The Impact of Western Influence on Traditional Gender Roles among

Indigenous Gender Roles

Running Head: INDIGENOUS GENDER ROLES

The Impact of Western Influence on Traditional Gender Roles among

Aboriginal Australians and Native Americans

Travis Sky Ingersoll

Widener University: HSED 594

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Introduction

In this paper I will focus on gender roles, and how western invasion and colonization

impacted those roles among the American and Australian continent’s aboriginal

populations. To keep this report concise I will only offer a perfunctory overview of

related topics, such as the Native American Two-Spirits, and the complex kinship

systems of the Aboriginal Australians. Although these two topics are extremely relevant

in the discussion of gender roles among indigenous populations, to thoroughly explore

such topics would greatly exceed the size limitations of this paper.

Recognizing the limitations of such a report, there are a few important points to make

before diving into the subject at hand. First, most of the literature concerning Native

American and Aboriginal Australian gender roles has been written by people of European

descent, and not by the indigenous populations themselves. Second, by the time

anthropologists and historians began documenting the behaviors of the indigenous people

they met, it was typical that western influence could already be felt (Beatrice, 1985;

Bonvillain, 1989; Broom, 1994; Muir, 2000; Murray, 1994). With that in mind, it is safe

to assume that indigenous lifestyles viewed through the microscope of western eyes may

be adulterated by western moral ideologies. The obvious way to gain a valid

understanding of such a topic is to hear it from the mouths of the populations being

examined, and from their own unique understanding of the world in which they live.

However the lack of such documentation makes that task extremely difficult.

Lastly, is the inherent difficulty with trying to generalize gender roles among Native

American and Aboriginal Australian people. When talking of Native Americans, one

must encompass the plethora of diverse peoples in both North and South America. On

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the single continent of Australia, when Europeans arrived on its shores, there were more

than 500 distinct Aboriginal tribes (Broome, 1994). Although within the many

indigenous peoples of the Americas and Australia there exist veins of commonality, such

as with creation myths and gender roles, there also are cultural differences that

discourage overgeneralization.

With those glaring limitations noted, what this report will try and establish is a

generalized overview of Native American and Aboriginal Australian gender roles prior to

the influence of Western society. Following that exploration will be a brief review of

literature documenting western society’s impact on the gender roles of the American and

Australian continent’s indigenous populations, both initially as well as in the present.

This paper will conclude with my own reactions and insights gained from exploring this

fascinating topic.

Native American Gender Roles

Throughout North and South America, many of the native population’s creation myths

appear to have led to the establishment of egalitarian gender roles within their societies.

Where western ideologies, based primarily on Christianity, emphasized a singular male

god, most indigenous American cultures emphasized the importance of both male and

female deities. Under the moral authority of western religion, women were considered

inferior, whereas with most Native American cultures women were viewed as equals to

men (Bonvillain, 1989; Picchi, 2003; Tannahil, 1982).

In Eskimo culture the most powerful deity was called Sedna. She was responsible for

ensuring the survival of the Eskimo people through the yearly creation of the sea-life on

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which they depended. Navajo people stressed the importance of women’s fertility, and of

the spiritual bond between mother and child. Many Navajo mythical stories involve

mother figures, such as the “Changing Woman,” who came when early humans lost their

ability to reproduce. She mated with the Sun, producing twins, who eventually gave birth

to all Navajo clans. Among the Iroquois, symbolism of female fertility and power was

also expressed through their creation myths. According to Iroquois legend the female

figure, “Aataensic,” was responsible for creating all life and is honored for being the

caretaker of human souls (Bonvillain, 1989).

Although some Native American religions talk of great female deities responsible for

giving and sustaining life, many stress that the great spiritual beings were neither male

nor female, but a combination of both (Powers, 2000; Williams, 1983). Such is the belief

system of Native American peoples who revered the Two-Spirits. Within the Two-

Spirits, the creators are said to have instilled the spirit of both man and woman, creating a

third gender, who act as intermediaries between the polarities of male and female. The

Two-Spirits were said to have been created for the purpose of improving society through

their creative ingenuity, their spiritual power, and their ability to act as go-betweens for

addressing relationship issues between men and women (Williams, 1983).

