Nisa: The life and Words of a !Kung Woman was written by an incredible anthropologist, Marjorie Shostak. While doing research and anthropological field-work in the Dobe regions of Africa, she studies women, Nisa, above all, who grabs her attention from the !Kung tribe. Marjorie Shostak does research and studies their culture, language, rituals, practices, and different aspects that make this specific culture so interesting to read about. The author narrates her interviews, observations, and analyses of the !Kung tribe from her field-work. Sexuality and the controls on sexual behavior are important aspects that Shostak describes as Nisa, a phenomenal woman in her culture experiences. One night, a couple from the village learned how to have …show more content…
The women are not required to wear certain garments to cover up and hide their female body parts; the girls are as free as the boys. Sexual play and behavior during their adolescent years are what women from this culture remember vividly. At first, younger children begin to play sexually with each other; by having the boys play with other boys and vice versa, the girls play with the girls. As they get a little older it switches to boys and girls playing sexually together. Often it consists of them poking and teasing genital contact. The boys are the main aggressive initiators of sexual play but, sex doesn’t occur until years later. Adults around see children playing like this, but do little to prevent it from happening. Although the parents do no approve it, ultimately; they don’t stop it because they too remember the years they experienced while growing up. It’s part of human nature and growing up. In their culture, the children know the difference between ‘good play’ and ‘bad play’. For example, Nisa was very hesitant at first playing sexually with the boys in the village. She saw how some girls would cry during sex, or even certain sexual behaviors of touching from boys kept her from playing with them. Nisa didn’t participate until later, meanwhile, she did watch. By watching she also learned. Women during their young years played with one another more than playing with the boys because it was known to be ‘bad play’, …show more content…
They play sexually, rubbing, poking each-others genitals until one day they are old enough to understand how to have sex. In their culture they don’t see premarital sex as a bad thing, but rather as a growing nature of human sexuality. Some girls married before they even had sex, but it wasn’t as common. Nisa had different experiences growing up than other girls had in her village, but she definitely did watch and learn the same things others experienced earlier. She is an incredible woman; who demonstrates the values, norms, and experiences of what women in her culture can go through. Sexuality and the controls of sexual behavior are just a part of growing up. As each child reaches their maturity, their curiosity, as well as understanding; they explore their sexuality with one
In the rough and tropical island of Papua New Guinea, lived an exceptional aggregation of individuals called, The Gebusi. In the 1980's, The Gebusi tribe was anything besides up to date and acculturated. The Gebusi had their own particular singular and special customs and conventions that they rehearsed and accompanied. The Gebusi tribe took part in custom homosexuality, divination or witchcraft was exceedingly respected and polished, and they partook in particular sister-trade relational unions. By 1998-99, The Gebusi tribe had made another lifestyle. The Gebusi had gotten accustomed with new social convictions, modernization due to “western ways” that had changed their lives until the end of time especially changing their ways and view on gender roles and sexuality.
In the book, “Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman,” written by Marjorie Shostak; is a culturally shocking and extremely touching book about a woman who had gone through many struggles and horrific tragedies in her life. This book also emphasizes the perspective of most of the women in the society. There are many striking issues in this book that the people of the !Kung tribe go through.
When the authors begin to discuss these children as being sexual individuals it make its somewhat difficult to read as in society we often view children as innocent, vulnerable and in need of protection from adults. However the authors make it clear that children are not asexual, they do experience arousal and engage in sexual practices. This from of adult understanding still remains taboo in s...
“The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality, and Change in Papua New Guinea” is a book written by Gilbert Herdt. It is based on a case study Herdt did during the 1970’s of the culture of the Sambia people. His study took place in Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. He didn’t know much about their language, however through out his time there he was able to learn their language and customs. As he settled into their village, he mostly slept in the clubhouse with the other Nilangu villagers; however, eventually they built a house for him to stay at. Herdt had a great interest in gaining new knowledge about the Sambia culture.
The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan Spence is an educational historical novel of northeastern China during the seventeenth century. The author's focus was to enlighten a reader on the Chinese people, culture, and traditions. Spence's use of the provoking stories of the Chinese county T'an-ch'eng, in the province of Shantung, brings the reader directly into the course of Chinese history. The use of the sources available to Spence, such as the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the scholar-official Huang Liu-hung's handbook and stories of the writer P'u Sung-Ling convey the reader directly into the lives of poor farmers, their workers and wives. The intriguing structure of The Death of Woman Wang consists on observing these people working on the land, their family structure, and their local conflicts.
Yellow Woman and the story of an hour by Kate Choplin have some feminist themes in common. Silko and Mrs. Mallard exhibited Characteristics that conflicted with their natural roles in life. They seemed to be confined by their marriage. With prospects of not being married again, they exhibited feelings of freedom and exhilaration instead of unhappiness.
