Cultural Anthropology of Love, Sex, and Marriage: Kinship, Family, and Reproduction

Love, Sex, and Marriage: ANTH 3160

Identity and Culture

Identity is formed by social relationships. Introductions are a huge aspect of anthropology. Culture is symbolic, learned, and shared. It is based on clothing, symbols, and practices like marriage rings, which symbolize commitment. Culture is diverse because everyone learns differently. It is an embodied and ever-changing aspect of the contemporary world.

September 20th, 2016 - Second Day

Key Concepts:

• Social Institutions
• Social Structure
• Social Reproduction
• Ideology
• Parenting and Social Class
• Cultural Capital
• Ethnocentrism: Judging other people's cultures by the standards of your own and labeling what is different as inferior.
• Critical Cultural Relativism: Understanding people's cultures in terms of their own logic with a recognition of power inequalities in every society.

Anthropologists strive to be critical of power inequalities while also understanding the cultures they study.

Reflexivity

Reflexivity is a core value and practice in anthropological research. It involves reflecting on the potential impact of research on the community being studied. For example, planning research and considering its impact before publication demonstrates reflexivity.

Normative Cultural Assumptions About Family in Canada

• Nuclear family, with the mother as the primary caregiver.
• Familial relations exist for nurturance, although violence and conflict can occur.
• Family relationships are private and separate from the public sphere. For example, the home is seen as a private space.

Consequences:

• Domestic violence may go unnoticed due to the "private matter" perception.
• Boundaries between kin and non-kin can be blurred.

Cultural beliefs, values, and expectations of families are often portrayed in media like the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" show, which normalizes unrealistic ideals of family life.

Culture Values and Ideology

Cultural values are the cultural practices and beliefs of a society. Ideology refers to shared beliefs that stratify society, often benefiting those at the top. For example, middle-class ideology normalizes the class system and perpetuates inequality.

Social Stratification and the Individual

Social stratification involves generalized patterns of interaction, socially defined positions and statuses, and expectations associated with those statuses. Social institutions are accepted patterns in society, such as marriage, family, education, and government. These institutions shape human interaction and influence how individuals are socialized and develop their identities.

Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life

Annette Lareau's book, "Unequal Childhoods," explores family dynamics, labor, and child-rearing practices across different social classes. Lareau used participant observation, staying in the homes of families and analyzing their lifestyles. Her work demonstrates reflexivity by acknowledging her positionality as a white woman studying black families.

Case Studies:

• Tallinger Family (Garrett): Middle-class family with structured activities, emphasizing interaction with adults and fostering a sense of entitlement.
• Taylor Family (Tyrec): Working-class family with less structured activities, more autonomy for children, and a focus on respect for authority.
• Brindle Family (Katie): Working-class family facing challenges like poverty and trauma, highlighting the impact of social and economic disadvantage.

September 27, 2016 - Lecture Notes

Families, Social Institutions, and Social Reproduction

Types of Capital:

• Economic Capital: Monetary value, control over assets.
• Social Capital: Social networks and connections.
• Cultural Capital: Understanding societal norms, skills, education, and advantages transmitted through families. For example, buying clothes from Saks versus Walmart embodies different levels of cultural capital.

Normative Assumptions of Family in North America

• Nuclear family
• Nurturance
• Private sphere
• Self-contained economic unit
• Co-residing unit
• Ritual unit

Ideologies

• Ideologies are commonly held beliefs that maintain the status quo and benefit those in power.

Common Ideologies - Assumptions about the North American Family

• Traditional gender roles (father works, mother stays home)
• Nuclear family structure (parents and two children)
• Self-reliance
• Comfort and peace
• Honesty and hard work lead to success
• The family is a "natural" unit
• Heteronormativity
• Emphasis on racial homogeneity
• Married couples without children are "potential families"
• Families must live together
• Single-parent families are "not quite families"

Middle-Class Language

• Emphasis on dialogue, reasoning, and evidence
• Opportunities for bargaining and negotiation
• Contingent authority
• Explanations for boundaries and rules

Case Studies:

• Williams Family: Concerted cultivation, discipline through language, structured environment.
• Harold McCalister: Working-class, less structured environment, direct communication style, more autonomy.

Interactions with Social Institutions

• The concept of "childhood" has evolved over time, with children historically playing a significant economic role in families.
• Shifts in parenting practices, such as a move from physical punishment to negotiation.
• Concerted cultivation aligns with the rise of "rationalization" in parenting.

