Cross Cultural Sex Roles

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Cross Cultural Sex Roles

It has been proven that the roles that men and women play in society

are based upon many different social factors. A mere look at other

cultures proves that sexual identity cannot solely be determined

through a person's biological genes. If this were true, the

characteristics defining men and women would be uniform, however a

glance at the Sambia and Arapesh tribes of New Guinea reveal that the

roles of men and women in separate cultures can be strikingly

different. The roles that the men and women in these two tribes play

are engrained in them at an early age. Whether it is the raising of

children or the status of women in the tribe, these two cultures

contrast each other and prove that much of the attributes associated

with a particular gender are based on the traditions of the people.

The tribe of Sambia numbers roughly 2300 in population and is located

near the Papuan border of New Guinea. They are simple people who live

through gardening, done by women, and hunting, executed by men. Their

structure is very patriarchal and "descent is ideally organized on the

basis of patriliny" (Herdt 54). The division of labor and duties is

very clearly defined and "ritual taboos forbids men and women from

doing each other's tasks in hunting and gathering" (55). The reason

the division of jobs is so important to the people probably pertains

to the inferior status they place women in. It is most likely

forbidden for a man to garden because then he would be de-elevating

himself to a woman's position in the tribe. The relationships between

men and women in the Sambia tribe are tainted with this view that

women are inf...

... middle of paper ...

...ildren and the gender

roles these children should play. While one encourages aggressive men,

the other promotes passiveness. This is a strong indication of the

power that society has to influence people. The roles of men and women

are clearly shaped by the traditions and customs of society, as well

as the biological attributes that come with men and women.

Bibliography

Gilbert Herdt, and Robert J. Stoller

1990 Intimate Communications:Erotics and the Study of Culture.

Columbia University Press

Mimica, Jadran

2001 "Sambia Sex Cultures: Essays From the Field," Australian Journal

of Anthropology. Vol. 12.

Mead, Margaret

1963 Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies. William Morrow

and Company. New York.

Roscoe, Paul B.

1994 "Arapesh-Social Life and Cultures,"Ethnology. Vol. 33.

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