Women's subordination as a social process : the Walbiri of central Australia

Abstract

In a given cultural context, a woman's relationship to a man may be perceived as "second class", "junior partner" or "partner". Regardless of a woman's status and how it is defined in relation to a man's. both men and women are expected to fulfill different social roles. Within some relatively egalitarian societies all men may be considered to be essentially equal, as well as all women. However, men and women as two separate groups may have different rights and obligations which may make them unequal. In such societies the anthropologist may perceive that in many social arenas women are coincidental, whilst men are the main cultural actors. Yet this observation cannot be rejected solely as androcentric bias. It is apparent that in some societies, according to male actors, women are considered as socially unequal. Women, as a whole, may not have the mobility of men nor access to social support systems enabling them to attain power.