Polygamy In Aboriginal Society

Australian Aboriginal societies were extremely egalitarianism, but even then, they were predominantly matrilineal as women were considered complete and there was no inequality or gender gap between women and men. Women were considered to have a “naturally mature understanding of life” (Taylor 71) and were complete as women didn’t have to mature mentally or go through an initiation process. Therefore, women were eligible for marriage much sooner than men. As a result, there was always a higher women to men ratio, and men would sometimes take more than one wife to balance this. The practice of polygamy within aboriginal societies created a fluid and easy attitude towards sexual relations. None of the sexual domination and possessiveness that …show more content…
As this misconception continued women were mistreated and no longer respected for this natural maturity. Westerners understood that these women were submissive which transgressed into modern society.
As the Saharasian people arrived in the north-west pacific and migrated southwards, they displaced matrist cultures like the aboriginals, the Mayans, the Incas, and the Aztecs and instilled their demeaning outlook on women. Before the conquering of Mexico, the Aztecs were non-patriarchal and allowed women to hold high positions in society, but after women were seen as prizes, as objects, as less than men. Especially, after the conquest of Mexico, as colonists would take native women and sexually abuse them as they viewed them as a prize for the successful conquest of an empire or village. Before the conquest of Mexico, women had several responsibilities within the family, with tending children and sometimes, even took care of farmland. All domestic responsibilities, however, indigenous women hold respectful and highly-valued positions such as prophets, midwives, medicine women, warriors, or as translators. Another key example of women being overlooked is La Malinche, a young women who …show more content…
The ideology of separate spheres was defined by the natural characteristics of women and men. Women were considered physically weaker because of their petite and less muscular frames, but were considered morally superior to men. Resulting in women being more suited for the domestic sphere. This ideology instilled sexism as the roles of women and men were being defined by their appearance and not by their abilities. So wives, daughters, and sisters were left at home to oversee domestic duties that overtime, became a servant's responsibility as their dress code prohibited them from even doing these small, menial tasks. The use of corsets and a large bell-shaped skirt made a women’s frame look even smaller and further prevented women from even completing small domestic tasks like sweeping. Fashionably, corsets were worn to accentuate a women’s figure, however, corsets closed the “lungs and pinched inner organs” (West). Many women fainted and further reinforced the stigma that women were weaker and weren’t as dependable on as men were. Beauty standards also reinforced this sexist ideology, as women who didn’t adhere to the dress code of a proper women were considered undesirable. Beauty standards promoted sexist ideologies which resulted in the dominance over women even more. Society’s closed sexual attitude

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