Expert answer:Cultural Anthropology part 2
Solved by verified expert:db replies
lesson_7_replies.docx
Unformatted Attachment Preview
DB replies
3-4 sentences ☺
Genders in Native Americans, Americans, and Russians
Collapse
While there are more than two different genders, the male and female gender seem to be the most
well-known and most common among many cultures including our own. Those of the male
gender are most often the highest among the social status ladder having more political or social
power than any other gender while women follow behind. While the concept of genders outside
of male and female is becoming more accepted among our culture many still strongly argue that
there are only two genders, believing that anyone who identifies as any other gender other than
the one given at birth, otherwise known as cisgender, has some sort of mental disability or is
naïve. Many people ridicule the idea and accuse the social media website Tumblr for starting the
whole idea when the concept has actually existed much before Tumblr even existed—although it
did popularize it for better or worse.
In the text, “The Berdache Tradition” we see that Native Americans have males, females,
and berache. As Williams describes it, “a berdache can be defined as a morphological male who
does not fill a society’s standard man’s role, who has a nonmasculine character.” Just like how
males and females a variety of social roles a berdache also have their own, a small amount of
women’s work along with feminine behavior and apparel. They are not seen as men nor are they
seen as women either. They continue their life as just another individual, another Native
America. On the other hand, those who try to remove the gender given to them based on certain
spiritual actions will have a very difficult time
Berdaches are believed to be a white buffalo calf. A male who dreams of the sacred
Double Women will not only be able to seduce men but they will also be given females tools.
Taking such tools will solidify themselves as a berdache. While receiving such titles is quite
simple, trying to resist them is rather difficult. Those who receive titles must stick with them for
the rest of their life or will die trying. As opposed to this, Americans have more flexibility in
terms of what gender they wish to go by, whether or not their peers accept such change and
address them accordingly is a different story.
As for cisgenders among America and Russia, the typical pattern of males having most
power is present in some areas more than others. In the short documentary, “Russia: Moscow’s
Sex and the City” women and men have much similar roles to what we have in America. While
women in both countries are generally able to work the same jobs and men, men generally have
greater opportunities and are seen to be more independent. The women in the documentary who
wish to peruse their own career seem to be some sort of exception to the status quo, telling us
that a female being as self-sufficient as a male is taboo.
7 hours ago
Joleen Piser
Gender Roles
Collapse
Being different in the a society has it’s challenges. Life is full of confusion and people are
simply trying to find their place in the world. But what happens if your true identity differs from
the cultural expectation? This is what was explored in the articles and videos of this week’s
lesson. Interestingly enough, the Native Americans seem to have had the best handle of these
sort of things centuries ago. For many Native American cultures, being two spirited, or having
both the spirit of a man and woman, was not only accepted, but revered. The difference being
mostly religious in nature. In the religions of the Native American tribes, although they differed
from tribe to tribe, they all seemed to be based on nature and how the spirits are all connected.
They were a peoples that lived in unison with the earth rather than fighting nature. Because of
this, they had blurred lines where western cultures have black and white. They believed that
everything in nature had a purpose and a place and should be respected. This included the two
spirited people. They were given their place in nature because their spirits were supposed to be
that way. It is unfortunate that with colonization and the loss of some of their customs, the
Native American people have been taught the beliefs of the Europeans, and as time has gone by
they have lost some of their acceptance of the two spirited people. The two spirited people are
not necessarily homosexual, it is even taboo for two of them to have sexual relations. It is also
said that a man that lies with a two spirited man is not gay or a woman that lies with a two
spirited woman is not gay. They are considered another gender altogether, taking on roles of both
male and female. They also are said to have insight because they can think like a man and a
woman, seeing both sides.
Another culture that was discussed were the Indian people. In their culture it is better to have
male heirs to carry on the family matters and take care of the parents when they become old.
When a girl is born it is expected that the parents pay the groom’s family a dowry and often times
continue to pay even after the marriage. In Indian society, women are still a lower class than the
men and therefore working women are rare, and often make less money. Because of this, they
are less likely to get a good education. Having a girl is more of a financial burden in their society
and many parents would rather not go through with the pregnancy. Even affluent Indian women
do not want female babies because of the social stigma associated with having too many girls. It
is also frowned upon to have too many children in such a growing population. Abortion based on
sex of the child is a real problem in India. Although it has been outlawed, it still takes place
frequently leading to a massive shortage of women in the growing population. If this continues,
the men will have no wives to marry and have families with.
In our American culture, gender roles are less of an issue than in other areas of the world.
Women have opportunities to become educated and join the workforce. While there are still male
dominated fields, women are starting to make their way into them. Gender roles still exist in the
household for many people though. It has always been the cultural normal for the women to do
the household chores and to do the majority of the upbringing of the children. These expectations
persist although the woman may be working. The average working woman may still cook dinner,
clean the house, do the laundry, and take care of the kids. I think that this is a product of how
people are raised and what they are exposed to. If a little girl grew up in a household where her
mother did the household duties and taught her to do them, she may automatically assume that
role. On the other hand if a little boy grew up with a mother who did the household duties and
never taught him to do so, he may never assume that role. As an adult, it is overall our
responsibility to decide what our role is in our household and where we choose to work. It is also
our duty to educate the next generation of how they can act in regards to gender roles. In our
society we are lucky enough to have the ability to choose where we work, to change our situation
through training, education, and hard-work and if we are unhappy with the policies or the gender
roles we can take another position somewhere we can be happier. We also have the right to
choose who we share our houses with and consequently who we have families with. The problem
will only continue as long as we let it. I know that I am lucky enough to work in a position that is
an equal opportunity to my male counterparts, as well as to be in a relationship where the
household duties are split not by our gender, but by who has the time or energy to do the task.
However there are some cultural norms that I do not see changing in the near future. For example
a man being considered a gentleman when he opens a door for his date, but what is different is he
is not always expected to pay.
While all societies have their gender roles, and gender identification differences, it would be a
much happier world if everyone were just accepting of one another as humans rather than by a
qualifier. It should not matter whether you are a man, woman, two-spirit, Black, White, Asian,
Mexican, gay. lesbian, tall, short, bald, fat, skinny, ugly or beautiful, the Navajo had it right,
everything has a place in nature.
…
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
How it works
- Paste your instructions in the instructions box. You can also attach an instructions file
- Select the writer category, deadline, education level and review the instructions
- Make a payment for the order to be assignment to a writer
- Download the paper after the writer uploads it
Will the writer plagiarize my essay?
You will get a plagiarism-free paper and you can get an originality report upon request.
Is this service safe?
All the personal information is confidential and we have 100% safe payment methods. We also guarantee good grades