Women, Class, and Dowry

Dickemann, Mildred

doi:10.1525/aa.1991.93.4.02a00110

Cited by 48 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…We are in agreement with her on many issues. For example, contra Dickemann (1991), Schlegel agrees with us (Gaulin andBoster 1990, 1991) that the participation of families in marriage transactions is a logical outcome of their competitive function. Nevertheless, there are subtle but important differences in our positions, and it is these differences that we emphasize here.…”

Section: Testing Explanatory Models Of Dowry: a Reply To Schlegelmentioning

confidence: 93%

Dowry: Who Competes for What?

Schlegel

1993

American Anthropologist

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Section: Testing Explanatory Models Of Dowry: a Reply To Schlegelmentioning

confidence: 93%

Dowry: Who Competes for What?

Schlegel

1993

American Anthropologist

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“…Perhaps one of the most important local conditions affecting human reproductive strategies is polygyny (e.g., Borgerhoff Mulder, 1988, p. 216;Dickemann, 1979Dickemann, , 1991Goldschmidt, 1974, pp. 316-318).…”

Section: Polygynymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like Gaulin and Boster (1990, p. 997), we “assume that humans seek efficient tactics for reproduction and that the efficiency of particular tactics depends on local conditions.” Perhaps one of the most important local conditions affecting human reproductive strategies is polygyny (e.g., Borgerhoff Mulder, 1988, p. 216; Dickemann, 1979, 1991, p. 944; Goldschmidt, 1974, pp. 316-318).…”

Section: A Biocultural Approach To Marriage Transactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They have focused on symbols and meaning (e.g., Comaroff, 1980), labor needs, property, and status (e.g., Bell, 1998;Bossen, 1988;Goody, 1973;Harrell & Dickey, 1985;Kressel, 1977;Rao, 1998;Schlegel, 1991;Spiro, 1975;Tambiah, 1989), and the use of marriage transactions by family members to maximize their reproductive success (Apostolou, 2007(Apostolou, , 2008Dickemann, 1979;Gaulin & Boster, 1990; see also Borgerhoff Mulder, 1995). Although there have been disagreements among researchers about the interpretation of their findings (e.g., Dickemann, 1979Dickemann, , 1991Dickemann, , 1993Gaulin & Boster, 1991Lang, 1993;Schlegel, 1991Schlegel, , 1993, we view these perspectives as complementary rather than mutually exclusive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Marriage Transactions

Huber

Danaher

Breedlove

2011

Cross-Cultural Research

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This article refines and extends previous cross-cultural research on marriage transactions (e.g., bride wealth, dowry). The authors begin by expanding the standard cross-cultural typology of marriage transactions. They identify six additional kinds of transactions (e.g., groom wealth, groom service) and show that many societies of the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) probability sample have two or more types of transactions. Next, the authors take a Darwinian approach to marriage transactions. Differences in male and female reproductive strategies account for the general pattern of the bride's family materially benefitting from marriage at the expense of the groom's family. Kin selection theory explains why wealth devolves from the parents of the couple to the bride and groom. Finally, the authors examine evidence that the type of kin relied on by members of a society and the prevalence of polygyny also influence marriage transactions in predictable ways.

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Lineage interests and nonreproductive strategies

Hill

1999

Hum Nat

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The nonreproductive role of religious women in the European Middle Ages presents the ideal forum for the discussion of elite family strategies within a historical context. I apply the evolutionary concept of kin selection to this group of women in order to explain how a social formation in which religious women failed to reproduce benefited medieval noble lineages. After a brief review of the roles of noble women in the later Middle Ages, I identify two benefits that nonreproductive women provided within a patrilineal inheritance system. First, spatial segregation and Christian ideology together served to curtail the production of offspring who could pose a threat to lineage interests. Second, cloistered noble women served as a strong political and economic bloc that could further lineage interests within a religious context. Finally, I discuss the evolutionary basis for the formation of groups of nonreproductive women. Using the foundation provided by animal behavioral studies, I apply the twin concepts of cooperative breeding and parental manipulation to noble lineages of the medieval period.

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Women, Class, and Dowry

Cited by 48 publications

References 4 publications

Dowry: Who Competes for What?

Dowry: Who Competes for What?

New Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Marriage Transactions

Lineage interests and nonreproductive strategies

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