Public/private Domains: Gender Relations in The Central Cordillera

Reading 1: Public/private domains: Gender relations in the Central Cordillera .
Prill-
Brett, J. (2015). Tradition and transformation: studies on Cordillera indigenous culture. UP Baguio: Cordillera Studies Center
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Situating Gender and Difference
In all societies, women and men have always been perceived as different in their
biological constitution. Behavioral differences between women and men, however, are social
constructs. These social constructs oftentimes assume a political character. The socio-cultural
construction called gender, which results from the interaction of biology and culture, gives rise to
the cultural concepts of "femininity" and "masculinity," and the accompanying cultural behavior
assigned to each by the society. There is, however, diversity in what constitutes "feminine" and
"masculine" behavior across cultures and at different points in time. Females and males acquire
a gender identity that is guided by the socially and normatively defined notions that constitute
female and male. In relation to this, some feminist theorists have suggested the notion of two
separate spheres of activity: the public and private domains. The public domain is described as
the social sphere that centers on the wider social world outside of the house and is associated
with political and economic activity above the household level (see Rosaldo, 1977; Helliwell,1993). This
has been described as the men's domain. The domestic or private domain is said to be the
social sphere that centers on the home and is associated with such activities as child rearing
and food preparation for household consumption. This is the women's domain.
Writers have observed that women's gender identity is largely the outcome of ideologies
formed by the society. For example, in Thailand, Buddhist notions of gender difference stress
female inferiority despite the widespread participation of women in all levels of the economy
(Thitsa, 1980; Kirsh, 1982). Kirsh has argued that Theravada Buddhism views women as bound to
earthly desires, while men are more ready to give up such attachments. Kirsh refers to this
image of women as constituting an "ideology of oppression."
Feminist anthropologists have observed from cross-cultural perspectives that to
understand gender relations is to analyze these in the context of time periods, social class,
ethnicity, education, ideology, age, degree of acculturation, and other experiences as these
intersect in women's lives. In pre-Revolutionary Vietnam, for example, Confucianism adopted by
the upper class subordinated women, whereas among the peasantry, husband and wife equality
was celebrated (Ngo, 1974). In Saudi Arabia, government has declared that any mingling of the
sexes is morally wrong. This ideology has been translated into the strict segregation of the
sexes such as the purdah. As a result, Saudi women and men are segregated: in schools and
other institutions, in the workplace, in banks, and in public buses. Female lawyers are barred
from becoming judges, or holding legislative authority. In this Islamic society, the patriarchal
family remains the center of social organization (HelliweIl, 1993).
What Makes the Difference: Some Theoretical Perspectives

