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Introduction to Anthropology

Critical Thinking Questions

Introduction to AnthropologyCritical Thinking Questions

Critical Thinking Questions

1 .
How would your life be different if you had been ascribed a different gender category at birth? Would your parents, siblings, and other relatives have treated you differently? Would your experiences in school have been different? Would you be the same person?
2 .
How did you learn to perform your assigned gender role? What lessons were explicitly taught, and what did you learn through observation and experience? Who taught you? Have you ever felt as though you were failing to successfully perform your gender role?
3 .
What would life be like in a matriarchal society? How might family life be different? How would government and religion be different? What values might be emphasized? Why do you think so?
4 .
Do all men benefit from patriarchy? How might men be limited or harmed by patriarchal beliefs and practices? Do some women benefit from patriarchy? How so?
5 .
Do you live in a heteronormative culture? How can you tell? Are things changing? What same-sex practices and relationships might have existed in the past in your culture?
6 .
What does the prevalence of transgender practices in many cultures tell us about human gender and sexuality? Do you think that your gender identity and sexual orientation are fixed, or might they change throughout your lifetime?
7 .
In your society, do men and women live in different subcultures? In what contexts are women and men segregated, either formally or informally? What forms of social interaction and bonding occur in those situations? What might be the function of the gendered subcultures found in many societies?
8 .
Would it be possible to entirely eliminate the concept of gender in your society? What might be the advantages and disadvantages of a gender-free society? How would the ideologies and practices of sexuality be transformed by such a change?
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