final Flashcards
sexuality
universal; complex; not easily defined or agreed upon; complex range of desires beliefs and behaviors that are related to erotic physical contact intimacy and pleasure; cultural arena within which people debate about what kinds of physical desires and behaviors are right appropriate and natural
is human sexuality natural
underlying idea that it is natural; includes distinct physiological processes and sex has an obvious biological function when it comes to reproduction
what is natural about sexuality
biological components; take it far beyond simple intercourse for the means of reproduction; cultural norms and values have a strong impact on sexual behavior
sexuality and culture
as part of enculturation taught about sexuality; instructed on sex by families, schools, religious organizations, governments, and popular culture; cultural institutions have a big impact on sexual behaviors
global perspective on sexuality
western culture has hug influence on the world, due to popular culture like movies and television; cultures around the world hold significant different views
role of culture in sex
practices vary widely throughout the world
sexuality constructed in us
binary- people can be either heterosexual or homosexual; identities are seen as largely fixed and unchanging; categories that are absolute in us, more flexible in other cultures around the world; the traditional binary view is cultural construct and not biological fact
heterosexuality
attraction to and sexual relations between individuals of the opposite sex
homosexuality
attraction and sexual relations between individuals of the same sex
bisexuality
attraction to and sexual relations with members of both sexes
asexuality
a lack of erotic attraction to others
power influence sexuality
often manipulated in cultural power struggles; *governments routinely pass laws regarding sexuality- who can legally marry, legalizing or blocking practices such as polygamy or incest- as well as defining legal boundaries for sexuality by outlawing prostitution and legalizing pornography; forever intermixed with power
globalization influence sexuality
substantial effect; european and american governments are dominating influences on local cultures through both colonialism and the forces of globalization; enforced new ideas about sexuality; *long distance sexual relationships to sex tourism can be forced
sexual violence
violence perpetuated through sexually related physical assaults such as rape
sex tourism
travel usually organized through the tourism sector to facilitate commercial sexual relations between tourists and local residents
sex work
labor through which one provides sexual services for money
are men and women born or made
accustomed to thinking that men and women have inherent or innate natures; often sex and gender are used interchangeably but refer to two different things; biological differences seen as being associated with behavioral differences; male and female have expected cultural roles that extend to everything from communication strategies to proper activities
what is sex
observable physical differences between male and female, especially biological expressions related to human reproduction; * genitalia, gonads and chromosome patterns
gender
expectations of thought and behavior that each culture assigns to people of different sexes
gender roles
the anticipated cultural roles of the individual sexes; studied in different cultures not universal; significant fluidity between true biological difference and what is cultural construction; masculine, feminine or combo of both or something different
cultural construct
what gender is; children are enculturated they learn what kinds of behaviors are perceived as masculine and feminine
performance of gender
not fixed, rather an identity that is actively expressed; people make choices in their behavior on a regular basis and those choices include how they express their gender identity
gender performance
the way gender identity is expressed through action
a theory of five sexes
possible interplay of the three biological factors that create what we think of as biological sex, there is a broad range of possibilities between what is male and what is female; 1.7 percent of children born in the us do not neatly fit into our idealized notions of male and female
intersexual
an individual who is born with a combination of male and female genitalia gonads and/or chromosomes
transgender
a gender identity or performance that oes not fit with cultural norms related to one’s assigned sex at birth
gender diverse cultures of the world
many societies incorporate more than 2 genders;
navajo two spirits
individuals who encompass masculine and feminine identities in one person; often revered with high prestige and status
gender and power
women face challenges- 60% of the world’s poorest citizens; women 15-25 are contracting hiv/aids 3 times higher than men the same age; less that 16% government officials are women; 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime
gender stratification
an unequal distribution of power and access to a group’s resources, opportunities, rights and privileges based on gender
gender stereotype
a preconceived notion about the attributes of differences between and proper roles for men and women in a culture
gender ideology
a set of cultural ideas usually stereotypical about the essential character of different genders that functions to promote and justify gender stratification
challenging gender ideologies and stratification
in the face of ideologies that undervalue women, many women and men around the world have begun to work for cultural changes; these are ways in which norms and values can be changed; eventually both can find a state of equality
why is kinship important
used as the basis for organizing and classifying people; rely on for support stability and survival throughout our lives as humans
kinship
cultural system that defines familial relationships and obligations; family; cultures often conceive of family in very different ways; the system of meaning and power that cultures create to determine who is related to whom and to define their mutual expectations rights and responsibilities
related through kinship
constructed throughout the world by tracing genealogical descent; blood relatives; parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncle, cousins
