Toward an Anthropology of Women " edited by Rayna R. Reiter ws Monthly Review Pross156 Paula Webster ‘munity. I would not encourage women to confuse myth with Iistory or exchange vision for scence, forthe crete energy that each aforde the other should not be los. This, even if {etnisterjetthe existence of matriarchy on empire and for theoretical grounds we thould acknowledge the inpor tance of tho vison of matviachy and use the debate for ‘irthering the creation of feminist theory and action, Gayle Rubin ‘The Traffic in Women: Notes on the “Political Economy” of Sex “The literature on womenboth feminist and anti-feminst~is ‘Tong rumination othe question of the nature and genesis Sf womes"s oppresion and socal subordination, The que on isnot teal one, nee the answers given determine bur visions of the future, and our evelustion of whether or fot i isreaistie t hope fors sexually egalitarian society. More Importantly, the malas of the causes of women's oppression {or the basis for any aseement of just whet would have to be changed in onder to achieve a socioty without gender Dorreh Thus if innate male aggression and dominance are I the root of female oppression, then Ube feminist program Sreuld lopeally require either the externination of the Cifending sex, oF ake. a eugenics project to modify its Character, 1fpexkm i «by-product of capitalism’ relentless SPpctite for profit, then texiam would wither away in the ‘heat ofa nuconsful scilit revolution Ifthe word histor ue hdc teeny et cel sod Sue ing oreo158 Geyle Rudin ical defest of women oecurted st the hands of an armed putrachal volt, then tie time for Amazon guerillas 19 Fart taining in the Adirondacks. Tt ne outside the scope of this paper to conduct a sus tained chiigue of sine of the currently popula explanations tthe genesis of sera nequalty—ibeones much 2 the pope Tar evolution exemplified by The fmperial Animal, the alleged ‘retin of pshistorc matriarches, or the attempt to ex {fact all of the phenomena of socal rubordinston from the fat volume of Capital Instead, Iwant to sketch some ele ‘nts of an alterate explanation ofthe probe, ‘Maxx once seked: "What is 8 Neg slave? A man of the buck race ‘The one explanation is as good asthe other. Negio is « Noro. He only becomes a save in certain rele: tions, A cotton splnning jenny isa machine for spinning cot fon. it becomes eaptal only in certain relations. Tor from {hove rlatinhipe fe no more capital than god in isl is money or sugar is the price of suger” (Marx, 1971b:28). One Tmight paraphrase: What is 0 domesticated woman? A female Uf the species. The one explanation is as good asthe other. A Sfoman ls woman, She only becomes 2 domestic, a wife = Ghiel, « playboy bunny, « prostate, or a human dics ‘hone in cata relations. ‘Tom from these relationship, she Brno more the belpmate of man than old i selfs money te, What then ae thse teltionsipe by which efomale itecomes an opotesiad woman? The lace to bogin to unravel the sytem of telationships by’ which women become the prey of men isin the ovelapping works of Claude Livi Sieaus and Sipmund Freud. The domestication of wore, lnder other name, i drcosed at length in both of thelr ‘eure ln teaing through these Wark, one begins to have a {S'tow ouleiis aid fashions domestlated women as prod Siel Neither Freud nor LevsSerause fees his work in this light, and cerlanly neither turns a erties! glance upon the processes ho describes, Their analstes and deseiptions mist Fe ead, therefore, in something Ike te way in which Marx Feat the clase poiial economists who proceed him (on ‘The Trffe m Women 159 Shc Ath nd Bali 170189. an Len Sn aun sone se snr he od ae orth inp cigar ich hea ‘bjected to a fomaist oye. Nevertheless, they provide om ‘aptual tools with which one can build Gevodptions of the bart of sie ie tae ae fe ‘Sins fal marin ofl ne coat win nds 1 cal at ey ee Bet ene sem” of a ges *hrelmiuy deo, «engender sete ra stucco bog a i ne pratensis ara oe na ‘formed sexual needs are satisfied. ae a Te yrpte of ray ie anv at mor fl dee ‘oped definition ofthe sex/gender system, by way af some i ipa oy erty en bcos, aT no “tally ees 2 dios “wre sr ated pene special, interpretation of the Scupeuree™ A tine oe ‘ing of Le Sema an Pes’ s ee ing trom the explicr: content of text to ts prenippoitons tipicaons i eatig of can ehoas na Pita thoseh slo pided by ioe tae tom interest ete econ aan a influenced by Lévi-Sawuss.* 7 Tell te tee i trn tot rfement ofthe dion of sien ten, Tat, bower480 Goyle Rubin the need for such a concept by discussing the failure of lass ‘al Marssm to fully express or conceptualize sex oppression This fire reels from the fact hat Marat, as a theory of social fe, is elatively unconcemed with sx In ares ap ‘ofthe soci world, human beings ate workers peal ot ‘capitalists that they are aio men nd worten is not seek ab very significant. By contrast, in the mape of sora relicy rawn by Freud and LéviSteausy, there ia deep recognition ‘of the place of sexuality in socety, and of the profound Alitferences betweon the social experience of men and ‘There is no theory which accounts forthe oppression of ‘womear~in its endlas variety and onotonour smiaty, rosecultrally and throughout historywith anything ke the explanatory power of the Mant ioory of chs oppres sion. ‘Therefore, it i nob suprising that there have: been ‘umerousaitempis to apply Marxist analy to the question of women. There are many ways of doing tht. Ie