ABSTRACT

All societies differentiate between males and females, defining certain roles, work, rights and obligations for each. These can vary immensely from society to society (Whyte, 1978). Moreover, what one society defines as appropriate only for men (e.g. work, physical behaviour, or even certain forms of adornment), another might define as appropriate only for women. In some respects these differences may appear arbitrary, but they have probably emerged gradually over time as rational responses to basic ecological conditions. Most of these definitions are rooted in history and are seen by people not simply as rational, but as the right way, often the only right way, to do things.