Kinship, Gender Identity and Status

Women and men today are raising new questions about kinship , gender identity and status. These issues were looked at both cross-culturally and historically. During the approach of these issues larger concerns, such as whether and to what extent women have been universally subjugated to men or treated as second-class citizens. In addition, many students looked beyond the confines of their own cultures and times in order to gain a broader perspective on gender issues in their own societies. Gender includes the social roles that women and men play , values surrounding male and female activities , peoples idea of what is considered nature and the meaning of sexual differences.

The study of kinship and gender is important because it easily intersects reproduction as a vital concern in fact the very survival of any society depends on a successfull reproduction and in all societies human reproduction is regulated. “Laws, norms, and cultural ideologies define where, when, and in what circumstances intercourse between the opposite sex is allowed or forbidden , supported or not supported . When intercourse results in reproduction, laws, norms, and values come into play to describe the meaning of this situation, especially as it relates to the allocation of children to particular individuals or groups. The meanings of marriage and divorce, and the idea of legitimacy, show how different descent groups grasp reproduction . Kinship is part of the social and cultural management of reproduction and, as such, is intimately joined with with gender.

Women play a very special role in reproduction ,they undergo pregnancy and give birth , gender roles come from these biological facts and comes from sex difference . (alice rossi,1985) says that pregnancy pregnancy kicks in motherly responses to women (Rothman 1987) and stresses that, just because women get pregnant and give birth, it does not necessarily follow that they must be the primary caretakers of children, remain confined to the home, or be excluded from important political and economic pursuits. In particular, these writers argue that a subordinate status of women is not biologically rooted but socially imposed (or imposed by men). Women’s reproductive roles confine them to home and domestic tasks .(stone, 200) also says that private sphere of women is less valued and degraded but the public sphere of men is valued , public sphere is superior because it encompasses private sphere as well as economic and political activities which are very important to social groups . keep in mind that the putting down of women( subordination ) is not universal it depends on what role do women play in their communities, a woman’s status in societies won’t be the same because women differ in their own view of gender,race , class and ethnicity . Others argue that women are oppressed not because their reproductive and domestic roles are devalued but precisely because their reproduction is everywhere highly valued socially and thus controlled by men (Moen 1979). Men have power over women because they are in charge of the political and economic forces that control human reproduction. And they control women in order to gain power over reproduction .

The study of kinship and gender is important because it shows us how social inequalities are carried out through the politics of reproduction. Biological facts are culturally built and cannot be taken for granted in the study of kinship and gender . “They emphasize that different cultures may have different ideas about what counts as sexual differences between males and females, as well as different notions about the nature of human reproduction itself, and hence that each culture must be approached on its own terms in the study of kinship and gender. Their points are valuable and they raise fundamental issues that must be considered seriously”(linda stone ,2010 pg4)

The author Linda stone of the book kinship and gender in her book argues that Gender refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men ,such as norms, roles and relationships of and between groups of women and men, she also goes on to say that gender does not only refer to the understanding of the words men and women but the social roles men and women play , the values surrounding these different genders , the conception of nature and sexual differences between men and women . her aim was to research about gender through culture and kinship . she came with new ways in which gender could be understood through culture but her main focus was on reproduction . she argued that women play a very important role in reproduction , they are the ones that give birth and not men . this role that they play is important because for a society to continue for generations because human reproduction needs to happen in order for more offspring’s . As we know reproduction to every societies has to be regulated by norms , laws values relating to sexual intercourse , marriage , allocation of children and the number of offspring’s one must have. This is where kinship is interlinked with gender .

Linda stone says that the state of having mixed feelings and controversy surround reproductive roles relating to gender . because women give birth innate maternal instincts affect their behaviour . women give birth and are restricted to private sphere for example taking care of babies, giving birth to them , cleaning the house .due to these reproductive roles women were excluded from political and economic pursuits. The public sphere of men is valued , public sphere is superior because it encompasses private sphere as well as economic and political activities