Anthropological gender and sexuality and how cultural relativism - Essay Example

Anthropological Gender and Sexuality Gender as a Cultural Construction In the David Reimer’s article, gender is portrayed asa cultural construction, but, not a natural identity. Anthropologists have found out that gender identity can be nurtured rather than created out of nature (Visvanathan et al. 67). The story of David Reimer, who was converted to a girl, confirms the nurturing ideologies. Back in 1965, David and his brother were born as twins. When David was eight months old, his parents advocated for reassignment of his gender identity after his original male sex identity was destroyed by doctors.

David Reimer lived for many years as a girl, until later when she underwent a double mastectomy in order to remove breasts and finally became a man. He died in 2004 after committing suicide. Anthropologists’ analysis reveals that money has been used to change gender identities in the history as well as today. This approach to intersex has been widely used in the developed world such in treating children with sex anatomy problems. Gender Roles and Gender InequalityGender roles vary across culture, in that, women perform domestic works while men work in offices, provide security and indeed provide for their families (Visvanathan et al. 78). In the Medline articles, a study conducted in Namibia, Africa shows how men are given priorities to practice polygamy.

In the seventeenth century, men and women were assigned with different tasks in the American society. In a family, men provided security and wealth while women performed the domestic works as well as raising the children (Visvanathan et al. 79). Nowadays, the women are working in offices as men, providing for their family as well as having several sexual partners. In some African communities, women still perform the home tasks despite the current civilization. Gender inequalities have been caused by some ideologies that give men more power over women (Visvanathan et al. 90). In African communities, the fact that women are exchanged with money or other forms of wealth such cattle have created gender inequalities for the past years.

With the civilization, men are still not ready to support ideologies advocating for gender equality since this would lead to culture crash. Some ideologists advocate for the protection of cultures, beliefs and traditions. In most societies, however, sexual violence against women has been observed (Visvanathan et al. 128). The women’s occupational and educational status remains low since the culture is protected against intervention by foreign parties. However, with the introduction of international human rights commissions and civilization, gender equality has been achieved in many societies (Visvanathan et al. 129).Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism and Human Rights In the book, The Spirit Catches you and you Fall Down, Fadiman has gone against the aspect of cultural relativism when addressing the case of Lia Lee in an American-based hospital (Faith 98).

In an anthropological perspective, relativism regulates the people’s behaviors as well as how people perceive the world. Therefore, a people’s culture should be protected as it is the stronghold of their existence in the world. Fadiman’s works show the conflict between ethnocentrism, relativism and human rights. Ethnocentrism is portrayed when the medical community advocates medicine in order to heal Lia Lee while her parents advocates for animal sacrifices to heal their child (Faith 100).

The doctors evaluate the Hmong culture based on their own culture. The anthropologists might face this conflict during their investigation in various ways, for example, when finding out the whether there was a conflict between the Hmong culture and the American medicine. They will also face difficulties in addressing crashing of culture and violation of human rights while adhering to the definitions of the anthropological aspects (Faith 109).Works citedFadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012. Print.Visvanathan, Nalini, Duggan, Lynn, Nisonoff, Laurie, and Wiegersma, Nancy.

The Women, Gender and Development Reader, New Delhi: Zubaan, 1997. Print.