Anthropology Midterm
deductive reasoning
- a logical process in which a conclusion is based on the concordance of multiple premises that are generally assumed to be true - Locke - based on premises or axioms that are believed to be true
Ethnographic method
- capture the natives point of view 1) observe the imponderabilia of daily life and typical behavior - a series of phenomena of great importance which cannot possibly be recorded by questioning or computing documents, but have to be observed in their full actuality....such things as the routine of a man's working day, the details of his care of the body, of the manner of taking food and preparing it 2) concrete, statistical documentation of the organization of the tribe and the anatomy of its culture 3) a corpus inscriptionum - stories about what they do and why
Benedict
- inductive reasoning - variability of human nature, malleable - critique = understand other people's point of view, dealing with other people, reasons for why we do what we do, change how we do things - not like enlightenment because we there is not one single human nature
Inductive Reasoning
- method of reasoning in which the premises are viewed as supplying strong evidence for the truth of the conclusion, conclusion may be probable - Benedict - anthropological approach
Paradox of Anthropological Induction
- observations are biased because we are creatures of custom, can't be inductive - humans are creatures of custom so we need an inductive study to observe other customs and cultures - can't observe others without bias since we already have customs
Relavitism
- the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute - truth depends on perspective, things are relative to culture
Ritual
- the manifestation of cultural values and social identities in space and time - an event in which beliefs, values, identities, and other intangible elements of social and cultural life become particulary palpable or dramatically manifested - moments where participants move beyond their mundane, everyday reality and come into contact with these more fundamental social and cultural values - transformative to themselves and society
Amoralism
-not involving questions of right or wrong, without moral quality; neither moral nor immoral, having no moral standards, restraints, or principles - no morality, no right or wrong
What is the argument that Kulick says he will make in this book? What view is he arguing against? What types of scholarly work does he draw on and, more importantly, what views of sex and gender have been put forward in this work
2 ethnographic studies by brazilian academics who did not live with travestis and put forth that they are different from other people in an exotic, strange, and scary way. He wants to elaborate the particular definition of sexuality, gender, and sex.
How might a human rights activist respond to Delaney's account? What distinguishes the anthropological from the human rights' perspective? Is there a fundamental conflict between them or is there a way to resolve the differences between these two perspectives?
A human rights activist would respond negatively to the Delaney Account because they are concerned about the women committing suicide. The difference between the perspectives is that the human rights only care about what happened and not why, ethnocentrism. The anthropologist perspective is relevatism, and that things depend on your perspective and relative to culture, anything goes within the bounds of your society.
What distinguished a noble from a commoner? What determined the rank of a noble? Could one or one's family move up the ranks? Could a commoner family become a noble family?
A noble is an individual who is able to trace a genelogical relationship to the reigning king through an ancestor. The rank of a noble is determined by the combination of the rank of his father and mother. A family could move up in the ranks by having their child marry a high ranking person. A commoner could become a noble family by marrying a noble.
What do Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address have to do with this ritual? How are myth and ritual related in this instance? Who is the Man of the Prairies and who is the God-man of Galilee? Are there any Christian rituals you can think of that resemble the Memorial Day ritual?
Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysberg Address have to do with memorial day because he was president of the US and assassinated in the civil war, which is what memorial day grew out of. Lincoln is the man of the praries and the Godsman of Galilee because of his death in the civil war, man of the people, and sacrifice. Lincoln is the Jesus of the american people. Gettysburg address starts in the past then goes to the future, zooms in and out. This is like communion where eating the bread and wine makes us a part of the body of Christ, except we become a part of the nation.
According to Benedict, how is anthropology different from other social sciences? Why is the study of custom important & why has it so long been ignored as an object of study? What assumptions must we dispense with before we can view other societies anthropologically?
Anthropology is different than other social sciences because anthropologists focus on the different cultures and customs of societies. The study of custom is important because custom is how people think and behave and it shapes culture. It has been ignored as a subject of study because men think their cultures are superior and see the world through their own customs and culture. We must dispense the assumptions of close mindedness, nationalism, and superiority.
