Toward an Anthropology of Women edited by Rayna R. Reiter This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code). Monthly Review Press New York and LondonCopyright © 1975 by Rayna R. Reiter All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title ‘Toward an anthropology of women. Bibliography: p. CONTENTS: Reiter, R.R. Introduction. —Linton, S. Women the gatherer: male bias in anthropology.— Leibowitz, L. Primate politics: sexual dimorphism and sex roles.-Gough, K. The origin of the family. [ete.] 1. Women—Addresses, essays, lectures, 2. Sex role—Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Reiter, Rayna R. GN294.768 301.412, —74-21476 ISBN 0-85345-372-1 Jacket photos courtesy of Patricia Draper, Susan Harding, Nancy Jervis, Harold Levine, Museum of American Indian/Heye Foundation, Rayna Reiter, Dorothy Remy, and Anna Rubbo 15 14 13 12 1110 89 76 5 43 Monthly Review Press 62 West 14th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011 47 Red Lion Street, London WC1R 4PF Manufactured in the United States of America Contents Introduction Rayna R. Reiter Perspectives on the Evolution of Sex Differences Lila Leibowitz Woman the Gatherer: Male Bias in Anthropology Sally Slocum The Origin of the Family Kathleen Gough !Kung Women: Contrasts in Sexual Egalitarianism in Foraging and Sedentary Contexts Patricia Draper Aboriginal Woman: Male and Female Anthropological Perspectives Ruby Rohrlich-Leavitt, Barbara Sykes, and Elizabeth Weatherford The Concept of Pollution Among the Kafe of the Papua New Guinea Highlands Elizabeth Faithorn Matriarchy: A Vision of Power Paula Webster The Traffic in Women: Notes on the “Political Economy” of Sex Gayle Rubin oH 11 20 36 51 77 110 127 141 157The Traffic in Women: Notes on the “Political Economy” of Sex The literature on women—both feminist and anti-feminist—is a long rumination on the question of the nature and genesis of women’s oppression and social subordination. The ques- tion is not a trivial one, since the answers given it determine our visions of the future, and our evaluation of whether or not it is realistic to hope for a sexually egalitarian society. More importantly, the analysis of the causes of women’s oppression forms the basis for any assessment of just what would have to be changed in order to achieve a society without gender hierarchy. Thus, if innate male aggression and dominance are at the root of female oppression, then the feminist program would logically require either the extermination of the offending sex, or else a eugenics project to modify its character. If sexism is a by-product of capitalism’s relentless appetite for profit, then sexism would wither away in the advent of a successful socialist revolution. If the world histor- Acknowledgments are an inadequate expression of how much this pa- per, like most, is the product of many minds. They are also necessary to free others of the responsibility for what is ultimately a personal vision of a collective conversation. I want to free and thank the following persons: Tom Anderson and Arlene Gorelick, with whom I co-authored the paper from which this one evolved; Rayna Reiter, Larry Shields, Ray Kelly, Peggy White, Norma Diamond, Randy Reiter, Frederick Wyatt, Anne Locksley, Juliet Mitchell, and Susan Harding, for countless conversations and ideas; Marshall Sahlins, for the revelation of anthro- pology; Lynn Eden, for sardonic editing; the members of Women's Studies 340/004, for my initiation into teaching; Sally Brenner, for heroic typing; Susan Lowes, for incredible patience; and Emma Gold- man, for the title. 157