Gender Roles
One unusual aspect of the Karankawa culture was their distinction in having three gender roles: male, female, and a third role taken on by some males. Males who took on this third role are called berdache (Karankawa: monanguia), and generally took on female roles and activities in daily life, while playing a special role in religious rites. According to some accounts, the berdache were passive sexual partners for the other males.
Read more about this topic: Karankawa People
Famous quotes containing the words gender and/or roles:
“Anthropologists have found that around the world whatever is considered “men’s work” is almost universally given higher status than “women’s work.” If in one culture it is men who build houses and women who make baskets, then that culture will see house-building as more important. In another culture, perhaps right next door, the reverse may be true, and basket- weaving will have higher social status than house-building.”
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—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)