How do Balinese men become connected with their cocks? How are they like their cocks? How are they different from their cocks? In what other ways do participants come to identify with cocks in a cockfight?
Balinese men spend an enormous amount of time with their favorites, grooming them, feeding them, discussing them, trying them out, or just gazing at them with admiration. Time, energy, and money all become a part of the animal. Behavior outside the ring mirrors the cocks inside, audience becomes the cocks through their body movements. Shared kin and local group identity so audience will root for certain cocks.
What does Benedict use the examples of warfare, the "incest tabu," art & "the guardian spirit complex" to demonstrate? Choose one and discuss her argument in more detail.
Benedict uses these examples to show how different the customs and cultures vary around the world. For examples, incest in the US is percieved as impure and very bad but in many other countries, one's first cousins is the ideal marriage partner.
What other beliefs discussed in the article do you see as relevant to understanding the practice of virginity testing?
Biological constructionism is the belief that anything can be explained through biology. Cultural constructionism is the belief that anything can be explained through social worlds and culture.
Keila says, "A travesti doesn't get attached to anyone for sex, because a travesti doesn't need a boyfriend to cum." What, then, are boyfriends good for? What do they offer a travesti? Why might it be that travestis proudly proclaim that their boyfriends aren't allowing them to do something: "I can't wear short skirts, I can't wear off-the-shoulder blouses because they show my breasts, I can't go to any parties, he won't let me go to the beach..."
Boyfriends are good because they make the travesti feel like a woman, even though they are men. The travesti want to feel like a mulherissima and have a boyfriend and money and also be jealous of others. They proudly proclaim these things because the boyfriend is making the travesti be a female.
What distinction is Kulick drawing between being "a male" and being "a man"? How does one "ritually" enact manhood? How does one "ritually" enact femininity? Why is sex with a boyfriend who is a viado a problem for travestis? What is dar o cu? What is the transformative effect of this "ritual"?
Dar o cu is being the one who is penetrated. If a travesti is the one who penetrates, then they must end the relationship because they are no longer the female. The transformative effect of this ritual is that the travesti can change their gender based on what they do in bed. Feminine = being penetrated, masculine = you penetrate
How does the ethnographic method differ from that of other disciplines in the natural or social sciences? What are some of its advantages & disadvantages?
Ethnographic research is emmersing yourself in the natives culture in order to capture the natives vision of the world. The ethnographic method differs from other methods because one must learn the customs and cultures of a group of people and become a child again(Benedict). Other social studies just study a culture or conduct questionares like the WRH method.
In the view of travestis, what makes females ultimately superior to them? In what ways do travestis surpass females?
Females are better than travestis because they have vaginas, which is what men are attracted to. Females are worse then travestis because they do much more work in order to attract men, more feminine females.
What is the difference between sexuality considered as a practice and as an identity? What problems does this distinction fail to resolve, particularly considering Elliston's discussion of Melanesian "semen practices"? What is the difference between "homosexuality" and "ritualized homosexuality"? In what respects is "homosexuality" (as an identity state in Herdt's view) "contingent on culturally specific ideas of personhood--not surprisingly Western ones" (853)?
Identity is coming out, way to understand your own self, how we were raised, and biology/genes while practice is one can perform homosexual acts but not actually be homosexual, only done in the context of the ritual. Ritualized homosexuality doesnt show the difference between identity and practice, and imply that they are doing it for arousal/desire. Homosexuality has the view of an identity in western cultures and it is frowned upon.
What gives rise to a state of war, according to locke? Why is it difficult to escape a state of war? What is needed to escape a state of war?
If force is used without right, then that gives rise to a state of war. It is difficult to escape because of the irrationality and partiality of men, and because there is no impartial judge so there will be an endless cycle of trying to use the law of nature. A common judge is needed to escape so all laws can be enforced.
Why is it hard to access "the natives' point of view"? What are the difficulties that arise when asking questions of "the natives"?
It is hard to access the natives point of view because people conceptualize their world in many different ways. It is hard to ask questions because the questions are coming from your own point of view. For example, some places have many fathers. Paradox of anthropological study (benedict)
What are some of the hazards of travesti life? Why is it desirable for travesti to raise enough money to buy a house?
