Return-Path: sendmail 8.6.4/UCSD-2.2-sun Fri, 3 Dec 1993 05:22:39 -0800 for socgrad-list Fri, 3 Dec 1993 05:22:36 -0800 for Date: Fri, 3 Dec 93 08:22 EST From: Subject: Re: MALE DOMINANCE To: SOCAW059@emuvm1.cc.emory.edu >So what I was asking about is this: Is there something about societies >where women "feel" powerful which is consistent across these varied >groups? Is there an economic base feature, a religious tenet, a geo- >graphic attribute, a dietary norm, is there anything which all of these >groups tend to have in common? No, probably not. Perhaps a more fruitful line of inquiry would be to reverse the question and ask: Is there something about societies where women "feel" _less_ powerful than men? "Power" in itself is a problematic propositon. _We_ as budding sociologists use (and ocassionally abuse) the concept of power to explain real or hypothesized relationships between social classes and categories. This does not necessarily mean that all subjects of our research understand or respond to the our sociological concept of power. Without wandering too far into relativism, we (sociologists) must remember that our conceptions and indicators of women's "power", such as earning potential, autonomy, educational opportunities - while valid in our society, and arguably morally just - may have little cross-cultural validity. >Having fun in Atlanta, Marni (the Cookie Monster) Hancock SOCAW059@EMUVM >1.CC.EMORY.EDU Jetaway Dave