Stuff From My Class.

Gender refers to the social roles that are associated with each sex. That is, the meaning of each gender is culturally determined and these characteristics are acquired by members of each gender as they grow towards maturity. In this way gender can be seen as a performance, or a demonstration of what is deemed as the desirable traits associated with each gender which is in turn associated with sex.

Pre-dating outside contact the cultures of Hawai’i, Tahiti, Tonga and Samoa (at least) has room specifically for a so-called ‘third gender’. Fa’afafine, fakaleiti and mahu as they are variously known are people who are biologically male but raised as females. These people had intergral and important roles to play in the societies of the polynesian triangle.

This class gets more and more interesting!

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  1. thecapytain posted this