Landlords can squeeze money from travesti tenants because if they dont pay or complain, then they will be kicked out. They know that they will not be accepted as a tenant in another part of the city. This is why buying a house is better. Police Brutality.
In what way is cultural life like language, according to Benedict? What is the point of this comparison?
Languages all select different elements and sounds to elaborate on and suppress, which make the amount of languages limitless. This is similar to culture because there are so many different customs and characteristics that make up culture.
Given Locke's axioms and his argument for why people join together to form political societies, what type of political society is illegitimate according to Locke? What type of society is legitimate according to Locke?
Locke believes that monarchies are illegitimate because there people who do not have to obey the laws and are still in a state of nature. Locke believes that a civil government(elected) is legitimate because every person is equal and becomes a subject of the law.
Why is that, according to travestis, males have greater opportunity to explore various forms of gendered behavior and subjectivities than females?
Males can be penetrated or penetrate unlike females so they can explore various forms of gendered behavior and subjectivity. This way, travestis are constructive essentialists because they can construct their gender based on what is done in bed, not their genitals.
As cultural concepts, values, and identities, where do masculinity and femininity reside in social life? How do people lay claim to these identities? Are masculinity and femininity monolithic identities? If not, what actions, capacities, attributes and the like compose them? In what respects are travesti the acme of femininity? In what respects are they not womanly?
Masculinity is associated with genitalia, procreation, and being the penetrator while femininity is associated with being penetrated, passion, vanity, jealousy, and desire for men. People lay claim to these identities based on the sexual contact that they have in bed. Masculinity and Femininity are not monolithic identities because the travesti can be both. Travestis are not womanly due to the fact that they have male genitals. Travestis are the best females because they are more feminine.
Rituals bring participants into contact with fundamental social realities and cultural values that transcend the here-and-now. What fundamental social realities and values are central to the Memorial Day ritual in Warner's account? In what sense is Memorial Day ritual a "cult of the dead"?
Memorial Day is both sacred and secular, so it is a holy day as well as a holiday. For some it is a holiday of pleasure, extended outings, and sporting events, and for others it is a sacred day where the dead are mourned and sorrow is expressed. Memorial day ritual is a cult of the dead because it organizes and integrates the various faiths and national and class groups into secular unity to awknowledge the sacrifice of the dead soldier for the living. Unity, sacrifice, connection, equality, freedom, and democracy.
What does the ritual action of participants in the microcosmic here-and-now of Memorial Day accomplish? How are participants transformed? How do the ritual actions described by Warner connect participants with fundamental social realities & cultural values?
Memorial day links the microcosm of the here and now of the ritual to the more enduring and essential domain of the intangible culture values and fundamental realities that transcend people. People all come together, remember the dead, celebrate the values they died for, build a community with present and past, and give life to the nation. People allow for these values to live on, and we are connected to soldiers, Licoln, founding fathers, and jesus.
What qualities does Locke attribute to human nature in the course of his argument? What evidence does he offer to support his view of human nature?
Men tend to act in their own interests, men are passionate which can make them take revenge too far, and men are reasonable but also irrational when executing sentences.
How is monogenesis as a cultural view of procreation relevant to an anthropological understanding of the practice of virginity testing? How is monotheism as a cultural view of cosmology also relevant to understanding virginity testing?
Monogenesis is the belief that all things are derived from a single being. It is believed that a child is created solely from the male and that the only female role is to fertilize. Monotheism is the belief that there is only one God or creator. This relates to virginity testing because males are able to create life through a child like how God was able to create humans, men are like little Gods. Patrilineal descent.
Were men's genitals privileged over women's genitals (e.g., in genital chants) as they are in Delaney's account of the Turkish village? Why or why not? What is bilateral descent (or ascent) & what does it have to do with this?
No, both men and womens genitals are treated equally because they both have the same political power, bilateral descent. Identifying yourself by both your mother and your father. Nobility and closeness to the king genelogically is determined by both the mother and father in Hawaii.