The center of discussion and analysis about the sex/gender system focus on the differences between African, European and Creole Women. The sex/gender system describe by Morgan focus on their production, body and kinship. European women are seen as domestic, African women’s work overlaps between agricultural and pastoral. They’ll work in the field non-stop, even after giving birth. African women hold knowledge about the pastoral and agricultural work “in the planting and cultivation of fields the daily task of a good Negro Woman” (145). While Creole women were subordinated, with the job of produce and reproduce. When it came to body, European women’s bodies were seeing as fragile. After birth the rest for a while before they could stand back again or return to their activities “European observers believed the post-delivery period of abstinence lasted three months, and others commented up two- to three year period o...
The time period from “Girl” portrays how women were treated and forced to act when they were raised as oppose of young boys. Through out the story we understand that young ladies were forced to learn how do domestic duties from a very young age. An example of this is” this is how you sew on a button…this
The Joy Luck Club is the telling of a tale of struggle by four mothers and their four daughters trying to understand the issue of gender identity, how they each discover or lose their sense of self and what they mean to one another. Throughout the book each of the mothers works hard at teaching their daughters the virtues of Chinese wisdom while allowing the opportunities of American life. They try passing on a piece of themselves despite the great barriers that are built between the women. Each of the stories gives a wonderful glimpse into the Chinese culture and heritage that the mothers are trying to reveal to their daughters through the use of festivals, food dishes, marriage ceremonies, and the raising of children, essentially their past experiences.
By any measure, The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong, known as Hanjungnok (Records written in silence), is a remarkable piece of Korean literature and an invaluable historical document, in which a Korean woman narrated an event that can be described as the ultimate male power rivalry surrounding a father-son conflict that culminates in her husband’s death. However, the Memoirs were much more than a political and historical murder mystery; writing this memoir was her way of seeking forgiveness. As Haboush pointed out in her informative Introduction, Lady Hyegyong experienced a conflict herself between the demands imposed by the roles that came with her marriage, each of which included both public and private aspects. We see that Lady Hyegyong justified her decision to live as choosing the most public of her duties, and she decided that for her and other members of her family must to be judged fairly, which required an accurate understanding of the her husband’s death. It was also important to understand that Lady Hyegyong had to endure the
In Margaret Atwood’s personal essay “Ka-Ching”, she achieves a nostalgic tone by writing informally, in a personal tone, by describing her challenges at the time in detail while rarely speaking of her successes and ending off the essay with a positive twist. Margaret begins to set a nostalgic tone in her personal essay by beginning with an introduction in which she speaks fondly of her previous jobs in an informal manner which creates a connection between the reader and Margaret in her past. She speaks informally of her previous jobs because she writes in the first person when she writes “I’ll pass over...I mean…..I was entirely unsuited”. She also uses expressions such as “I’ll pass over” and “mini-jobs” which demonstrate to the reader that
The book goes on and discusses the health risks that are involved in the practice. It talks about how the women who perform the surgery have a minimal knowledge of anatomy and hygiene, which results in infections of the genital and often results in the transmission of the HIV virus. Besides the initial pain of the operation, these girls also suffer long-term physiological, sexual and psychological effects. A mother reveals that she would stop the pain and betrayal if she could but because of tradition, she and others would risk banishment, torture and abuse.
“Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” is an excerpt from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua, a Yale Law professor. In this excerpt the author explains why Chinese children tend to be more successful in life and expresses her dislike towards Western parenting. The first idea Chua explains is a list of activities her daughters are allowed to do and not do in order to focus solely on academic progress. Second, the author demonstrates the contrast in mindset between Chinese mothers and Western mothers by explaining how Chinese mothers feel differently than Western mothers in regards to academic success and learning. Furthermore, she describes how Chinese mothers can demand things from their children. Finally, they can also say
Concepts of virginity can been seen in all aspects of life, from movies, to books, to even religion. This wide-reaching topic has created many controversies and opinions worldwide. So what exactly is virginity? A person, whether a male or female, is believed to be a virgin, when he or she has not engaged in coitus. However, the value of one’s virginity differs depending on location and a culture’s religion. The perception of virginity also differs depending on gender. In females, virginity has been associated with purity, honor, and worth, whereas virginity in males is often pictured as a “conquest”. Virginity is a subject filled with issues of morality, religion, culture, and gender stereotypes.
The lack of agreement about children’s sexual education in Muslim societies forces us to explore different aspects of this topic systematically (Merghati-khoei, 2013). Parents said they were neither ready nor qualified to educate their children about sexuality. A majority of mothers raised’ ‘inability’’ as an important resolve their own parent–child interactions. Children are viewed as sexually innocent and numerous members of these societies are worried that children will become sexually active as a consequence of education (Orgocka, 2004). Sexology, and pediatric fields point out that sexuality-related awareness does not cause inappropriate behaviors among children, but unawareness does (Orgocka, 2004). Many mutual religious teachings lead to women feeling awkward about discussing sexually related knowledge with their children even though it can be said that the Holy Quran underlined the value of pursuing and gaining knowledge (Eidhamar