I. Women: A "Muted" Perspective

A. 1970s feminists: anthropology has male bias

1. Anthropologists assume women are subordinate
2. Societies studied devalue women
3. Cultural bias of anthropologists: differences between men and women assumd to mean the same thing as in anthropologists' own culture

B. Edwin Ardener, "Belief and the Problem of Women" (1972)

1. Women as "muted group": silenced by structures of subordination, can only express selves through men's language
2. Anthropology doubly subordinates women

a. Silenced within own societies
b. Lack of voice not recognized by anthropologists

3. Wolf's uterine family is "muted"

C. Look beyond women's experiences to try to see universal patterns of gender relations and ideas that lead to women's subordination

 

II. The Difference between Sex and Gender

A. Sex: biological, genetic, and phenotypic
B. Gender: cultural, ideological system of defining difference

 

III. Are Women Subordinate Everywhere?

A. Gender varies, but women seem universally inferior
B. Sherry Ortner, "Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?" (1974)

1. Women's subordination not simply due to physical differences
2. Culture/nature distinction
3. Women handle physical reproduction, closer to nature, domestic sphere
4. Men handle social, technological reproduction, closer to culture, public sphere
5. Culture > nature, so man > woman

C. Ortner's model links sexual ideologies, stereotypes, social roles, and cultural meanings

 

IV. Problems with Universal Subordination Theory

A. Ignores economic explanations
B. Nature/culture distinction isn't universal

1. Taoism, chi, and feng shui
2. Gimi and forest as source of male power

 

V. The Cultural Construction of Sex and Gender

A. Unlike causes can produce like effects
B. Gender relations are cultural, social, and symbolic systems with unique history

 

101 Homepage | syllabus | writing assignments | lecture handouts | study guide questions | exam review
Leshkowich Homepage

 

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu