Women's Work, Men's Property: The Origins of Gender and ClassStephanie Coontz, Peta Henderson “To some a book on the origins of sexual inequality is absurd. Male dominance seems to them a universal, if not inevitable, phenomenon that has been with us since the dawn of our species. The essays in this volume offer differing perspectives on the development of sex-role differentiation and sexual inequality, but share a belief that these phenomena did have social origins, origins that must be sought in sociohistorical events and processes.” In this way Stephanie Coontz and Peta Henderson introduce a book which fills a yawning gap in Marxist and feminist theory of recent years. Women’s Work, Men’s Property brings together specialist historical and anthropological skills of a group of American and French feminists to examine the origins of the sexual division of labor, the nature of pre-state kinship societies, the position of women in slave-based societies, and the specific forms taken by the oppression of women in archaic Greece. Men’s Work, Women’s Property will be welcomed by teachers and students of women’s studies and anyone with an interest in the biological, psychological and historical roots of sexual inequality. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Origins of the Sexual | 43 |
The Origins of Womens | 76 |
Copyright | |
4 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Women's Work, Men's Property: The Origins of Gender and Class Peta Henderson,Stephanie Coontz Limited preview - 2016 |
Women's Work, Men's Property: The Origins of Gender and Class Stephanie Coontz,Peta Henderson Limited preview - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
activities adult Africa aggression agriculture American Anthropologist ancient Anthropology archaic argue aristocratic authority behaviour biological bride price clan class societies complex Coontz Crete cultural daughters descent differentiated division of labour early hominids economic egalitarian emergence Evolution exogamy explain exploitation fact father female labour feminine foraging forms gender genes genetic goddesses Greece historical hominids household human hunting husband increase individuals institutionalized kin corporate societies kin group kinship labour by sex Leacock lineage societies male dominance males and females marriage married maternal mating matriarchy matrilineage matrilineal matrilocal societies Maurice Godelier mode of production mother myths nature Neolithic oppression organization origins patrilocal patrilocal residence period political polygyny Pongids population primate processes redistribution reproductive residence Robert Jaulin Sanday sex role sexual dimorphism sexual division sexual inequality Sherry Ortner slavery Sociobiology Stephanie Coontz structure subordination suggests Sumer survival tasks tion warfare wealth wife wives woman York