Within the South American continent, many of the pan-Andean peoples’ supernatural

beings were conceptualized as possessing both masculine and feminine traits, and

sometimes having both male and female bodily forms. The main Inca god “Virococha”

is an example of such a being. Virococha produced two lines of deities, one male and

one female, who in turn created all human men and women. This “founding couple”

spiritual paradigm provided the basis for the belief in gender parallelism, which lies at the

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root of most pan-Andean religions (Picchi, 2003; Powers, 2000). In contrast, western

societies emphasized a “founding father,” which inevitably led to the suppression and

subjugation of women around the world (Tannahil, 1982).

Gender roles within most Native American societies, on both continents, were

primarily based on the specialization of labor. However, the spirit of a person was more

significant than their physical sex. This attitude was reflected in the way transgender

men and women of many indigenous North American societies could permanently

assume the role of the opposite sex (Williams, 1983). Although men and women were

assigned gender-specific tasks, those tasks were seen as equal in contribution to their

groups. The allocation of tasks specific to one’s gender created a system of reciprocity

that fostered the interdependence of the sexes. Since both the men and women’s work

were equally valued, neither sex was seen as superior (Blackwood, 1984; Bonvillain,

1989; Picchi, 2003). In addition each sex highly valued the other since the group’s health

and survival could not be maintained without one or the other (Powers, 2000).

In general men were assigned the tasks of hunting, fishing, weapon and tool making,

while women spent their time making clothes, preparing food, and foraging for plants,

fruits, nuts and small animals that provided their group’s main source of sustenance.

Women were also responsible for taking care of the children. However such roles were

fluid, in that men would help with the tasks of childrearing and domestic chores, while

women would at times participate in the hunt (Blackwood, 1984; Bonvillain, 1989;

Powers, 2000; Williams, 1986). Also notable, although uncommon, are the

documentations of women warriors (Blackwood, 1984; Carneiro, 2002).

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Throughout Native American societies, from the tip of Alaska to the mountains of

Peru, women and men both played important roles in politics and religion. Although in

many Native American societies men held the top-most positions in politics and religion,

there existed cultures where women were on top of the spiritual and social hierarchies. In

fact, as Inca society broadened its borders throughout South America, they came upon

cultures that were completely female dominated (Poweres, 2000). In North America,

both Navajo and Iroquois ideologies emphasized women’s fertility and the power of the

mother/child bond. This way of thinking greatly influenced their daily lives, as well as

through the expressions of rituals and myths (Bonvillain, 1989)

The Navajo clan mother was at the center of all in matters of spirit and politics

(Kluckhohn & Leighton, 1962). Matrilineal clans allocated the lands on which the Navajo

farmed. In addition, each clan’s epicenter was a matri-local residence where husbands of

the clan mother’s daughters would relocate to after their wedding ceremonies. Political

and social decisions were equally worked through by men and women together, although

typically the clan mother’s input weighed heaviest (Downs, 1972; Bonvillain, 1989).

The Iroquois were much like the Navajo with regards to land allocation and post-

marriage matri-local residences. Iroquois women had an even greater role in their

people’s welfare, in that they controlled and were in charge of distributing the goods of

both men and women. Although men were the clan’s primary traders and warriors, they

relied on the women to supply them with the food they needed while away. In the

political realm, although male chiefs were responsible for representing the voices of both

their clan’s men and women, it was the clan mothers’ who chose which men would take

on that important role (Bonvillain, 1989).

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In South America, staying true to the Inca doctrine of parallelism, property, wealth,

ritual status, and other resources were passed down from mother to daughter and from

father to son. In this way women were assured access to the means for their survival,

independent of men. Both religiously and politically men and women had access to

status and power, although women were not usually permitted to be at the upper most

echelons of authority. However, like with the Iroquois and Navajo, often the men who

gained access to supreme authority did so with the help of prominent women (Powers,

2000).

Around the 16th century, the egalitarianism of most Native American peoples would

come under attack with the arrival of foreigners upon their shores. The European

emphasis on Christianity and male dominance would permanently alter the lives of most

indigenous Americans. When the Spanish explorers arrived in South America they

quickly began to push their agenda of male supremacy and sexual oppression, which had

a disastrous effect on the status of South American women (Picchi, 2003; Powers, 2000;

Tannahil, 1982).

