Gender Importance of the Anthropologist of Ethnography
What importance may the sex of the anthropologist have on the
ethnographic process?
There are many factors which can influence the ethnographic process
for an anthropologist, and a very important one is his/her sex. This
essay will examine the different attitudes towards sex, the problems
that face all ethnographers when they embark on fieldwork in a
different environment to their own, as well as the problems and
benefits which can arise due to the sex of an anthropologist.
In order to produce a written work about a certain culture or society
(an ethnography, anthropologists must embark on what is known as the
ethnographic process". This term refers to all of the various
activities and research methods which the anthropologist must
undertake if he/she wants to obtain a profound and objective
understanding of the culture being studied. This process can involve
the method of participant observation, which is the long-term, extreme
interaction with a community and involves the inclusion of the
anthropologist in the day-to-day life of the society, including the
attendance of the anthropologist at rituals, ceremonies etc.. The
ethnographic process also involves the anthropologist expressing the
feelings that he/she has experienced during the course of the
fieldwork, and the relations which they might have built with certain
members of the community so that the readers of the ethnography can
have a deeper understanding of the culture being studied.
However, the above mentioned factors can easily be affected by the sex
of the anthropologist. The word sex refers to the biological category
into which a person is born; either male or female" but although the
term refers only to the physical appearance of a person, the extremely
diverse biological and psychological differences between the two sexes
have led to there being a male-female a division and a "gender
hierarchy" existing in virtually all societies. This can bring about
both benefits and problems to the anthropologist, and this is what
will be examined in this essay.
When conducting fieldwork in a different environment, there are many
Robbins Burling, David F. Armstrong, Ben G. Blount, Catherine A. Callaghan, Mary Lecron Foster, Barbara J. King, Sue Taylor Parker, Osamu Sakura, William C. Stokoe, Ron Wallace, Joel Wallman, A. Whiten, Sherman Wilcox and Thomas Wynn. Current Anthropology, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Feb., 1993), pp. 25-53
Gender indicates to the conventional psychological, social and representational differences between men and woman, which are socially determined and culturally interchangeable (Howson: 2004. 40). The conceptualisation of gender is aimed at presenting how
In today’s society it is greatly viewed that women are to behave, wear, do what a “woman” does and men are viewed to do what society views as what a “man” should do. All of these views are views that we as a society and the media place on our worldly population. These views ultimately creating what we now call “gender roles” or “gender differences”. When discussing this sociological issue of gender roles and/or differences an article titled “Girl Brain, Boy Brain?” written by Lisa Eliot can be reviewed. When doing this there are five theories that should be analyzed in the findings. These theories are: functionalism, conflict, symbolic interactionalism, feminism and lastly, post modernism. Each of these theories based on the article “Girl Brain, Boy Brain?” will help break down this sociological issue of gender.
One of the major advantages of participant observation is the ability of the anthropologist to gain access to events, locations and intimate situations where outside observers would not be allowed. DeMunk and Sobo (1998) describe some benefits of the observation method over alternative methods of anthropological data collection including the fact that it allows admission to the “backstage culture” (DeMunk and Sobo 1998 p.43), it allows for intimately detailed description, and provides the anthropologist with opportunities to be a part of all events. DeWalt and DeWalt (2002 p.92) also suggest that it increases the quality of the data that has been collected and the interpretation of the anthropologist, as well as analysis of that data and assisting in the development of new research questions and hypotheses. However, DeMunk and Sobo (1998) also address some disadvantages of using the particip...
The social environment, in which individuals are born into, influences language, thinking, and behavior. Culture is an influential determinant that shapes individual’s emotional and behavioral reactions to the world around them. The culture that one develops into alters their perception of the world. The perception of roles based on gender is contingent on the environment. Helgeson defined gender roles as the “role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms”( Helgeson, V. S. 2012). This paper addresses the topic of multiple genders and the associated roles within various cultures.
Gender roles, are viewed as masculine and feminine in civilized societies, it is socialist created through behavior, bodily functions, and qualities that govern human beings. However, societal norms are essential for survival in any culture around the world. As a result, gender roles in a primitive society are inherent in the necessity of the existence of one culture. In addition, the dynamic of gender roles creates the illusion of the men being in charge of the society, and responsible to propagate their value.
Question: Misunderstandings between the anthropologists and the people whose ways of life he/she is attempting to understand are often the most revealing moments of fieldwork. Discuss one or two of Bowen’s mistakes and explore what they told her about the Tiv and herself.