consanguineal relationship
established through biology or blood relatedness
affinal relationship
a kinship relationship established through marriage not through biology or descent
descent groups
a kinship group in which primary relationships are traced through consanguineal ‘blood’ relatives; however not all societies trace descent in the same manner
lineage
type of descent group that traces genealogical connection through generations by linking persons to a founding ancestor
clan
descent group based on a claim to a founding ancestor but lacking genealogical documentation
unilineal descent
descent groups that trace descent through only one ancestral line; mothers side or fathers side only
matrilineal
tracing descent through the mothers side of the family only
patrilineal
tracing descent through the fathers side of the family only
ambilineal descent
descent groups that trace descent through both the mothers and fathers side of the family
graphic kinship and descent
circle- female; triangle- male; equal sign- marriage; vertical line- descent/offspring; upside down squared u- sibling bond
marriage
a socially recognized relationship that may involve physical and emotional intimacy as well as legal rights to property and inheritance
marriage occur throughout the world
westerners today are conditioned to think of it as an issue of love; not sole motivators for marriage; many cultures view as valuable kinship relationship that is rooted in mutual economic support, child rearing, and exclusive sexual access to marriage partners among many others
companionate marriage
built on love intimacy and personal choice rather than social obligation
arranged marriage
orchestrated by the families of the involved parties
monogamy
relationship between only two partners; varies widely throughout the world; most common from of marriage worldwide
serial monogamy
a marriage form whereby an individual marries a series of partners in succession; most common north america and other large scale industrial societies esp middle and upper classes
polygamy
form of marriage with one individual having multiple spouses at the same time
polygyny
marriage between one man and two or more women; most common form of polygamy; most common north central africa, middle east, and south east asia
polyandry
marriage between one woman and two or more men; few societies practice; most common in isolated rural regions of india, sri lanka, nepal and tibet
incest taboo
all cultures have some form; majority of cultures regard any sexual contact within the nuclear family (parents and their children) as incest
incest
cultural rules that forbid sexual relations with certain close relatives; what qualifies as ‘close relative’ varies throughout the world
origins of incest taboo- biologically
those raised together have an instinctive aversion to mating with one another; biologically adaptive- helping to prevent the negative effects of inbreeding
origins of taboo- cuturally
cultural means to preserve the stability/integrity of the family; helping to reduce competition and disorder within the family
exogamy
marriage to someone outside of the kinship group
endogamy
marriage to someone within the kinship group
bridewealth
the gift of goods or money from the grooms family to the brides family as part of the marriage process
dowry
the gift of goods or money from the brides family to the grooms family as part of the marriage process
biology and marriage
kinship does not always require biology; many practice fictive kinship- take on kinship roles despite no actual biological connection’ kinship like relationships are often built outside of descent and marriage
class and inequality
middle class synonymous with an idea of a comfortable living; class is more than simply making more or less money than others; extreme forms seen today are a very recent addition to the human story
class
a system of power based on wealth income and status that creates an unequal distribution of a societys resources; differential access to wealth, income and social status ultimately results in some people having more power; we make assumptions about people based on their perceived class and this becomes a significant factor in our daily lives
achieved status
social position established and changeable during a person’s lifetime
ascribed status
social position inherited assigned at birth and passed down to generation to generation with enforced boundaries
egalitarian society
a group based on the sharing of resources to ensure success with a relative absence of hierarchy and violence; all human societies until about 10,00 years ago; communal sharing and exchange are emphasized among egalitarian societies-reciprocity; status differences are minimal and based on personal achievement
ranked society
wealth is not stratified but prestige and status are; forms of prestige and status are stratified into set classes; some people have greater access to prestige than other, but economic wealth still remains relatively egalitarian; positions of leadership (chiefs) who redistribute wealth among people through gift giving
reciprocity
exchange of resources, goods, and services among people of relatively equal status-meant to create and reinforce social ties
redistribution
a form of exchange in which accumulated wealth is collected from the members of the group and reallocated in a different pattern
stratified society
group where people are hierarchically ordered into classes that share unequal access to prestige status and wealth; inequality among people is the most pronounced among stratifies societies like the united states; most recent
karl marx
1801-1882; bourgeoisie, proletariat, means of production
max weber
1864-1920; prestige; life chances
pierre bourdieu
1930-2002; social mobility; social reproduction; habitus; cultural capital
leith mullings
present day; intersectionality
constructed in the united states
tendency to view themselves as part of a classless society; ideology to think that anyone can succeed and advance by their own merit; pull themselves up by their own bootstraps; but ideologies do not always match realities
income
what people earn from work plus dividends and interest on investments; 2010, average household income was 50,000/yr; of all earned- 21.3% of all income went to only 5% of population; 3.3% went to the lowest earning 20% of the population
