The Multi—Constructionist Concept of Gender

Xu Ruijuan

（School of Southeast Asian Studies，Yunnan University for Nationalities，Kunming，650031，Yunnan，China）

JOURNAL OF ETHNOLOGY，VOL.6，NO.5，64-70，2015（CN51-1731/C，in Chinese）

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2015.05.08

Abstract：

The Mosuo are an ethnic group who live at the juncture of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in southwest China.The study of gender among the Mosuo has been a hot topic for ethnologists and anthropologists at home and abroad.At different times，scholars have expressed different interests.However，no unanimous conclusion can be drawn from their research findings.Within the different conclusions of the scholars，what comes closest to the truth about Mosuo culture？  An open discussionon this question is the intention for writing this article.

For a long time，it was widely believed in the field of cultural anthropology that women held a subordinate position in society.However，the construction of gender in Mosuo society might provide us with a unique and precious example of something to the contrary.In addition，gender studies，instead focusing on the issue from a single perspective，should do so from a multi-perpsective angle.This article gives a multi-perspective analysis on the gender relationships in Mosuo society in order to have a clear understanding of the construction of gender for women.

1.The Spatial Construction of Gender for Mosuo Women

The family house is the most basic and important social unit of the Mosuo，and also the basis for the identity of the Mosuo.The spatial arrangements of the Mosuo family house reflect their unique construction of gender.The living pattern reflects the family members rights and position within the family，and the use and occupation of the house space reflect the societys cultural rules and the cultural meaning of gender.The construction of gender in Mosuo society，with its rule of “respecting the mother and the female”，and “women stay within the family house while the man walks to the partners house”，is fully reflected in the spatial allocation of the family house.

2.The Linguistic Construction of Gender for Mosuo Women

Language has a close relationship with the construction of gender.Language reflects

society，and gender relations are normally reflected in the language of daily life.Furthermore， language also creates a division of labor.As a cultural element，language has participated in the labor division of genders.There is a unique word “mi33” in Mosuo language.It not only plays an important role in language usage，but also displays a specific cultural connotation.As a single-syllable word，“mi33” refers to “mother”，the greatest female among human beings.The respect for the female，especially to the mother，lies at the core of Mosuo culture.The mother not only plays the important role in bringing up the descendants，but the mother is also the core and support of the family.For the Mosuo，the concept of mother symbolizes “great”.When this kind of cultural construction is reflected in language，all the words which have the meaning of “big，important，and primary” are followed by the syllable “mi33”.The connection of “mother” with “big，important，and primary”” reflects the cultural psychology of the Mosuo in “respecting the mother and female”.

III.The Kinship Construction of Gender for Mosuo Women

Earlier anthropological studies on kinship ignored gender relations.Hence，feminist anthropology stresses that a social gender perspective is an important tool for analyzing kinship.Kinship is the main content of gender analysis，and we should not regard gender and kinship as two separate studies.

The Mosuo only regard those people who have blood relations with the mother as the closest or most reliable.The most natural and proper way for maintaining the harmony of the family is to organize the family according to those who have the same blood relations coming from the mothers side.According to this principle，the Mosuo peoples inheritance system descends through the mothers line，and family members are organized through groups of people who have matrilineal blood relations.This is reflected in the kinship terminology which stresses matrilineal terms， and ignores patriarchal or marriage terms.This shows that both gender and kinship are the products of social cultural production.The cultural tradition of “respecting the mother and female” has standardized the kinship of Mosuo society，and the kinship also reflects the unique construction of gender of Mosuo society.

3.The Religious Construction of Gender for Mosuo Women

Religious belief is an important cultural phenomenon which permeates peoples daily lives，and influences the way people live and think.The wider influence of religion will doubtlessly contribute to the process of the construction of gender.The worship of female deities provides us with a good start to study the construction of gender of Mosuo society.In Mosuo belief systems and festivals，females are empowered within the role of deities who are worshiped by the people.The Mosuo connect the worship of females with their folk festivals – these kinds of religious beliefs  and customs，which highlight the role of women，become a main aspect in constructing a culture of “respecting mother and female” in Mosuo society.

The concept of female superiority is deeply reflected in the Mosuo myth of the Creation of the World.This myth reflects a lot of information，among which one point is the most important—women are not only the ancestral grandmothers of human beings，but also the source of wisdom and strength，and they are the organizers and managers of the Mosuo in ancient times. The Mosuos myth of the Creation of the World reflects the high position of women.

V.Conclusion

In traditional Mosuo culture，females hold the central position.Although for several centuries，the Tibetan and Han cultures have had a substantial impact on the Mosuo，the female-oriented concepts can still be observed in various aspects of the Mosuos daily life.This article tries to provide a unique ethnology for the construction of gender through a study on the construction of gender in Mosuo society.It further provides a unique case which is different from the “general knowledge” of ethnologists and anthropologists while doingcomparative studies on cross-cultural gender.This article is a worthy attempt and discussion on the construction of gender from the angle of multiple constructions and multiple perspectives.Only when we use multiple -perspectives to understand the object of our study，can we get closer to the nature and truth of things.

Key Words：   gender; spatial construction; language construction; kinship construction; religious construction

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