The Mbuti pygmies live in the Ituri forest, causing them to rely on hunting, gathering, and trading to survive. The men are in charge of organizing the hunting but the women are still able to help them with the nets for trapping animals. The Mbuti women are the main caretakers of the children; also they are in charge of collecting foods from the forest for the tribe to eat and for possible trades with villagers. The men are also able to help the women in gathering food. When the time comes to trade the collections of forest food and results of the hunt, the women are usually the ones to go out and do the actual trade of physical goods. On the other hand, both Mbuti men and women are able to trade labor for goods with the villagers.
The men and women assume their gender roles. The good thing is that they are not so strictly confined to what their gender is supposed to do for the tribe. They help each other in order to be effective in survival rather than judgmental. Also, the women are able to talk on the same level as men in a serious discussion. This shows that women are not looked down upon as inferior to men. The Mbuti pygmies have a great understanding of equality between the sexes and their successful lifestyle shows it.
Nadine, P.
2010 The Mbuti of Northeast Zaire Cultural Survival. Electronic document, http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/the-mbuti-northeast- zaire, accessed March 24, 2015.
As a young American woman, I am grateful for the endless possibilities that I am able to have living in the United States today. It is true that sometimes I may take my extent of freedom for granted or overlook it because it has become a social norm. So when I am reminded of what could be, I like to think about how my life and the seemingly worst parts of it then realize that it is such a privilege to be able to go to college and get almost any job I want if I work hard enough for it without the limitations of what society used to expect of women.
ReplyDeleteI also realize that the gender roles of the Mbuti are very similar to that of the United States but they are not quite the same. The Mbuti still focus on women being the caregivers and gatherers which is essentially what we have in America, but the women are not completely equally seen as hunters, just as the hunter's helpers. This is the difference between gender roles. Women in America have more social freedom.