AAS 17 Lecture 3: Week 3 Questions
30 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
JEAN CADIGAN
1. Woman to woman marriage refers to the institutions whereby a woman marries another
woman and assumes control over her and her offspring.
2. Women take wives under three circumstances, all of which increase the status of the female
husband: (1) barren women and widows take wives to obtain rights over children produced; (2)
rich women accumulate wives to gain prestige and wealth in the same way men do through
polygyny; and (3) in some societies where women have the right to have a daughter-in-law,
women without sons can exercise their right to a daughter-in-law by marrying a woman and
giving her to a non-existent son.
3. While some authors have argued that woman-to-woman marriage may involve lesbianism, most
researchers vehemently oppose this idea.
4. The female husband usually has the same rights over the wife and her children as a man has
over his wife and children.
5. The female husband is motivated by a number of factors to participate in woman-to-woman
marriages: barrenness/increasing a lineage, acquiring wealth, daughters-in-law for domestic
help.
6. Women consent to become wives of female husbands for various reasons. Wealth possessed by
a female husband motivates women to agree in becoming the wives of other women. A woman
may also marry a female husband because she is unable to find a man to marry. Also female
husbands do not usually fight as much with their wives, both verbally and physically, as male
husbands. Wives of female husbands usually enjoy more freedom both socially and sexually
because their role in the marriage is not as demanding as it is in man-to-woman marriage.
7. Many male husbands urge their wives to marry a woman. If the female husband is barren, her
husband virtually requires her to take a wife in order to produce children. Wealthy men are bale
to flaunt their wealth further by being married to women who have wives. Male and female
polygyny glorifies the husbands of female husbands.
HARRIET NGUBANE
1. There are two ways in which lobolo (bridewealth) payments are advantageous to women: first,
by providing a direct economic asset, and second, as a means of generating kinship categories or
units which are a basic source of security for women and their children.
2. There are two ways in which women benefit from the payment of the lobolo or bridewealth: (1)
the cow and its calves become her personal property, and subsequent progeny accumulate as
do her own private possessions, over which she has complete control over; (2) a woman as a
new bride has access to her milk cow, and later as a mother of brides she has access to
‘mother’s cows.’ In each case she acquires outright ownership of productive cattle which
multiply for her benefit.
3. A father cannot dispose the lobolo cattle without prior consultation with the bride’s mother.
4. A brother is expected to give special protection to his married sister when lobolo cattle are used
in turn to lobolo a wife for a brother of the former bride.
5. The women decide what presents are given in marriage.
Document Summary
Wealth possessed by a female husband motivates women to agree in becoming the wives of other women. A woman may also marry a female husband because she is unable to find a man to marry. Also female husbands do not usually fight as much with their wives, both verbally and physically, as male husbands. Wives of female husbands usually enjoy more freedom both socially and sexually because their role in the marriage is not as demanding as it is in man-to-woman marriage: many male husbands urge their wives to marry a woman. If the female husband is barren, her husband virtually requires her to take a wife in order to produce children. Wealthy men are bale to flaunt their wealth further by being married to women who have wives. Male and female polygyny glorifies the husbands of female husbands. These men are often not willing to take on responsibility of additional children.
