Celibacy, Culture, And Society: Anthropology Of Sexual Abstinence
by Elisa J Sobo contributions by Sandra Bell
University of Wisconsin Press, 2001 Cloth: 978-0-299-17160-5 | Paper: 978-0-299-17164-3 Library of Congress Classification HQ800.15.C45 2001 Dewey Decimal Classification 306.732
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
This is the first cross-cultural inquiry into the practice of celibacy around the world and through the ages, among groups as diverse as Kenyan villagers and U.S. prisoners, Mazatec Shamans and Buddhist nuns and monks, Shaker church members and anorexic women.
The examples of celibacy described here illustrate the complex relationship between human sexuality and its particular sociocultural context. Ideas about the body, gender, family, work, religion, health, and other dimensions of life come sharply into focus as the contributors examine the many practices and institutions surrounding sexual abstinence. They show that, though celibacy is certainly sometimes a punishment or a deliberate ritual abstinence, it also serves many other social and material functions and in some cases contributes to kin-group survival and well-being. Celibacy, Culture, and Society represents a significant step towards understanding the functions and meanings of sexuality.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Foreword
Carrithers,
Michael
Celibacy in Cross-Cultural Perspective: An Overview
Bell,
Sandra
Sobo,
Elisa J.
Part I.
Celibacy, Kinship, and Social Organization
1.
Private Lives and Public Identities: An Example of Female Celibacy in Northwest India
Phillimore,
Peter
2.
The Women Who Refuse to Be Exchanged: Nuns in Zangskar, Northwest India
Gutschow,
Kim
3.
The Maintenance and Reinforcement of Celibacy in Institutionalized Settings
Qirko,
Hector N.
4.
The Chaste Adolescent
Schlegel,
Alice
5.
Virgins in the Spirit: The Celibacy of Shakers
Collins,
Peter
Part II.
Celibacy in Cultural Systems
6.
Staying Clean: Notes on Mazatec Ritual Celibacy and Sexual Orientation
Duke,
Michael
7.
Can Women Be Celibate? Sexuality and Abstinence in Theravada Buddhism
Kawanami,
Hiroko
8.
Sexual Fluids, Emotions, Morality: Notes on the Gendering of Brahmacharya
Khandelwal,
Meena
9.
Ritualizing Celibacy: The Poetics of Inversion in Chile and Kenya
Aguilar,
Mario I.
Part III.
Celibacy, Choice, and Control
10.
Like a Natural Woman: Celibacy and the Embodied Self in Anorexia Nervosa
Lester,
Rebecca J.
11.
Cultural Schemas of Celibacy
Victor C.,
de Munck
12.
Celibacy in American Prisons: Legal and Interpretive Perspectives
Fleisher,
Mark S.
Shaw,
John R.
13.
A Swallow in Winter: A Catholic Priesthood Viewpoint
Southgate,
Paul
Contributors
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
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Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Celibacy, Culture, And Society: Anthropology Of Sexual Abstinence
by Elisa J Sobo contributions by Sandra Bell
University of Wisconsin Press, 2001 Cloth: 978-0-299-17160-5 Paper: 978-0-299-17164-3
This is the first cross-cultural inquiry into the practice of celibacy around the world and through the ages, among groups as diverse as Kenyan villagers and U.S. prisoners, Mazatec Shamans and Buddhist nuns and monks, Shaker church members and anorexic women.
The examples of celibacy described here illustrate the complex relationship between human sexuality and its particular sociocultural context. Ideas about the body, gender, family, work, religion, health, and other dimensions of life come sharply into focus as the contributors examine the many practices and institutions surrounding sexual abstinence. They show that, though celibacy is certainly sometimes a punishment or a deliberate ritual abstinence, it also serves many other social and material functions and in some cases contributes to kin-group survival and well-being. Celibacy, Culture, and Society represents a significant step towards understanding the functions and meanings of sexuality.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Foreword
Carrithers,
Michael
Celibacy in Cross-Cultural Perspective: An Overview
Bell,
Sandra
Sobo,
Elisa J.
Part I.
Celibacy, Kinship, and Social Organization
1.
Private Lives and Public Identities: An Example of Female Celibacy in Northwest India
Phillimore,
Peter
2.
The Women Who Refuse to Be Exchanged: Nuns in Zangskar, Northwest India
Gutschow,
Kim
3.
The Maintenance and Reinforcement of Celibacy in Institutionalized Settings
Qirko,
Hector N.
4.
The Chaste Adolescent
Schlegel,
Alice
5.
Virgins in the Spirit: The Celibacy of Shakers
Collins,
Peter
Part II.
Celibacy in Cultural Systems
6.
Staying Clean: Notes on Mazatec Ritual Celibacy and Sexual Orientation
Duke,
Michael
7.
Can Women Be Celibate? Sexuality and Abstinence in Theravada Buddhism
Kawanami,
Hiroko
8.
Sexual Fluids, Emotions, Morality: Notes on the Gendering of Brahmacharya
Khandelwal,
Meena
9.
Ritualizing Celibacy: The Poetics of Inversion in Chile and Kenya
Aguilar,
Mario I.
Part III.
Celibacy, Choice, and Control
10.
Like a Natural Woman: Celibacy and the Embodied Self in Anorexia Nervosa
Lester,
Rebecca J.
11.
Cultural Schemas of Celibacy
Victor C.,
de Munck
12.
Celibacy in American Prisons: Legal and Interpretive Perspectives
Fleisher,
Mark S.
Shaw,
John R.
13.
A Swallow in Winter: A Catholic Priesthood Viewpoint
Southgate,
Paul
Contributors
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.