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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Woman and 'Civilization': The Intersection of Gender and Prestige in Southeastern Liberia |
Author: | Moran, Mary H. |
Year: | 1988 |
Periodical: | Canadian Journal of African Studies |
Volume: | 22 |
Issue: | 3 |
Pages: | 491-501 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Liberia |
Subjects: | Grebo women Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Women's Issues Cultural Roles Status of Women Sex Roles |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/485951 |
Abstract: | This article examines how gender intersects with other achieved statuses in determining the relative prestige of an individual within a cultural system. The author argues that for the Glebo of Liberia the state of being 'civilized', which corresponds roughly to 'westernized', is conditioned by gender constructions in such a way as to make its achievement and maintenance much more problematic for women than for men. The Glebo have inserted gender into the civilized/native dichotomy to the point where women's status is not only more tenuous than men's but also very difficult to maintain without male support. There are a few independent sources of female prestige in the civilized world, where women may fill roles such as worker, citizen, and so on; but in contrast with the native context, none of these roles is exclusively for women. Bibliogr., sum. in French. |