Women and Patriarchy

Across the world, the secondary position of women in society remains a virtual constant. This preferential treatment for men is embedded in social and political structures in various countries and societies.

This paper examines how patriarchal structures remain in three important social structures - marriage, household and family life, and in the economy.

The first part of the paper compares the marriage practices among the Yanomamo Indians in northern Brazil, the Sherpa people of the Himalayas and the!Kung Sen people of the Kalahari desert. These ethnographic examples were selected because of their geographic and racial diversity.

The second part of the paper examines the gender relations and division of labor within the household, and how such traditional gender structures in the home are being affected by the growing number of women who work outside the home, both by choice and by economic need.

The last part of...
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