Kinship

We discussed many things during the last discussion. I was particularily interested in the Kinship system that first arose from Gayle Rubin's passage, "The Truth In Women." We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the system that I would like to reiterate here, as well as discuss the depth of the negative implications that are encountered due to the system.

The benefits of the system are straighforward, by receiving gifts, individuals in the society are able to create a bond, discuss their feelings towards specific issues, and enables the relationships in a biological standpoint, to work. However, though there are several reasons for the benefits of the Kinship system, I believe it harbors negative feelings in the context.

For example, in Western society, when a man gives a gift to a woman in order to woo her, he assumes that the materialistic objects will compensate for his personality, attitude towards her, and for the potential love they may share. "Golddiggers" have received a bad name because they have chosen to marry a man who has enormous wealth, however, doesn't our society commend this behavior? If a woman were to propose to a man, or give him extravegant gifts, it is considered that the woman is being too "manly," and taking away his power. This double standard exists throughout history, and has not changed yet, perhaps because women want to continue receiving gifts that replace passion and love in a relationship, and the man wants to continue being the powerful force in the relationship.