Intro to Anthropology 3/5/10

Discusses the issue of menstruation, a biological reality faced by women Beginning of menstruation considered Transition from adolescence to womanhood, separates non-reproducing child from reproducing woman. Continual reminder of female reproductive potential and role. Customs take negative forms (taboos) – customs, beliefs negative.

No sex; can’t cook or touch food; can’t visit sacred place or attend ritual; can’t touch men’s items (e.g., tools, weapons); segregate self from rest of family . . . Childs seen these in practice in person – invited over for dinner, wife couldn’t cook because menstruating so went out for dinner instead Effect: such taboos “set menstruating women apart from the rest of their society, marking them as impure and polluting.”- in a lot of religious traditions, menstrual blood looked at with fear, can have spiritually negative consequences

African village in Mali, inside village is menstrual hut – where women go when menstruating

Lack of menstrual cycle implies woman is either pregnant, lactating (recently had baby), or menopausal (can’t have any more). Continuous lack of menstrual cycle implies woman is sterile (unable to conceive child). Therefore, “information about menstruation can be a means of tracking paternity.” Dogon Context: info about paternity critical – descent passed through male lineage, patrilineal descent – important to know father of child. Reliable Signals - Woman goes to hut = menstruating, leave hut = ready to conceive, stops going to hut = pregnant, menopausal People know the pregnancy status of any woman going back and forth from menstrual hut

Established by men (evidence?) – reasonable assumption but there is no evidence Backed by supernatural forces -belief that menstruating woman’s contact w/religious alter of household brings calamity to household. Internalized and accepted by women until released from belief (e.g., religious conversion).

Article discusses emerging issue of female-selective abortion, more recent occurrence - in the last 30 years or so, a lot of the sex ratios in certain Asian countries becoming unbalanced, consequences

Normal sex ration at Birth (SRB) 105 males/100 females Pakistan, India, China, Taiwan, Korea – sex ratio at birth becoming very unbalanced Is there something behind religion driving this? No not really because they all have different religions – Buddhism, Islam, Christianity China in 1960s sex ratio males to females normal, however male to female sex ration at birth has increased (correlates to One Child Policy (1978) and Ultra-sound and other technologies – determine sex of fetus before born (1980s), now in 2000 117 males to 100 females

All are strongly patriarchal (males dominate economic, political, social, and ideological spheres). Kinship system emphasizes male relatives, separates females through marriage (patrilocal). All have strong preferences for sons (for varying cultural & economic reasons).

Gender Ideology: Women cannot perpetuate the family lineage (patrilineal descent). Male offspring valued more highly than female offspring Gender Roles: Men more valuable to parents as farmers/wage earners and caretakers; women reside with in-laws (patrilocality). Gender Stratification: men hold more power, dominate economic, political, social and ideological spheres

Yes and no Has led to lower fertility (because of smaller families, laws reducing the number of children allowed), but more abortions of females Has increased the amount parent must pay in dowry to marry daughters (India) Mobile Ultrasound Units – “pay 500 rupees now and save 500,000 rupees later”

Male dominated sex ratio correlates with high level of violence – not sure if true, though with competitive marriage market, more men competing for mates due to unbalanced sex ratio, could end up empowering women, gives them more bargaining power in marriage.

Fascinating article, always hear of critiques of Barbie – what does it say about gender ideology, gender roles promoted Are American Women discontent with their bodies? Evidence of discontent Drugs, cosmetics, dieting, cosmetic surgery, exercising (for looks not for fitness) Dieting – happier person with a certain body shape, figure Liposuction – medical equivalent of dieting What’s the Connection between Barbie and the certain image Barbie is promoting, and desire of women to have this Barbie like figure (which might lead to anorexia)
Point of Article - Enculturation through direct transmission and observation – instilling the Beauty myth (body shape, make up, how to dress, how to style hair) through play

Fuels the desire of young women to have a Barbie - like figure Fueled by profitable industries (cosmetic, weight loss, fashion, etc). • Feminine bodies “never feminine enough” – constantly need to monitor, refine body shape – Constant need for refining, reshaping. • Barbie’s influence: – “an incredibly resilient visual and tactile model of femininity for pre-pubescent girls.” – Key – prepubescent girls are enculturated with this idea of "The Beauty Myth" through play

Barbie teaches young girls: -connection between personal appearance and “happiness” – if look good you are a happy person. – Connection between appearance and acceptance among peers – want to be popular have to dress a certain way. – Teaching lessons about grooming for social events (proms, dates, weddings).

Socializing into consume culture Learning “cultural capital” of name brands Learning connection between fashion and taste and social status Crucial line – in commercial, “You never run out of money” Teaching children how to consume way beyond their basic needs – idea of credit card that there are no consequences when you spend beyond your limits