Mosuo women, historically.
4 posters
Page 1 of 1
Mosuo women, historically.
by Barretts_Salt Thu Jun 18, 2015 10:48 pm
Reboot, if you think this belongs somewhere else, please feel free to move it. I thought this deserved mention somewhere, though.
From p. 195 "Where China Meets India" by Thant Myint-U:
"In the early fourteenth century, Li Jing, who was then an imperial official, Deputy Pacification Commissioner and Bearer of the Tiger Tablet" wrote down some first-hand observations. He remarked that in an area south of Lijiang (Yunnan Province, China) ... Virginity was not prized, he said, and the local women were free to have sex with men as they wished. Virginity was even a disadvantage for a woman looking for marriage.
They were 'as profligate as dogs and swine' and if a woman died before marriage, all the men who had had sexual relations with her held up a banner at her funeral. If the banners numbered a hundred or more, the woman was considered especially beautiful. Her parents would lament: 'How could we have known that our daughter who is loved by so many men would have died so young."
and on p. 194, the current state of affairs:
Mosuo society is matrilineal and women have traditionally enjoyed a strong, perhaps even dominant place. The Mosuo live with their extended families, with many generations cohabiting in a single house or even a single large room. Older girls and young women, however, may have their own private 'bedrooms' and if a woman is interested in a man, she may invite him to come and sleep with her -- it's a private affair, conducted after dark."
There's a bit more, but those were the highlights.
From p. 195 "Where China Meets India" by Thant Myint-U:
"In the early fourteenth century, Li Jing, who was then an imperial official, Deputy Pacification Commissioner and Bearer of the Tiger Tablet" wrote down some first-hand observations. He remarked that in an area south of Lijiang (Yunnan Province, China) ... Virginity was not prized, he said, and the local women were free to have sex with men as they wished. Virginity was even a disadvantage for a woman looking for marriage.
They were 'as profligate as dogs and swine' and if a woman died before marriage, all the men who had had sexual relations with her held up a banner at her funeral. If the banners numbered a hundred or more, the woman was considered especially beautiful. Her parents would lament: 'How could we have known that our daughter who is loved by so many men would have died so young."
and on p. 194, the current state of affairs:
Mosuo society is matrilineal and women have traditionally enjoyed a strong, perhaps even dominant place. The Mosuo live with their extended families, with many generations cohabiting in a single house or even a single large room. Older girls and young women, however, may have their own private 'bedrooms' and if a woman is interested in a man, she may invite him to come and sleep with her -- it's a private affair, conducted after dark."
There's a bit more, but those were the highlights.
Barretts_Salt- Posts : 59
Reputation : 6
Join date : 2014-10-21
Re: Mosuo women, historically.
by reboot Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:13 pm
Nope, it fits perfectly here. The description/pearl clutching (not that Li Jing wore pearls) reminds me a lot of early descriptions of Navajo society that piss off my Navajo friend so much.
reboot- Moderator of "Other Relationships" and "Gender, Identity and Society"
- Posts : 2514
Reputation : 1005
Join date : 2014-09-24
Re: Mosuo women, historically.
by BiSian Fri Jun 19, 2015 1:25 am
Oh God, I just read about the Mosuo the other day! So interesting and a great bit of data to throw in the faces of those pearl-clutchers who insist marriage and monogamy are "just the way humans are"
BiSian- Posts : 102
Reputation : 69
Join date : 2014-10-01 -
Re: Mosuo women, historically.
by Andrew Corvero Fri Jun 19, 2015 4:43 am
Very interesting. I imagine that any children born in the Mosuo culture are raised by the entire extended family or at least in part by a village/community, so child support isn't an issue.
_________________
"People don't just change who they are in an instant. It takes time, so you don't even know you're changing. Until one day you'll just a little bit different than you used to be and you can't even tell what the hell happened" (Rich Burlew)
"You shouldn't take advice from random strangers on the Internet too seriously" said the random stranger on the Internet.
Andrew Corvero- Posts : 184
Reputation : 136
Join date : 2015-04-17
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum|
|
|