Society is defined as being “an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another” (merriam-webster). The relationship between men and women has played a large role in its culture; “gender hierarchy has been the implicit operating model for understanding … past societies.” (Stokett). As stated, gender hierarchy defines the relationship between the genders as unbalanced in respect to each other, typically placing men as the dominant gender compared to the roles females play. Although often seen as inferior; women have played a prominent role in defining cultures; such is the case for Maya, Inca, and Aztec societies. Taking a closer look into the culture
Women had their own political and religious organization with their own hierarchies of priestesses and commissaries, as men did in their sphere (Powers). The two distinguishable spheres existed abreast, consisting of male and female officials in their respective spheres. A women’s endowment originated from Coya, the queen of the Inca territory, while the man’s originated from the king. (Powers). Likewise, the principles of religion were halved between the two genders. Women worshiped the moon, as men worshiped the sun. Each receiving representation from the akin sex. The commensurate involvement of both men and women in religion and politics is derivative of the creationism belief of Vircocha, an Inca idol, possessing both voluptuous and virile qualities, created both Illapa and Pachama. The rift amid the two genders was meant to create accord, ascribing different, but complementary roles to each gender; although man is positioned higher in the joining spheres.(Powers). Agriculture was essential to the survival of the Inca and was a collegial chore, each sex had elected routines in farming. Women, specifically the Inca queens, were accomplished agronomists, trained in the craft of planting. While women often shared in politics, they were barred from holding ‘supreme power,’ unless under the authority of a male predecessor, such as a
The women of the Aztec experienced a great deal of freedom within the society, granting them the freedom to own property and wealth. Businesses could be run out of home, tolerating the sell of items such as clothes and rugs. Often times, merchants stalls were managed by women. Administrative positions were open to the female sex, whether it was to superintend venders, managing product price and quality, or to sever as a scribe for the emperor. Assets, including movable property, could also be inherited by women as equally as they were for men. Men and women also shared domestic duties, which were divided among the sexes; men assumed responsibility over much of the agricultural aspects of society, while women controlled the cleaning and culinary obligations of the home. Child care was also shared amongst both parents. Mothers were accountable for the welfare of their daughters, teaching them crafts and ensuring they are ready to manage a household; while the father taught their sons the art of war and husbandry. Childbirth was seen as a noble battle of midwives and mother, alike. It was treated as war, and received appraisal throughout the society. Dying during birth granted a mother a noble honor, often labeled as a goddess for the sacrifice. Midwives and healers of the Aztecs were among the best, receiving a great deal of respect for their craft. Although
Aztec women were just as skilled as the men were. It is my opinion that the women to a higher degree were more accomplished in systematic labor and experts in aphnology. In my opinion was the backbone in Aztec subsistence. In fact, these women were as equal to the Aztec rulers that reigned over the lands.
Mayan, Inca, and Aztec Civilizations. The Mayan, Inca, and Aztec civilizations each originated in Latin America. The Mayans lived in southern and central Mexico, other Mayans lived in Central America in the present day countries of Belize, Guatemala, and ancient Honduras. The Incas lived along the long coastal strip, and in the high peaks and deep fertile valleys of the Andes Mountains, and along the edges of the tropical forest to the east; this would be the country of Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina in present days.
The Aztec people had a complex hierarchy system. In this system, there were different levels of societal structure that one could be in. Their hierarchy was divided into three main sections-the Emperor(41), the nobles(42), and the commoners(43).
Henrik Ibsen once said, “A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view.”(Notable Quotes) Ibsen’s statement exemplifies what life was like for women during ancient times. In many of the organized ancient civilizations, it was very common to find a primarily patriarchal civilization in government as well as in society. The causing factors can be attributed to different reasons, the main being the Neolithic Revolution and the new found dependence on manpower it caused. As a result of this, a woman found herself to be placed into an entirely different view in the eye of society. In comparison to the early Paleolithic matriarchal societies, the kinds of changes that came about for women due to the introduction of agriculture are shocking. Since the beginnings of the Neolithic era, the role and rights of women in many ancient civilizations began to become limited and discriminatory as a result of their gender.
