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Websites
- Association for Queer Anthropology
http://queeranthro.org/
The Association for Queer Anthropology, a part of the AAA, supports anthropological work related to sexuality, gender, and their intersections with other forms of identity and social forces.
- The International Gender Studies Centre
http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/igs/home.aspx
The International Gender Studies Centre at Oxford University provides links to research and publications on its website.
- Women Make Movies
www.wmm.com
Wide range of films/videos by women filmmakers on diverse topics, including gender, social groups, and sexuality. Films are made within the US and internationally, providing a background to film distribution on gender.
Videos
“The Diversity of Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation” (Stanford University and Strong Medicine) (YouTube 18:00). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yM_P6WdRJU
An overview of sex and gender, and the relationships to identity and behavior, providing a balanced perspective on diversity across the gender spectrum
Books and Articles
Adam, Barry D., and J. Cristian Rangel. 2015. “The Post-Migration Sexual Citizenship of Latino Gay Men in Canada.” Citizenship Studies 19(6/7): 682–695.
This article examines the experiences of 25 Spanish-speaking homosexual and bisexual men in Toronto. Although many of the men interviewed reported feeling greater acceptance of their sexual identities, their experiences were also shaped by their social and economic marginalization in Canada. The article illustrates the importance of intersectionality when looking at issues related to sexuality and gender.
Berry, Maya J., Claudia Chavez Arguelles, Shanya Cordis, Sarah Ihmould, and Elizabeth Velasquez Estrada. 2017. Toward a Fugitive Anthropology: Gender, Race, and Violence in the Field. Cultural Anthropology 32 (4):537-565.
Authors raise the issue of being women and anthropologists in the field subjected to violence and reactions from male participants. This includes perception of race and appropriation of western values of feminine and masculine roles, sexuality, and appropriate engagement. Accounts of violence experienced by the anthropologists themselves as well as by informants that they worked with serve to underline the paradoxes of engaged research. The need to become involved and yet have means to protect the self underscore the “double duty” that female anthropologists are frequently subjected to in their work. The authors suggest that a “fugitive anthropology” may better reflect the challenges that anthropologists endure in the field, and that this critical engagement is essential for an embodied feminist ethos.
Geller, Pamela L. and Miranda K. Stockett, eds., 2006. Feminist Anthropology: Past, Present, and Future. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Many articles by biological and archeological anthropologists, showcasing the interplay between feminist theory and practice to illustrate how issues of gender fall across time. Helpful overview by the editors of the key trends in feminist anthropology in an approachable format.
Goulet, Jean-Guy A. 1996. “The ‘Berdache’/‘Two-Spirit’: A Comparison of Anthropological and Native Constructions of Gendered Identities among the Northern Athapaskans.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 2(4): 683–701.
Goulet discusses the “berdache” among America Indian societies who is defined as a person, usually male, who behaves and dresses like a member of the opposite sex. Anthropologists debate whether a berdache represents an individual who is a mix of two genders or a third gender altogether. Goulet sees these arguments as somewhat simplistic and notes that, because the translation of the word “berdache” is derogatory, some scholars argue for the use of the term “two-spirit” instead.
Inhorn, Marcia C. 2014. Roads less travelled in Middle East anthropology - and new paths in gender ethnography. Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 10 (3):62-86.
Author began her work looking at how childlessness was a profound form of gendered suffering for Middle Eastern women, and that anthropology must break from old models of perspectives on the region to follow new roads of inquiry, namely in war and refugeeism, masculinity studies, sexuality studies and critical LGBTQ+ perspectives, as well as science, environment, art, and legal anthropology to engage with issues of social justice and equity. The goal is for the study of the Middle East to be strongly influenced by holistic, anthropological perspectives, instead of historical/political ones, with a strong gender focus. Author highlights key works in each of these new roads of study, demonstrating the breadth of anthropological contributions to date.
