Deck 4: Blood and Milk: Biocultural Markers in the Lives of Women

Question 1

What do anthropologists mean by the term "maidenhood?"

A) virginity
B) a culturally constructed period between menarche and adulthood
C) the period of time during which a woman remains unmarried
D) female adolescence

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following statements about the practices associated with menstruation of Ethiopian Jews who immigrated to Israel is accurate?

A) Most Ethiopian Jews who immigrated to Israel had abandoned menstrual seclusion before immigration.
B) Ethiopian immigrants easily adopted the practices of immersion and separation followed by observant Jews in Israel.
C) The religious community in Israel encouraged Ethiopian immigrants to continue their practices of menstrual seclusion.
D) Ethiopian immigrants gradually adapted their menstrual seclusion practices to urban life in Israel. Some developed their own interpretations of immersion and separation, while others abandoned the practice.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What does the anthropological record show about the practice of abortion?

A) Abortion has been practiced throughout time as a means of controlling fertility and reproduction.
B) Abortion is a relatively recent practice made possible by modern medicine.
C) In most cultures, abortion is practices only when there are no other reliable methods of birth control.
D) Where women have access to abortion, infanticide is never practiced.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Middle age for women is generally associated with _________.

A) cessation of regular menses
B) a relaxation of restrictions on mobility, association, and sexuality
C) fewer obligations to children, husbands, and in-laws
D) all of the above

Question 5

The practice of a woman bearing a child for another using her own genetic material (the egg), is called _________.

A) gestational surrogacy
B) genetic surrogacy
C) traditional surrogacy
D) donated-egg surrogacy

Question 6

In Israel, Ely Teman found that the surrogacy was characterized by which of the following?

A) attempts by the surrogate to distance herself from the fetus
B) a strong bond between the surrogate and the fetus
C) anger on the part of surrogates who are seen as incubators
D) legal battles over the true parentage of the baby

Question 7

Which of the following statements about contraceptives is NOT correct?

A) Contraceptives can be made from a variety of common household ingredients.
B) Using an emmenagogue blurs the line between birth control and abortion.
C) Reliable contraception has only been possible since the 20^th century.
D) Women use wax, lemons, lard, or bamboo vaginally to protect against pregnancy.

Question 8

Post-partum sex taboos ________.

A) only affect women, not their husbands
B) are illegal in Western cultures
C) may work as birth control by delaying a new pregnancy
D) are practiced only after the birth of the first child

Question 9

In studying infertility in Egypt, anthropologist Marcia Inhorn learned that ____________.

A) Egyptian husbands will support their wives even if they cannot bear children
B) the only option for infertile women is to go to expensive Western-style doctors
C) doctors in Egypt's Western-style hospitals are uninterested in solving infertility
D) all of the above

Question 10

Which of the following best describes the conditions of childbirth witnessed by Kris Holloway in rural Mali?

A) Childbirth occurs at home and is a natural, warm, and beautiful experience for mother, midwife, and child.
B) Childbirth is supported with limited medical technology that often does more harm than good.
C) Childbirth occurs in well-equipped birthing centers funded by the government.
D) Childbirth is considered animalistic, and women are forced to give birth outside of the village on their own.

Question 11

In parts of the Middle East, children who are otherwise unrelated but were nursed by the same woman are considered _________.

A) twins
B) deviants
C) siblings
D) cousins

Question 12

Giving birth is more than just reproduction; it is social production. This means: ____________.

A) Birth is an event that requires a number of people present, being social together
B) Each child born can begin a new society of her/his own
C) It is a rite of passage for the individual mother
D) Birth rites show how things are done in a culture, reinforcing beliefs about life and the world

Question 13

Doing fieldwork in Yucatan, Brigitte Jordan noted the importance of midwives in Maya pregnancy and childbirth. What do these midwives do?

A) Help avoid breech births, still births, and Caesarean sections.
B) Make sure a woman gives birth in the lithotomy position.
C) Promise the woman she will not experience pain with the birth.
D) all of the above

Question 14

Which of the following is associated with aging for women in Bengal?

A) the body becoming hot and moist
B) inevitable widowhood
C) loss of freedom
D) the body becoming dry and cool

Question 15

According to mainstream Jewish law, married, menstruating women _________.

A) are dirty and polluting
B) are powerful and magical
C) should immerse in a naturally-fed body or pool of water several days after their period
D) should always shower before having sex with their husbands

Question 16

Which of the following statements about new reproductive technologies and genetics is NOT correct?

A) New technologies, which emphasize disease, deny fetuses' social personhood.
B) Responses to new genetic information has created unprecedented changes in how family and kinship are defined.
C) The mass media has become fascinated with ways to monitor fetal development.
D) Commercialization has accompanied the popularization of new paths to motherhood.

Question 17

The political fight for reproductive freedom in the United States initially concerned _________.

A) the right to have children
B) the right to seek an abortion
C) the right to use birth control
D) the right to receive pain medication during childbirth

Question 18

With which of the following has breastfeeding been associated?

A) imparting personality traits
B) religious duty
C) nutrition and immunity to disease
D) all of the above

Question 19

What is kinaaldá?

A) the Ethiopian term for a menstrual hut
B) the Navajo ritual surrounding first menstruation
C) an ancient herb used for contraception
D) the Turkish practice of wet nursing

Question 20

In general, cultures place the most constraints on women during _________.

A) maidenhood
B) menopause
C) menarche
D) pregnancy

Question 21

What do we mean by the "medicalization of childbirth?" Is pregnancy equally "medicalized?" What about menstruation? How is "medicalizing" women's bodies another form of the cultural construction of gender?

Question 22

"Biocultural markers" refer to the moments in a woman's life cycle where physiology and cultural constructs meet. How are these constructed as part of women's work? How are the biocultural markers in men's lives different?

Question 23

Throughout time, women have striven to control pregnancy and reproduction. Choosing either fertility treatments or birth control, discuss women's motivations to conceive or not to conceive within your circle of friends. In other words, apply cross-cultural understanding to your own culture.

Question 24

Discuss how social personhood is conferred upon fetuses? What are the possible implications of this? How does it relate to reproductive technologies such as surrogacy and fetal testing?

Question 25

How is social birth different from biological birth? What are the cultural consequences in human societies for the status of fetuses? Of newborns? Of mothers? How is social birth related to the reasons people have for infanticide?

Question 26

Compare and contrast rites of passage surrounding women as they progress through the life cycle in two cultures.