The chapter in Guest’s book on ethnicity and nationalism helps the reader to see the difference between national identity, and ethnicity. However he notes that both are mostly a “cultural construction”. (Guest 241, 255). Using examples from history, for example, the nation of France, he points out that unified nation states are very modern. In earlier times, people were loyal to their town, not necessarily other towns and cities in their area.
Nation states could develop identity after the invention of printing, improved communications, and education (Guest 256) Ethnicity is also a human invention. It is based on shared characteristics, but the choice of characteristics seems to be widely variable, and often based on non-biological aspects of a person (Wareing, Singh and Peccei 18).
Hubbard discusses the social construction of the sexual behavior and identity in her essay. She makes the argument that an explanation for who a person is attracted to is perhaps not biological. She calls this ‘bio-determinism’. She also makes the argument that childhood experiences are not necessarily able to explain who someone likes. She calls this attitude ‘psychological determinism’. She also makes a point about devaluing feelings when they are not directed towards what is considered normal (Hubbard 167).
This reminded the reader of the list of privileges that Peggy Macintosh observe that white people possess (Macintosh n.pag.). Perhaps valuing sexual feelings is a privilege as well.
Salzmann’s chapter on critical advocacy is quite complicated. The author begins by discussing feminism, and pointing out that it is not a theory. It is a social movement like the civil rights movement (Salzman 113). It is different from a theory like social process, for example, as described in Salzmann’s earlier section (Salzman 113) (Salzman 31-48). In the chapter, the author lists a number of different approaches to studying the position of women in society.
Then the author begins to list and describe different ways of doing anthropological studies. The more modern approach is to admit that one is involved and not just an outsider looking it. The author suggests that an observer is always going to reflect their own point of view (Salzman 114-121). This is a bit discouraging, since this reader will be observing something quite unfamiliar in the assigned ethnography for this course. Based on what Salzmann says, it seems as though it is impossible to be objective (Salzman 117).
Wareing, in the chapter about language and gender, provides many examples of the ways that the English language can be sexist (Wareing, Singh and Peccei 76-93). This includes not only obvious insulting remarks, like the things that construction workers sometimes shout at women when they pass by. It also includes the prefixes of names, such as Mr., Mrs., and Ms., which reveal whether a woman is married or not. Wareing shows how all these forms of address can all mean something sexist. It makes the reader wonder about other languages and whether they also have the same characteristics. This seems like a possible example of a way that culture defines sexuality (Lorber 113).
The article by Hernann presents the point of view on feminism as a person participating in society. The writer talks about feminism as a husband. He offers advice on how to live one’s life as a supporter of the rights of LGBTQ people. He discusses two terms that add to the list of things we should avoid: heteronormativity and cissexism (Hernann n.pag.). This is a very interesting application and extension of the ideas expressed in Peggy Macintosh’s article on white privilege (Macintosh n.pag.).
Works Cited
Guest, Kenneth. Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013. Print.
Hernann, Andrew. “4 Lessons from the Trenches of Allyship.” 2014. everydayfeminism.com. Web.
Hubbard, Ruth. “The Social Construction of Sexuality.” Social Construction of Difference and Inequality : Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality. Ed. Tracy. E. Ore. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. 164-168. Print.
Lorber, Judith. ““Night to his Day”: The Social Construction of Gender.” The Social Construction of Difference and Inequality: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality. Ed. Tracy E. Ore. McGraw-Hill, 2011. Web. 112-119.
Macintosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack: Working Paper 189. White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming To See Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies. Winter 1998. Web.
Salzman, Phillip Carl. Understanding Culture: An Introduction To Anthropological Theory. Prospect Heights: Waveland, 2001.. Print.
Wareing, Shân, Ishtla Singh and Jean Stilwell Peccei. Language, society and power: an introduction. Ed. Ishtla Singh and Jean Stilwell Peccei. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 2004. Print.