雖然米德的這項研究因為過於誇張而受到批判，但至今確實已有許多人認為是文化建構性別，與過去全然將性歸於生物學領域的假設極為不同。宗教的實作(儀式)就是一例。在世界上的許多國家，男人與女人可能有著不同的路徑通往上帝，接收不同的宗教作用，而且他們的靈性發展也受到不同的期待。例如，在當代世界上的所有主要宗教，牧師身分習慣上是男人的特權。這不值得訝異。會讓你驚訝的是宗教與人們的性相關聯的頻率──而且，藉由許多不同且有趣的方式。在某些美國原住民的傳統，某些宗教實作(儀式)唯獨是男人的活動──這男人是大家庭的代表，有責任為他的整個部落禱告（包括女人與男人），女人不得參與這個禱告儀式。例如，在美國西南部的許多Pueblo部落中，男人到kiva（通常是位於地下室的一個房間，宗教祭典就在那裡舉辦）參加許多令人害怕的儀式。 相較於主流美國的禮拜，美國的教會成員絕大多數由女人組成。國內的意見調查指出，整體來看男人比女人更少獻身於教會。的確，宗教似乎對於女人比對於男人更重要：女人明顯地禱告得比較多，而且女人經常且深入測試其信心、靈性的成長、以及自己與神的關係。雖然男人或許壓倒性地握有牧師職位，事實證實，在美國教會中，女人是較具「靈性層面」的性別。 Ryūkyū島上的人（位於日本本島的南部）會同意，女人比男人更想要靈性事物（spiritual matters）。在Ryūkyūan，一個仍存在的原始宗教調解女人特殊能力以便與超自然溝通。因此，女人在宗教儀式中占有重要地位，甚至在壁爐邊代表她的家庭祈禱。 這種將陰柔性向與靈性相連結的態度也與某些印度人（Hindu）的信仰相似。例如，在印度的希吉拉（hijra）裡，想參與祭拜女神Bahuchara Mata的男人，在成為真正的希吉拉之前，必須透過去勢儀式來譴責其「雄性特徵」。在成為希吉拉之後，他們採用女性的名字並接受女性的衣著與行為。
Although Mead's original studies have been criticized for overstating the case, countless other since have illustrated that culture constructs sexuality in ways radically different from the assumptions that place sex entirely within the realm of biology. Take, for example, religious practice. In many cultures around the world, men and women may have separate access to the gods, take on separate religious functions, and even have separate expectations placed upon their spiritual development. In all the major religions of the contemporary world, for example, the priesthood has traditionally been the prerogative of men. That is no surprise. What may surprise you is how often religion corresponds with human sexuality - and in number of different, and interesting, ways. In some Native American traditions, certain religious practices are the sole activity of men who, as representatives of large families, are charged to pray for their entire tribe (both women and men) - a prayerful activity not engaged in by the women. Among many Pueblo tribes of the southwestern United States, for example, men attend the most sacred rituals held in the kiva - a room (usually underground) where these religious ceremonies take place. Compare this with worship in mainstream America, where women constitute the majority of church membership. National opinion pools suggest that men as a whole are less devoed to their churche than women. Indeed, religion appears to be more important to women than men: women apparently pray more; and women more often and more deeply examine their faith, spiritual priesthood, it turns out that women are the more "spiritual" sex in American chruches. People of the Ryukyu Islands (just south of mainland Japan) would agree that female are more inclined toward spiritual matters than men. In the Ryukyuan, an indigenous religion still practiced today accords women a special abillity to communicate with the supernatural. Women thus dominate religious rituals and even represent their families in prayer at the household hearth. This attitude linking female sexuality with spirituality is also similar to some Hindu beliefs. Among the hijras of India, for example, men who want to take up worship of the Mother Goddesss, Bahuchara Mata, must denounce their "maleness" by undergoing a castration ceremony before they can be considered a true hijra. After becoming a hijra, they take female names and adopt female dress and behavior.
留言列表
