humanities Flashcards
What is Bonvillain’s definition of gender equality ?
Males and females are :
- equally respected
- have equal influence and prestige
- have equal freedom/autonomy
- equal decision-making power for themselves and within their household and communities
What are the 13 factors ?
1) Men’s and women’s contribution to subsistence
2) Men’s and women’s control over resources.
3) Cultural recognition of women’s contribution to subsistence.
4) Descent.
5) Post-marital residence pattern.
6) Degree of rigidity in the sexual division of labour.
7) Degree of separation of the public and private spheres.
8) Warfare.
9) Standing military.
10) Private property.
11) Political positions.
12) Marriage system.
13) Gender ideology.
- MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTION TO SUBSISTENCE:
Subsistence ?
How does the factor work ?
Subsistence: the basic necessities of life – food, shelter, clothing, income.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
significant contribution by women => gender equality
little or no contribution by women => gender inequality
2) Cultural recognition of women’s contribution to subsistence.
how does the factor work ? X2
Resources ?
Control ?
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
significant contribution by women => gender equality
little or no contribution by women => gender inequality
Resources: ex. land, tools, money, food, houses, weapons.
Control: - through ownership, or
- through having decision-making power over how resources are produced, used, distributed, or sold.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
where women have some control over resources => gender equality
where women have little or no control over resources => gender inequality
- CULTURAL RECOGNITION OF WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTION TO SUBSISTENCE:
contribution ?
recognition ?
How the factor works ?
Contribution: in terms of material needs, income, work, ownership of, or of providing, resources.
Recognition: acknowledging and valuing.
- can be observed through, for example, songs, stories, myths, stereotypes, rituals, laws, media
articles, news, and shows.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
where women’s contribution is recognized => gender equality
where women’s contribution is not recognized => gender inequality
- DESCENT
what is it ?
what are 3 types of that descents ?
how the factor works ?
- refers to how people in a culture determine and trace who they are related to
3 types :
Matrilineal :
people trace their most important kinship relationships to the ancestors and living relatives of their mother.
Patrilineal :
people trace their most important kinship relationships to the ancestors and living relatives of their father.
Bilateral :
- kinship relationships are traced through both mothers and fathers.
- relatives through both parents are considered of equal importance and equally closely related to an individual.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
- matrilineal => gender equality
- patrilineal => gender inequality
- bilateral => not determinative (no clear pattern emerges from cross-cultural research)
- POST-MARITAL RESIDENCE PATTERN
definition ?
3 types of post-martial residence ?
How the factor works ?
- refers to who most newly married couples in a culture go to live with.
Types :
Matrilocal
- with the bride’s parents. (in most cases, the bride will be already be living with her parents, after the wedding the groom moves into that household.) (13% of cultures) (156 cultures)
Patrilocal
- with the groom’s parents. (in most cases, the groom will be already be living with his parents, after the wedding the bride moves into that household.) (70% of cultures) (840 cultures)
Neolocal
- the couple set up a new, separate household. (5% of cultures) (60 cultures )
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
- matrilocal => gender equality
- patrilocal => gender inequality
- neolocal => not determinative (no clear pattern emerges from cross-cultural research)
- DEGREE OF RIGIDITY IN THE SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR:
- division of labour
- sexual division of labour ( types )
- How the factor works ?
- important exceptions
Division of labour:
the patterned assignment within a culture of specific productive and economic activities
(tasks) to specific categories of individuals and groups in a society.
Sexual division of labour:
the patterned assignment within a culture of specific productive and economic activities (tasks) to males or females.
weak sexual division of labour
– a situation where a culture has few tasks that are considered gender
specific, and few negative sanctions for doing the tasks of the other sex.
rigid sexual division of labour
– a situation where a culture has many tasks that are considered appropriate only for males, and other tasks that considered appropriate only for females, and people face negative sanctions for doing the tasks associated with the other sex.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
- weak sexual division of labour => gender equality
- rigid sexual division of labour => gender inequality (because of tendency to recognize and value male tasks and ignore and devalue female activities)
Important Exceptions:
Cultures with a rigid sexual division of labour, yet with gender equality, ex. Zuni, Iroquois.
- other factors are contributing to the equality in these cultures
– such as matrilineal, women contributing a lot to subsistence, women have control over some important resources, there is recognition of women’s contribution.
- DEGREE OF SEPARATION OF THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPHERES:
two kinds of spheres ?
How the factor works ?
Public sphere:
The world of economic, political, business, military, and organized religious and educational activities.
Private sphere:
refers to the household and all domestic activities associated with it
– housework, childcare.
- women usually associated with this sphere.
- this sphere is usually devalued, considered appropriate for it to be under the authority of those
in the public sphere.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
- weak separation of the public and private spheres => gender equality
- strong separation of the public and private spheres => gender inequality
- WARFARE
- definition
- how the factors work ?
- armed combat between groups of enemies.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
- none => gender equality
- frequent => gender inequality
In terms of the 8th Factor what can modify the the usual pattern of frequent warfare contributing to gender inequality ?
It can be modified by where the fighting takes place
What does the wafer pattern being locally and at a distance change in terms of the equality ?
if locally => inequality
- women often captured, beaten and tortured made slaves and wives
- men gain prestige from defending their community
- Mens success in warfare can lead to political power and positions
if at some distance from the community => equality (possibly
- women less likely to be captured.
- men not as readily seen as defenders of their community (so no automatic prestige from fighting).
- while men are away at war, women can establish their own authority and abilities in economic and political matters.
- STANDING MILITARY:
- definition ?
- How the factor works ?
- a permanently organized military force kept up by a nation state (found only in
state level civilizations). Those in the military are usually referred to as “soldiers” rather than “warriors” and, for the period of time they are in the military, it is usually a full-time job.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
- none => gender equality
- present => gender inequality
- men might learn new skills which add to their prestige (a source of prestige not available to women)and separate them from women, ex. to read and write, write reports, organize people, and bully people.
- those with military experience may be the first to be selected for government positions.
- states are often dependent on their military for maintaining their power – if the military is conservative, the government has to go along with this.
- PRIVATE PROPERTY
- examples of what it is
- how the factor works ?
ex. tribal leader, clan chief, village head, president, prime minister.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
- political positions available to males and females => gender equality
- political positions available only to males => gender inequality
- MARRIAGE SYSTEM:
- what are the 3 types of a marriage
- how the system works ?
Types of marriage systems:
Polygyny
- men allowed to have more than one wife at a time (about 75% of cultures) (900 cultures)
WHERE THIS OCCURS - marriages are usually arranged, woman has little or no choice.
- usually large age difference (husband much older than wife)
Polyandry
- women allowed to have more than one husband at a time (< 1% of cultures) (12 cultures)
WHERE THIS OCCURS - marriages are usually arranged, woman has little or no choice.
Monogamy
- only one spouse at a time allowed (24% of cultures) (288 cultures)
WHERE THIS OCCURS
- in some cultures with monogamy, marriages are usually arranged, woman has little or no choice.
- in other cultures with monogamy, both males and females can decide whether, when, and who they marry.
How the factor works (impact): (in general)
- polygyny => gender inequality
- polyandry => gender inequality
Polygyny and polyandry
- only occur in patrilineal, patrilocal societies, where men own most or all property, and inheritance passes from fathers to sons.
- monogamy => not determinative (- in cultures with monogamy with arranged marriages without the female’s consent, and large age differences between spouses => gender inequality; in cultures with monogamy where both males and females can decide whether, when, and who they marry => greater potential for equality than with polygyny and polyandry, but the majority of these cultures also have gender inequality.)
