Does bride price harm women? Using ethnography to think about causality

Evolutionary Human Sciences, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 6

Опубликована: Янв. 1, 2024

Many institutions claim that bride price - where the groom's family transfers wealth to bride's at marriage harms women. Owing its long-term engagement with communities practise price, ethnography is well placed identify causal mechanisms play in this issue, and there a substantial literature on effects variety of world regions, including Melanesia. Here, we condense literature, drawing out key arguments made about various Melanesian societies. This reveals complex, multi-causal picture: rather than being singularly harmful, may involve mixture drawbacks benefits, making it double-edged sword contested implications. Bride constrain women's options before during but also serves as safety net enhances their status. Its are probably influenced by many other variables, age, kinship networks residence structures. These dynamics have been transformed conversion Christianity, (post-)colonial state, market integration, urbanisation formal education, often yielding ambiguous outcomes. Rather reducing collection datapoints, show can serve source verbal be used challenge reductive narratives sensitive issues formulate hypotheses for testing quantitative data.

Язык: Английский

Stepfamilies, adoption and other forms of the family in hunter-gatherers

Hunter Gatherer Research, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 9(3-4), С. 209 - 236

Опубликована: Авг. 1, 2023

Язык: Английский