Gender Differences in Social Networks Based on Prevailing Kinship Norms in the Mosuo of China

Although cooperative social networks are considered key to human evolution, emphasis has usually been placed on the functions of men’s cooperative networks. What do women's networks look like? Do they resemble or differ from men's and what does this suggest about evolutionarily inherited gender differences in reproductive and social strategies? In this paper, we test the ‘universal gender differences’ hypothesis positing gender-specific network structures against the ‘gender reversal’ hypothesis that posits women's networks looking more 'masculine' under matriliny. Specifically, we ask whether men's friendship networks are always larger than women's and we investigate measures of centrality by gender and descent system. To do so, we use tools from social network analysis and data on men’s and women’s friendship ties in matrilineal and patrilineal Mosuo communities. In tentative support of the gender reversal hypothesis, we find that women's friendship networks in matriliny are relatively large. Measures of centrality and generalized linear models otherwise reveal greater differences between communities than between men and women. The data and analyses we present are primarily descriptive given limitations of sample size and sampling strategy. Nonetheless, our results provide support for the flexible application of social relationships across genders and clearly challenge the predominant narrative of universal gender differences across space and time.

Gender Reversals in Social Networks Based on Prevailing Kinship Norms in the Mosuo of China

Although cooperative social networks are considered key to human evolution, emphasis has most often been placed on the functions of male cooperative networks. As a result, gender differences in social networks are under-studied and remain incompletely theorized. Variation in kinship systems may be leveraged to test and generate hypotheses that explain the causes and effects of variation in gendered social networks. Specifically, by linking socio-ecological drivers to variation in kinship systems, human behavioral ecology provides a framework to anticipate and explain divergent patterns in gendered social networks within different kinship ecologies. In this paper, we test the ‘universal gender differences’ hypothesis positing gender-specific network structures against the ‘gender reversal’ hypothesis that women’s social networks in matriliny will more closely resemble those of men’s in patriliny. We compare these hypotheses using tools from social network analyses and data on men’s and women’s social networks in matrilineal and patrilineal Mosuo communities. In support of the gender reversal hypothesis, we find that women’s networks in matriliny are more similar to men’s in patriliny. Specifically, women in matriliny have higher edge density than do men, and women have higher measures of degree centralization than do men in matriliny whereas patrilineal men have higher measures of centrality than do women. Additionally, we find that geographic proximity and relatedness together predict women’s friendships in patriliny whereas relatedness predominates in matriliny. Finally, we find that friendship predicts ties in other domains of cooperation and social support. These results support the idea that the socio-ecological factors that result in different kinship systems also impact the ways that men and women operate within these systems, underscoring the importance of human flexibility in family making, and challenging the predominant narrative of universal gender differences.

Murderous Masochism in The Comfort of Strangers

Almost one hundred years after The Torture Garden, Ian McEwan’s The Comfort of Strangers (1981), the subject of this conclusion, explores the complex relationship between masochistic pleasure and criminal violence. In the novella, tourists Colin and Mary find themselves lost in Venice and become the objects of desire for Robert, an abusive husband, and Caroline, his excessively masochistic wife. Caroline’s enraptured narrative chronicles the unfolding of her masochistic tendencies within the confines of her marriage and at the behest of her husband Robert’s strength and power. Although Caroline explains that she possesses the death wish that sexologists initially declare the logical (albeit exaggerated) end of masochistic fantasies, Caroline finds that Robert simply cannot kill her. The married couple seeks and finds a surrogate for Caroline in Colin, a complex but revealing gender reversal in itself, and they set the stage for the fulfilment of Caroline’s desires by murderous proxy.

“They Always Call Me an Investment”: Gendered Familism and Latino/a College Pathways

In the past 20 years, Latinas have begun to outperform Latinos in high school completionand college enrollment, tracking the overall “gender reversal” in college attainment thatfavors women. Few studies have examined what factors contribute to Latinas’ increasingeducational success. This article focuses on gender differences in college-going behavioramong a cohort of 50 Latino/a college aspirants in the San Francisco East Bay Area.Through 136 longitudinal interviews, I examine trends in Latinos/as’ postsecondary pathwaysand life course decisions over a two-year period. Findings suggest evidence forgendered familism, in which gender and racial/ethnic beliefs intersect to differentiallyshape Latinos/as’ attitudes, behaviors, and college choices. Gendered familism encouragedLatinas to seek a four-year degree as a means of earning independence, whileLatinos expressed a sense of automatic autonomy that was not as strongly tied to educationaloutcomes.

Gender, Genre and the Reboot: From Ocean’s 11/Eleven to Ocean’s 8/Eight

This chapter investigates the case of Ocean’s films – Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13 – and its Ocean’s 8 reboot. As in the case of some other new millennial reboots, Ocean’s 8 is a ‘gender reversal’ reboot of (in this case) a typically male-oriented heist genre that reinterprets collaboration to emphasise feminine bonding. In addition to marking out the film’s gender transformation, the chapter outlines the intricate textual and intertextual network that exists among the series of films – including its unofficial ‘reboot’, Lucky Logan – to describe Ocean’s 8 as an auteur-reboot, one that playfully absorbs commercial imperatives into the structure and narrative of each installment.

The Paradox of Gender Reversal: Dance Hosts and the Pursuit of Gender Ideals in Contemporary China

This study examines the masculinity of Chinese male migrants who earn their living as “dance hosts.” Dance hosts partner middle-aged women in dance halls, sell experiences of intimacy and engage in ongoing romantic relationships with their female clients. This article seeks to capture an intimate and “up-close” portrait of (heterosexual) male dance hosting, and then further addresses dance hosts’ masculine subjectivity by examining the coping strategies they use to overcome the stigma attached to their profession and to assert their masculinity. Ultimately, the article argues that the process of masculine subjectivity formation in the case of male dance hosts is structured by dominant norms of Chinese masculinity. Although seemingly highly subversive, the relationship between dance hosts and clients in fact fulfils conventional gender ideals and encourages the perpetuation of traditional gender roles in China's patriarchal society. This work seeks to offer an understanding of traditional gender norms (or ideals) through the lens of normative Chinese masculinity within the context of a stigmatized occupation.