According to travesti conceptions of themselves and their actions, why is it that penetrating clients stands out as an experience (even though it is less common than being penetrated by clients)?
Penetrating clients stands out as an experience because the travesti is changing her gender during sex by becoming male. This makes the client become the female during sex. This is important because it shows that gender is determined by what is done in bed.
Why do people form political societies according to Locke?
People form political societies in order to have security and safety from the irregular and uncertain use of power by every man who is punishing the transgressions of others. Peace under the laws and preservation of property.
According to Locke, what must people give up when they enter into a political society? What do they gain?
People must give up the right to do as they wish within the bounds of the laws of nature and the power to punish crimes commited against the natural law. They gain an established, settled, known and indifferent judge, and the power to back and support the sentence.
Are people's rights to a plot of land permanent? What sort of events could jeopardize people's rights to land?
People's rights to a plot of land are not permanant because it depends on a relationship to a superior that is contractual in nature. Actions such as being lazy, and not working or rebelling against the superior could jeopardize people's right to land, death of a superior.
How do psychologists go about studying adolescence and what, according to Benedict (writing in the 1930s), had they found? Compare this with Richard A. Friedman's discussion of adolescence in the New York Times. In contrast to psychologists, how do anthropologists study adolescence? What is different between these two approaches and what is gained by taking an anthropological approach?
Psychologists use a homogenous sample by finding one group of people in a culture and then studying and observing, typically teenagers. Anthropologists use groups from every culture to study adolescents. The advantage is that all places have different customs regarding adolescents so they can see how socials aspects determine effects.
If only one out of five wrestling matches is fair, why are the rules still important? More than the actual rules of wrestling, what are the rules that matter in shaping the form taken by wrestling as a spectacle?
Rules and the ref are important because the rules must be broken in order to show the injustice and unfairness from the bad guy. The ritual rules are important because they show that at the end of the day, certain values like justice will always win. This is shown in wrestling because the good guy will overcome the suffering and get his justice. Bad guy is a bastard.
In the Sambia view, why is it that boy's need to go through initiation and girls do not? How are boys transformed through this process of initiation?
Sambia believes that girls mature and become women naturally whereas boys do not, in part because being raised by women holds them back. Boys are changed by making men out of boys by separating them from all women, giving them oral inseminations of semen, and instilling in them the men's corporate values and interests. Little boys dont have a gender and have to engage in certain practices to become a man rather than genes.
According to Sahlins, why was sex so prevalent in Hawaiian history around the time of contact with Cook? Why was sex important among the nobles? Why was sex important among the commoners?
Sex was so prevelant in hawaiian history because sex meant everything to the people such as rank, wealth, power, and security. Sex was so important to nobles because they wanted to become closer to the king, so they could have more power and land in the society of diminishing returns. Sex was important to the commoners because they wanted to become nobles by marrying high ranking people.
How does Bateson portray the way people on Bali comport themselves? Is this similar to Geertz's account? What similarities do you find and what differences? How does cockfighting, in particular, fit in with Bateson and Geertz's portraits of other parts of Balinese social life? How might we reconcile the differences between Balinese comportment during cockfighting and during other activities, as described by Bateson and Geertz?
The Bali start small flirtations with their children, settle their quarrels by going to an office and registering their quarrel, war included mutual avoidance, and has a rigid caste system. Wealth and food are lavishly expended, careful in their economic dealings, have a social ettiquette and law for the caste system, and children are elevated like Gods. The Bali don't worry about winning or climaxing, steady state. Geertz observes them as balanced, poised, and highly controlled group of people. Cockfighting is not composed or balanced, people act crazy, and there is a climax/ descent into animality. Purging of the reigning values of balance and order.
How does the Memorial Day ritual organize participants' experience in space and time? What is the social significance of this spatial and temporal structuring?
The are 4 stages. 1) No relation of ceremonies of association in Time or space. 2) Time is partly the same while space is different. 3) Separated in space but time is the same. 4) Time and space are the same, unity. This is significant because the representatives of all groups are unified into one procession. Organizational diversity is symbollically integrated into a unified whole. Transformative into a new identity, we are americans.
