Male dominance and female autonomy: domestic authority in matrilineal societies

HRAF Press • New Haven • Published In • Pages: ??•
By Schlegel, Alice

Hypothesis

"I hypothesize that matrilateral cross-cousin marriage is associated with husband authority in the domestic group, and that patrilateral cross-cousin marriage is associated with brother authority in the domestic group" (10)

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Comparison of raw scoresSupportedp<.10UNKNOWNUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Domestic Authority TypeUNKNOWNHousehold
Preferential MarriageUNKNOWNRegulation Of Marriage

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Schlegel, Alice"Sibling avoidance occurs most frequently in societies with husband authority, as a mechanism for keeping the brother, who has some authority over his sister within the descent group, from interfering in her marriage, in which her husband has authority" (26)
Schlegel, Alice". . . in societies in which fraternal authority characterizes the domestic group, there will be an emphasis upon sibling incest; . . . in societies in which the husband has authority over the domestic group, the emphasis will be upon father-daughter incest" (12)
Hendrix, LewellynWomen's domestic authority is negatively associated with marital qualtiy (214-5)
Schlegel, Alice"Disruption of marriage and divorce are also closely associated with the authority patterns. In both Brother Dominant and Neither Dominant societies, the stable figure tends to be the woman, with the husband leaving in case of divorce" (85)
Schlegel, Alice"Residence patterns show a high degree of association with domestic authority patterns. . . . Virilocality is significantly associated with Husband Dominant, and absence of virilocality is . . . associated with both Brother Dominant and Neither Dominant" (82)