ABSTRACT
The relation between husband and wife is commonly expected to be the central locus of fertility choice-making. This partly derives from a biologically-based inference – as physical intercourse between man and woman is necessary for procreation, the social relationship between husband and wife is expected to play a central role in the business of procreation. However, such an inference is not necessarily justified. Social relations are not reflections of biological relations, and the link between sexuality and fertility as realms of bodily action is complicated and culturally constructed. It is necessary to investigate conjugal relations in Gopalapalli, and how these relations encompass fertility practices. In the following we shall delve into conjugal relations, first from the perspective of this tie as socially constructed action, and then specifically from the sexual side of the relationship.