According to Barthes, what are the central meanings, "passions," or values portrayed in a wrestling match? (Remember he is discussing French wrestling, which is somewhat different from the American version. We can certainly compare & contrast the two in class.) How are these often quite abstract meanings and values manifested in space & time in the match ?
The central meanings or values portrayed in a wrestling match are suffering, defeat, justice, and retribution. Time is necessary because the audience have to see all the suffering, broken rules, and injustice being dramatically manifested. After time, justice can be manifested fully through the rules between the good guy and bad guy. Crowd participates by booing and yelling to morally approve or disapprove what is happening.
What characteristics define human nature for Benedict?
The characteristic that describes human nature for Benedict is custom and variability. Human nature is malleable and we have the ability to learn any custom that we are exposed to.
In what ways is time an important dimension of the spectacle of wrestling? Think, for instance, of the importance Barthes attributes to cause and effect. Or, the significance of the way the spectacle unfolds over time. What fundamental moral is expressed in the "ritual" of the wrestling match? Why is time a necessary dimension to make it palpable to the viewer?
The fundamental moral that is expressed in a wrestling match is justice. Time is important because the crowd must see all the injustice, suffering, and broken rules.
What is/are the goal(s) of ethnographic research, according to Malinowski? Identify three methods he recommends using to realize this goal. How do these three methods support the aim of ethnographic research?
The goal is to grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life, and to realize his vision of the world. 1) concrete statistical documentation of the organization of the tribe and the anatomy of its culture. 2) observe the imponderabilia of daily life and typical behavior. 3) a corpus inscriptionum or stories about what they do, produced in field work
How is an Achuar house organized? How does Descola come to understand the organization of the house? How is Anne Christine's social uniqueness evident in her movements around the house? Why, do you think, is she unique in this way?
The house is divided into two unequal parts, the ekent and the tankamesh. Descola comes to understand the organization of the house by learning the few rules governing the movement about the house. Anne Christine is free to choose for herself whether to join the women in their special quarters or in the common area due to her foreign origin. Social status = movement. Father is the intermediary between domestic and social. Boys kicked out at young age to make own house.
How is it that the Hawaiian king "is the veritable creator of society as a coherent whole" (Valeri: 158)?
The king is the veritable creator of society as a coherent whole because the king establishes the rank of everyone relative to him and the order of commoners underneath each noble.
What is/are the main challenges of ethnographic research, according to Malinowski? How do we overcome these challenges? What challenges do you notice when reading Descola's description of his first days with the Achuar? How does Descola attempt to overcome them?
The main challenge of ethnographic research is learning the native's point of view. We overcome this challenge by asking questions directly, observing their ways of life first hand, participate and learn from mistakes, and allowing the natives to teach. Descola is very confused with the customs and culture and why people are doing what they're doing. He must mess up and be taught and ask questions in order to learn ettiquette and culture.
Explain "the seed and the soil" model of procreation. What is the role of men in this cultural model? What is the role of women?
The male role in procreation is to plant the seed while the female role in procreation is to transform and bring it forth. represents the male giving the seed and the female body being the soil.
After reading Carol Delaney's article "Seeds of Honor, Fields of Shame," explain why it is that men in the Turkish village discussed in the article do have an interest in whether a woman is a virgin.
The men do have an interest in whether a woman is a virgin because a women who has had sexual relations with other men is physically polluted, which stains her husband's honor. The slightest doubt threatens the security of the mens seed, which is where the value of women came from. Women are property and must protect their property(self preservation)
What are the consequences of winning or losing at a cockfight? What is the point of a cockfight then? Why do the Balinese get so excited about it?
The owner of the winning cock takes home the carcass of the loser to eat. The loser is sometimes driven to wreck his family shrines and curse the gods, an act of social suicide. The cockfight is a blood sacrifice to the demons to pacify their cannibal hunger. One of the reasons that people get so excited is gambling. Very large bets are placed on the cocks. People are purging the reigning values of order and balance and to make things go back to normal after being possessed by demons.
