Pig Men and Women, Big Men and Women: Gender and Production in the New Guinea Highlands
The work of herding pigs falls mainly to women in the New Guinea Highlands. Yet men control the disposal of animals, commonly in sociopolitical exchange events that earn them prestige. Some commentators regard these pig management arrangements as an aspect of exploitative gender relations, men appro...
| Veröffentlicht in: | Ethnology. - University of Pittsburgh, 1962. - 40(2001), 3, Seite 171-192 |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2001
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | Ethnology |
| Schlagworte: | Papua New Guinea Pigs Gender Labor Property Biological sciences Social sciences Applied sciences Physical sciences Behavioral sciences |
| Zusammenfassung: | The work of herding pigs falls mainly to women in the New Guinea Highlands. Yet men control the disposal of animals, commonly in sociopolitical exchange events that earn them prestige. Some commentators regard these pig management arrangements as an aspect of exploitative gender relations, men appropriating the labor of women to bolster their reputations. But this interpretation is contrary to the constitution of an acephalous social order, which esteems equality and affords both women and men political freedom. An investigation of pig ownership and production challenges the exploitation hypothesis. Both women and men have rights in animals which all recognize. And the labor and energy put into pig herding do not suggest exploitation. Indeed, labor arrangements and expenditure cast production in an intriguing light. In some critical senses they obfuscate its existence, not to hide exploitation from the hapless exploited but to nullify the possibility as pertinent to an acephalous polity. The production of gifts in this tribal context is radically different from the production of commodities for a market where notions of exploitation may apply. |
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| ISSN: | 00141828 |
| DOI: | 10.2307/3773964 |