Overview

For decades, male anthropologists talked only to male informants. They described “Man the Hunter” and ignored “Woman the Gatherer.” They assumed that male dominance was universal and natural. Feminist anthropology exploded these myths. It showed that gender roles are incredibly diverse and that women exercise power in ways that male observers had missed.

Core Idea

The core idea is Gender as a Cultural Construct. Being “male” or “female” is a biological fact (sex), but being a “man” or a “woman” is a cultural performance (gender). What it means to be a “good woman” in Victorian England is totally different from what it means in the Amazon. Therefore, gender inequality is not biological destiny; it is a cultural choice that can be changed.

Formal Definition

A theoretical approach that seeks to reduce male bias in research findings, anthropological hiring practices, and the scholarly production of knowledge. It focuses on the social construction of gender and the intersection of gender with race, class, and sexuality.

Intuition

In the 1950s, people thought women were “naturally” passive and domestic. Then anthropologists looked at the Iroquois (where women chose the chiefs) or the Mosuo (a matriarchal society in China where women control the household). They realized: “Oh, our way isn’t the only way.” Feminist anthropology uses cross-cultural examples to denaturalize our own gender norms.

Examples

  • Margaret Mead: The grandmother of the field. Her study Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935) showed that in one tribe, both men and women were “feminine” (gentle); in another, both were “masculine” (aggressive). Gender was fluid.
  • The Public/Private Divide: Michelle Rosaldo argued that women’s lower status comes from being associated with the “private” sphere (home/kids), while men control the “public” sphere (politics/war).
  • Third Genders: Studying cultures that have more than two genders (e.g., Two-Spirit people in Native America, Hijras in India) to challenge the Western binary.

Common Misconceptions

  • It’s just about women: It started that way, but now it studies Masculinity too. How does culture force men to be “tough”? How does toxic masculinity harm men?
  • It’s political, not scientific: All science is political. Ignoring women was a political choice. Including them makes the science more accurate, not less.
  • Intersectionality: The idea (from Kimberlé Crenshaw) that you can’t understand a woman’s experience just by her gender; you have to look at her race and class too. A black working-class woman has a different life than a white rich woman.
  • Patriarchy: A social system where men hold primary power. Feminist anthropologists study how this system is built and maintained.
  • Matrilineality: Societies where descent is traced through the mother (not the same as Matriarchy, which is rule by women).

Applications

  • Development: Showing that giving aid money to men often leads to it being spent on alcohol/tobacco, while giving it to women leads to it being spent on children/education.
  • Corporate Culture: Analyzing why the “glass ceiling” exists and how office culture excludes women.

Criticism / Limitations

  • Western Bias: Early feminist anthropology was criticized by women of color for imposing white, Western feminist values on other cultures (e.g., assuming the veil is always oppressive).
  • Essentialism: Sometimes it risked treating “Women” as a single, unified category, ignoring the vast differences between them.

Further Reading

  • Rosaldo, Michelle and Lamphere, Louise. Woman, Culture, and Society. 1974.
  • Ortner, Sherry. “Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?”. 1974.
  • Abu-Lughod, Lila. Writing Women’s Worlds. 1993.