Premarital Sex: Whats Marriage? Whats Sex?

Chrissy Chen Student No. 23410095 ANTH 100 Section 002 March 15, 2010

The anthropological question I wish to answer in my comparative media essay is How is premarital sex viewed across cultures? Through analysis of three different communities, the Taiwanese, the American Samoa, and the !Kung, I have come to the conclusion that views on premarital sex vary based on cultural definitions of marriage and sex. Different cultures define marriage and sex differently, and thus the views on premarital sex vary accordingly. In Nicole J. Grants From Margaret Meads Field Notes: What Counted as Sex in Samoa?, the author supports Margaret Meads claims of sexual freedom for adolescent girls in Samoa. Grant argues that the key to understanding how adolescent girls in Samoa were sexually active yet not getting pregnant lies in the cultural definition of sex (Grant 1995: 679). Sex, in Samoa, is defined more in terms of oral and manual sex rather than sexual intercourse. Therefore it is possible for young girls to engage in sex (oral and manual) without getting pregnant. Negative sanctions are thus placed on intercourse, rather than premarital sex, as only intercourse can lead to pregnancy and illegitimacy. Boys are expected to engage in sexual intercourse only with menopausal women as those who impregnated girls are considered very bad (Grant 1995: 679). This expectation serves as an institutionalized protection of young girls from pregnancy (Grant 1995: 681). Another cultural norm serving as a protection against pregnancy is the masculinisation of non-procreative sex. The ability to engage in sexual relations with multiple partners without the result of procreation was valued by the Samoans as masculine behaviour. In order to be a masculine adept lover meant a man had to know how to have sex without intercourse (Grant 1995: 680). Instead, sexually monogamous relationships are viewed unfavourably as they are linked to lack of sexual skill and leading to procreative sex (Grant 1995: 680). Sex, defined as without intercourse, is culturally separated from procreation (Grant 1995: 681).

The !Kung, like the Samoans, place no premium on virginity (Shostak 1981: 98). Shostak provides evidence of this as divorced women simply re-enter the category of highly desired women eligible for marriagethere is no tainting or reduction of status due to virginity loss. Although no value is placed on virginity, premarital sex is not widespread among the !Kung because women are not expected to engage in sexual intercourse until after marriage and sexual maturitywhich is culturally defined as the time of first menstruation (Shostak 1981: 115). Premarital sex is also significantly decreased as !Kung females typically marry at the young age of sixteen (Shostak 1981: 115). At this young age, most girls have not developed the desire for sex and even when their husbands initiate sexual activity, they are not expected to comply until after first menstruation. Although the !Kung children begin playing sexually at a very young age, the children do not actually engage in sexual intercourse until after marriage and first menstruation (Shostak 1981: 101). In the !Kung community, sexual maturity and sex are culturally determined by a girls first menstruation. In Taiwan, entry into adulthood begins with marriage and sexual intercourse is culturally defined as adult behaviour (Chang 1996:15). Chang emphasizes the fact that marriage, in Taiwan, begins with engagement rather than the wedding ceremony. Therefore premarital sex in the Western notion may actually be considered sex within a marital context in Taiwan (Chang 1996: 16). Chang proposes three factors as influences to the current trend of increased premarital sex in Taiwan: school attendance, level of education, and labour force participation outside the family. School completion as a social indicator of readiness for adulthood was found to be positively linked to increases in premarital sex (Chang 1996:21). Chang suggests this is because of the cultural expectation of students to be studying full timewith less time to engage in other activities. Level of education was found to have inconsistent and unsystematic links

to increases in premarital sex. Chang originally thought a higher level of education may lead to higher chances of premarital sex as education supposedly leads to expanded peer networks and more Western ideals of individualism, romantic love, and relaxed sexual mores (Chang 1996:18). Labour force participation away from the family was found to be the most significant positive link to increases in premarital sex. It was theorized that women working away from home were more likely to engage in premarital sex because they had greater exposure to new ideas and expanded peer networks as well as lack of supervision (Chang 1996:19). Despite this lack of supervision, however, most working women still carried their traditional familial values and only engaged in premarital sex (Western definition) in marital contexts (Taiwanese definition). Views on premarital sex differ across communities as they are based upon culturally specific definitions of marriage and sex. In the Samoan community, sex is defined not as sexual intercourse, but as oral and manual sex. This definition influences their view on premarital sex by placing negative sanctions on sexual intercourse and illegitimacy rather than on premarital sex. Similarly, the !Kung place no value on virginity and view premarital sex based on the culturally defined stage of sexual maturityafter first menstruation. In Taiwan, the definition of marriage begins with engagement, and thus premarital sex (as defined in Western cultures) takes place in marital contexts in Taiwanese definitions. The three sources I have used in my research all look at premarital sex primarily from a female perspectivethis can act as a limiting barrier and further research from male perspectives should be conducted. Grants article on the Samoans also seems to be heavily in favour of Meads work, this may negatively influence the objectivity of her research. Despite these knowledge deficits, my answer to how premarital sex viewed across cultures concludes as contingent on cultural definitions of marriage and sex.

Works Cited Chang, Jui-Shan 1996 What Do Education and Work Mean? Education, Nonfamilial Work/Living Experiences and Premarital Sex for Women in Taiwan. Journal of Comparative Family Studies Spring 1996 27(1): 13-40 Grant, Nicole J. 1995 From Margaret Meads Field Notes: What Counted as Sex in Samoa?. American Anthropologist 97(4): 678-682 Shostak, Marjorie 1981 Nisa, the Life and Words of a !Kung Woman. Cambridge: Harvard University Press