Cultural Anthropology BLOG #4: The Cultural Benefits of Marriage

Marriage is a culturally-designed practice which functions within each community depending on its economic, social and political constructs. Different cultures use different forms of marriage to aid the human need of survival while still maintaining the social environment of culture. What I find interesting that many cultures have decisions about marriage, that although appear vastly different from America's relationship norms, in many ways are similar. From comparing these types of marriages with American relationships, we can see that there is no right, wrong, natural, or unnatural sort of union, but only different types of marriage that serve different purposes.

For most cultures, the preferred marriage is the one that gives social or economic benefits. As culture is preserved through positive reinforcement, people who marry through the preferred custom of the culture are more easily rewarded with what society provides. In America, since heterosexual monogamy is ordained as the most ethical form of marriage by traditional Christianity, it is given the most rights and economic benefits. To have any control over crisis-like situations with a partner in America, you must be married. Unfortunately, many homosexual men and women who are not allowed to marry do not have rights such as visiting their loved ones in the hospital or deciding what to do if their lover dies. In most loans and retirement plans, heterosexual couples are usually given the most rights and financial aid.

Marriage is sometimes dictated by the social and political boundaries reinforced through culture. Arranged marriages in India are influenced through the social attitude towards women and the culturally-preserved caste system of social class. In India, women do not have as many rights or occupational opportunities in their future as men do and therefore rely upon an economically secure marriage for their survival. Because a young woman does not have choice in her new husband, her parents will decide the type of man she is to marry. Although India's caste system was long ago abandoned, the implied social stratification still resides within its culture. The chosen husbands of Indian marriage are not free of the bound financial implications within India's social hierarchy; Indian parents are very careful when going about to choose their daughter's husband, as the wealth or education of her husband will determine her survival.

I also interested in how the decision of whether to marry or not is influenced in American culture. As members of an individualistic society, Americans are more easily allowed to make lifestyle decisions which deviate from the cultural ideal. Although many people in America are not religious, the typical, American wedding vows are formed off of Christian beliefs, therefore partly influence Americans to get married for the sake of their morality. In my own life, I do not see myself getting married, as I do not like the social connotations aligned with marriage: patriarchal gender roles, acceptance from a religious institution and government involvement in my personal relationship with my spouse. I would much prefer to be committed to someone and stay with that person because I truly love them, without having to stay simply because I have legal documents binding myself to another person. In terms of the Christian definition of morality, I think it is less immoral not to marry than to marry and end up not loving that spouse , yet still staying with that person. Many Americans think that the idea of commitment is "natural", however the "walking marriage" of the Mosuo in China show that different types of marriage can also be seen as "natural". In this marriage, there is no formal engagement or commitment, but simply a relationship of two lovers who may or may not produce children. There is no obligation from the father to his possible children, even though most fathers do form close relationships with their children. From an American perspective, this type of relationship could be seen as irresponsible on the father's part, however, this marriage promotes that the father remain loyal and helpful to his own nuclear family. In light of commitment, the "walking marriage" promotes a different, yet valid kind of commitment to one's immediate family.

Cultural Anthropology BLOG 3: Sex Is Determined, Gender Is Presumed

This week's readings centered around gender and how people learn the assigned gender roles to them as their culture decides. In America, there is generally two types of gender: man and woman. One could also go beyond these two roles and explain that trans-gender individuals are a third gender of American culture. However, in many countries, one could identify four, five, or six genders. How can this be, one might ask? Are there other human genitalia that has not been discovered yet by the general public? How many body parts do some people decide to 'change'- does this affect what type of sex someone is to be? Currently, and since the beginning of human existence, there have always been two sexes: male and female. Gender, although based in biological differences, does not rely of the bodily differences between males and females; gender is determined through the attitudes and roles in each society given to different groups of people. Just as people have different occupations or religious practices that are encouraged in different cultures, there are different presumed actions, or gender roles, which are encouraged and trained into the individuals of each culture.

It is easy to see the training of gender most often if one spends time with children. In American society, the gender roles of man and woman are taught at an early age and encouraged through positive or negative reinforcement by members of society. I remember in kindergarten class making a book called 'About Me' to give to my parents. For one of the pages, we were asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. To my surprise, we were given two choices of cut-out pictures to paste onto this page category: a fireman or a ballerina. Curiously, I raised my hand and told my kindergarten teacher that I didn't want to be either of these things when I grew up. She told me to simply pick one. Although in this instance, I was given the choice for which adult role I desired, it is clear that this elementary school activity, at least for this page, was saturated with the idea of "man" and "woman" gender roles. The lack of alternative choices suggests that even at 5 years old, I was being pressured to fit in to one of our society's designated gender types.

However, although gender may seem innate or unchangeable, it can be seen more easily in American society that gender roles are actually negotiated and decided between members of a culture, rather than being "natural". A most prominent example of this negotiation is the current battles between gay rights and state legislature. Washington D.C. recently changed over in legalizing same-sex marriage. Gender roles, along with legal documents, are being changed. More often than ever before has it been accepted in America that a man's role is not simply to love a woman, and a woman does not have to marry a man. These gender roles are changing as the acceptance of same-sex lovers is becoming more frequent. Although there are still certain taboos and stereotypes around gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders, these "lifestyles" or decisions in partners is becoming more accepted and therefore the roles of both man and woman are being changed.

Again illustrating that gender is not innate, but a cultural decision, many cultures around the world have valid gender structures that are much different than Western or European structures. A society called the Bijago (bih-ZHA-goh) practice a gender structure which is in many ways the opposite of American culture. Men's main role in Bijago society is to attract women and be chosen for marriage. These cabaros, or Bijago men, are encouraged to be "beautiful, intelligent, and strong", as one cabaro described for an anthropological study. A cabaro must gather palm wine by climbing trees, adorn himself with beautiful fabrics and jewelry, and learn intricate dances in the hope that someday an older woman of the tribe will choose him for marriage. This system of gender roles provides very little power to the man and very little control for a cabaro to find satisfaction in his own life. Much like the cabaros, American women are encouraged to look young and beautiful for men in the hope of attracting a life partner, through the influence of television, advertisements, the music industry, health and beauty magazines, and even mothers who are insistent of having their daughters succeed with the opposite sex. As a Bijago woman informed the anthropologist/interviewer, "A woman's life is much better than a man's life."

In my own life, I see that the idea of gender saturates my own idea of who I am. During my J-Term class at Luther which was called "Being A Good Alien", I was asked to write about who I was. As I was brainstorming, I found that I was writing down words such as, 'daughter', 'sister', and 'young woman'. Although these ideas can be linked to how I connect with my family, it is obvious that my first ideas of identity are mainly based on my gender. My actions are defined by how I relate to others or my sociability, which is presumably a female trait in American society. These roles connect the fact that I have female genitalia with other roles, presuming that my genitalia will decide what kinds of actions I take and what kind of lifestyle I will have. It is assumed that I may spend a considerate amount of money on beauty products, marry a man, and bear children, all things which would assign definite priorities in my life for the sake of other people. Because I have a vagina and breasts, I will always be a 'woman' in American society, rather than Mara Dobervich.