Unit 3: Appreciating Cultural Diversity - Gender, Sexuality

sex

classifications based on physical differences, especially biological differences related to human reproduction

gender

the social and cultural roles, behaviors, and expectations that a society assigns to people based on their perceived biological sex

Margaret Mead

cultural anthropologist known for her work in Oceania, wrote Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies

Arapesh

one of three societies residing in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, both men and women are mild, parental, and responsive

Mundugumor (now Biwat)

one of three societies residing in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, both men and women are fierce and aggressive

Tchambuli

one of three societies residing in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, men are “catty” while women are energetic and managerial, women also cared less about what they wore and accessories

gender roles

tasks and activities that a culture assigns based on a society’s biological classifications of sex

gender stereotypes

oversimplified, strongly held ideas about characteristics that relate to gender

gender stratification

unequal distribution of rewards between genders, reflecting different positions in a social hierarchy

domestic-public dichotomy

strong differentiation between the home and the outside world, also known as the private-public contrast

matrilineal

descent traced through women

matrilocality

residence after marriage is with the wife’s relatives

Minangkabau

a matriarchy in Sumatra, Indonesia, women have more power and inherit the goods of the family

matriarchy

a social system where women hold primary power and authority in political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property

patrilineal

descent traced through men

patrilocality

women move near their husband’s family after marriage

patriarchy

political system ruled by men in which women have inferior social and political status, including basic human rights

The Bugis

a society living in Sulawesi, Indonesia, they have 5 genders, two of which are very similar to transgender male and female

sexual orientation

refers to a person’s habitual sexual attraction to, and sexual activities with other people

partible paternity

a cultural concept where a child is believed to have more than one biological father

nuclear family

family that consists of parents and children who normally live together in the same household

extended families

family that includes three or more generations

descent groups

groups based on belief in shared ancestry

family of orientation

family in which one is born and grew up with

family of procreation

family formed when one marries and has children

neolocality

married couples live away from their parents

unilineal descent

descent rule that uses one line only, either the male (patrilineal) or the female (matrilineal)

matrilineal descent

individuals automatically join the mother’s descent group when they are born

patrilineal descent

individuals automatically join the father’s descent group when they are born

ambilineal descent

people choose the descent group to which they belong

lineage

unilineal descent group based on demonstrated descent (members name their forebears in each generation)

clan

unilineal descent group that claims common descent from an apical ancestor but cannot demonstrate it—stipulated descent

ego

position from which one views an egocentric genealogy

kin terms

specific words used for different relatives in a particular language and system of kinship calculation

genealogical kin

types relate to the actual genealogical relationship (father’s brother) as opposed to the kin term (uncle), they are designated with letters and symbols

lineal relatives

ancestors or descendants

collateral relatives

kin including siblings, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and cousins

affinal relatives

kin related by marriage

bifurcate merging terminology

mother and mother’s sister is mother, mother’s brother is uncle; father and father’s brother are father, father’s sister is aunt

general kinship terminology

mother, mother’s sister and father’s sister are all mother; father, father’s brother, and mother’s brother are all father

bifurcate collateral terminology

separate terms are used for each of six kin types of the parental generation: M, F, MB, MZ, FB, and FZ), most common in US when child has parents of different ethnic or linguistic backgrounds

exogamy

practice of seeking a spouse outside one’s own group

endogamy

marriage of people from the same group

homogamy

to marry someone similar

dowry

marital exchange in which the wife’s group provides substantial gifts to the husband’s family

lobola

substantial marital gift from a husband and his kin to the wife and her kin

metaphor

a comparison between two things that are otherwise unrelated

religion

belief and ritual concerned with supernatural beings, powers, and forces

ritual

formal, stylized, repetitive, stereotyped, behavior based on a liturgical order

rites of passage

customs associated with a transition from one stage of life to another

separation

withdrawal from ordinary society

liminality

in-between phase of a passage rite

incorporation

reentry with a new status

magic

supernatural techniques intended to accomplish specific aims

witch

a person with an inborn ability to cause effects through magic, often purely psychic, means

witchcraft

the exercise of the innate ability to produce effects, either purposely or accidentally, through magical means

azande

a people native to the Central African Republic who believe witchcraft is inherited and a person can be a witch without realizing their bad influence