Case Studies:

• Marshall Family (Stacey): Middle-class, African American, interventionist parenting style, comfortable navigating institutions.
• Hadlon Family (Melanie): White, middle-class, challenges with schoolwork, parents advocate for child's needs.
• Driver Family (Wendy): Working-class, deference to authority, feeling alienated by institutional language.

Middle-class families, both black and white, tend to activate their social capital through their children's education and activities. Working-class children may have different cultural repertoires, which can create a mismatch with institutional expectations.

Cultural Repertoires

Cultural repertoires are shared understandings of appropriate parenting practices. Dominant cultural repertoires often favor middle-class values and behaviors, such as:

• Talking and reasoning with children
• Developing educational interests
• Active involvement in schooling
• Problem-solving through negotiation

The Intersection of Race and Class

• Parenting styles and advocacy strategies can vary based on both race and class.
• African American families may be more likely to seek racial diversity in their children's schools and activities.

Concerted Cultivation

• Structured activities
• Reasoning over directives
• Active involvement in schooling
• Sense of entitlement
• Negotiation skills
• Fostering children's skills

Accomplishment of Natural Growth

• Unstructured time
• Child autonomy
• Conflict resolution skills
• Respect for authority
• Sense of constraint

First Assignment

• Semi-structured interview
• Develop questions about family trees
• Follow the conversation flow
• Obtain verbal informed consent

Unequal Childhood (Reading)

• Social class influences how parents address their children's complaints about institutions.
• Middle-class mothers tend to be more interventionist, advocating for their children's needs.
• Working-class and poor parents may be more likely to defer to authority figures.

Case Study:

• Little Billy Yanelli: Working-class family, use of physical discipline, fear of being reported for child abuse.

Concerted Cultivation in Organizational Spheres: Stacey Marshall

Case Study:

• Ms. Marshall: Middle-class, African American mother, actively involved in her daughter's life, advocates for positive experiences.
• Stacey Marshall: Enrolled in various activities, experiences sibling rivalry, demonstrates different personas in different settings.

The Marshall Family

• Lorrie and Lonny Marshall: Middle-class, African American parents, value education and extracurricular activities.
• Concerned about finances despite their income.
• Socialize primarily with other African American families.

Selecting and Customizing Children's Leisure Activities

• Middle-class parents often enroll their children in a structured schedule of organized activities.

Transmission of Skills

• Ms. Marshall teaches her daughter strategies for navigating institutions and advocating for herself.
• Concerted cultivation is presented as the dominant cultural repertoire, although it is not the only or necessarily the "right" way to raise children.

October 4th, 2016

Family Trees as Anthropological Method and Cultural Practice

Key Questions:

• What is kinship?
• What is descent?
• What is the role of genealogical methods in anthropology?
• Who is considered an appropriate sexual partner?
• How did W.H.R. Rivers use genealogy in his research?

W.H.R. Rivers, a British anthropologist, used genealogy as a tool to study human difference and social organization. He believed that kinship systems could reveal information about a society's history, beliefs, and practices.

Kinship

Kinship refers to relationships based on descent or marriage. It is an ideology of human relationships, shaping how people understand their connections to one another.

Historical Perspectives on Kinship

• Late 19th Century: Unilineal cultural evolution, with societies progressing from "primitive" to "civilized." Nuclear families were seen as a marker of civilization.
• Early 20th Century: Focus on individual cultures' development. Functionalism emerged, suggesting that families exist to meet biological and social needs.
• Late 20th Century: Emphasis on the cultural construction of kinship and the role of symbols and beliefs in shaping family structures.

David Schneider's Critique of Kinship

David Schneider, an American anthropologist, challenged the notion of the "natural" family. He argued that kinship is a cultural system that varies across societies.

Normative Beliefs about Kinship in Western Cultures

• Families are natural units based on biological ties.
• Procreative sex is central to family formation.
• Blood relations are seen as unbreakable bonds.
• Marriage is a social contract that can be terminated.

Descent

• Bilateral Descent: Recognizes descent through both parents.
• Matrilineal Descent: Traces descent through the mother's line.
• Patrilineal Descent: Traces descent through the father's line.

Descent systems determine inheritance patterns, social group membership, and marriage rules.

Marriage Patterns

• Monogamy: Marriage between two people.
• Polygamy: Marriage involving more than two partners.
• Polygyny: One man married to multiple women.
• Polyandry: One woman married to multiple men.

