HSP3M – Identities

HSP3M Grade 11 Anthropology – Identities Culture and Identity Gender and Culture ● sex and gender isn’t the same thing ○ sex is biological characteristics (XX/XY chromosomes, genitals etc.) ○ gender is culturally constructed (what it means to be male/female is defined by the culture/society) ● gender is culturally constructed through: ○ symbols associated with gender (specific clothing) ○ values of gender (are males and females equal) ○ behavioral (how should males behave? how should females) Female Identity and Culture ● Many women base their decisions on expectations and seek to live up to the culturally prescribed ideals of their gender. ○ ex: Western culture, women are more nurturing and caring than men Body Image in Niger ● body image is the most variable way that we construct our sense of self ● in Canada (and other Western nations) the ideal body for women is tall and thin ● body image is culturally constructed, the ideal body shape varies between cultures ● Niger is located in the desert of the Arabs (south of Algeria and Nigeria) ○ This society (like the rest of Western and Central Sahara) deliberately pursues and celebrates the overweight female body. ○ women try to become and continue being fat ■ when they step on a scale at the doctors, they carry their purse/shall to weight them down ■ girls eat a porridge of millet and milk ■ after puberty and in early marriage, they eat a dry couscous (to maintain fat) ■ stretch marks are desired (they’re sung in love songs)—they believe anyone can get stretch marks on the stomach; but stretch marks on the arms and legs is a real achievement ○ when researcher Rebecca Papenoe studied them, the Niger women preferred not to talk about their fat ■ they didn’t want to be looked down upon by a westerner ■ fat was a sexual and desire topic—their society was very restrictive on sex ● fat is ideal in certain cultures as it represented status, wealth and reproduction (being fat = eating food = money) Male Identity and Culture ● what it means to be a man (and how masculinity is defined) varies across cultures ● In Canada, gender roles are shifting. Whereas formerly it was believed that women looked after the children, many males now are being obliged to shoulder greater responsibility (because women are in the workforce now) ● masculinity caries across cultures: in some hunting is masculine (Philippines, woman hunts); in others writing poetry is (Western— romantic); in others wearing a skirt is (Scotland, Morocco, Greece etc.) ○ in our western culture, some dances are more masculine than others (hip-hop vs. ballet) ○ in some cultures like the Aboriginal, dancing is thought of as manly (women don’t do it) ● certain foods can affect masculinity as well—in Mexico, sea turtle eggs are believed to increase sexual potency in men Alternate-Gender Identity ● People who identify as third gender may be homosexual, transgendered, or intersex (having both male and female features) (likening someone of the same sex) ● in western culture we determine gender through biology ○ many other cultures recognize third gender identities (South Asian, African, Polynesian, Native American) ■ When Europeans first came to North America, they forced Western ideas of gender and sexuality upon Aboriginal civilizations, which resulted in the loss of much of the indigenous culture and the subsequent discrimination and violence encountered by transgender people. ● Aboriginals have embraced the phrase "two-spirited" to describe Aboriginal persons of alternate gender as part of a drive to recover their customs. ○ features of two-spirited people in Aboriginal groups: ■ occupation (do work of opposite gender) ■ transvestism (dress opposite sex or both sexes) ■ spiritual power (possession of special powers) ■ same-sex relations (formed sexual and emotional bonds with members of the same sex who weren’t part of a third gender) ● Anthropologists have discovered that communities that are less concerned with population increase and upkeep are more accepting of gender roles that are fluid (most of the time) ○ Siwan (of North Africa) and Etoro (of New Guinea) are more in favor of homosexuality than heterosexuality ■ in Etoro, being straight is illegal for 260 days a year Pink Shirt Day ● in Cambridge, Nova Scotia in 2007, a Gr. 9 boy work a pink polo shirt on the first day of school and was bullied (was threatened and called homosexual) ○ 2 grade 12 students decided to take action—they bought 50 pink shirts and emailed everyone to wear pink the next day in support of the Gr. 9 ■ belief: get more people to be against homosexuality hatred ○ the next day (second day of school), almost the entire school was in pink; the Gr. 9 student wasn’t ever bullied again ● Schools encourage students to wear pink on one day to show their support for the fight against bullying and prejudice. Pink shirt day has become a worldwide craze.