Examining cultures as diverse as long-house dwellers in North Borneo, African farmers, Welsh housewives, and postindustrial American workers, this volume dramatically redefines the anthropological study of menstrual customs. It challenges the widespread image of a universal ‘menstrual taboo’ as well as the common assumption of universal female subordination which underlies it. Contributing important new material and perspectives to our understanding of comparative gender politics and symbolism, it is of particular importance to those interested in anthropology, women’s studies, religion, and comparative health systems.
Examining cultures as diverse as long-house dwellers in North Borneo, African farmers, Welsh housewives, and postindustrial American workers, this volume dramatically redefines the anthropological study of menstrual customs. It challenges the widespread i
Table of Content
Acknowledgments
Editors’ Note
PART I
INTRODUCTION
1. A Critical Appraisal of Theories of
Menstrual Symbolism
Thomas Buckley and Alma Gottlieb
PART II
MENSTRUAL IMAGES, MEANINGS, AND
VALUES
2. Menstrual Cosmology among the Beng of
Ivory Coast
Alma Gottlieb
3. Mortal Flow: Menstruation in Turkish
Village Society
Carol Delaney
4. Menstruation among the Rungus of Borneo:
An Unmarked Category
Laura W. R. Appell
PART III
THE SOCIOLOGY OF MENSTRUAL
MEANINGS
5. Menstrual Politics: Women and Pigs in
Rural Portugal
Denise L. Lawrence
6. Menstrual Symbolism in South Wales 137
Vieda Skultans
7. Premenstrual Syndrome: Discipline, Work,
and Anger in Late Industrial Societies
Emily Martin
PART IV
EXPLORATORY DIRECTIONS: MENSES,
CULTURE, AND TIME
8. Menstruation and the Power of Yurok
Women
Thomas Buckley
9. Heavenly Bodies: Menses, Moon, and
Rituals of License among the Temne of
Sierra Leone
Frederick Lamp
10. Menstrual Synchrony and the Australian
Rainbow Snake
Chris Knight
Notes
References
Contributors
Index
About the author
Thomas Buckley is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He Specializes in North American Indian ethnology and history, with particular interests in religion and language. Alma Gottlieb is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her area of interest is Africa, with emphasis on gender, religion, and family structure.
More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
146,755 Ebooks in this category
