gifts
pre-understanding of sex that they interpret through their grasp of gen-
der. Judith Butler argues that gender precedes sex. But as a concept
gender is established on sexual roles, although both are socially con-
structed notions. Moreover, gender is productive in the sense that it pro-
duces sex and establishes it as something prior to culture.
Judith Butler, a poststructural feminist, argues that gender supports the
category of sex by means of cultural imperatives such as heterosexuality.
It is naturalized and institutionalized heterosexuality that regulates gen-
der as a binary relation through differentiating male from female by
means of practices associated with heterosexual desire. Within culture,
the gender/sex distinction is performed in a way that embodies a political
imperative that identifies a person. If one looks behind expressions of
gender, there is, however, no genuine gender identity; it is just people
performing their expected social roles.
Further reading: Butler (1990); Delphy (1993); King (1987, 1995)
GIFTS
Within a web of social relations, unique items or services are given to
others who may reciprocate the gesture. The social significance of gifts
can give personal information about the people doing the giving and
receiving, the objects given and received, and what this practice tells us
about social relations within a particular context. The bestowing of gifts
is an important cross-cultural feature of various religious traditions. Islam
builds giving gifts, for instance, into the five pillars of the faith with the
injunction of zakāt (almsgiving), a term related to purity. The Qur’an
(9.103) refers to the offering of one’s wealth that purifies a person and
their remaining wealth. Zakāt is an obligatory contribution of one-fortieth
of one’s annual income. It is distinguished from sadaqāt, which is a free-
will offering (58.13–14). The act of giving is best understood in the
Muslim context as a loan made to God that will be repaid manifold and
will help a person repent and atone for sins. Jews and Christians are also
encouraged to be generous with their gifts, as are Buddhists and
Hindus.
The Buddhist term for giving, generosity, or charity is dāna, an impor-
tant virtue that must be executed selflessly and without expectation of
reward. Within Therāvada Buddhism, it refers to the laity giving alms to
the monastic community and monks giving teachings to the laity, creating
a mutual giving society. Lay followers receive merit, a balance of good