Blurring the Boundaries of Gender
Another major contribution of cross-cultural research has been to challenge the
simple dichotomy of two biological sexes (male and female) and two gender iden-
tities(masculinity and femininity). In fact, anthropologists suggest that there may
be far more genders out there than we know. Some societies recognize more than
two genders—sometimes three or four. The Navaho appear to have three
genders—one for masculine men, one for feminine women, and one called
thenadlefor those whose sex is ambiguous at birth. One can be born or choose
to be a nadle; they perform tasks for both women and men and dress appro-
priately, depending on the tasks they are performing. And they can marry either
men or women.
Numerous cultures have a clearly defined gender role for the berdache. A
berdache is a member of one biological sex who takes the social role of the other
sex, usually a biological male who dresses and acts as a woman. In most cases,
they are not treated as freaks or deviants but are revered as special and enjoy
high social and economic status; many even become shamans or religious figures
(Williams, 1986). There are fewer female berdaches, although one Native Ameri-
can culture permits parents to decide that, if they feel they have produced too
many daughters, they may therefore raise one as a son.
In Albania, centuries of clan-based honor killings and blood feuds have left
a significant shortage of men in rural areas. Thus, in some families in which there
are no sons, a daughter is allowed to become a “sworn virgin.” She renounces
all sexual relations and socially “becomes” a man. She inherits the family prop-
erty and dresses like a man, and in the evenings she hangs out in the cafes drink-
ing with the men (Young, 2000).Rituals of Gender—And What They Tell Us
Many cultures develop elaborate rituals to demarcate men from women. Take cir-
cumcision, for example. The surgical removal of the boys’ foreskin has long been prac-
ticed by Jews and Muslims and became the standard medical practice in the United
States during the twentieth century. In fact, circumcision is the single most common
surgical procedure in the United States today, although the United States is the only
country in which it is performed routinely and for secular or hygienic reasons. Female
circumcision, or cliterodectomy, is the surgical removal of the clitoris. It is quite dif-
ferent from male circumcision, which may only slightly affect sexual functioning and
has no effect on reproduction. Female circumcision is designed to completely elimi-
nate the possibility of women’s sexual pleasure, while most often leaving intact their
reproductive ability. The World Health Organization estimates that between 100 and
140 million girls and women have undergone some form of circumcision (World
Health Organization, 2001).
In some cases, the function of gender rituals is to blur the boundaries between
women and men. Take the rather curious ritual called couvade,which means “cov-
ering.” Couvade is a ritual that men practice when their wives are pregnant. They
observe the same food rituals as their wives and even seclude themselves during the
delivery (hence the term). Some men even claim to experience the pain of childbirth
and get painful cramps. Couvades have been noted in peoples as diverse as North
and South American Indians, Africans, Indians, the Basques of Spain and of France,
the Chinese, and in Papua New Guinea, and they are still seen and studied around
the world today (Khanodbee, Sukratanachaiyakul, and Gay, 1993; Klein, 1991;
Masoni et al., 1994).288 CHAPTER 9SEX AND GENDERJThe berdache is a great
example of how cultures blur
gender roles—in some cul-
tures a person of one sex will
adopt the social role of the
opposite sex. Most berdaches
are males who take on the
female gender identity.