Breastfeeding And Culture Analysis

In the article “Breastfeeding and Culture”, Dettwyler discussed the three main forces that work together to move women away from the practice of breastfeeding: separation of their productive labor and reproductive labor, increasing confidence to provide chemistry with their partners and decreasing confidence to use the breasts as the reason what they are made for, increasing of the commercials which are convincing the women that breasts are shameful and it is less healthy for the baby. One cultural practice that affects rates of breastfeeding is women going back to work especially in environments that do not promote breastfeeding or support the mother in this way. Another cultural practice that affects rates of breastfeeding is the public
According to “The Berdache Tradition” article, in many Native American cultures, there is a third gender which is called the berdache. Berdache is a morphological male who does not fill society’s standard man’s role. A berdache is a male who has a nonmasculine character. Berdache stereotyped as androgyny which means showing characteristics of both sexes: male and a female. In Native American culture, Berdache’s role is an important and clearly recognized and accepted social status. Berdaches have special ceremonial roles in many Native Americans religions and important economic roles in their families. They do some work and mix together the behavior, dress, and social roles of women and men. They serve a mediating function between women and men because their character is seen as distinct from either sex. The Berdaches have played a crucial role in many Native American creation myths. They are important to Native American culture spiritually since often they act as mediators between the physical and the spiritual. The Native American believed that biological sex is less important than the person’s spirit. The Native American culture accepted the berdache tradition because they concerned it as an approach to life in general. Berdachism was most established among tribes in four areas: first, the Prairie and western Great Lakes, the northern and central Great Plaines, and the lower Mississippi valley; second Florida and the Caribbean, Third, the Southwest, the Great Basin, and California, and fourth, the scattered areas of the Northwest, western Canada and Alaska. The man-woman spirit named Warhami. Zuni creation story involves a battle of the kachina spirits of the agricultural Zunis and the enemy hunter spirits. Every four years an elaborate ceremony commemorates this myth. In the story, a kachina spirit called Ko’lhamana was captured by the enemy spirits became a mediator between the two sides.