Marriage and Social Organization

Marriage practices are closely tied to a society's economic system, gender roles, and beliefs about family and kinship.

Case Studies:

• Nandy (Kenya): Woman/woman marriage, where an older, wealthy woman marries a younger woman to secure heirs and manage property.
• South Nuer (Sudan): Ghost marriage, where a woman marries a deceased man's brother to continue his lineage.

Arranged Marriages

Arranged marriages are common in many cultures. They often involve family involvement in mate selection and prioritize factors like social status, economic stability, and compatibility.

Love Marriages

Love marriages are based on romantic love and individual choice. They are prevalent in Western societies and emphasize personal fulfillment and autonomy.

Mixed Unions

Mixed unions involve partners from different religions, cultures, or ethnicities. They challenge traditional norms and can face social stigma.

October 11th

Descent

• Descent is the cultural principle that defines social categories through parent-child connections.
• Kin Group: A social group based on descent or marriage.
• Bilateral Descent: Descent traced through both parents.
• Unilineal Descent: Descent traced through either the mother's or father's line.
• Patrilineal Descent: Descent traced through the father's line.
• Matrilineal Descent: Descent traced through the mother's line.
• Lineage: A descent group with a common ancestor.

Marriage Patterns

• Serial Monogamy: A series of monogamous marriages.
• Polyandry: One woman married to multiple men.
• Polygyny: One man married to multiple women.
• Love Marriage: Marriage based on romantic love.
• Arranged Marriage: Marriage arranged by third parties.
• Levirate Marriage: A man marries his deceased brother's widow.
• Ghost Marriage: A woman marries a deceased man's brother in the deceased man's name.

Marriage Exchanges

• Bridewealth/Bride-price: Payment from the groom's family to the bride's family.
• Dowry: Payment from the bride's family to the groom's family.

Woman/Woman Marriage

• Among the Nandi of Kenya, an older, wealthy woman may marry a younger woman to secure heirs and manage property.

October 18th

Marriage and Material Culture

• Objects, such as yams in Trobriand society or gifts in Western cultures, can mediate relationships at marriage.
• Symbols, rituals, and consumption play important roles in marriage and kinship.

Marriage and Matrilineages

• In matrilineal societies, women often have significant economic and social power, even though men may hold political leadership positions.

Marriage and Social Organization

• Marriage practices are closely tied to a society's economic system, gender roles, and beliefs about family and kinship.

Mate Selection

• Criteria for mate selection vary across cultures and can include factors like age, height, physical appearance, social status, economic prospects, family background, education, and shared values.

Romantic Love and Marriage

• The concept of romantic love as a basis for marriage is a relatively recent development in human history.
• In many cultures, marriage is seen as a practical arrangement between families rather than a union based solely on love.

Indian Matrimonial Ads

• Matrimonial ads in India often reflect cultural values and priorities, such as caste, family status, and physical appearance.

Courtship Rituals

• Courtship rituals and dating practices vary widely across cultures and can involve elaborate rules and expectations.

Mixed Unions

• Mixed unions, while becoming more common, can still face social stigma and challenges related to cultural differences.

October 25th

Reproduction and Kinship

• Reproduction is central to kinship systems, as it determines how new members are brought into families and lineages.

Cultural Beliefs about Conception

• Cultural beliefs about conception vary widely and are often tied to religious or spiritual beliefs.

The One-Sex Model

• Galen, a Greek physician, proposed the one-sex model, which viewed men and women as having the same basic anatomy, with female genitalia being internalized versions of male genitalia.

The Two-Sex Model

• The two-sex model emerged later and emphasized the biological differences between men and women.

The Homunculus Theory

• The homunculus theory, popular in the 17th century, suggested that sperm contained miniature, preformed humans.

Emily Martin's Critique of Scientific Language

• Emily Martin, an American anthropologist, critiqued the gendered language used in scientific descriptions of reproduction, arguing that it reinforces cultural stereotypes about men and women.

Trobriand Conception Beliefs

• The Trobriand Islanders believe that conception occurs when a spirit child (baloma) enters a woman's womb.
• They do not believe that men play a biological role in conception.

Paternity Debates

• In some cultures, paternity is not always clear-cut, and there may be different beliefs about the role of men in reproduction.

Conclusion

• Cultural beliefs about reproduction, kinship, and family are diverse and complex.
• Anthropologists study these beliefs to understand how societies are organized and how people make sense of their relationships with one another.