Charles Brown charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us Fri Jun 6 09:13:13 PDT 2008
wrobert at
Because that's what Levi-Strauss is arguing, and when you engage in the argument that there is this kind of social symbolic, whether through Levi-Strauss or through Lacan, you are pointing to this kind of argument. The feminist argument (the tradition that comes out of Rubin) has consistently argued that this naturalization is in fact a way of naturalizing certain social structures of power. This isn't originated with Butler, but it is continued in her work (while being critiqued and examined itself. For this work look at the Wellek lectures, Antigone's Claim, which has the longest engagement with the argument in her work.)
robert wood
Below is something of a reply to your comment above, the "naturalization" thesis in particular. By the way, Sherry Ortner of the naturalization of women thesis, was a student there at Univ of Michigan anthro dept in 1972 as well,
Quoting anthropologist Cheryl Rodriguez:
Much later in social science history, the feminist anthropology of the 1970s emerged. As di Leonardo explains, "The political source of feminist scholarship, early 1970s feminism, was not the first but the second major wave of women's rights thought and activism" (1991, p. 2). As a relatively homogeneous group (white female scholars), Western feminist anthropologists of the 1970s sought to "expose sexism in public and private life, [and] to alter the male-biased presumptions of scholarly and popular culture" (di Leonardo, 1991, pp. 1-2).3 Similar to their non-feminist anthropological predecessors, these anthropologists believed that universal male domination did exist as a cultural phenomenon. However, feminist anthropologists sought to identify this domination and explain its manifestations, as well as its political, economic, and social impacts on women. Informed primarily by Western women's political, social, and economic issues, feminist anthropologists developed theories on universal sexual asymmetry (Rosaldo, 1974). Some feminist anthropologists such as Ortner (1974) argued that women's subjugation by men was a universal phenomenon because of women's association with nature. Rosaldo (1974) attributed universal male dominance to a dichotomy between the domestic sphere, which associated women with nurturing, homemaking, and related activities, and the public sphere, which has been viewed as the male domain in societies....
While Western feminist theorists posed ideas that served to legitimize the study of gender and focus the blurred images of women in the anthropological picture, African women anthropologists developed scholarship in a womanist inspired tradition. That scholarship was developed without exploitation or use of the comparative method. African womanist anthropologists examined their own cultures for the inherent truths and realities that are evident to one who is both native and scientific observer. Even today, African anthropologists are challenging Western feminist assumptions.
...First, African womanists have contributed to the anthropological literature by describing the communal structure of traditional African societies which assumed egalitarian interactions among African women and men. They also have shown that in some traditional African societies, certain politico-religious roles are gender-determined (Okonjo, 1981). Second, African womanists have shown that a close connection with nature served neither to subordinate nor to heighten women's status in traditional African societies, since the rhythms of African life were guided by nature. Thus, the problematic nature/culture dichotomy did not manifest itself in traditional African life as it did (and still does) in Western culture. Ultimately, colonialism, imperialism, and their legacies continue to be the primary oppressors of African women, argues Steady (1993). Discussions of the experiences of the majority of African women must focus on multiple forms of oppression, not simply sexual asymmetry
From: Anthropology and Womanist Theory: Claiming the Discourse on Gender, Race, and Culture
by Cheryl Rodriguez
http://www.uga.edu/~womanist/rodriguez2.1.htm
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