Theexchange of womenis an element ofalliance theory— thestructuralisttheory ofClaude Lévi-Straussand otheranthropologistswho see society as based upon thepatriarchaltreatment of women as property, being given to other men to cement alliances.[1]Such formal exchange may be seen in the ceremony of the traditional Christianwedding,[citation needed]in which thebrideis given to thegroomby her father.
Kinship
editThe structuralist view of kinship was laid out in Lévi-Strauss' grand statement:Les Structures élémentaires de la parenté(The Elementary Structures of Kinship). In this, he combinedMauss' ideas about the importance ofgiftsin primitive societies with the role of theincesttaboo in forcing exchanges of matesoutside of closely related family groups.The resultingexchange of womenis asymmetric in that men have power over women which is not reciprocated. The resulting social structures provide a framework for treating the oppression of women as asocial constructrather than being a matter of biology.[2]
In "The Traffic in Women,"Gayle Rubin articulated a feminist analysis of kinship, gender roles, sexuality, the incest taboo and taboo against homosexuality, as part of a historically evolving" sex/gender system. "[3]
Biblical patriarchy
editMen in ancientHebrewculture established and negotiated their relations with other men through the exchange of female relatives. This is seen inOld Testamentnarratives such as the stories spread across the books ofJoshua,Judges,SamuelandKings.[4]
Criminal treatment
editInAfghanistanand remote areas ofPakistan,women may be exchanged in compensation for a debt or offence such as murder. This practice is known asswara.Pakistan's constitution prohibits this with a penalty of 3 to 10 years of imprisonment but the custom still persists.[5]
In art
editThe exchange of women in the course of male bonding appears as a theme in the novelsThe Great GatsbyandTropic of Capricorn.[6]Indecent Proposaland other female-barter movies were criticized for promoting this theme.[7]
See also
edit- Arranged marriage
- Bride kidnapping
- Forced marriage
- Hostage
- Mail-order bride
- Marriage of convenience
- Placement marriage
- Raptio
- Sister exchange,form of exchange of women
- Secrecy
- Watta satta,exchange matters in Indian subcontinent
- Wife selling
References
edit- ^Regina Schwartz(1990),The Book and the Text: The Bible and Literary Theory,Blackwell,ISBN0-631-16861-3
- ^Gayle Rubin (2006), "4 The Traffic in Women",Feminist Anthropology,Wiley, pp. 92–95,ISBN978-1-4051-0196-7
- ^Rubin, Gayle. 1975. “The Traffic in Women: Towards a Political Economy of Sex.” InTowards an Anthropology of Women,edited by Rayna Reiterc. New York: Monthly Review Press.
- ^Kenneth A. Stone (1996),Sex, Honor and Power in the Deuteronomistic History: A Narratological and Anthropological Analysis,Continuum International Publishing Group,ISBN1-85075-640-6
- ^Sohail Chaudhry (July 16, 2008),Trapped by traditions
- ^Raoul Ibarguen (1989),"7. Desire in the Waste Land A generalized exchange of women",Henry Miller and the Rise of New Critical Modernism
- ^Patrick Goldstein (April 18, 1993),"A flurry of recent women-as-barter movies looks like a disturbing trend to feminists... Are these movies merely a manifestation of the fantasies of the men who run the studios-or do they represent something much more serious?",Los Angeles Times,p. 8, archived fromthe originalon September 16, 2009