What axioms - self truths - does Locke build his argument on? What does he claim is true of the natural state of humankind? What evidence does he offer to support these claims?
The self evident truths that Locke builds his argument on are all people are naturally free and all people are naturally equal. Locke uses the las of nature as evidence which states that all men are naturally free and equal and no one should harm anothers life, health, liberty, or possessions.
According to Valeri, who was the traditional source of rights to land in Hawaii? How was the political hierarchy of Hawaii related to land & land rights? Why were land rights important to people?
The traditional source of rights to land is the king. the social hierarchy is related to the land because each tier takes some of the land for themselves, and then gives the rest to those who work for them and repeat. Land rights were important to the people because if the inferior doesn't carry out his duties to the superior, he may lose is land. Land=power.
Viewing the cockfight as a ritual, what abstract cultural values and social realities are dramatically enacted in this ritual? What social transformation takes place?
The values that are dramatically enacted in this ritual are masculinity, fighting, pride, and descent into animality. People are transformed into animals in this ritual. People come in their natural state, become an animal, everything goes back to normal after, possessed by spirits and then purged. Overall, nothing is accomplished because things go back to normal, status caste system doesnt change and still humans.
How are travesti accounts of their early lives different from those found in North American and European memoirs of transgenderism? What are their early sexual experiences like? What pleasure do they recount deriving from these experiences?
They are different because the men have an erotic interest in same sex as a motivating force in their perception as transgendered. Transexualism is about gender, not about sexuality in NA and Europe. Like to do girl things and have sex with men. They have enjoyment from their male encounters but painful.
Where do the travesti who Kulick worked with live? What are their living conditions like? How big are their "cubicles"? What do they pay for them? What keeps travestis in these conditions?
They live in Salvador, Brazil. They live in extremely humble and poor conditions. They live in 3x4 meter cubicles with very poor conditions such as insect infestation, deterioration, and failing water and electricity. Sao Francisco Street. They pay between 35 and 55 reais a week for rent. They stay in these conditions because they wont be accepted as tenants anywhere else.
What are relations between travesti like? What motivates this mode of interaction?
They talk loudly to each other about lives/adventures, the beauty and ugliness of each other, perform intimate grooming on each other, and call each other homosexuals and fags. Ask each other for advice and hang out. Gossip and steal from each other. The reason for this is because they are in competition with each other and feel like the others dislike.
What sorts of evidence does Elliston draw on to reinterpret acts of ritual fellatio? In other words, what other ritual practices does she consider alongside acts of ritual fellatio in order to gain access to the "native's" view of their world?
They use nosebleeding when women are menstrating for purification from women because they are contaminating. Ritual is an act of nurture where semen is the same thing as breast milk. Rite of passage = turns boys into men where younger boys perform oral sex on older boys.
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to cultural anthropology, the inductive study of the human condition insofar as it is shaped by our social surround. Accordingly, anthropologists investigate humanity in all of its variety, developing methods of data collection and analysis, conceptual frameworks, and modes of presentation that are, ideally, adequate to capturing what it means to be human. In the process, cultural anthropology highlights the variability of humanity and, as a consequence, it forces us to rethink the nature of the human. What may appear to be natural or fundamental characteristics of humans (e.g., gendered characteristics) come to appear cultural and contingent once we start looking beyond our own social worlds. In this course, we look at a wide range of cultural beliefs, values, and identities to understand: 1) how such cultural intangibles are produced and sustained in the course of people's social lives and yet 2) how these cultural intangibles appear to be grounded in the very nature of reality for those enculturated to them. We focus on ritual in particular as a locus where beliefs, values, and other cultural intangibles palpably materialize in social life, connecting people in the mundane here-and-now to seemingly more primordial realms of reality.
Why is it a problem for travestis that the female hormones they ingest make it difficult for them to achieve erection?
This is a problem because a travesti who is unable to achieve erections will lose clients. Taking hormones makes it difficult for them to ejaculate.
What does it mean to be homosexual, according to travestis? What is the relationship, in their view, between being homosexual and being a travesti? What is the logic behind this view; or, put another way, what understandings of sexuality, gender, and sexual activity is such a view premised on?