Evidence from cross-cultural anthropological studies informs us that women and men
behave differently because more than biological constitution, social and cultural processes
make them different. There is cross-cultural evidence that male-female variability is expressed
in sexual behavior, in the division of labor, and in the performance of tasks such as child
rearing. This shows that no one characteristic task and subsequent behavior is natural to males
or females; however, culture and society see the importance of differentiating women and
men.
Theories to explain gender differences as basis for the subordination of women and their
low status as compared to men have often been attributed to biological differences. Simone de
Beauvoir (1953), for example, locates the origin of women's subordination in her relationship to
nature and nature's relationship to culture. She argues that men are freer than women to pursue
transcendence because they are not constrained by the tasks of reproducing and sustaining life.
Similarly, Ortner (1974) claims that the nature/culture model is a universal construction of sexual
inequality, aligning nature with woman and culture with man.
Rosaldo (1977, 8) argues that an emphasis on women's maternal role leads to a universal
opposition between domestic and public roles that are necessarily asymmetrical. Women,
confined to the domestic sphere, do not have access to the sorts of authority, prestige, and
cultural value that are the prerogatives of men. Another view, offered by Sanday (1974), suggests
that reproduction, subsistence, and defense are crucial aspects of any society's survival.
However, women's reproductive role may limit their participation in defense.
Sanday further argues that women's contribution to subsistence is a crucial variable in
determining their status. In societies where women are the producers but the fruits of production
are controlled by men, the status of women is low. Women's status is highest where the
contribution to subsistence is relatively equivalent to that of men. Sacks (1974, 222) has observed
that for the attainment of full social equality, men and women's work must be of the same kind -
the production of social use values. In other words, where the sexes engage in productive
activities with different ends, such that women engage only in production for private use while
men engage in production for exchange or social use values, women have low status.
This paper presents the Bontok case to describe gender relations in the Cordillera
highlands. Ethnographic data would show that gender models that emphasize dualism as
discussed above are not universally applicable.
The Bontok
The municipality of Bontoc, the capital of the Mountain Province, occupies 22 square
kilometers at an altitude of 1,680 meters. It can be reached by land from Baguio City, which is
about 150 kilometers to the south. There are 15 barangays (roughly equivalent to villages)
in this municipality. In pre-colonial Spanish and American periods, and up to the present, each
village was autonomous in the conduct of socio-cultural and, to a large extent, political affairs.
Bontok settlements are situated in narrow valleys and on mountain shoulders with
elevations ranging from 500 to 1,300 meters above sea level, wherever water sources are
sufficient to irrigate rice terraced fields. The Bontoc area has a total population of 17,093
distributed among 15 compact villages or barangays. Village populations may range between
600 to 3,000 persons.
The Bontoc economy is largely based on subsistence wet rice agriculture, cultivated on
terraced mountain slopes, with one to two croppings annually. Although wet rice agriculture
appears to dominate Bontok subsistence economy, swidden cultivation is considered as
complimentary to the rice agricultural system. Sweet potatoes, a wide variety of beans, millet,
maize, sugarcane, taro, peanuts, and some vegetables and fruits are planted primarily for
household consumption. A minimal percentage of the produce is sold for cash at the Bontoc
town market.
The Bontok area, like the rest of the Cordillera, was able to resist Spanish domination for
almost 400 years (Scott, 1974). It became part of the Philippine State through negotiation rather
than conquest, during the American colonial period (Fry, 1983). Early American policy in the
men often perform the heavier tasks such as plowing (especially if the water buffalo is used),
and assist in the harvest and transporting of the harvest to the village. The tasks of sowing,
transplanting, and weeding the paddy fields are mostly done by women. Overall, women
are the primary agriculturists.
Swidden farming activities also need the labor of both men and women. Men clear the
forest, pollard the trees, dry and bum the brush and branches. The women do the planting, and
both harvest and transport the produce to the village.
The raising of poultry and livestock (chicken, pig, carabao, and cow) is an important
activity. Pigs and chickens are found in almost all households, since these are ritual animals.
The care of these livestock is the responsibility of household members. Pig feed is gathered by
women from the swidden and carried home after work from the fields. Grandparent, husband, or
wife-whoever among them is left in the village-does the cooking of pig food and the household
meal. Male household members are usually responsible for the grazing of carabao and cow in
the communal pastureland. xxx
Men's Work vs. Women's Work

It is clear from the description of Bontok social life and resource management that the
nature/culture, domestic/public dichotomies, in relation to gender differences and women's
subordination and male domination, do not seem to apply in the Bontok case. The division
of labor clearly shows that Bontok women are not confined to the "domestic" or "private"
domain. Women are not confined to the home, since both husband and wife work out in the
fields or forest in the daytime, while grandfather, grandmother, or older siblings care
for the baby or young children.
The "domestic" versus "public" spheres concept, where women are said to be
associated with domestic or private activities while men are considered to operate in the public
sphere, is not supported by the data. Both men and women participate in public rituals and
ceremonies. Male and female elders perform public rituals for the community, although male
elders have more occasions to perform more ceremonies, such as those related to warfare,
peace-making, and inter-village conflict over boundaries brought about by resource
competition.
Social and economic activities involving women are carried out most often outside the
home. These activities are largely associated with food production and some trading (e.g., the
production and trade of hand-woven fabrics, clay pottery, coffee beans, and some
vegetables). Women often freely socialize with their peers during public feasts and other social
occasions. Women inherit valuable productive property such as pond fields, which they often
manage, and largely control the allocation of produce.
In relation to the Bontok perception of work done by men and women, there is no higher
value attached to work done by men, in comparison to work done by women. Women's work is
not perceived as having low status. Although viewed as different from each other, men's work
and women's work are both valued in the society-complimentary and often interchangeable.
Tasks usually considered as "women's work," such as cooking the household meals and child-
care, are also men's concerns in Bontok society.
Sexual Equality in Bontok Society

