Dealing with Inequality
Analysing Gender Relations in Melanesia and Beyond

This 1987 volume comprises ten essays by anthropologists who interrogate the nature of social inequality between the sexes in societies mostly in Melanesia.

Marilyn Strathern (Edited by)

9780521336529, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 10 December 1987

340 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

The question of 'equality' between the sexes has long been of long-standing interest among anthropologists. Originally published in 1987, this volume sets out not to dispose of the question, but rather to examine how to debate it. It recognises that inequality as a theoretical and practical concern is rooted in Western ideas and concepts, but also that there are palpable differences in power relations existing between men and women in non-Western societies that are otherwise, in world terms, 'egalitarian', and that these need to be accounted for. This volume comprises ten essays by anthropologists who discuss the nature of social inequality between the sexes in societies they know through first-hand fieldwork, mostly, though not exclusively, in Melanesia. This regional focus gives an important coherence to the volume, and highlights the different analytical strategies that the contributors employ for accounting gender inequality. The volume will be provocative reading for anthropologists.

Notes on contributors
Editor's preface
Map
Introduction Marilyn Strathern
1. Ta'a geni: women's perspectives on Kwaio society Roger M. Keesing
2. The remarriage of Yebiwali: a study of dominance and false consciousness in a non-Western society Frederick Errington and Deborah Gewertz
3. Gender difference and the relations of inequality in Zinacantan Leslie Deveraux
4. The politics of separation Diane Bell
5. 'Women are our business': women, exchange and prestige in Kove Ann Chowning
6. Gender attributes and equality: men's strength and women's talk among the Nagovisi Jill Nash
7. Complimentary in this world in this world and the next: gender and agency in Kodi mortuary ceremonies Janet Hoskins
8. Flying witches and leaping warriors: supernatural origins of power and matrilineal authority in Tubetube society Martha Macintyre
9. The tusk, the flute and the serpent: disguise and revelation in Goodenough mythology Michael W. Young
10. Diseases of the soul: sickness, agency and the men's cult among the Foi of New Guinea James F. Weiner
Conclusion Marilyn Strathern
bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Gender studies: women [JFSJ1]