This reader introduces students/readers to the most significant topics in the field of anthropology of gender–drawing not only from classic sources, but also from the most recent, diverse literature on gender roles and ideology around the world. It takes a clear, accessible approach to the subject matter, making coverage appropriate for students from various levels.

Table of Contents:
NOTE: New articles have an asterik and are in bold. Contents Preface   xiii About the Authors   xv I. Biology, Gender, and Human Evolution   Animal Models and Gender, Marlene Zuk The Role of Women in Human Evolution, Margaret Ehrenberg Gender and War: Are Women Tough Enough for Military Combat? Lucinda J. Peach Lifeboat Ethics: Mother Love and Child Death in Northeast Brazil, Nancy Scheper-Hughes The Cultural Nexus of Aka Father—Infant Bonding, Barry S. Hewlett II. Gender and Prehistory  The Archaeology of Gender Today: New Vistas, New Challenges, Margaret W. Conkey *The Fashioning of Women, J. M. ADOVASIO, OLGA SOFFER and JAKE PAGE Warriors and Rulers: Royal Women of the Classic Maya, Stanley Guenter and David Freidel III. Domestic Worlds and Public Worlds The Domestic Sphere of Women and the Public World of Men: The Strengths and Limitations of an Anthropological Dichotomy, Louise Lamphere “It’s a Pleasure to Cook for Him”: Food, Mealtimes, and Gender in Some South Wales Households, Anne Murcott Fatherhood and the Mediating Role of Women, Nicholas W. Townsend Cities of Women, Mary Weismantel IV. Equality and Inequality: The Sexual Division of Labor and Gender Stratification   Woman the Hunter: The Agta, Agnes Estioko-Griffin and P. Bion Griffin Gender, Horticulture, and the Division of Labor on Vanatinai, Maria Lepowsky Pastoral Nomadism and Gender: Status and Prestige, Economic Contribution, and Division of Labor Among the Tuareg of Niger, Susan Rasmussen Women and Work in a Postrevolutionary Society: Urban Cooperatives and the Informal Economy in Nicaragua, Florence E. Babb V. The Cultural Construction of Gender and Personhood *My Encounter with Machismo in Spain, David D. Gilmore Rituals of Manhood: Male Initiation in Papua New Guinea, Gilbert H. Herdt The Named and the Nameless: Gender and Person in Chinese Society, Rubie S. Watson *Gender and the Stories Pittsburgh Police Officers Tell About Using Physical Force, Bonnie McElhinny The Making and Unmaking of Persons: Gender and Body in Northeast India, Sarah Lamb VI. Culture, Sexuality, and the Body  Is There a Muslim Sexuality? Changing Constructions of Sexuality in Egyptian Bedouin Weddings, Lila Abu-Lughod From Pollution to Love Magic: The New Anthropology of Menstruation, Alma Gottlieb Hijras: An “Alternative” Sex/Gender in India, Gayatri Reddy and Serena Nanda Measuring Up to Barbie: Ideals of the Feminine Body in Popular Culture, Jacqueline Urla and Alan C. Swedlund VII. Gender, Property, and the State   Thinking About Women and the Origin of the State, Rayna Rapp Dowry, Bride-Burning, and Female Power in India, Linda Stone and Caroline James Encountering the State: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Women’s Political Experience, Josephine Caldwell Ryan Japanese Mothers and Obent s: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus, Anne Allison VIII. Gender, Household, and Kinship  *Beyond the “Pattern of Heaven”: Gender, Kinship and the Family in China, MONICA CABLE *Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Labyrinth of Working and Parenting in a Poor Community, SHARON HICKS-BARTLETT Matrifocality, Power, and Gender Relations in Jamaica, Marsha Prior The Female World of Cards and Holidays: Women, Families, and the Work of Kinship, Micaela di Leonardo IX. Gender, Ritual, and Religion Spirit Possession and Gender Complementarity: Zâr in Rural Northern Sudan, Janice Boddy “Tradition” and Threat: Women’s Obscenity in Giriama Funerary Rituals, Janet McIntosh Shamans, Bodies, and Sex: Misreading a Korean Ritual, Laurel Kendall *Women, Religion, and Modernization; Tradition and Transformation among Elderly Jews in Israel, Susan Starr Sered X. Gender, Politics, and Reproduction  Gender and Ritual: Giving Birth the American Way, Robbie E. Davis-Floyd *Political Demography: The Banning of Abortion in Ceausescu’s, Romania, Gail Kligman Surrogate Motherhood: Rethinking Biological Models, Kinship, and Family, Heléna Ragoné Female Genital Cutting: Culture and Controversy, Ellen Gruenbaum XI. Culture Contact, Development, and the Global Economy The Impact of Development on Women: The Interplay of Material Conditions and Gender Ideology, Victoria S. Lockwood Doing Their Homework: The Dilemma of Planning Women’s Garden Programs in Bangladesh, Margot Wilson-Moore Factory as Home and Family: Female Workers in the Moroccan Garment Industry, M. Laetitia Cairoli *Sexuality and Discipline among Filipina Domestic Workers in Hong Kong, Nicole Constable “Wild Pigs and Dog Men”: Rape and Domestic Violence as “Women’s Issues” in Papua New Guinea, Laura Zimmer-Tamakoshi Film Bibliography