The Third Sex in Eastern Civilization

The sexual behaviors religion deems moral, the levels of scientific understanding in sexual matters and what the media deems sexualy ideal all profoudly influence how a society view and behave with regards to sexuality. For example, if religion being a primary influence in a society deems sexualy activity to only be appropriate between a monogamous, married couple, and should only be talked about between those couples, then it’s likely individuals within that society will hold very conservative views on sex. Additionally, in a society with poor scientific understanding of human sexual behaviour and function, will be a perfect breeding ground for urban myths and misinformation, such as the idea that a woman’s hymen breaks when she loses her virginity. Conversely in a society where media is the primary influencer, of the society promotes and propagates objectifying views of women’s body, it’s more likely that the majority view of sex in that society is that it’s something that’s done by a man to a women, and that giving sex to a man is (or is one of several) a woman’s primary purpose.

|Is the divinity male or female? What |The divinity is male. His role was to|Is a female divinity. The gender |

In current times in America, the role of women and the role of men is about equal. When it comes to home life, it’s just as common for women to go out and work as it is for a man to do it. Women have even run for President. However, in the Harappan society in ancient India, and in Sumerian times in ancient Mesopotamia, the equality and respect of women weren’t as strong as it is today. Regardless, women were respected to a certain level. Overall, the respect of women in ancient India was similar to the respect of women in Mesopotamia because goddesses were seen as powerful, young women were admired, and women were highly regarded for being able to give birth.

Gender roles in ancient Mesopotamia were clearly defined (teachmiddleeast.edu). Generally, men worked outside of the home and women stayed inside of the home while focusing on raising their children and keeping up with work that took place in the home. However, there were exceptions; we know of women who were “bartenders” and even women who were priestesses, but with limited responsibility. Due to the fact that some were from socially higher families and owned large amounts of property, those women were not allowed to marry. Women at the time were given much less freedom than men, however, women were more protected than men, which is seen in Hammurabi’s Code of Law, specifically in his 130th law:

The Western world’s conquest and domination of Asia is the driving source of sexual desire for East Asian women. To understand how the objectification and fetishization of East Asian women is harmful, one must traced it roots and understand how it began. The stereotypes assigned to East Asian women are rooted from the violence of wartime. The stereotypes live through the mass media’s re-imagination by books, movies, musicals and operas. East Asian women will find no peace for as long as these hyper-sexed stereotypes live.

The Greek and Roman societies were a very patriarchal society. This is reflected throughout the myths in classical mythology. By looking at the many pieces of literature involving Greeks and Romans we will see that the roles women portrayed are very different from women’s roles in today’s society. Although there are a few similarities to women’s roles in today’s society, their roles are more like those women in the past. We can see this by looking at the qualities of Greek and Roman female gods and looking at the roles women play in the myths.

In Excerpts from “Benefits for Nonhomophobic Societies: An Anthropological Perspective”, by Walter W. Williams, comparisons are brought up between Western Ideologies of homosexuality and other cultures from around the world. One of the first cultures to be presented is that of the American Indian. Williams argues, before the heavy influence by the western society, the Navajo traditionally supported and accepted “the fact that such androgynous people almost always have inclinations to be sexually active with people of the same biological sex”. (p. 336) There is also emphasis placed on the Navajo word of Nadle, which means “one who is transformed”, which is referred to androgynous male or female individuals who combine elements of both masculinity and femininity in their personalities. These people, previous to western influence, were regarded as “sacred and holy”. (p. 337) Williams then explains how his studies has molded his own perception on homosexuality and how societies who do not discriminate against homosexuals do so, not because of “tolerance”, but because it contributes positively to society. In regards to Native Americans, androgynous individuals were considered to have a closer connections to the spirit world, since they expressed both masculine and feminine characteristics, there were seen as having two spirits. (p. 338) In Indian culture, androgynous individuals are geared towards being spiritual healers, as they are seen as having a better connection with the

The idea of feminism has not always been common. The term “feminism” wasn’t introduced until the 1970s. This shows how society didn’t allow anything that had to due with everyone being equal because of the standards that society constructed. In all the versions of Mulan, I think that Disney’s Mulan was the most strict on her having Ancient China’s role of being a woman. This would be having kids, helping clean around the house and not working for money, but working for her husband and kids. In Disney’s Mulan, her family is more hard on her to be a lady and for her to be the proper role of a women. This is because they went to a “matchmaker” to find her husband, and after saving everyone several times, she was still looked down upon because she was a woman.

The way women have been treated varies throughout time, in some time periods women were oppressed and fighting for rights, in others they were queens. In the ancient societies of Egypt and India, women were treated differently than men, although in different ways. In Egypt, women were still treated with respect and dignity, while in India the roles of women were to be submissive and compliant.

1. What is a patriarchal society? In what ways do the different civilizations we have studied exhibit patriarchy and how did they reinforce it (hint: Hammurabi’s code, Chinese philosophy, Ancient

From prehistory to 1450 CE, in many different and complex civilizations, religion has influenced the gender roles of many societies. From prehistory to 600 BCE, in Mesopotamia, women could own property, maintain their dowry, and even trade. However, from 600 BCE to 600 CE, in Rome, women were completely under the control of their paterfamilias. Than, from 600 to 1450 CE, in the Byzantine Empire, women were constrained to their homes, and when they went out, they had to wear veils over their faces. Religion influenced the gender roles of many societies and civilizations from prehistory to 1450 CE.

With that said, the man, hastiin, is the second gender. Although important, they aren 't on the same ‘ 'level’ of the woman. They hold the same values of the common man in Western culture, being the protector and “breadwinner.”

Sexual othering is defined as the trope of primitive courtship which is a combination of assumption of primitive cultures, and that primitive are a slave to their desire. Reading 4.1 shows how aboriginal women are seen as sexual objects instead of human being. Because the European invaded the European they believed that they had the right to the women. Ready access to black women was seen as an attraction of the outback life.

In 8 AD Publius Ovidius Naso, historically referred to as Ovid, published a body of work that served as a comprehensive history of the world from its Creation to the elevation of Julius Caesar. In its pages, describes a daughter by the name of Iphis, born to Telethusa and Ligdus. During her pregnancy, Ligdus threated his wife with the death of their baby should she not produce a boy. In her despair, Telethusa was visited by the Egyptian goddess Isis who assured her that no matter the baby’s gender, all would be well. When their daughter was born, Telethusa concealed her daughter’s true anatomy and raised her as a boy. In her adolescent, Ligdus arranged for his “son” to be wed to a woman Ianthe. Iphis loved this woman, though her true gender identity still remained a secret. Iphis was distraught at the thought of being unable to satisfy his (her) bride. On the eve of the wedding, Iphis prayed to the goddess Isis for help, and in response was magically turned into a man. He went on to marry his bride and live a happy marital life.

There being a third sex is just now becoming common in America. In many countries and cultures having multiple sex is natural and a norm. Americans still have a lot to learn when it comes to knowing and accepting another sex that isn’t a norm in their culture.