复旦大学：《视觉文化与社会性别》参考文献_status, property and the value on virginity.pdf

status, property, and the value on virginity ALICE SCHLEGEL-University of Arizona One way to assess a womans autonomy is to ask whether she controls her own sexuality Thus, the prohibition on premarital sex for females is often considered a measure of mens control over women s lives. There are certain difficulties with this assumption, however. First the way a people feels about premarital sex is not necessarily consonant with its attitude toward extramarital sex, as many peoples allow premarital freedom but condemn adultery, while oth ers, such as the Lovedu(Sacks 1979), insist on premarital virginity but turn a blind eye to di creet extramarital affairs. Second, this assumption fails to recognize that in most societies, the value placed on virginity applies to adolescent girls, not to adult women with few exceptions worldwide, girls are still physically adolescent when they marry, generally within three or four years after puberty--by about 18 or younger. More important young people are generally not social adults until they marry, so that the premarital female is socially an adolescent girl. Some societies, such as our own and that of 17th-century England( Stone 1977), for example, are xceptions to this, having a stage that I call "youth"intervening between adolescence and fu adulthood. However, in most parts of the world the bride is a teenage girl who in most aspects of her life is still very much under the authority of her parents. If virginity is not, then, a very good measure of female subordination, we must look for other aspects of girls'and young women s lives that are associated with the proscription of premarital sex. One common notion is that virginity is valued when men have to""for wives by trans- ferring goods in the form of bridewealth to the women s families. This notion is based on the assumption that there is some innate preference for virgins which can be activated when men have the upper hand, so to speak, because they are paying for the bride. It must be noted, of course, that there is no universal preference for virgin brides. Such an assumption projects onto other cultures the attitudes that have developed historically in our own. moreover, the belief that when men give bridewealth they pay for virgin brides is shaken when we read in Goody (1973: 25)that dowry-giving societies, in which the bride's family pays, are generally intolerant of premarital sex for girls. Here the family pays to give, not to receive, a virgin bride. There may be some connection between marriage transactions and the value on virginity but it is not readily apparent what that connection is To illuminate this question, it is necessary to understand the varying effects that marriage transactions-the movement of goods (most usually)or services at the time of a marriage-have on the transmission or retention of property and on the social debts incurred thereby This ques- tion was addressed in Schlegel and Eloul (1987, 1988)and will be summarized here. Following This article tests and confirms the proposition that a cultural value on the virginity of girls is, in large part, a function of the form of marriage transaction. the study is based on a worldwide sample of preindustrial societies and includes an interpre- tation of the association between several forms of marriage transaction and a pre- scription of or preference for premarital female virginity. Several other explana tions for the value on virginity are also discussed. Virginity, bridewealth, dowry

status, property, and the value on virginity ALICE SCHLEGEL-University of Arizona One way to assess a woman's autonomy is to ask whether she controls her own sexuality. Thus, the prohibition on premarital sex for females is often considered a measure of men's control over women's lives. There are certain difficulties with this assumption, however. First, the way a people feels about premarital sex is not necessarily consonant with its attitude toward extramarital sex, as many peoples allow premarital freedom but condemn adultery, while others, such as the Lovedu (Sacks 1979), insist on premarital virginity but turn a blind eye to discreet extramarital affairs. Second, this assumption fails to recognize that in most societies, the value placed on virginity applies to adolescent girls, not to adult women. With few exceptions worldwide, girls are still physically adolescent when they marry, generally within three or four years after puberty-by about 18 or younger. More important, young people are generally not social adults until they marry, so that the premarital female is socially an adolescent girl. Some societies, such as our own and that of 17th-century England (Stone 1977), for example, are exceptions to this, having a stage that I call "youth" intervening between adolescence and full adulthood. However, in most parts of the world the bride is a teenage girl who in most aspects of her life is still very much under the authority of her parents.' If virginity is not, then, a very good measure of female subordination, we must look for other aspects of girls' and young women's lives that are associated with the proscription of premarital sex. One common notion is that virginity is valued when men have to "pay" for wives by transferring goods in the form of bridewealth to the women's families. This notion is based on the assumption that there is some innate preference for virgins which can be activated when men have the upper hand, so to speak, because they are paying for the bride. It must be noted, of course, that there is no universal preference for virgin brides. Such an assumption projects onto other cultures the attitudes that have developed historically in our own. Moreover, the belief that when men give bridewealth they pay for virgin brides is shaken when we read in Goody (1973:25) that dowry-giving societies, in which the bride's family pays, are generally intolerant of premarital sex for girls. Here