wealth
defined not by money brought in each year but instead on goods owned; 2009- 35.6% of nations wealth is controlled by just 1% of the population; 80% of the population controlled just 12.8% of nations wealth;creates opportunity; access has a greater effect on issues of prestige habitus and life chances; disproportionate access to wealth creates disproportionate access to cultural power and influence
downward mobility
responsible for our own fates; downplays any possible existence of structural failings such as a lack of good jobs or structural racism that prevents certain people from getting good jobs; katherine newman challenges meritocracy- that those who work hard succeed and those who fail are lazy; found that hard work is not always enough to get ahead in american society
roots of poverty
richest countries; want to blame poverty on poor; others argue that structural economic problems restrict the life chances of the poor-that poverty breeds poverty
culture of poverty
idea that those who are poor have adopted a culture that ensures the continuation of that poverty; people become lazy or dependent on governement assistance and they are thus unable to break out of poverty; poverty as a structural economic problem; structural inequality
largely invisible
class and inequality rampant but invisible to many americans; three factors of visibility of inequality- role of the media, voluntary isolation; consumer culture
caste
involves levels of social hierarchy with those on top having better access to economic cultural and political power; entirely ascribed; downward or upward mobility allowed
traditional hindu caste system
brahman; kshatriya; vaisya; sudra; untouchables or dalits
open class societies
societies that permit movement among classes
closed class societies
societies that do not permit movement among classes
global inequality
increasing at a rapid rate; 40% of world population lives in poverty; 1/6 in extreme poverty; 2% owns more than half of all wealth; 1 out 8 go hungry each day
economy
a cultural adaptation to the environment that enables a group of humans to use the available resources to satisfy their needs and to thrive; not defined by money; key stages- production, distribution, consumption
production
includes how necessary goods are produced
distribution
includes how produced goods are distributed among the people who need them
consumption
final stage of an economy usually a little more straightforward
food production
complex interactions between the environment of a society and their cultural food-getting technologies
food foraging
extractive food getting technology that is designed to take from the environment as it is found; hunting fishing gathering; 250,000 modern; marginal environments- deserts, tropical forest artic
food producing
productive food getting technology that seeks to actively enhance and refine the environment to increase food quality and yields; pastoralism horticulture agriculture
mixed strategies
many societies mix strategies
hunting
dominant human subsistence activity for 99% of history
gathering
70% of food foraging
pastoralism
domestication of animals;
nomadic pastoralism
a migratory pattern that varies from year to year involving whole community movement
transhumance pastoralism
a cyclical pattern of migrations that usually shift seasonally in which herder move with the animals while others remain home
horticulture
cultivation of plants for subsistence through non-intensive use of land and labor; cannot support a larger population
slash and burn agriculture
clearing land for cultivation in tropical settings
agriculture
intensive; permanently cultivated land; limited number of crops; large amounts produced; development of towns and cities; complex division of labor including public management and taxation; concept of private ownership; emergence of classes and inequality
industrial agriculture
intensive farming involving mechanization and mass production; north america, europe and asia
reciprocity
the exchange of resourced goods and services among people of relatively equal status
generalized reciprocity
a mode of exchange in which the value of the gift is not calculated nor is the time of repayment specified; involves no record keeping, parties assumes that exchanges will balance out; occurs most often among close kin or friends, creates strong social ties and relationships; unselfish gift-giving to family and friends; stopping to help an unknown person in need; food sharing in foraging societies
balanced reciprocity
mode of exchange in which the giving and the receiving are specific as to the value of the goods or services and the time of their delivery; form of record keeping, gifts often repaid within a set time limit and are of similar values; occurs most often among close kin or friends; creates strong social ties and relationships; holiday gift giving, birthday gift giving, hosting a wedding or baby shower, picking up the tab for food or drinks
negative reciprocity
a mode of exchange in which the aim is to get something for as little as possible; unequal exchange, hard bargaining, manipulation, cheating or theft; occurs most often among those not closely related; buying a car; political fundraising; price gouging; paying special attention to someone get ahead
redistribution
a form of exchange in which accumulated wealth is collected from the members of the group and reallocated in a different pattern; requires some form of government or political organization. goods gathered into storehouses controlled by a leader; handed out again;
market exchange
the buying and selling of land natural resources goods services labor and ideas often with prices set by rules of supply and demand; earliest markets- barter system; developed the mediums of exchange for transaction have gradually become more standarized; end result is monetary exchange system used today
power and politics
essential dynamic of human relationships; inherent in virtually every human interaction and in all cultural systems; study of politics is the study of how we organize and regulate power; every act of power is either carried out within political systems or contrary to political systems
power
ability or potential to bring about change through action or influence
political structures
