The Other Fifty Percent: Multicultural Perspectives on Gender Relations

What do a Papua New Guinea businesswoman and a Los Angeles policewoman have in common? Why are virgin brides valued in some societies and not in others? And why are the goddesses and folk heroines of India often depicted as angry and even violent? In addressing these and other issues, The Other Fifty Percent challenges traditional anthropological assumptions about the ordering of male and female roles crossculturally. Drawing on current research in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America, the contributors to this volume explore the ordering of gender in such aspects of social life as marriage, economic decision making, allocation of political power, and in the symbolic representation of gods and goddesses. Articles in The Other Fifty Percent present a range of exciting research on gender in a clearly reasoned and concisely written style.