>
>
>Second is the ritualistic bashing of Western societies, especially in pomo
>ruminations and gender or ethnic "studies" passing for academic disciplines
>nowadays. It is bigotry turned inwards, initially amusing, but afterwards
>annoying and disingenuous. I am yet to see a non-Western society that give
>women the same amount of legal protection and social, economic, and
>political opportunity as Western societies on average do.
>
>Wojtek
>
>
Okay, Woj has successfully jerked my chain on this. There are many
hunting and gathering societies that have far less gender stratification
than the United States today. It's either ignorance or ethnocentrism to
claim that women in our society today are better off in social and
economic terms than in any other type of society. I know the image of
the caveman dragging his mate around by the hair is ubiquitous, but it's
just not accurate as a depiction of gender relations in "primitive"
societies.
Interesting anthopological work on this: as societies shift from hunting and gathering to agrarian mode of production, the social role of women becomes more limited, men gain more economic power, and political authority is increasingly held by men.
Miles