A woman was not seen as being equal to a man. This is clear in the laws dealing with marriage. Women were contractually obligated to remain with their husbands only, while their husbands were permitted to have a mistress or second wife. If a woman was caught with another man, she would be drowned (“The Code of Hammurabi”). Another thing that shows that women were not equal to men is the fact that they could be sold into slavery by their husbands at any time. Women did, however, have some rights such as the right to own property and the right to inherit and pass down that property. They also played very important roles in society. Some of these roles included shop owners, bakers, or scribes (Judge and Langdon,
The Early Preclassic Era is the time period when the beginnings of agriculture emerge in Maya culture. The earliest evidence of agricultural field burning and cultivation of maize along with other crops dates well before the beginning of the Early Preclassic period. Agriculture was already being practiced in some areas of Guatemala that were settled by distinctively Maya groups.
“The Social Construction of Gender” talks about gender as a concept created by society. In it, the author explains why society felt the need to create gender as a social institution and how gender is embedded into everyday life. The labeling of people as male or female is used by societies as a way of deciding who takes over which responsibilities and who does which tasks. The author of the article concludes that gender and gender inequality is created by society
Gender plays an important role in society. It points out men, women, their actions, and how they should behave according to society's perception
The idea that a woman’s job is to be a wife and mother is old-fashioned, but not completely out of style. Though these roles require a great deal of talent, resilience, patience, love, and strength, to name a few, they are often underestimated or depicted as simple. Especially in modern times, many women in the United States who stay home to raise a family are viewed as anti-feminists, whereas women in Latin America are not criticized for similar actions. In recent decades, more Latin American women have started to break the mold, daring to be both sexy, and successful in the workforce, while remaining pillars of domestic life.
Gender inequality is prevalent in all major societies. The way that I would describe gender inequality is the unequal and unfair treatment between the two sexes. Sex makes up the biological differences of male or female. While gender is learned through social interactions and behaviors applied to the sexes. As a result, from a very early age, we are taught to follow certain gender expectations. For this reason, I agree with the statement that inequality is the result of gendered systems in which we live. I will evaluate certain chapters by Michael Kimmel in his book Gendered Society, to help show how we use certain concepts learned from society to run our lives. In today’s society children are raised to be a certain gender and they are expected to perform certain gender roles.
Rosaldo, Michelle Zimbalist, “Woman, Culture, and Society: A Theoretical Overview”, in Lamphere, Louise & Rosaldo, Michelle Zimbalist, Ed. Woman, Culture, and Society. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press. 1974.
Gender stratification is the cuts across all aspects of social life and social classes. It refers to the inequality distribution of wealth, power and privilege between men and women at the basis of their sex. The world has been divided and organized by gender, which are the behavioural differences between men and women that are culturally learnt (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:218). The society is in fact historically shaped by males and the issue regarding the fact has been publicly reverberating through society for decades and now is still a debatably hot topic. Men and women have different roles and these sex roles, defined to be the set of behaviour’s and characteristics that are standard for each gender in a society (Singleton, 1987) are deemed to be proper in the eyes of the society. They are as a matter of fact proper but as time move on, the mind-set of women changes as well, women also want to move on. However the institutional stratification by the society has become more insidious that the stereotypical roles have created a huge barrier between men and women. These barriers has affected women in many aspects such as minimizing their access on a more superior position in workforce organization, limits their ownership of property and discriminates them from receiving better attention and care.
Gender inequality exists in any given society. In spite of the fact that gender is not as elementary as it may seem. Gender becomes an integral factor alongside various diverse angles, for example, sex, and sexual orientation and gender roles. Each of these points has a basic impact when discussing the particular social issues experienced by men and women. Gender is the socially learned practices that are connected to the genders, which make Gender Roles.
The United States, like all other societies, places women and men unequally at many different levels of social organization (Long). Gender inequality remains a major barrier to human development. Gender inequality refers to the unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals wholly or partly due to their gender. Gender is a primary marker of social and economic stratification. Gender inequality is a characteristic of most societies, with males on average having more and better opportunities in positions at social, economic and political hierarchies. Gender inequality exists in employment, politics, sports and even formal education. Gender socialization, gender stratification, social construction of gender,
Patriarchy is a social system in which families and societies are dominated by males as primary authority figures. Due to patriarchy, females have been disadvantaged in many aspects of life including employment, family life, crime, health, education and media. This has led sociologists to try and find out what causes gender inequality. Feminists would agree that patriarchy is the main cause of gender inequality, however, there are different strands of feminism and these different strands have different views. There are also other theorists, such as functionalists, Weberians and postmodernists who offer different views as to the causes of gender inequality.