Cultural Anthropology - Humans' Roles in Culture - Essay Example

Roles Humans Play in Culture Different aspects of anthropology have been used to study humankind in different features. Importantly, cultural anthropology has made major contributions to the comprehension of cultural variations that have been caused by time lapse. A major principle of the topic is the understanding of various cultural roles for women, men, and children as well as the manner in which they have changed over time. Determinants such as enlightenment, technology, and socio-cultural integration have contributed to the changes in the perception of role allocation in different cultures (Haviland and Haviland 28). The gender roles may differ depending on the cultural ties between various communities. Women roles and their evolution over the years Gender roles are based on social and cultural norms and principles. Since the early years of socialization, the female roles have been associated with nurturing, passivity, and subordination (Dhar 94). As a result, most of the roles are less demanding as compared to male roles. Women in all societies have been known to be nurturing and have been referred as the primary caregivers (Dhar 45). They take care of children from birth while providing both moral and cultural support to the children. The role is associated with their function of pregnancy and care for the unborn child. The significance of the responsibility depends on different cultures globally whereby some women provide more care and interest to their children compared to others. For example, a society where other members of the society issue children cultural advice will reduce the mothers obligation of providing the same roles. However, the changes in time have caused variations in cultures whereby women in modern societies do hold many obligations. There are no tight cultural ties due to cross-cultural activities; hence, leading to the change in the role. For example, women now prefer nannies attending to their children due to the changes in lifestyle. Social stratification has also caused a change in the women role of nurturing because the rich classes prefer having nannies to take care of their children. Additionally, women have also been known to maintain the family reputation through carrying out of household chores. The role has been common since the early societies because males were obligated to provide for the family while women were left at home. However, the changes in culture and lifestyle have revolutionized the roles. For example, males also take part of carrying out household chores due to various determinants. The factors include health issues where the female cannot attend to the roles, reversed roles where the woman is the provider to the family and social cases where women allow nannies to carry out all their chores due to work commitments. Moreover, there have also been changes in the social and cultural structures have contributed to the evolution of the role and its adoption by the male gender. Societies that support divorce and single parenting have altered the conception of household chores as a feminine role to a unisex responsibility. Most cultures believe that the female gender is responsible for the sexual role in a family. They are supposed to give in to their husbands demand related to their sex life. However, enlightenment and enhanced literacy rates in the modern world have changed this perception. Women are no longer perceived as a sex symbol and have their rights to engage in sex when they are ready. Time lapse has changed the cultural obligations that included underage marriage and polygamy. Researches in cultural anthropology show the changing trends due to modernization and presence of knowledge (Dhar 104). Women in the past have been known to have fewer responsibilities and opportunities in education. For example, most were married before getting a chance to join learning institutions while others had to give their learning opportunities to the male gender. On the contrary, cultural changes have caused women to obtain more opportunities acquiring education. Social integration and changes in cultural aspects have led to more woman accessing information systems; hence, their contribution to the society. For example, there has been an rise in the number of female researchers, leaders, and influential persons. Women inventions and the manner in which they shaped live today Margaret Knight invented the paper bag machine in the late 1800s. Her invention has changed the business sector where by her designed bags have been used to carry shopping items in malls, groceries, and supermarkets (Wei 120). Additionally, he design included a bag made from recyclable paper. As a result, her impacts can still be felt today whereby bags are being made, in the same way, to reduce pollution. Stephanie Kwolek had her invention in the safety and security sectors where she invented kevlar. It is a fiber made used in making protective material such as bulletproof vests, helmets, and tires among others. Her invention has had a major contribution to the modern life where safety has become a problem due to increasing wars and conflicts. Ada Lovelace had her invention in computer programming and technology (Wei 40). Her analytical engine was an early model of a computer that was invented in the 1800s. Her invention and algorithms have had key contributions in the modern society whereby it has been used to create computer software and programs. Male roles their evolution over the years Men have been associated with cultural issues with the role of providing for the family since the early years. Their responsibilities have been known to be demanding than feminine chores. Most of the roles have monetary motives whereby the cash is used to provide for family basic needs. Consequently, women were supposed to wait at home and carry out the household chores with the help of their husbands. However, changes in social and cultural principles have made changes in these roles making women equal providers in most families. Additionally, a change from extended families to nuclear families has led to equal contributions from both genders. The male role of protection in the family boundaries has been embraced since the early societies. However, the role has changed with the variation in cultural aspects. Some cultures offer equal family rights where women also act as protectors in cases of divorce of other family issues. There are also cultures that value women more than men; hence, issuing them with the role of providing security for the family. Leadership has also been associated with the male gender. Most social and cultural leaders are from the male gender since the early societies; hence, making leadership a male role. However, the role responsibility has changed with time due to certain determinants such as education and enlightenment in the female gender. Consequently, women have started being involved in more demanding jobs as compared to the past. How inventions developed by men shaped how we live today Men have made most of the inventions due to their nature that make them versatile to demanding chores. For example, the Wright brother made an invention in the airline industry. Their innovations have changed the transportation system that has contributed to social and cultural integration. Additionally, the invention has also improved other factors such as security and space exploration. Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont, on the other hand, made an invention on the telephone as a medium of communication. The invention has been associated with social and cultural change due to its role as a communication channel. Children roles and their evolution over the years The main roles associated with children include respecting and obeying their parents in the society. Cultures have embraced the role based on various beliefs and morals. The parents have to provide moral support to the children to help them understand social trends and also ensure respect endurance. However, changes in cultural trends have led to an alternation in some of the roles. For example, modern cultures have reduced the children’s respect rate whereby some do not obey their parents due to various cultural and social trends. The lack of support from cultural beliefs that stipulate harsh consequences has caused a change in the children roles. Cultural anthropology provided substantial information on understanding the roles humans play in culture. Importantly, it has shown that a combination of time and other factors has changed the perception of various cultural roles n both genders and children (Howell and Paris 90). Modernization and globalization have led to most of the cultural changes due to cross-cultural activities. Works Cited Dhar, R. Women and International Migration: A Cross-Cultural Analysis. Social Change 42.1 (2012): 93-102. Web. Haviland, William A, and William A Haviland. Cultural Anthropology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2008. Print. Howell, Brian M, and Jenell Williams Paris. Introducing Cultural Anthropology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011. Print. Wei, James. Great Inventions That Changed The World. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print. Read More