Every day, whether it is through our families, classes, churches, regional location, workplace, or the media we obtain unique views on how we feel the world should work in politics. Personally, during my lifetime these factors of political socialization, or the process of becoming politically aware, have led me to become a very liberal person for the majority of political issues. There is one view of mine that tends to lean toward the conservative side, but other than that from abortion to welfare I have a liberal ideology. My experiences with my close-knit family, conservative population at school, and the media are the largest influences that have shaped me into who I am today, and why I have these strong views on economic and social
I was breaking the rules as I texted all throughout geometry. I anxiously awaited a response from my sister, MaryGrace, saying everything went well. After multiple “We’re not sure yet.” and “She’s still in the operating room.” texts, I was an uncle. It was February 28th, 2016. Just like that, at 15 years old, I became what most people aren’t until much later in life.
In the beginning, individuals used the role of women and men in religion to determine how men and women should treat one another and their roles in society. In the late 1800s, scientific advancements began causing individuals to rely more on science to understand the different behaviors between men and women. Since then there has been a significant increase of individuals wanting to know if the differences in the brains of men and women were the reason for behavioral differences throughout the sex. Today there are many different outlooks on what causes the differences in behavior between the sexes. The socialization theory states that an individual’s gender behavior is based on their interactions with the environment
In 1926, Mead began a career at the American Museum of natural History in New York, as an assistant curator. In 1942, she was advanced to associate curator and a full fledge curator in 1961. In 1969, “she was awarded curator emeritus. Her time at the museum culminated with a display of her own work in 1971” (Flaherty 2002, 3). The fact remains that Mead will not be forgotten and she has continued to be a role-model to many prospective and current anthropologist and scholars in the social science field. One od Mead’s most popular research includes a “propose that masculine and feminine characteristics reflected cultural conditioning (or socialization) not fundamental biological differences” (Flaherty 2002, 3). Hence, in the year 1933, Mead discovered that “human nature is malleable” at a camp in Kenakatem (Flaherty 2002). This thought occurred due to Mead witnessing three cultures, the Arapesh, Mundugumor and the Tchambuli. Mead realized that “each culture displayed different gender role qualities. In one culture both the women and men were cooperative, in the second they were both ruthless and aggressive, and in the Thambuli culture the women were dominant and the men more submissive” (Flaherty 2002, 4). As a result, Mead decided to publish an article entitle, Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies, in 1935 and explored the “subject more deeply in the next decade with Male and Female
We employ a social networks perspective to answer our primary research question: does gender matter in the academic profession of sociology? Our empirical approach focuses on how the gender composition of a core group of people who provide instrumental support to scholars in the field of sociology has evolved over time. Rather than drawing attention to simply whether the presence of women is disproportionately small in the field, we seek to understand whether there are differences in the relative influence exerted by men and women within the profession of sociology- that is, we focus not on the exclusion of women but rather on how women are included in the communal process of providing feedback. In academia, where the reputation of scholars
The traditional biological understandings of sex and gender create a binary concept mainly in the Western culture by having two strictly fixed options of male or female. This binary notion of gender and sex was put to the test by both Anne Fausto-Sterling and Oyeronke Oyewumi. Sterling argues that rather than just two separate ends, biological gender occurs across a continuum of possibilities. This spectrum of anatomical deviation by itself should be enough to disregard the simplistic notion of only two genders. Oyewumi acknowledges that there is a binary in a Western culture, but does not agree that this idea is universal. She goes on to say that biological determinism in the west is the "conception that biology provides the rationale for the organization of the social world...thus cultural logic is bio-logic". (Oyewumi 2006:544) The critiques by these two authors will provide an understanding of why gender and sex do not only have a binary definition.
1. It is important to note, however, that heteronormativity is relative to the time period and culture which is under analysis, as some cultures have different renditions of gender and gender appropriations; for example the Polynesians and the concept ...
Society plays a vital role on how gender, sex, gender identity is viewed and it also influence gender norms and gender development. Society learn their culture through enculturation. Enculturation is the process where an individual learn their group culture either through experience, observation or as we know from history through force. The intriguing aspects of enculturation is how we humans learn or acquire knowledge. Society creates their norms and if you don’t follow them you become a castaway or outcast. Gender is the range of characteristics/behaviors that society or cultures portray as masculine or feminine. Gender has nothing to do with your sexual organ which is your sex, your chromosomes, or your