the family pays to give, not to receive, a virgin bride. There may be some connection between marriage transactions and the value on virginity, but it is not readily apparent what that connection is. To illuminate this question, it is necessary to understand the varying effects that marriage transactions-the movement of goods (most usually) or services at the time of a marriage-have on the transmission or retention of property and on the social debts incurred thereby. This question was addressed in Schlegel and Eloul (1987, 1988) and will be summarized here. Following This article tests and confirms the proposition that a cultural value on the virginity of girls is, in large part, a function of the form of marriage transaction. The study is based on a worldwide sample of preindustrial societies and includes an interpretation of the association between several forms of marriage transaction and a prescription of or preference for premarital female virginity. Several other explanations for the value on virginity are also discussed. [virginity, bridewealth, dowry, marriage transactions] the value on virginity 719

that, marriage transactions and attitudes toward virginity will be analyzed to demonstrate that they form a meaningful pattern, albeit a pattern somewhat different from what one might ini tially expect. Specifically, it will be argued that the virginity of daughters protects the interests of brides' families when they use marital alliances to maintain or enhance their social status marriage transactions The form of marriage transaction that has received the most attention in the anthropological literature is bridewealth, goods given by the groom, usually with the assistance of his kin, to the family of the bride Bridewealth generally does not remain with the family that receives it it or its equivalent is used to obtain wives for brothers of the bride or an additional wife for her father. Thus, goods and women circulate and countercirculate In the large majority of bride wealth-giving societies, which are patrilocal, households end up with as many women as they have produced, by replacing daughters with daughters-in-law and sisters with wives Women exchange is also a form of replacement the exchange being direct rather than me- diated by a transfer of property. women exchange and bridewealth are most frequently found where women have economic value through their large contribution to subsistence(cf Schle- gel and Barry 1986). In each case the result is a kind of social homeostasis, both among the families through which women and goods circulate and within the household that sooner or later gains a woman to replace each one it has lost Brideservice is often considered to be analogous to bridewealth, with payment in labor rathe than goods. They differ significantly, however, in that the benefit of brideservice goes directly to the brides household and is not circulated as are bridewealth goods, Thus families with many daughters receive much free labor, while families with few get little While gift exchange, in which relatively equal amounts are exchanged between the families of the bride and groom, can occur at all levels of social complexity, it is often found in societies with important status differences in rank or wealth; it occurs most often in Asia, native North merica, and the Pacific Since residence is predominantly patrilocal in gift-exchanging soci- eties, the bride-receiving household is socially, although not economically in debt to the bride giving one. The exchange of equivalent goods is a way of ensuring that the intermarrying fam- ilies are of the same social status, as indicated by the wealth that they own or can call up from among their kin and dependents. atus is a major consideration in dowry -giving societies the bride' s dowry is sometimes matched against the grooms settlement, thus ensuring equivalence, a usual practice among European land-owning peasants or elites. Dowry can also be used to"buy"a high-status son in-law, a common practice in South Asia and one also known in Europe. Dowry or a brides anticipated inheritance can be used to attract a poor but presentable groom, a client son-in law whose allegiance will be primarily to the house into which he has married and on which is dependent. This strategy seems to have been practiced by mercantile families in Europe and Latin America. Dowry was associated historically with the Old High Culture areas like the Mediterranean(ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome)and Asia(India, China, and Japan) and was the common form throughout Europe until recently The final form of marriage transaction to be examined here is indirect dowry which contains some features of both bridewealth, in that goods are given by the grooms family, and dowry, in that the goods end up with the new conjugal couple. Sometimes the groom s kin give goods directly to the bride but more often they give goods to her father, who then gives goods to the new couple. The latter form has frequently been confused with bridewealth, as in the islamic mahr. Indirect dowry tends to be found on the fringes of the old High Culture areas and in those Old High Culture areas, like Egypt, into which it has been introduced along with con version to Islam, replacing the simple dowry of earlier times. In its classic form, it appears to 720 american ethnologist

