ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that several kinds of social structural factors are significant in generating tension between the sexes, among them the "loose structure" of Highland groups, the conflicting loyalties generated by "loose structure," the achievement of local "solidarity" by the manipulation of ideology. It suggests that the discrepancy between the ideology about group composition, and the actual group composition itself, plays a major role in determining social relations. The conflicting loyalties and alignments which the fluidity of the social structure generates lead to an overemphasis on maleness as a principle of inclusion in social groups. Langness has suggested that "the foundation of the New Guinea social order would collapse" if men's loyalties to their wives were greater than to their fellows. In a situation of fluctuating loyalties, the necessity for some unchanging mode which generates a feeling of inclusion and identity for men of the local group is particularly great.