Kenny, Alexandra, and Conny Camenzind. 2007. “The Philani Experience: Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women in South Africa.” National Association of Practicing Anthropologists Bulletin 27: 27–39.
The authors discuss their participation in a George Washington University graduate program “to examine gender equality and empowerment of women in South Africa in rapidly changing sociocultural, economic, and political contexts.” They focused their observations and ethnographic interviews on mothers employed by a non-formal education program known as Philani. Philani provides employment opportunities and child support/care to members of the Khayelitsha community. The authors considered a variety of issues, including changing cultural constructs, effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and how women’s empowerment affected relationships with men.
Laroque, Sylvain, Robert Chodos, Benjamin Waterhouse, and Louisa Blair. 2006. Same Sex Marriage: The Story of a Canadian Social Revolution. Toronto: James Lorimer.
Laroque et al. examine the legal and cultural processes through which Canada came to legalize same-sex marriage. By focusing on the diverse perspectives of both supporters and protesters, the authors maintain that a substantial cultural shift in perspective with regards to notions of what constitutes morally appropriate sexuality led to the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Macintyre, Martha. 2001. Taking care of culture: Consultancy, Anthropology and Gender Issues. Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice 45 (2):108-119.
Macintyre explores how, in Papua New Guinea, governments and development projects have frequently used anthropologists to provide advice and assistance when engaging with local communities. She examines this role in light of her own consulting work on a social impact assessment for a mining project in the region where she compares local community attitudes about women working in mining projects. Some men perceived women as a threat to their jobs, citing existing cultural values around women "polluting" machinery. That the company tried to accommodate cultural beliefs, in spite of the fact that the women did not necessarily adhere to these traditional forms of understanding, reinstates the need for anthropologists to be aware of the broader implications of these practices, and to actively show that communities are not homogeneous, and that issues must be appropriately resolved.
Maticka-Tyndale, Eleanor. 2008. “Sexuality and Sexual Health of Canadian Adolescents: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 17(3): 85–95.
This article examines sexual health and behaviour among Canadian adolescents in the early 21st century. There is little apparent change between this time period and the last decade of the 20th century. In general, these generations are better equipped to protect their sexual health; however, STIs and homonegativity remain common problems. Youth living in poverty and in rural areas are most vulnerable to poor sexual health.
Power, Camilla, and Ian Watts. 1997. “The Woman with the Zebra’s Penis: Gender, Mutability and Performance.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 3(3): 537–560.
The authors examine African hunter–gatherer cultures where the relationship between gender and sex is paradoxical. During initiation rites, girls are given hunting weapons and wear artificial penises, while boys are treated as if they are menstruating. Powers and Watts use their research to demonstrate that gender represents a cultural construct independent of biological sex.
Shirpak, Khosro Refaie, Eleanor Maticka Tyndale, and Maryam Chinichian. 2011. “Post Migration Changes in Iranian Immigrants’ Couple Relationships in Canada.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 42(6): 751–770.
This article considers how gender roles, marriage roles, and family structure change when people move into new geographic and cultural contexts. Specifically, it reports on research conducted with people who had immigrated to Canada from Iran. Participants in the study spoke about the challenges they faced and the ways in which they adapted to the new places in which they lived.
Stone, Linda S. 2004. “Gay Marriage and Anthropology.” Anthropology News 45(5): 10.
Gay marriage is a topic that continues to dominate political discourse in the United States, even as more and more states legalize the practice. The author argues that, contrary to political perspectives, gay marriage does not represent an attempt to redefine marriage. Rather, anthropologists counter with two arguments. The first is that marriage is difficult to define from a global, cross-cultural perspective. The second is that the idea of marriage is primarily defined as a way to give status rights to children is also not supported from a global, cross-cultural perspective. Stone concludes that marriage among humans is not simply a matter of biology but rather a manifestation of choice that all humans use as their basis for kinship. Gay marriage easily fits into the choice people across the world exercise in many different ways—allowing individuals to construct marriage for themselves.