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Kung! Essay example

Good Essays

1. Ernestine Friedl says that the position of women is higher the more they are involved in (l) primary subsistence (as owners or controllers, NOT merely as laborers) and (2) the PUBLIC distribution of the product of subsistence. Use this argument to account for the position of women in Kung society. Make sure you use both part (l) and part (2) of Friedl’s argument. (Do not worry that Friedl’s argument is simplistic; she is not trying to say that women’s role in subsistence is the ONLY factor that affects their position in society.)

Friedl states that the position of women is higher the more they are involved in primary subsistence, and the public distribution of that subsistence. I think this classes Kung! Women pretty …show more content…

Yes, women take young children with them when they gather, but when it comes to carrying them around, men and women both tend to do it, until the children are weaned of this. A good example of equality, is how the men make sure to help the women wean the child, say when Nisa wants to keep drinking breast milk, the father pulls her off and threatens to hit her saying “can't you see how swollen your mother is?” (47). Though, on the other hand, the men can have multiple wives while women can not. Though, the women can “chase” off the other wives, as nisa did. (121). I personally agree with the idea that Kung men have a higher status and power in society. Men, can get away with much more, and do have the power to hit their wives in fights (they seem, at least from the book to be the ones to strike first). Women, often fight back, but they rarely start the hitting. Additionally, the fact that men can have multiple wives, and it may not be considered cheating, shows me that Kung! Men have more power.

What effect has modernization had on gender roles and gender relations among the Kung? What do you foresee for the future?

The Kung!'s way of life is shown to be threatened in this book. Tswana and Herero villages started to encompass more of the Kung!'s water holes, the Kung! Way of life has become threatened (194). If you cannot get water in the harsh desert, you cannot survive. To survive, you have to either work to take handouts, or you must work for the

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