To travestis, a homosexual is someone with male genitalia who likes to be penetrated. Being a travesti, they consider themselves to be homosexuals since they take the role of the female in bed and are attracted to males. For travesti, sex is determined by genetalia(biological), orientation is determined by who penetrates, and gender is determined by who penetrates.
How do travestis modify their bodies? Why do they say they do so? Why do they adopt female names, clothing, hairstyles, and bodily practices? What "cultural ideals" are they trying to realize?
Travesti modify their bodies by injecting industrial silicone into their hips, thighs, breats, and butts. They do this in order to make their bodies look more feminine, not trying to change sex because they were born as men. They do this because of the desireability of the female body on the sexual market(earn more moeny) and feel like a mulherissima
In travestis' relationships with boyfriends, who generally provides whom with material goods? Why do they do this? Why are they worth all of the expense?
Travestis buy all the material goods for their boyfriends. They do thus because they want to feel like a woman and the men are making the travesti actually be a woman. Travesti want to have the feelings have jealousy, passionate, and gossip. They were born as men but want to be feminine and feel like a woman.
According to Norma Ramos, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women: "At its core, prostitution is violence against women...Prostitution creates a class of human beings who are not supposed to feel when they are most supposed to feel, who are not allowed to say no to unwanted sex. It is the world's oldest oppression." How would travestis respond? What pleasure do they find in prostitution? What value(s) do they derive from the money they make? Is their situation generalizable to all instances of prostitution? Why or why not?
Travestis often enjoy sex and will often have sex for free if their client is good at sex or has a large penis. They find pleasure in having boyfriends and feeling feminine which they acquire from being a prostitute. They use the money they earn to support their family, buy themselves a house, and buying boyfriends. This situation is not generalizable to all forms of prostitution,
What is the value of describing Melanesian practices as "semen practices" and not "homosexual practices" or "ritual homosexuality"? Why call it an "erection" and not "arousal"?
When the practice is identified as homosexual practices or ritualized homosexuality, it imputes a western model of sexuality to these practices, and one that relies on western ideas about gender, erotics, and personhood will ultimately obscure the meanings that hold for these practices in Malaysia. They are performing these practices as an act of nurture, rather than for arousal or please. Breast milk = semen, needed to become a man.
Is Benedict, like Locke, trying not only to describe what humans are, but also trying to change (or revolutionize) the world around her? What changes is she calling for? Are there echoes of the Enlightenment in her argument?
Yes, Benedict believes that there is not on single human nature unlike locke. Also, Benedict is making the argument that race doesnt determine who you are. The enlightenment in this argument is that we should be more aware of the customs around us instead of stereotypes. If we do this, then we can change our customs and improve our lives according to Benedict.
Cultural Constructionism
anything can be explained by the social worlds surrounding us
Biological Constructionism
anything can be explained through science or biology
Cultural Relavitism
anything goes within the bounds of your society
Ethnocentrism
evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture
Monogenesis
everyone is related to man, we come from one person
polyandrous
having multiple husbands
Polygynous
having multiple wives
What is gained, according to Malinowski, by "cutting oneself off from the company of other white men" (6), or, we might say, cutting oneself off from a more familiar and comfortable social milieu?
instead of constantly seeking refuge from the white male, it forces him to engage more with the natives as relief from loneliness. Allows them to fully emerge themselves in the culture which will allow them to succeed in their research.
exogamy
marrying outside of your particular group
Time
necessary because the viewers have to see all the suffering, broken rules, and injustice being dramatically manifested
Matrilineal descent
of or based on kinship with the mother or the female line
Monotheism
one god created everything
hypergamy
people marrying someone of higher status
hypogamy
people marrying someone of lower status
Patrilineal Descent
relating to or based on relationship to the father or descent through the male line
Bilateral Descent
system of family lineage in which the relatives on the mother's side and father's side are equally important for emotional ties or for transfer of property or wealth
Constructive essentialists
travesti can construct their gender through body and what is done in bed, not based on genitals
Biological Essentialists
way someone behaves or what they have is due to biology, biological sex determines gender
