethnicity. For example, women in the United States typically make
78¢ for every dollar men make; the pay is even lower for African American women and
Latinas (National Partnership of Women and Families, 2015). Does social stratification exist
in all types of societies? Anthropologists would argue that the answer is no, as foragers and
horticulturists are more likely.egalitarian.(meaning that everyone in the group has similar
access to economic resources, power, and prestige). This does not mean that forms of
inequalities do not exist, just that these societies are not stratified. Individuals in egalitarian
societies who are highly skilled in hunting or gathering, or who are older, may be more
respected or influential than others.
SEX AND GENDER
How do anthropologists define gender, and what is the difference between gender and
sex?.Sex.refers to the observable physical or biological differences between males and
females..Gender.refers the social construction and roles that are assigned to sexes that
children learn through enculturation. Interestingly, while there are usually only two sexes,
anthropologists recognize third and (in some cultures) fourth genders. Module Five will also
show how different societies assign work according to gender and what cross-cultural studies
of boys and girls reveal.
MARRIAGE AND KINSHIP
The idea of family is almost universal in all societies, but who is considered family and who
is not differs considerably. Anthropologists recognize a number of descent patterns or
kinship patterns. Unilineal descent accounts for 60% of all the descent patterns and includes
either patrilineal or matrilineal kinship. Unilineal descents are more common with cultures
that practice pastoralism, horticulture, or agricultural modes of subsistence (Miller, 2005).
Patrilineal descent (kinship traced through the male line alone) accounts for 45% of unilineal
descent pattern and is found in India, East Asia, the Middle East, and Papua New Guinea
(Miller, 2005). Matrilineal descent (about 15%), which traces kinship through the female
line, has been found among traditional Native American cultures, Australian cultures, and
some groups in Africa. Ambilineal descent traces kinship though men.and.women, allowing
individuals to choose which descent group to be affiliated with, but this is a rare form of
descent. Bilateral, or non-unilineal, descent traces kinship from both parents equally and is
the most common descent pattern found in Western societies.
The type of descent pattern a culture practices will most likely determine how a household is
set up or, in cases of extended families, whose relatives will be included in the household.
Usually, Americans live in a.nuclear.family household, meaning only parents and unmarried
children live together; however, this is far from the norm in other parts of the world. Many
cultures live in some sort of extended family living situation as parents, children,
grandparents, or even cousins live and work together.
Another aspect of family life is marriage. Why do individuals marry, and what purposes does
marriage serve? According to Schultz and Lavenda (2012), marriage 1) “creates relationships
between kin and the partners 2) stipulates the degree of sexual access the married partners
have to each other 3) transforms the status of the participants 4) and creates a social pattern
for children” (p. 289). Outside of Western societies, romantic love seems to have little to do
with successful marriages, but anthropologists have shown that even in non-Western
societies romantic love is important (De Munck & Korotayev, 1999). Marriage usually
occurs between a man and a woman, but some cultures allow same-sex marriages. The
different ways people choose potential marriage partners and the different forms of marriage
(such as the practice of polygyny) will also be examined.
Module Five explores varied cultural perspectives on establishing different forms of social
strata, considering the role of gender and sex in a society, and also looks at diverse patterns
of marriage and family. Module Six will continue to look at an anthropological
understanding of culture as differing levels of political organization across cultures will be
studied. An anthropological view of religion and its unique and important role in culture will
also be explored.
REFERENCES
Bonvillain, N. (2010)..Cultural anthropology.(2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
De Munck, V. C., & Korotayev, A. (1999). Sexual equality and romantic love: A reanalysis
of Rosenblatt’s study of the function of romantic love..Cross-Cultural Research, 33,
265–273.
Miller, B. D. (2005)..Cultural anthropology.(3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson.
National Partnership of Women and Families. (2015). Fair pay. Retrieved from
http://www.nationalpartnership.org/issues/fairness/fair-pay.html
Schultz, E. A., & Lavenda, R. H. (2012)..Cultural anthropology: A perspective on the human
condition. (8th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
