Women's Marital Strategies among the Kpelle of Liberia

Bibliographic Data

ID3030740
AuthorsCaroline Bledsoe (Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, corresponding author)
Year1976
Volume32
Issue4
Pages372-389
Publication date1976-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Anthropological Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-7710 • E-ISSN: 2153-3806
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/jar.32.4.3630023
OpenAlexW2264842798
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited8

The study examines ways in which women and men in rural Kpelle communities use marriage and filial ties to improve their status and acquire power. It argues that both men and women try to maintain independence from superiors when economically possible, but try to keep other people bound to them in ties of obligation. Because men use female production and reproduction to enhance their own positions, they prefer to marry. Conversely, women marry only to acquire male labor or a wealthy husband. However, both men and women try to get their children to support them and marry spouses who will support them. The study concludes that age rather than sex distinctions are ultimately most helpful in explaining Kpelle individuals' goals and strategies

Demographic economics · Economics · Independence (probability theory) · Marital status · Obligation · Political science · Population · Power (physics) · Reproduction · Sociology · African Studies and Geopolitics · Demography · Ecology · Gender Studies · Law · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender · Psychology · Social Psychology

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