ABSTRACT
The sexual division of labor is an old phenomenon to anthropologists, but it has never been studied in detail with reference to cultures in a state of flux. A study of American Kalderaš Gypsies has revealed that this Gypsy culture has carried the division of life’s activities between the sexes to a high degree of development and that the resultant dichotomy has influenced the process of acculturation. I shall first explore the reasons for the extreme distinction between male and female and the consequent difference in functions in a pre-acculturation situation, and then the changes under acculturation will be discussed. Although the presentation is purely factual, the data will be seen to justify me in offering Kalderaš culture as an exception to the generalization that women are the more conservative element in a society.