1950s developed political anthropology; focused on the many ways in which politics and power are organized in societies throughout the world; great diversity in political structure across the globe- ranging from simple to complex and from hierarchical to heterarchical
elman service
classified political systems- bands, tribes, chiefdoms, states
bands
make up the smallest and simplest form of political organization among human societies; very small population size; food foraging; social organization based on kinship ties and egalitarianism; flexible power structures based on communal decisions; flexible leadership with no single leader or ruler
tribes
small population 100s-1000s; horticulture and pastoralism social organization based villages and kinship groups; flexible power structures based on communal decisions/egalitarianism; some leaders may emerge, but power is limited
chiefdoms
mark a significant change in human political structures to a more complex form of organization; larger population; food production; composed of multiple villages organized around a primary political center; fixed power structures based on heredity and hierarchial decision making; social stratification is common; political structure is centralized into single politcal authority; permanent and inherited at birth as chief; not stable as a state
state
an autonomous regional structure of political economic and military rule with a central government authorized to make laws and use force to maintain order and defend its territory; most common form of political organization in the world; very large population; intensive industrial agriculture; social organization is often removed from kinship and focused instead on nationalism; fixed power structures based on hierarchy and social stratification; firmly entrenched and bureaucratized; gained a life of its own;
boundaries
very important components of the political structure
political power
power to make laws and control the population is also tightly controlled;
hegemonic power
power to create consent and agreement within a population without the use or threat of force
violence
humans are naturally violent- instinct acquired via evolution; humans are not violent but violence arises through cultural practices; the roots of violent behavior lie between nature and culture both influence our behaviors
frans de waal
worked to resolve the issue of violence among humans by studying violence among our closest primate relatives; summarize that conflict itself may be inevitable; we have more to lose than gain by maintaining a state of perpetual violence; witnessed reconcilation among primates far more often than violence
nonstate actors
any coherent group that is outside of state control and has amassed enough power to rival or at least influence state entities; civil society organizations have become increasingly common and influential
civil society organizations
a local nongovernmenal organization that challenges state policies and uneven development and advocates for resources and opportunities for members of its local communities; activist organizations; amnesty international, doctors without borders, human rights watch; powerful forces of advocacy around the globe
social movement
collective group actions in response to uneven development, inequality and injustice that seek to build institutional networks to transform cultural patterns and government policies; people may gain influence against the power of the state; seek to influence its behavior
religion
extremely diverse around the world; set of beliefs based on a unique vision of how the world ought to be often revealed through insights into a supernatural power and lived out in a community
religious variation
local expressions of religions find that they do not match our broader conceptions of what that particular religion should look like; interest in local practice not theology scripture or histories
martyr
a person who sacrifices his or her life for the sake of religion
saint
an individual who is considered exceptionally close to God and is exalted after death
pilgimage
religious journey to a sacred place as a sign of devotion and in search of transformation and enlightenment
emile durkleim
1880s-1920; sacred and profane, religious ritual
victor turner
1940-1960; rites of passage- 3stages, pilgrimage
karl marx
1840-1880; relationship of religion, economy, and power
max weber
1880s-1920s; relationship or religion and capitalism
sacred
anything that is considered holy
profane
anything that is not considered holy
ritual
an act or series of acts regularly repeated over years or generations that embody the beliefs of a group of people and create a sense of continuity and belonging
rites of passage
a category of ritual that enacts a change of status from one life stage to another, either for an individual or a group
shamanism
represents one of the simplest forms of religion found on the planet; focused around individual religious practitioners known as shamans; special and personal connection with supernatural powers or beings; predominantly found in simple cultures resembling bands or tribes
shaman
a part time religious practitioner with special abilities to connect individuals with supernatural powers or beings; must enter into a trance state to communicate with the supernatural; methods of achieving trance- fasting/deprivation, meditation, ritual dancing/drumming, hallucinogenic drug use; after trance can see interact and impose their will onto spirits; heal the sick, change the weather, control animals/plants, foretell the future, harm enemies
magic
ability to bring about change through supernatural action or supernatural influence; the use of spells, incantations, words and actions in an attempt to compel supernatural forces to act in certain ways- for good or for evil
evans pritchard
argued that instead that magic and witchcraft only appear inconsistent and irrational when they are arranged like museum objects on a shelf and examined outside the context of daily life; found that witchcraft a central element of daily life
imitative magic
a ritual performance that achieves efficacy by imitating the desired magical result
contagious magic
ritual words or performances that achieve efficacy as certain materials that come into contact with one person carry a magical connection that allows power to be transferred from person to person
