Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture Essay

Tannen (1994) suggests that the two sexes have very different modes of communication, and she suggests that in fact, communication between man and woman should be viewed as inter-cultural communication. She also has given set of differentiations: (1) Men live in a world of hierarchy; women live in a world of connection. (2) Men require individuality and freedom; women require intimacy and familiarity. (3) Men live in a world of action; women live in a world of feeling.(p,67) The issue Tannen tries to address is that sometimes women and men don’t understand each other because they come from different cultures. These findings on gender stereotypes offer a great help to them for understanding each other and thus enhance their relationship. Women

The solidification of the gender hierarchy through stories cemented women into a position below men of which women were and still are unable to escape or to improve on. The gender hierarchy is commonly demonstrated through the objectification of women. This has been exemplified through these stories, which has kept women from advancing in society, due to both society’s disapproval and the views that these ideas give women of

Though women have played an integral part in the history of the discipline of anthropology, it was not until the early 1970’s that the field of anthropology and gender, or feminist anthropology emerged. Sex and gender roles have always been a vital part of any ethnographic study, but the contributors of this theory began to address the androcentric nature of anthropology itself. The substantial gap in information concerning the study of women was perceived as a male bias, a prejudice made more apparent because what little women-centered fieldwork was done received insufficient attention from the academic community. While anthropology was considered one of the more egalitarian fields of study, it was dominated by white, Western males who

In all areas of life and society the treatment and well being of women have always been challenged. In many religions the role and status of its women are usually overwhelmed by the actions and roles of its men this inequality of religions between male and female allows these feelings and ideology of which sex is superior or inferior to bleed into a society’s culture thus shaping their treatment of their men and women.

Since the beginning of evolution, females have been subjected and objectified based on their gender. History taught us that when during the 19th century, Charles Darwin, an English naturalist and geologist stated in his papers “The Origin of Man” (1859) and “Descent of Man” (1871) that men were superior to women. Unfortunately, such subjections to women still persist today; in politics, education, labor and surprisingly in science.

Merchant’s representations claim that “both nature and women are subordinate and essentially passive” furthering the proof that women are held at a lower standard than men (Merchant 9).

Amongst societies, there is a great variety of means of survival, all of which are dependent upon factors influencing the community—geographical location and structure of authority, to name a few. Such factors and the community’s ways of survival create the underlying basis of other complex issues, including the relationship between the sexes. Many anthropological papers that concentrate on the modes of production of specific groups of people have shown a connection between the modes of production and the presence or absence of gender inequality. Futhermore, there is also evidence of a further causality between the two: as a society adopts a more complex mode of

According to Garbacik (2013), in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Japan, American Indians and Ancient Sumerian women were held in high regard, taking up “leadership posts” and were not considered “inferior” by their male counterparts. In fact, the terms “misogyny” and “Patriarchy” became more prominent in Victorian Britain, where the concept of “gender roles” were closely linked, which advocated female subordination and male dominance. In particular, through his ground-breaking theory of natural selection, Darwin (1859) depicted women as being inferior to men. Darwin theorised about “natural selection” and he suggested that men were “more courageous, pugnacious and energetic” (Darwin, 1859) than women. Darwin also never included species such as “hyenas, anglerfish, ring-tailed lemurs, black widow spiders, meerkat and praying mantis” (Garbacik, 2013) in his research that never shared dominant male and passive female characteristics, proving that his evidence was flawed, advocating a confirmation bias . What’s more, Darwin’s views of the female and male species, were bolstered in the 19th century, by the Victorian viewpoints that men were more “competitive” and “aggressive” compared to women who were more “altruistic” and “nurturing”. Not only was inequality amongst the sexes

As Lorber explores in her essay “Night to His Day”: The Social Construction of Gender, “most people find it hard to believe that gender is constantly created and re-created out of human interaction, out of social life, and is the texture and order of that social life” (Lorber 1). This article was very intriguing because I thought of my gender as my sex but they are not the same. Lorber has tried to prove that gender has a different meaning that what is usually perceived of through ordinary connotation. Gender is the “role” we are given, or the role we give to ourselves. Throughout the article it is obvious that we are to act appropriately according to the norms and society has power over us to make us conform. As a member of a gender

Gender derives its formative meaning from culture and societal values, it is not a universal entity as there are various cultures, societal values, beliefs, and preferred ways of organizing collective life across the globe and even within a single culture the meaning of gender varies over time. Chapters three and four of Gendered Lives by Julia T. Wood helps to insightfully look at those views, and rhetorical movements (women and men’s movements) that have overtime influenced, defined and given various meanings to gender (masculinity and femininity).

In her paper on the biological differences in cognition between men and women, Doreen Kimura suggests that the social differences between genders arose out of biological necessity (Kimura 46). Even so, it is difficult to argue that social factors do play a large part in gender in society today. A closer look at both biological and social perspectives will reveal more about the processes that determine gender roles.

Female to Male as Nature is to Culture Gender relations form an integral part of human social interactions and are of great interest to anthropologists. Since the feminist movement in the late 1960s, one question that has been discussed is to what extent the opposition between women and men can be thought of in terms of the dichotomy between nature and culture and what implications this has for the position of women in society. This structuralist perspective was first formulated by Ortner (1974), drawing on Levi-Strauss and de Beauvoir, but has since been criticised for being simplistic and ethnocentric. I will delineate Ortner’s argument and look at its application to male and female roles in

Society has clearly defined boundaries between what is considered to be male or female. The development of an individual’s gender role is formed by interactions with those in close proximity. Society constantly tells us how we should look, act and live based on gender. Family, friends and the media have a tremendous impact on how these roles are formed and the expected behavior of each gender role.

Gender and the ways gender is portrayed in society varies from culture to culture. Gender roles have changed drastically, especially during the 20th century and continue to evolve to this day. For years now there have been preconceived notions about genders and the roles each one should play in society, home, workplace, etc. Most times gender roles are associated with stereotypes and previous gender roles. Gender role plays different parts in religion, culture, society, time periods, countries, etc. Women rights and power varies in time and location and it is very interesting to look at the events, cultures, and customs that were taking place in that particular time period to get a better idea of the gender role concept.

Ecological feminists (Gaard, Heller) argue that culture defines the connection of women and nature. Men are as much part of nature as women are. However, the patriarchal culture identifies women with body, sex, irrationality, passivity, and earth. It is decided that women are closer to nature. Men identify with spirit, mind, action, and power; they are rational, stable, reliable, and intelligent.