Under the Spanish colonial regime, women would become stripped of their autonomy,

and the gender-parallelism that governed the Inca society would be left in ruins. The

Spanish, being a patriarchal war-like society, was built upon a foundation of Christian

evangelicalism. The Spanish soldiers and missionaries would not tolerate women

holding power economically, politically and/or religiously. As a result, women began to

lose their status on all levels. Their matrilineal access to resources was obliterated, being

replaced by male-centered organizations. Although women did put up resistance, and

used whatever means were at their disposal, over time the Inca men would come to

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internalize the male-centered ideologies of their conquerors, which led to a pervasive

atmosphere of male-superiority (Powers, 2000).

On the continent of North America, the constant stream of incoming colonizers would

also significantly alter the gender roles of the indigenous populations. Christian

missionaries, like those in South America, preached of strict gender roles and the

subjugation of women. Within this atmosphere of sexual suppression there was no place

for the Two-Spirits, who through western eyes were nothing more than sinful sodomites

(Williams, 1986). In fact, all expressions of gender variance were oppressively

squelched.

Just as with the invasion of South America, the patriarchal ideologies of North

American colonizers persistently eroded the status of Native American women. Male

dominance was preached and even forced upon the indigenous peoples through

government-funded re-education programs. This pressured acculturation eventually

resulted in Native American rejection of cross-gender roles (i.e. a third gender), and the

adoption of the male-centered ideologies of the colonists. Over time, as western

colonization spread, the traditional gender-allocated system of reciprocal labor would be

replaced by a market in which the demand for male-labor dominated. So not only was

the spiritual role of women depreciated through the emphasis of a supreme male God, but

women’s means of contributing equally to their people’s livelihood was also stripped

away (Bonvillain, 1989; Williams, 1986).

At this time I find it necessary to communicate the fact that not all Native American

peoples were as egalitarian as the Iroquois or the Navajo. As with anything, there were

exceptions. For instance, many tribes in the North American plains, as well as the Aztecs

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further south, were more war-like in nature. This atmosphere of testosterone-fueled

bravado created an atmosphere of male dominion and female submission. For those

indigenous Americans, more negative consequences would be felt in other areas of their

lives than with gender roles. In fact, their gender roles would change little, marked

mostly by the loss of male status and their ability to provide (Bonvillain, 1989; Medicine,

1985; Tannahil, 1983).

One would hope that over time, with the advent of information-spreading technology

like the internet, the negative effects that western society had on Native American gender

roles would begin to reverse themselves. However, literature on contemporary Native

American gender roles, on both continents, suggest that very little of the deleterious

effects caused by western ideologies have been reversed. In fact, the volume of literature

pointing at the need for further research on indigenous American gender roles, the need

for greater advocacy for Native American women’s rights, and the push for Native

American educational programs to promote gender equity illustrates this reality

(American Indian Resource Center, 1992; Goodman, 1993; Herring, 1999; Medicine,

1985; Vinding, 1998).

Aboriginal Australian Gender Roles

Much like the creation myths of many Native American societies, the Aboriginal

Australian myths incorporate the important role of the female gender. According to

Aborigines, life began when superhuman beings, encompassing the characteristics of

man, women, , as well as human and animal, broke from the confines of the cold and

barren Earth, and breathed life unto the land, waters, and sky (Broome, 1994). From

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those early superhuman beings, the great male and female ancestors of all Aboriginal

Australian people were created. Those early ancestors not only were responsible for the

creation of all Aboriginal peoples, but also passed down gender specific knowledge of

sacred places, rituals, and rules of kinship.

Many of the mythical female ancestors were dignified, powerful, and awe-inspiring.

According to Aboriginal legend, these first female creators at one time possessed all the

sacred rites and emblems, which would eventually be divided among both men and

women (Strehlow, 1947). These early female ancestors first circumcised the male

ancestors, and taught them how to properly circumcise their youth, a ritual which would

become the traditional role of the male gender (Broom, 1994; Dussart, 1992). Although

females of Aboriginal creation myths held as much, and at times even more, power as

their male counterparts, Aboriginal society would end up being more male dominated.

Much like the indigenous peoples of the Americas’, the Aborigines’ gender specific

specialization of labor revolved around the hunting and/or fishing of men, and the

foraging, food preparation, and domestic responsibilities of women. Also like Native

Americans, Aboriginal men and women participated equally in the production of trade-

items and utilitarian instruments. Similarly, both men and women’s roles in the survival

of the kinship groups within their territory was seen as equal and reciprocal (Broome,

1994). However, in Aboriginal societies there were clear-cut divisions between men’s

and women’s roles (Maher, 1999). For women this included all aspects of reproduction,

including menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, contraception, abortion and female

ceremonial business. The strict domain of Aboriginal men included conflicts, the land,

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male anatomy, and male religious ceremonies. With their respected role as keepers and

protectors of the land, men came to dominate Aboriginal politics and religious affairs.