that, marriage transactions and attitudes toward virginity will be analyzed to demonstrate that they form a meaningful pattern, albeit a pattern somewhat different from what one might initially expect. Specifically, it will be argued that the virginity of daughters protects the interests of brides' families when they use marital alliances to maintain or enhance their social status. marriage transactions The form of marriage transaction that has received the most attention in the anthropological literature is bridewealth, goods given by the groom, usually with the assistance of his kin, to the family of the bride. Bridewealth generally does not remain with the family that receives it: it or its equivalent is used to obtain wives for brothers of the bride or an additional wife for her father. Thus, goods and women circulate and countercirculate. In the large majority of bridewealth-giving societies, which are patrilocal, households end up with as many women as they have produced, by replacing daughters with daughters-in-law and sisters with wives. Women exchange is also a form of replacement, the exchange being direct rather than mediated by a transfer of property. Women exchange and bridewealth are most frequently found where women have economic value through their large contribution to subsistence (cf. Schlegel and Barry 1986). In each case the result is a kind of social homeostasis, both among the families through which women and goods circulate and within the household that sooner or later gains a woman to replace each one it has lost. Brideservice is often considered to be analogous to bridewealth, with payment in labor rather than goods. They differ significantly, however, in that the benefit of brideservice goes directly to the bride's household and is not circulated as are bridewealth goods. Thus, families with many daughters receive much free labor, while families with few get little. While gift exchange, in which relatively equal amounts are exchanged between the families of the bride and groom, can occur at all levels of social complexity, it is often found in societies with important status differences in rank or wealth; it occurs most often in Asia, native North America, and the Pacific. Since residence is predominantly patrilocal in gift-exchanging societies, the bride-receiving household is socially, although not economically, in debt to the bridegiving one. The exchange of equivalent goods is a way of ensuring that the intermarrying families are of the same social status, as indicated by the wealth that they own or can call up from among their kin and dependents. Status is a major consideration in dowry-giving societies. The bride's dowry is sometimes matched against the groom's settlement, thus ensuring equivalence, a usual practice among European land-owning peasants or elites. Dowry can also be used to "buy" a high-status sonin-law, a common practice in South Asia and one also known in Europe. Dowry or a bride's anticipated inheritance can be used to attract a poor but presentable groom, a client son-inlaw whose allegiance will be primarily to the house into which he has married and on which he is dependent. This strategy seems to have been practiced by mercantile families in Europe and Latin America. Dowry was associated historically with the Old High Culture areas like the Mediterranean (ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome) and Asia (India, China, and Japan) and was the common form throughout Europe until recently. The final form of marriage transaction to be examined here is indirect dowry, which contains some features of both bridewealth, in that goods are given by the groom's family, and dowry, in that the goods end up with the new conjugal couple. Sometimes the groom's kin give goods directly to the bride, but more often they give goods to her father, who then gives goods to the new couple. The latter form has frequently been confused with bridewealth, as in the Islamic mahr. Indirect dowry tends to be found on the fringes of the Old High Culture areas and in those Old High Culture areas, like Egypt, into which it has been introduced along with conversion to Islam, replacing the simple dowry of earlier times. In its classic form, it appears to 720 american ethnologist

be a way of establishing the property rights of the conjugal couples that make up larger house holds, in anticipation of eventual fission. In addition, it allows for status negotiation without either family being put in the others economic or social debt (cf Schlegel and Eloul 1988 There are variations within these major types, and there are additional features(such as the European dower) that are secondary and limited in distribution. In complex societies, the form of transaction may vary according to region or class. In prerevolutionary China, for example the landed or mercantile elite gave dowry while the landless peasantry gave indirect dowry whereas in modern China, marriage transactions have disappeared from urban areas while bridewealth has replaced indirect dowry among peasants(Fang 1990). When the forms differ by status, the preferred form, practiced by the elite, is the one considered here. 2 marriage transactions and the value on virginity Information on attitudes toward premarital sex for females, or the value placed on virginity, comes from two sources. the primary one is the code"Attitude Toward Premarital Sex(Fe male)"in Broude and Greene(1980). Using the Standard Sample of 186 preindustrial societies Broude and greene found information on this subject for 141 societies. Their code is divided into six levels of value: (1) premarital sex expected ( 2)premarital sex tolerated; (3)premarital sex mildly disapproved of but not punished; (4) premarital sex moderately disapproved of and ightly punished; (5) premarital sex disallowed except with bridegroom; and (6)premarital sex strongly disapproved of. For the present study, the first three categories were collapsed into virginity not valued"and the second three into " virginity valued "i have made four alterations to the code based on my own reading of the ethnographic literature: I have changed the coding for the Burmese from 3 to 5(Spiro 1977), for the Tikopia from 3 to 4( Firth 1936), for the Koreans from 3 to 6(Osgood 1951), and for the yurok from 2 to 4( Kroeber 1925). The societies are The second source is a body of data collected by herbert Barry and me on adolescent so cialization in Standard Sample societies not coded by Broude and Greene. The data were col- lected on adolescent behavior, not cultural attitude; coders were asked to assess whether pre- marital