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The Politics of Reproductive Ritual

The Politics of Reproductive Ritual f Karen Ericksen Paige and Jeffrey M. Paige, The Politics o Reproductive Ritual (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1981), 380 pp., $25.00 hardcover, $8.95 paperback Why do men mutilate each others’ penises and women’s genitalia, and engage in various intense and widespread ritual practices marking the onset of puberty, menstruation, and childbirth? Paige and Paige have written a meticulously de- Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law tailed and forcefully argued explanation of these events, based on their theory that reproductive rituals represent political strategies that are determined by economic and social conditions. Rituals are responses to the social dilemmas created (for men) by the four major events in the reproductive cycle (male puberty, menarche, childbirth, and menstruation), and are best understood as “attempts to persuade others, assess others’ intentions, gauge public opinion and manipulate perceptions” (p. 261). Whether one agrees with the authors’ interpretations or not, the reader will be stimulated and impressed with their exhaustive and sometimes ingenious presentation of ethnographic data, alternate hypotheses, and quantitative analysis of difficult material. At the heart of the matter are important questions about the functions and meanings of rituals that celebrate social-sexual and reproductive landmarks. Paige http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law Duke University Press

The Politics of Reproductive Ritual

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Publisher
Duke University Press
Copyright
Copyright 1984 by Duke University Press
ISSN
0361-6878
eISSN
1527-1927
DOI
10.1215/03616878-9-1-187
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

f Karen Ericksen Paige and Jeffrey M. Paige, The Politics o Reproductive Ritual (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1981), 380 pp., $25.00 hardcover, $8.95 paperback Why do men mutilate each others’ penises and women’s genitalia, and engage in various intense and widespread ritual practices marking the onset of puberty, menstruation, and childbirth? Paige and Paige have written a meticulously de- Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law tailed and forcefully argued explanation of these events, based on their theory that reproductive rituals represent political strategies that are determined by economic and social conditions. Rituals are responses to the social dilemmas created (for men) by the four major events in the reproductive cycle (male puberty, menarche, childbirth, and menstruation), and are best understood as “attempts to persuade others, assess others’ intentions, gauge public opinion and manipulate perceptions” (p. 261). Whether one agrees with the authors’ interpretations or not, the reader will be stimulated and impressed with their exhaustive and sometimes ingenious presentation of ethnographic data, alternate hypotheses, and quantitative analysis of difficult material. At the heart of the matter are important questions about the functions and meanings of rituals that celebrate social-sexual and reproductive landmarks. Paige

Journal

Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law – Duke University Press

Published: Apr 1, 1984

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