Each Aboriginal man and woman was intimately tied to their land and the life upon it.

Early Aborigines believed that each person was part of an animal totem. When a woman

realized that she was pregnant, it was understood that the spirit of an animal close by had

impregnated her. Upon reaching adulthood, men primarily would have to perform

ceremonies yearly at the site of their sacred totem, to keep the balance of life in order,

and to promote the health of his totem animal and his people (Broome, 1994; Jolly,

2004).

The gender roles of Aborigines would be taught through a process of initiation into

adulthood, which would begin around the ages of 10-12. Boys spent many years

acquiring the skills necessary to hunt and defend their future wives. This was also a time

of pain and tests of endurance. For many boys, part of the initiation process included

having one of their front teeth pulled out (Macintyre, 1999).

Female ceremonies were less elaborate and lengthy than for males. Adolescent girls

were taught how to live off the gatherable bounty of the land. They were taught the skills

of being good sexual partners and matters of reproduction. When they became mothers,

they were the ones responsible for instilling within their children a deep respect and love

for the land on which they lived, and their cohabiting life forms (Broome, 1994).

According to Aboriginal kinship law, everyone living within your group is considered

family. For example, all of your father’s brothers are also your fathers, and all of your

mother’s sisters are also your mothers. The rest of the clan becomes your aunts, uncles,

brothers, sisters, etc., regardless of any true blood relation. The kinship group behaved as

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parts of a unified whole, where everything one did was for the benefit of the entire group.

Within these kinship groups, women and men perceived themselves as interdependent.

However, due to religious law, a man was tied to the land on which he was born. This

meant that when a woman married a man, she was obligated to live in his territory

(Broome, 1994; Berndt & Berndt, 1982).

Every kinship clan was ruled by its eldest male members. Many of the most important

aboriginal ceremonies were open only to men. And it was the men that possessed and

guarded their people’s sacred religious items. It was believed that the powerful spiritual

forces at play were too dangerous for women to get involved with. Although men

dominated politics and religious ceremonies, women held their own rituals mostly

revolving around fertility. The rituals of Aborigines involved song, dance and body

painting (Berndt & Berndt, 1982; Broome, 1994; Dussart, 1992).

Although women could wield influence as to who became married to whom,

marriages were typically arranged by men. Some Aboriginal men had multiple wives,

however monogamy characterized most Aboriginal marriages. This was mostly due to

resource limitations, for a husband was required to reciprocate in many ways to his wife’s

family. Once married a man could lend his wife out to another man with the expectation

of reciprocation in some form. This could be done without the wife’s consent. Although

Berndt and Berndt (1982) wrote that this was not always a bad situation for the woman

involved, it does demonstrate how unequal traditional Aboriginal gender roles were.

Another example of inequality concerning Aboriginal gender roles is the fact that only

women had to obey food and speech taboos upon the death of a spouse. This was a rule

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created by the men to ensure that a dead husband would be properly mourned (Dussart,

1992).

With the arrival of Captain Cook in the late 18th century, the lives of Aboriginal

Australians would begin to be drastically changed. Through arrogant ethnocentrism, and

the gross miscalculation of the continent’s indigenous population, the entire continent

would be labeled, “terra nullius,” which means an uninhabited place. This would lead to

the Aborigines’ land being taken away, attempts at genocide, and the near destruction of

traditional aboriginal culture. The survivors would become isolated on the social,

economic and geographical boundaries of mainstream society (Maher, 1999). Although

every other aspect of Aboriginal existence was drastically altered as a result of

colonization, as with prominently male-centered Native American cultures, traditional

gender roles changed little for Aborigines (Broome, 1994; Macintyre, 1999).

