Archive | May 2017

Artifact 3: Igbo of Nigeria

May30

My culture for this artifact are the Igbo people of Nigeria. This is a bilinear l(or bilateral) culture but not in the traditional manner.The two main areas of focus in Igbo culture are the trade/finances, and home life/home owning. This may sound fairly typical and you are most likely already assigning genders to each of those roles. However, in this culture, the women run the trade and finances while the men are the primary land owners and grounds keepers.

I found this shocking. This financial responsibility gives women a type of independence that is not seen in most other parts of the world. Not only are the women the face of organizing transactions, but they are responsible for the cultivation of the agriculture. The only part men participate in is the planting of the rice, their staple food. This female responsibility allows them to interact with people from other cultures, but most importantly it allows them to have their own personal money instead of relying on the men. This being said, the men are the primary owners of all land and homes. This does not seem to be a system that upsets the women of the Igbo tribe.

The independence demonstrated in the Igbo tribe is similar to the Mosuo Culture of China. Chinese culture is typically known for being Patrilneal (male dominant) but the Mosuo culture is considered to be a “Woman’s paradise.” Unlike main land Chinese culture, the women are in complete control of their finances and personal life. Because this culture does not believe in marriage each individual is responsible for making their own money. This is similar to the Igbo where women handle the money in the family. Unlike the Igbo however, women in Mosuo practice walking marriages. This is where a different man can come to the woman’s bed at night and it is her choice if she wants him to stay. They say this is based off of love they are just avoiding the forced dependence on one another. These are some differences and similarities between the two cultures.

Something else that I found interesting between the two genders in the Igbo culture was their separation in government. Unlike the male dominated political world in the USA, the Igbo have two entirely separate “house”. There is one “house” specifically for the men, and one for the women. Each of these two “houses” only deals with law in regards to their own sex. Within the two “houses” the members are separated into three groups. The highest of which is are the elders of the community. It is the elders who hand down punishments and decide who is guilty.  This purpose of this system is to allow both genders to be heard equally. While I believe that it would be ideal for both sexes to work together this is a step in the right direction compared to the biased male persecution of women in third world countries.

Artifact 2: Fa’afafine, Samoa

May24

 

Fa’afafine is the third gender in Samoan culture. Oddly enough this is not something that is always chosen by the individual. Samoan culture focuses on dividing labor based off of gender. There are particular jobs that are exclusively male and exclusively female. That being said, when this role isn’t filled by a daughter the mother can become overwhelmed by the work load. This sometimes results in the mother selecting a son to raise as Fa’afafine. This was the case of one man in the film. He was raised as Fa’afafine but did not feel that that is how he best identified.  He did not possess the “spirit” that is this third gender.

Being forcibly raised this way was something that still haunts him. He experienced bullying and harassment as a child for the way he was raised.  He shares terrible memories of people tying him up and beating him, or pulling his pants down and mocking him. This harassment forced him to try to prove his masculinity to the public. This was one negative example of the Fa’afafine.

The other two men featured in the film chose to live their lives as Fa’afafine. They both stated that the cultural acceptance has drastically increased and gotten better.  While there are still challenges they appreciate the progress that has been made. I was not able to find much information on if  the country itself recognizes this third gender legally but they do have events such as the “Ms. Fa’afafine” pageant which is attended  by massive grounds. 

Artifact 1: Sex v Gender

May24

“Sex” refers to the physical parts and chromosomes an individual is born with. This is their biological and physical makeup. “Gender” refers to what the individual associates with and how they identify themselves. This is based off of both an emotional and an internal feeling that no one can label or define in any textbook.  As young children we are surrounded by tons of stereotypical gender specific toys, clothes, and games. It is these types of things that constrict and mold the minds of young children’s identities’. It is because of these that children feel the pressure to behave and believe a certain way.

As a little girl I was never surrounded by just dolls and the color pink. Don’t get me wrong, there was pink in my bedroom. But there was also blue, yellow, green, and whatever other color my parents happened to like at the moment. I never experienced the gender molding that we see so prevalent in today’s society. My younger sister preferred GI Joes to Barbies. Instead of denying what she naturally wanted, they welcomed her preferences and allowed her to play with whatever toys she wanted. They were very understanding. Unfortunately this is not something that is considered to be a “norm” in today’s society.

What many people do not realize is that actions like those unintentionally  cause confusion in a plethora of individuals. On the PowerPoint from class there was a satirical book that distinguished the expected roles between boys and girls. The differences included things such as boys being doctors while girls had to be nurses. They even mentioned the stereotypical belief that girls only wear pink and boys only wear blue. We were given a “gender bread man” in class on the first day. On this diagram were some of the various ways a person can identify. This included both emotional attraction and physical.  What caught my attention were the various ways a person can identify and feel. It shocked me!  It got me thinking, It is because our culture has built certain stereotypes that society struggles to accept these different feelings. That is one of the largest negative implications that spurs from our gender expectations.