sex was or was not tolerated because the code is less detailed than broude and Greene's and because it measures behavior rather than attitude, I offer information only on societies in which premarital sex is not tolerated and thus, by definition, virginity is valued Presumably, there can be cases where premarital sex is moderately disapproved of and pun- ished when discovered, but most adolescent girls take the risk and indulge anyway.)These societies are indicated in Table 1 in parentheses but have not been included in the tests, for to do so would introduce a bias toward the set of societies valuing virgil It is clear that the value on ity is not randomly distributed among societies with all types of marriage transaction. Table 2 shows the distribution, which is statistically significant: p< 0001. Even when those societies without marriage transactions are eliminated, the distribution is still statistically significant: p <0O1 Others have also found significant associations between premarital sexual permissiveness and structural or cultural features. In studies by Murdock (1964), Goethals(1971),Eckhardt (1971), Paige(1983), Barry and Schlegel (1986), and others(see Broude's [19811 summary) sexual permissiveness is shown to be associated with the simpler subsistence technologies absence of stratification smaller communities, matrilineal descent matrilocal residence ab- sence of belief in high gods, absence of bridewealth (but bear in mind that in earlier studies bridewealth has been conflated with indirect dowry), high female economic contribution, little or no property exchange at marriage and ascribed rather than achieved status. These features are all highly intercorrelated, and some correlate with types of marriage transactions(Schlegel and Eloul 1988

be a way of establishing the property rights of the conjugal couples that make up larger households, in anticipation of eventual fission. In addition, it allows for status negotiation without either family being put in the other's economic or social debt (cf. Schlegel and Eloul 1988). There are variations within these major types, and there are additional features (such as the European dower) that are secondary and limited in distribution. In complex societies, the form of transaction may vary according to region or class. In prerevolutionary China, for example, the landed or mercantile elite gave dowry while the landless peasantry gave indirect dowry, whereas in modern China, marriage transactions have disappeared from urban areas while bridewealth has replaced indirect dowry among peasants (Fang 1990). When the forms differ by status, the preferred form, practiced by the elite, is the one considered here.2 marriage transactions and the value on virginity Information on attitudes toward premarital sex for females, or the value placed on virginity, comes from two sources. The primary one is the code "Attitude Toward Premarital Sex (Female)" in Broude and Greene (1980). Using the Standard Sample of 186 preindustrial societies, Broude and Greene found information on this subject for 141 societies. Their code is divided into six levels of value: (1) premarital sex expected; (2) premarital sex tolerated; (3) premarital sex mildly disapproved of but not punished; (4) premarital sex moderately disapproved of and slightly punished; (5) premarital sex disallowed except with bridegroom; and (6) premarital sex strongly disapproved of. For the present study, the first three categories were collapsed into "virginity not valued" and the second three into "virginity valued." I have made four alterations to the code based on my own reading of the ethnographic literature: I have changed the coding for the Burmese from 3 to 5 (Spiro 1977), for the Tikopia from 3 to 4 (Firth 1936), for the Koreans from 3 to 6 (Osgood 1951), and for the Yurok from 2 to 4 (Kroeber 1925). The societies are listed in Table 1. The second source is a body of data collected by Herbert Barry and me on adolescent socialization in Standard Sample societies not coded by Broude and Greene. The data were collected on adolescent behavior, not cultural attitude; coders were asked to assess whether premarital sex was or was not tolerated. Because the code is less detailed than Broude and Greene's and because it measures behavior rather than attitude, I offer information only on societies in which premarital sex is not tolerated and thus, by definition, virginity is valued. (Presumably, there can be cases where premarital sex is moderately disapproved of and punished when discovered, but most adolescent girls take the risk and indulge anyway.) These societies are indicated in Table 1 in parentheses but have not been included in the tests, for to do so would introduce a bias toward the set of societies valuing virginity. It is clear that the value on virginity is not randomly distributed among societies with all types of marriage transaction. Table 2 shows the distribution, which is statistically significant: p < .0001. Even when those societies without marriage transactions are eliminated, the distribution is still statistically significant: p < .001. Others have also found significant associations between premarital sexual permissiveness and structural or cultural features. In studies by Murdock (1964), Goethals (1971), Eckhardt (1971), Paige (1983), Barry and Schlegel (1986), and others (see Broude's [1981] summary), sexual permissiveness is shown to be associated with the simpler subsistence technologies, absence of stratification, smaller communities, matrilineal descent, matrilocal residence, absence of belief in high gods, absence of bridewealth (but bear in mind that in earlier studies, bridewealth has been conflated with indirect dowry), high female economic contribution, little or no property exchange at marriage, and ascribed rather than achieved status. These features are all highly intercorrelated, and some correlate with types of marriage transactions (Schlegel and Eloul 1988). the value on virginity 721