article

Does sedentarization promote gender inequality?: a case study from the Kalahari

Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute1 (3)Published In 1995 • Pages: 513-536

By: Kent, Susan.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this paper, Kent examines the effect of sedentism on gender equality. She compares three different communities: Kutse, where she carried out her fieldwork, and communities studied by Draper in Ngamiland and Loerman in Ghanzi District. Both Draper and Loerman have argued for the loss of female autonomy and status with sedentism. However, Kent has found among the Kutse, who are still predominently foragers, men and women do not differ significantly in status or power. She concludes that gender inequality is more likely influenced by the presence of a neighboring patriarchal society (Bantu ir European) with its gender-biased ideology and segregated forms of wage labor.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Settlement patterns
Property system
Property in movables
Division of labor by gender
Labor supply and employment
Gender status
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
San
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2005
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southern Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard ; 2003
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1987-1994
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1968-1994
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Botswana
NotesAdditional notes
Susan Kent
Includes bibliographical references (p. 534-536)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
sf 80000548
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
San (African people)