Coercion of Incan Women

The case of the Incan women in Spanish South America has an interesting duality in the place which they held in society after the conquest. On the one hand they had mobility as far as being able to gather together as well as work for and marry Spaniards. On the other hand the women were at times not permitted to marry by their employers and a part of the service they were involved in during the employment of Spaniards was sexual service. The inclusion of sexual service in the duties of the Incan women the Spaniards employed and the occasions where they were not permitted to marry because of the labor loss it would cause is clearly coercion on the part of the Spaniards but at the same time Incan women did often marry, with-in and with-out, the Spanish community, they worked the court systems to their advantage including, in some cases, going as far as getting permission to move to Spain via their mestizo children. The cases in which the women were subordinated and forced into near slavery by the Spaniards were individual unscrupulous individuals abusing their position. As discussed by Elinor C. Burkett only one fifth of the women married Spaniards, whereas most chose to either remain single, possibly due to the lack of Incan males, or marry male Incans. Though it was possible for these women to marry Spaniards some did not in the case of the Inca's daughter whom refused marriage to a Spaniard based on his being a lesser individual because he was a mere tailor and not of noble blood like she. As we discussed in class men in groups were viewed as dangerous where as women were domestic workers often seen in groups. Though some women may have been forced to commit sexual acts with their Spanish employers and kept from marrying the overall picture seems to be different. Women were able to work the courts and even move abroad; they could work together and marry if they chose to. Women were esteemed also in the Pre-conquest Incan society. Garcilaso de la Vega goes into great detail as to the honor it was for a woman to be chosen to go into the house of virgins and the extensive punishment involved should someone enter the house let alone violate the sanctity of these women. Death awaited anyone who entered the house and death to a man and his entire village awaited anyone who violated these women's virginity. These women were upheld as holy. The Incans were a parallel society with a Inca and a Coya. A society with more Equality than can be found in most places today.

Gender

This week's discussion was very instructive. I had never thought of gender and sex as different nor had i ever really thought about the ideas of more than two genders. After discussing the ideas with a few of my classmates however I began to understand that there are numerous aspects to look at: What genitalia does one posses, does one fancy their own gender or the opposite, does one have body hair or breasts. In today's culture, especially American culture, sexuality is a highly politically charged and controversial subject. Ask a conservative what sexes there are and they will most likely state that there is male and female. If you were to ask many liberals they will probably say there is male, female, transgendered, and hermaphrodites. Debate rages as to whether it is appropriate for same sex marriages. Sex and gender differ in that gender is what is expected of a certain sex. For example: Men participate in sports, have relationships with women, provide for the family, and protect the family; whereas women have children, take care of the children and cook dinner and take care of the household. Outdated as these statements are, they provide a very clear idea as to what was once viewed as proper gendered behavior. So what is gender? Gender is the prescribed role a culture gives to a certain sex, learned from family, friends, institutions such as school, the church, or the boy/girl scouts. In America many see it as unseemly and shameful for a boy to 'come out of the closet'. it is regarded as a shame for the family for a son to desire a boy, however in certain tribal cultures it was a rite of passage for a boy to become a man by 'receiving' sperm from an older male. Whereas this practice has many falacies both moral and scientific the point is that it is a different point of view than our own. while this may not be the best analogy to demonstrate openness to new ideas it does demonstrate that other ideas do exist in this world. I am looking forward to this semester and continuing to look at new ideas and perspectives.