AAS 17 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Bride Price
1/24/18 –
Selecting Boys Over Girls
• Female fetuses are stronger than male fetuses. So end up with slightly more females than males
in most societies.
• China introduced a policy of one child per couple.
o If had another child, had to give it up for adoption or get an abortion.
o Many families had a preference for male children. So would terminate female
pregnancies. End up with more males in the society.
o 30 million males will never find a female partner.
• Parts of India and South Korea where much more males than females.
Why Monogamy?
• Negotiation among men about how much energy they were willing to put out in order to control
other younger men.
o Younger men without wives need to let out their sexual energy. Cause problems for the
richer, older men with many wives. The older, richer men would need to put more effort
into controlling them.
o Take one wife each so they can use their energy in other areas like increasing their
wealth.
What of colonial America?
• Wh did’t the Europeas ho ae to Europe ad settled i North Aeria adopt polg?
o Low population density, lots of land.
o Agrarian societies
o No technology.
o Need people to work the land. Either make the people, or import the people.
• Had slave labor to ork the lad, so did’t result to polg.
Woman to Woman Marriage
• Having a wife, and preferably more than one wife, was the key to wealth.
o Gay men and sexually dysfunctional men still married women to gain wealth.
• How to African societies traditionally define marriage?
o Critical element is the payment of the bridewealth.
• How to African societies traditionally define a husband?
o Anybody or anything who pays the bridewealth.
o Male or female
• How do African societies traditionally define a wife?
o The person for whom bridewealth has been paid.
• Instances where women paid the bridewealth for other women.
o Whoever pays the bridewealth owns the children. They are the father of the children,
whether male or female.
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