Week 2- Sex and Gender Part II (Sexuality).pdf

Week 2- Sex and Gender Part II Anthropology 1AA3 January 18, 2024 Beatrice Fletcher What are we covering this lecture? Recap: DSDs How and why do bioarchaeologists “sex” skeletons Sex vs. Sexuality How and why do anthropologists study sexuality? Assignment #1 Guidelines Recall: Differences in Sexual...

Week 2- Sex and Gender Part II Anthropology 1AA3 January 18, 2024 Beatrice Fletcher What are we covering this lecture? Recap: DSDs How and why do bioarchaeologists “sex” skeletons Sex vs. Sexuality How and why do anthropologists study sexuality? Assignment #1 Guidelines Recall: Differences in Sexual Development More Hormones Hormones ? ? Chromosomes Regulatory Genes Receptors ? Sex and Biological Anthropologists Estimating Sex in Biological Anthropology/ Bioarchaeology Estimating Sex in Biological Anthropology/Archaeology Female Male Why Estimate Sex? The body we inhabit often influence how we are perceived and treated in social systems Estimating sex is a way of building a fuller more dynamic understanding of deceased individuals https://www.theguardian.com/scien ce/2022/jan/16/archaeology-sexualrevolution-bones-sex-dna-birkalovers Sexuality Sex is an important aspect of human social behaviour All societies have some rules governing “proper” conduct, but what that conduct is varies Examples: Premarital sex: Trobriand Islanders and Samoans; most societies have an incest taboo, although this varies in meaning and form (eg. under Marriage Act in Canada, an individual is prohibited from marrying their brother or sister (full or half), children, grandparents, parents. Sex is often understood and practices outside of the framework of reproduction (p.100) Sexual Behaviour What constitutes sexual behaviour may vary Some practices include Kissing Foreplay Oral Sex Anal Contact Face to face vs. other positions Sexual Practices Vary Ex. permissiveness/restrictiveness These are norms of when, how often, and with whom sexual activities are permitted Mead established that adolescents of all genders had premarital sex in Samoa (1930’s) Contemporary N. America Purity pledges Hook-up culture Margaret Mead An early pioneer of participant-observation fieldwork Lived in Samoa and interviewed and observed young women to gain insight into sexuality and the coming-of-age process Found that many Samoan adolescents, particularly girls were promiscuous Characterized Samoan society as one with more sexual freedom when compared to American culture Mead vs. Freeman Derek Freeman criticized Mead for her for a lack of scientific rigour in her research He also noted that his own fieldwork presented evidence that Mead had been lied to by her interlocutors Freeman claimed that Mead took statements meant as jokes to be truths Aka Hewlett & Hewlett report that the rainforest Aka people referred to sex entirely in the context of reproduction. (Work, but pleasurable work.) The Hewletts’ informants stated that they were unfamiliar with masturbation and same-sex sexual activity Sexual Behaviour and Practice Outside of the Cis/Het “norm” You are likely familiar with lesbian, gay, and bisexual relationships among people of all genders Same sex and nonbinary sexual behaviour is present in many different cultures and in non-human species Same-sex and other non-hetero sexual relationships may have social or ritual meanings outside of conventional romantic or domestic relationships Same-sex practices in “Making Men” Examples from the text: Ethnic groups from Papua New Guinea & Island Oceania: “Sambia, Etoro, Keraki Boys engage in sexual practices with adult men as part of a manhood initation Explained as a way to “make” boys into men, erase the feminizing influence of women More frequent in societies with marked sex segregation Same-sex practices in “Making Men” Classical Greece (mythology and history) Adult men, mentoring adolescent boys in social and sexual adulthood Prominent in military mythologies (eg. Theban 300; Achilles and Patroclus) Binary Subverting Sexualities Travestis, people assigned male & self-identify as “feminine” (viado) Use female pronouns, engage in body modification, prefer heterosexual partners Do not consider themselves “women” or “men” Sexual identity is role-specific: defined by who penetrates (the man), and who is penetrated (the non-man, woman or viado) Where are the Queer Women? Notice: your textbook has very little to say about women’s sexuality, especially same-sex & nonbinary practices. Why might this be? Summary Default framing of sexual relationships as cisgender, heterosexual, and reproductive is heteronormative and not supported by cross-cultural examples. Sexual behaviour is often not: Reproductive Domestic Monogamous Private Romantic (that framing is culturally specific) Assignment #1 Assignment #1 Guidelines Due Date: March 1st, 2024, 11:59pm via A2L Dropbox Deconstructed Essay Please follow the template Instructions and Rubric to be found on A2L under Key Course Documents Assignment #1 FAQs: Thesis Statement Thesis statements are the cornerstone of research papers/ assessments These statements provide the answer to the prompt Thesis statements are NOT: Restatements of the research question Signposts/promises for what your paper will argue Universal or non-contentious statements Thesis statements ARE: Concise Usually found at the end of an essay introduction Summaries of the central point or argument Sample Thesis Statement Question: How might an anthropologist think about gender discrimination in medicine? Thesis: Anthropological studies have highlighted multiple instances where the Western medical system perpetuates gender inequality by conflating sex and gender and failing to take a biocultural approach. Assignment #1 FAQs: What is a Peer Reviewed Article? A Peer Reviewed Article is one where the work has been subjected to scrutiny by other experts in the field prior to publication. Experts are usually defined as individuals who have published on related topics in scholarly journals and are active researchers. This review process is often double-blind, meaning that expert reviewers are not provided with the author(s)’s identity and the reviews are provided to the author(s) anonymously. Peer reviewed articles are published in peer reviewed journals. Where do you Find Peer Reviewed Articles? A peer reviewed or refereed journal is a journal where all submissions are sent to an editorial board who contacts appropriate reviewers to evaluate the submissions against criteria such as: excellence, novelty, significance, and accuracy. Peer reviewed journals release periodic issues each containing multiple articles. Many journals release both print copies and digital issues that can be found on the publisher’s website and in online databases (ex. JSTOR, Scholars Portal). You can also find articles by using specialized search engines (ex. Google Scholar). How can I tell if an article is peer-reviewed? Use Ulrichsweb (see tutorial posted to A2L) MODEL is a free service at McMaster developed by ESL and EAP specialists that is dedicated to helping students continue to improve their English-language skills. 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