There is a strong notion of sexual equality in Bontok society as shown by the following
observations:
1. Customary law on access to critical resources is gender neutral, with primary emphasis
on birth order in the inheritance pattern. Women inherit valuable productive property
such as pond fields, which they often manage, and they also largely control the
allocation of produce.
2. Women have a high degree of autonomy. Women may control productive property
such as pond fields, and the production of woven fabrics and pottery for exchange.
3. They control their own sexuality without the intervention or control of male kinsmen.
4. Women are not confined to the home, or to home activities. Men and women equally
share in domestic work such as cooking and childcare. Women often freely socialize
with their peers during public feasts and other social occasions and form enduring
social groups.
5. There are no dichotomies between men's work and women's work. There is no
assignment of a higher value to men's work and lower value to women's work.
6. The preference for male children over female children is absent in traditional Bontok
society, since both are desired. This has been validated by several ethnographic
studies carried out in Bontok and western Mountain Province communities (see
for example Cherneff, 1981, 155; Bacdayan, 1977; Jeffremovas, 1994).
7. The fruits of production resulting from the joint efforts of husband and wife are jointly
managed; both share in decision-making.
8. The tasks carried out by women in food production are complementary to men's work
and even interchangeable with the tasks of men.
9. Both men and women share production and reproduction responsibilities. Both control
to a large degree their own sexuality, especially when not yet married.
10. The only exception has to do with defense and warfare-decisions concerning
these are necessarily the domain of men. The men of the ator handle peace pacts,
which entail
the policing and defense of the community's integrity from internal or external violations
or threats.
The high rate of interchangeability of "women's work" and "men's work" appears to be an
important factor in gender equality among the Bontok. My own study strongly supports
Bacdayan's (1977, 285) finding in his northern Kankana-ey study, particularly when he argues for
the high degree of mechanistic cooperation of males and females. This is defined by the high
rate of tasks done together. Bacdayan's data show that the 81 % of tasks found to be
interchangeable are the most frequently performed tasks necessary for the operation and
survival of the society. Most of these are agricultural tasks by which the family or household is
maintained. I should also add that based on my own research, another important factor leading
to gender equality in Bontok society is women's ownership and control of valuable resources
such as pond fields, which are critical to the family's survival. Customary law supports the right
of women to inherit irrigated rice fields, equal with the right of males, based on birth order.
Overall, there is a sharing of economic, social and ritual powers between men and women
in the domestic and public contexts. This is expressed in the full participation of women in the
ceremonial aspects of public life. There is also freedom of women, similar to the men, to form
associations or ties with other members of the community and outside the community, such as
the enduring association of female peer groups (kapangis and khakayam). Thus, they are
neither confined to the house, nor isolated from other public (social) activities.
The dualistic models in which women have been identified with the domestic sphere, and
men with the public or social sphere do not necessarily apply to most of the highland societies
of northern Philippines, especially the Bontok. This has been argued in this paper.
Finally, in the context of Bontok gender relations we return to Sacks (1974, 222), who argues
that full social equality is attained when men and women's work are of the same kind, which is
the production of social use value. Furthermore, as I have argued here, women's ownership and
control of productive resources critical to the production and reproduction of the family and the
interchangeability of tasks largely account for sexual or gender equality in Bontok society.

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Reading 1: Public/private domains: Gender relations in the Central Cordillera .

What Makes the Difference: Some Theoretical Perspectives

Men's Work vs. Women's Work

Sexual Equality in Bontok Society

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