Male dominance and female autonomy: domestic authority in matrilineal societies

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

Hypothesis

". . . control is associated with authority; so that husband or brother control correspond with husband or brother authority, and Type III [equivalent husband and brother authority] is associated with some form of partial or total female control" (22)

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Coefficient of contingencySupportedp<.001.70UNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Control Over PropertyUNKNOWNProperty System
Domestic Authority TypeUNKNOWNHousehold

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Schlegel, Alice"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)
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)
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"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". . . I had predicted that a low level of political complexity would be associated with Husband Dominant societies and a higher level with Brother Dominant" (80-81)