AAS 17 Study Guide - Final Guide: Condom, Medical Necessity, Green Belt Movement
30 May 2018
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GENDER AND SEX
• Sex: Biological distinctions b/w male and female.
• Gender: Social, cultural, political distinction b/w the sexes.
• Gedered: Eah geder oupies separate spheres of life.
• Gender exists in some shape or form all over the world.
• Common place activities tend to be strongly gendered.
GENDERED AREAS OF LIFE IN AFRICA
• Male crops/female crops
• Hunting/gathering
• Farming/trading (either men or women)
• Weaving (either men or women, never together)
• Pottery (either men or women, never together)
• Drumming (only men)
• Masking (only men)
• Women are mediums
o Conveys the wishes, the commands, and the desires of the supernatural entity to the
community.
• Men are priests
o Conveys the desires and wishes of the community to whoever the supernatural figures
of the community are.
• Canton Bo (Ivory Coast) is very gendered
o Women:
▪ Owned the harvest
▪ Sat on mats
▪ Are inside or back of house
▪ Paint faces
▪ Paint pots and walls of home
▪ Live in round homes
▪ Girls iitiatio FGC is oes usiess, ot a sujet a a will publicly
discuss
o Men:
▪ Owned the land
▪ Sat in armed chairs
▪ Ate outside
▪ Paint masks
▪ Live in square homes
INTERSEX
• Indeterminate biological markers of sex.
TRANSGENDER
• Discrepancy between the sex and gender in self-identification.
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ANDROGYNY
• Absence of gender distinctions.
BEING MALE IN AFRICA
• Being a body that does not give birth.
• Having authority over bodies that give birth.
• Being the body that has more opportunities for resource accumulation.
BEING FEMALE IN AFRICA
• Being a body that gives birth or has potential to give birth.
o A woman who is infertile is a male body.
• Being a body involved in raising children.
• Being under authority of body that does not give birth (male) or a body that has stopped giving
birth (older female).
• Having fewer chances for resource accumulation.
• The body that leaves home in patrilineal societies.
• The body that stays home in matrilineal societies.
RITUAL/SOCIAL MALES
• People who are not biologically male, but took on the gendered role of male. Gave up the
privileges of being female.
• Female husband
o With respect to her wife, acts as a male.
• Male daughter
o In patrilineal societies.
o In some ethnic groups where men who never had sons could designate one or two
daughters to become male daughters. They would not leave home and would never get
married, but she could have any boyfriend or sexual relationship. If she has children,
they would be part of her household.
• Some rulers (Buganda, Pabir)
o The sovereign ruler in an ethnic group in a patriarchal society was female. That female
would have to ritually become a male and would not become married.
o They also would require her to become sexually celibate, b/c if she becomes pregnant
then that would mean she is female.
• Amazons (ancient Dahomey)
o All female army.
o Cat get pregat.
o Liked to have female soldiers b/c they felt the male soldiers would try and assassinate
the king. The soldiers in a palace were all female.
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find more resources at oneclass.com
RITUAL/SOCIAL FEMALES
• Not gendered female, but occupy female social roles.
• Male mediums
• Special performers
o Play where the character is female but the actor performing the role is male.
• Traditional homosexuality
o Hausa: Yan Daudu (men who act like women)
o Wolof: Goor jigeen (men-women)
o Categories which exist in particular ethnic groups in African society.
o Homosexuality is not widely accepted, but there are some exceptions. Usually male
homosexuality more tolerated.
• New sexual orientations (transgender/gay/queer)
o In the American sense, not traditional.
o Some individuals deliberately choose to be womanly men.
TYPES OF FGC
• Infibulation/pharaonic circumcision.
o Most severe and invasive form.
o Removal of the entire clitoris and labia. Tightening of the vaginal opening. Whatever is
left is sewn together to provide a smooth appearance.
o Female nobility in Ancient Egypt often underwent this type of circumcision.
• Clitoridectomy (also called excision)
o Substantial cutting of the clitoris.
• “ua
o Involves anything from making a mark on the clitoris or cutting part of the clitoris.
HISTORY OF FGC
• Originated in Ancient Egypt 3000 BCE.
o The older something is, the harder it is to change.
• Geography, not religion is best predictor of distribution.
• Associated w/ Nile River valley.
• Spread along River Nile and River Niger.
o People who live along these rivers probably practice FGC. Some are Christians and
Muslims.
DISTRIBUTION OF FGC
• Countries in Northeast Africa have highest level of practice.
o Also seen in East and West Africa.
• Distribution in many countries is uneven.
o One ethi groups praties it ut the eighorig ethi group doest pratie it.
• Infibulation (15% of all cuttings, most complications)
o Mainly in Northeast Africa
o Occurs between 4 and 9 years.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Live in round homes discuss: men, owned the land, sat in armed chairs, ate outside, paint masks. Transgender: discrepancy between the sex and gender in self-identification. Being male in africa: being a body that does not give birth, having authority over bodies that give birth, being the body that has more opportunities for resource accumulation. Ritual/social males: people who are not biologically male, but took on the gendered role of male. Gave up the privileges of being female: female husband, with respect to her wife, acts as a male, male daughter. In some ethnic groups where men who never had sons could designate one or two daughters to become male daughters. They would not leave home and would never get married, but she could have any boyfriend or sexual relationship. If she has children, they would be part of her household: some rulers (buganda, pabir, the sovereign ruler in an ethnic group in a patriarchal society was female.