According to contemporary literature on gender roles among Aboriginal Australians,

what has significantly begun to change is the status and power of Aboriginal women in

relation to that of Aboriginal men. In an article on the politics of Aboriginal female

identity, Dussart (1992) states that no longer do men have the ultimate say with regards to

who marries whom. Women are beginning to marry out of love, and not due to

traditional kinship law. Also, the tradition of imposing food and speech taboos on

widows is also becoming challenged by more Aboriginal women (Maher, 1999). In a

more recent article by Dussart (2004), it is shown that Aboriginal women are now at the

forefront of revitalizing traditional Aboriginal spiritual ceremonies and rites, thereby

elevating their role within Aboriginal politics and religion.

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Since the gender roles of Aboriginal women were traditionally inferior to those of

Aboriginal men, at least in my Eurocentric understanding, it is no surprise that men

would lose out in light of changing times. According to Jones (1993), in present day

Australia, although all Aborigines are disadvantaged citizens in relation to white

Australians, Aboriginal men earn less and have higher unemployment rates than

Aboriginal women. It is also noted that white Australians tends to treat Aboriginal

women better than Aboriginal men. The reason for this has not been fully explored, but I

suspect it has something to do with the way white Australians view traditional Aboriginal

gender roles. Although the European colonization of Australia proved disastrous to the

Aborigines and their way of life in general, it seems to be producing some positive

outcomes for Aboriginal women regarding gender equity.

Conclusion

Throughout my exploration of Native American and Aboriginal Australian gender

roles, I have noticed just how important creation stories are to the establishment of equity

among the world’s men and women. In the book Sex in History by Tannahil (1983), it

was proposed that male dominance over women began with the domestication of animals.

This may be true, but it also appears that many societies either missed the lesson or

decided to ignore it. I can’t imagine that the domestication of plants and animals came

after the ancient relatives of native North and South Americans began walking across the

land bridge between Asia and what is now Alaska. In my opinion, religion is the primary

root of gender inequality. Although Christianity served the first blows to the

egalitarianism of many Native American societies, those cultures with enough indigenous

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pride to initially resist the doctrine of male-supremacy would eventually have their sense

of gender parallelism altered through the forces of economics (Bonvillain, 1989; Picchi,

2003).

What I also learned was contrary to my original supposition regarding the gender roles

of Native Americans. I thought that, at least in North America, gender equality was a

universal aspect of Native American life. I was surprised to find that many of the

indigenous Plains peoples were primarily male dominated. I was also surprised to find

that there existed societies in South America where women were the supreme rulers,

giving credence to my fantasies of the Amazonian women warriors who populated my

childhood fantasies.

With regards to Aboriginal Australians I had learned, as an exchange student in

Australia, the sad history of Aborigines as a result of European colonization. I had also

learned of their kinship systems and of their relations to the lands on which they lived.

What I had not learned were the details of their gender roles and initiation rites. The

similarities between Native American Plains people and Aboriginal Australians are

striking. In both societies the people traveled following the animals on which they

preyed, and were characterized by frequent tribal warfare. So it appears that even when

creation stories promote gender equity, the harsh realities of life tend to tip the scales

towards the gender whose hormone-driven characteristics better ensure survival.

In the present, the entire globe is moving towards greater gender equality, recognizing

gender variance, and the acceptance of atypical sexual orientations. Although this

process is happening much too slow in my opinion, one can not deny that a movement is

under way. Could this simply be due to the weakening religious control within our

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planet’s technologically advanced societies, or is it a natural step in our evolution as a

social species? If it is part of a natural, social evolution to move towards gender

parallelism, then it is safe to say that the results of European colonization and the spread

of Christianity not only retarded our evolution, it actually knocked us back many

centuries, if not millennium!

Within our planet’s indigenous populations, this move towards gender equality will be

for some the beginning of a completely new reality. This is evident in the rising status of

Aboriginal women within Aboriginal society. For others, such as the Iroquois, Navajo,

and many other native North and South Americans, it will be a move back towards the

more traditional. I believe that we are, as a planet, evolving towards the gender

parallelism and gender variance understandings that were once a part of many

enlightened indigenous populations.

There is a paradigm shift under way, with regards to the understanding of gender and

sexuality. When Mark Pope, an openly gay Native American with a heritage of two-

spirited people, can be voted in as president of the American Psychiatric Association, you

can tell we’re moving in the right direction (Pope, 2003). I have faith in the human race,

and as a future sexologist will do my best to help facilitate this much needed change in

gender relations, as scores of others in various academic fields are doing right now.

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Documents

The Impact of Western Influence on Traditional Gender Roles among