- 228 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
Second, Revised EditionTo what are we referring when we speak of women? What is the nature of women in society; what is the nature of women in society? These are the central questions of this classic text which looks at areas ranging from England and Greece to Mongolia and Africa. The authors - anthropologists, sociologists, ethnologists, neurologists and psychologists - consider the structural position of women; how they are defined by reference to physiological and social markers, and how they are required to behave. They also consider ways in which different cultures identify and deal with such `natural' aspects of women as virginity, sexuality and childbearing. The broad variety of geographical perspectives reveals dissimilar as well as similar ideas about women - in their use of language and of space, matrifocality, and life trajectories.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Preface
- 1. Introduction: The Nature of Women in Society
- 2. The Semantics of Biology: Virginity
- 3. Open Body/Closed Space: The Transformation of Female Sexuality
- 4. Women, Taboo and the Suppression of Attention Caroline Humphrey
- 5. Privileged Schooled and Finished: Boarding Education for Girls
- 6. Matrifocus on African Women
- 7. ‘The Most Essentially Female Function of All’: Giving Birth
- 8. Harems and Overlords: Biosocial Models and the Female
- 9. The Socialisation of the Natural and the Naturalisation of the Social
- Index
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Yes, you can access Defining Females by Shirley Ardener in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Anthropology. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.