Chapter 12 - Sex, Marriage, and Family

Flashcards covering cultural constructs of sexuality, marriage forms, kinship terminology, economic exchanges, family structures, and residence patterns based on Chapter 12.

Mehndi

Traditional body art common among Muslims and Hindus in southern Asia and northern Africa, created with dye made from the crushed leaves of the tropical henna tree.

Marriage

A culturally sanctioned union between two or more people that establishes certain rights and obligations between the people, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws.

Incest taboo

The prohibition against sexual intercourse or marriage between people who are defined as too closely related.

Endogamy

A cultural rule requiring marriage within a particular group of individuals.

Exogamy

A cultural rule requiring marriage outside a particular group of individuals.

Monogamy

A form of marriage in which both partners have just one spouse.

Serial monogamy

A marriage form common in Europe and North America where an individual marries a series of partners in succession.

Polygamy

A marriage form in which one individual has multiple spouses.

Polygyny

A form of polygamy in which a man is married to more than one woman simultaneously.

Polyandry

A form of marriage in which one woman is married to two or more men simultaneously.

Fraternal polyandry

A rare form of polyandry practiced in Tibet where brothers are married to a single woman to keep farmland together.

Group marriage

Also known as co-marriage, a rare arrangement in which several men and women have sexual access to one another.

Arranged marriage

A marriage practice where families select partners for their children to establish economic and political alliances between families.

Parallel cousin

The child of a father’s brother or a mother’s sister.

Cross-cousin

The child of a mother’s brother or a father’s sister.

Patrilateral parallel-cousin marriage

A marriage preference where a man marries his father’s brother’s daughter, common historically among Arabs and ancient Israelites to retain property within a male line.

Matrilateral cross-cousin marriage

A marriage preference where a man marries his mother’s brother’s daughter or a woman marries her father’s sister’s son.

Woman-woman marriage

A practice found among the Nandi of Kenya where a woman of advanced age who has no sons may marry a young woman to provide male heirs.

Bridewealth

Also known as bride-price, the payment of money or valuable goods to a bride’s parents or other close kin.

Bride service

A form of economic exchange for marriage where the groom works for the bride’s family for a set period of time.

Dowry

A woman’s share of parental property that is given to her at the time of her marriage, often controlled by her husband but intended for her future well-being.

Family

Two or more people related by blood, marriage, or adoption.

Household

An anthropological definition of a domestic unit composed of one or more people living in the same residence.

Conjugal family

A family unit formed on the basis of marital ties.

Consanguineal family

A family unit consisting of related women, their brothers, and the women’s offspring.

Nuclear family

A family unit comprised of one or two parents and dependent offspring, which may include stepparents or adopted children.

Extended family

A domestic group formed when two or more closely related nuclear families cluster together to live and work as a single unit.

Patrilocal residence

A residential pattern in which a newly married couple lives in the husband’s father’s place of residence.

Matrilocal residence

A residential pattern in which a married couple lives in the wife’s mother’s place of residence.

Avunculocal residence

A residence pattern in matrilineal societies where a newlywed couple lives with the husband’s mother’s brother.

Neolocal residence

A residence pattern in which a married couple forms a household in a separate location from their parents.

Ambilocal residence

A flexible residence pattern where a couple can join either the groom’s or the bride’s family depending on resources.

In vitro fertilization ($IVF$)

A reproductive technology in which an egg is fertilized in a laboratory and then transferred into the uterus.