Many Faces Of Homosexuality: Anthropological Approaches To Homosexual by Evelyn Blackwood

Author:Evelyn Blackwood [Blackwood, Evelyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780866564205
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 1986-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Adult Heterosexuality and Female Friendship

In addition to the female-to-female interactions so far considered, mummy-baby relations provide a training situation through which older girls help to introduce their juniors into the world of heterosexual relationships. In order to discuss this aspect we must first consider the rules that govern these Active kinship relations, the common extensions of simple mummy-baby dyads, and the interlocking of these fictive kinship relations with heterosexual relations.

It is accepted that a mummy may have several babies who are then like sisters who may argue or feel jealous if one thinks she is being unfairly treated. Such jealousy is considered perfectly normal among sisters, despite the problems it creates. Likewise, it is permissible to have multigenerational chains: A girl plays the mother role in one dyad and the baby role in another at the same time. In such cases the junior girl may call the oldest "grandmother," but such a second-order link does not involve any specific obligation since each dyad is uniquely created by affection and voluntary choice. What is distinctly not allowed is for a girl to have more than one mummy; this only happens if done secretly, or in the case of consecutive relationships.

The rules of the game appear to be based on the biological naiture of the uterine (mother and children) family group. However, the transactional aspects of the relation are equally important and suggest a parallel with conjugal as well as maternal bonds. Since a baby receives more in terms of gifts, help, advice and protection than she gives, and since long-term rearing reciprocities (see Goody, E.N., 1971) are not entailed, what she is expected to return is undivided loyalty and affection. Attempts to capitalize on the situation by accumulating many mummies are regarded as unfair because the loyalty with which a girl can reciprocate is thereby diluted. Should too many girls select the same wealthy or very attractive girl to be their mummy, they know that they must still give her their undivided loyalty even though they cannot expect undivided attention or a monopoly on gifts. Thus, the case of Malerato (case 2) is much more typical than that of Clorina (case 1).

The asymmetrical gift exchange, the dependency and loyalty of the junior to the senior, as well as the affective sensual relations between partners who are usually close in age, suggest a similarity to conjugal relations. In Lesotho, marriage is generally based on emotional attraction between peers. It is initiated by a dominant male who proposes to a receptive female, and involves economic ties and sexual relations initiated by the husband, to whom the wife is expected to be unfailingly loyal. This same loyalty is not expected from husbands. Women who do have other lovers must keep these affairs secret. Thus, there are enough similarities to conjugal relations to suggest that girls are learning the dynamics of the heterosexual relations within the mummy-baby game.

In fact the girls' game provides explicit opportunities for initiation into heterosexual relations. There are opportunities for older girls who have boyfriends to tell about their experiences to younger girls.

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