has been tuued that women aze a tere labor force for capitalism, fat women’s generally lower wagee provide extra surplus 1 # capitalist employer, that women serve the ends of cap tall consumerism ix thet ote a administrators of frm ‘consumption, and 20 forth However, 4 number of artiles have tried o do something ‘much more ambitiour-to locate the oppresion of women it the heart of the capitalist dynamic by pointing to the tela: tonship between housework and the feproduction of labor (see Benston, 1963; Dalla Costa, 1972, Langue and Dumoulin, 1972; Camtnin, 1972, Vogel 4975: Secombe, 1974; Gasdiner, 1974; Rowntre, 6 4 1970), To do ts {sto place women squarely in the definition of capitalism, ‘he proces in which capital is produced by the extraction of ‘uxplus value from labor by capa, ‘Briefly, Marx argued that capitals i distinguished from a oer modes of production by ts unum: the ereaion ‘The Trffie ix Women 161 ‘24 spaon of ep Woee ther mot of rofton lst fnd thle papow tn ang sel thoes ee ian needs orn pothcing supive fee rin racing tar tin meas on tea Sono te gods, cain pros pa: Caen Sof socal lato of pope ea ak SH production tke he fon ohare a edpetne ito cant Ant pales oe oon yen xanga fe eon geil lf exacting pd vo a ae ‘from labor and into itself. ae proict (ele) aor = commodiy tat bt ear nee as ezhange rants ey a ors te ean of ook on of monty or emmy iat apt. has 196809 ‘este oa) ‘The exchange between capital and labor which produces su pis value, and’ ence capital, highly specific The woster tsa wag the capitalist ets the things the worker hay mate ring his or her tine of employment. Ifthe total value of the things the worker has made exceeds the value of his ‘her wage, the aim of capitalism har been achieved, The cap fast gets back tho cost of the wage plus an inctemeake ‘ulus va, This can occur beesse the wages datas not by the value of vbat the laborer maken but by the vlc Of what i takes to Kagp him or her going rpodeey hie ‘ther from day to dey, and to septeduce the entre wove force from one generstion tothe nex, Thus, surplus ale ‘he diference betimeen what the lsboring claw prodors as ‘whole tnd the anvuit Of Mat total which Poopeee te ‘Saintsining the laboring clas ‘The call en in exhange for abou pom conoid int ‘ewsars, bythe cnsumpton of wich the mand, semen oor a tains of ng abou ne epee, ioe Iabostets are Begotes «tv ndindtl eomramgtcn ofjuste: Gomng moainery doe. Dare 912613) temo he ges «pn aunty of th news ose But thew aetintegueny of ttn muse br pene erated ah he equ tbe rete. ei 17) Tho amount ofthe difference between the reproduction of labor power apd its products depends therefore, on the de termination of what it takes to reproduce tht labor power Marx tends to make that determination onthe bes of the quantity of commoditier-food, clothing. housing. Tus hich would be necessary to mabitain the health, fe, and Firength of a Worker But these commodities must be com sumed before they can be sustenance, and they ae aot ame ately in consumable form when they ate purchased by the wage. Additional labor must be performed pon these things Defore they can bo turmed into people. Food mit be cocked, clothes elened, bods made, wood chopped, et Housework is thartore « key element inthe proces af the eproduction fof the laborer from whom surplur vali ie talen Siace Hs luually women who do housework, sts been observed that it is through the reproduction of ibor power that women ate taticulatd into the supe valle nex which ete sine que ‘hon of eapitalion.* Ie can be futher argued that since no ‘wage is pad for housework, tho labor of women n the home ‘ontebutes to theultimate quantity of surplus value realized ses fT aah iota, Set} ace The Traffic in Women 168 by the capitalist. But to explain womes's usefulness to capi talsm is one thing. To argue that this usfulnes explains the fenela of the oppreson of women i quite another. It ls Drecvely at this pin thatthe soalyi f captain cea aplain very much about women and the oppresion of ‘Women are oppressed in societies which can by no stretch ofthe imagination be described as capitalist. Inthe Amazon ‘alley and the New Guinea highlands, women ace frequently Kept in their pao by gang tape when the ordinary mech ‘um of mauciline Intimidation prove insufficient. "We tame four women, with the banana,” suid one Manduruey man (Gturpiy, 1959-295), The ethnographic records tered ‘vith practices whom effect i to keep women "in tel place” ‘en's cults, vere initiations, areane male knowledge, et. ‘And pre-capitalist, feudal Europe was hardly @ soctely in ‘which there was nc sarin. Capitalism fs taken over and Tevited, notions of male and female which predate ie by centuries. No analssis of the reproduction of labor power ‘det capitalism can explain foot binding, charity belts, or lay of the bnreule aray of Byzantine, fetshized indie nite, lot alone the moro ordinary ones, ‘which have been Ys of the reproduction of labor power doesnot even explain ‘hy itis usually wemen who do domestic work in the home, this lights intersting to saturn to Marx’ lscussion of the reproduction of labor. What is neceseay to reproduce the worker is dotemsined in part by the biological needs of ‘he human Organism, in part by the physical conditions of he place in whic ie and in pat by uta dion ‘he English working class, snd wine necesry forthe Prench ‘he mumber nd extent of his the worker soled nace ‘ary tt abo the mode of sfying the, are Dematen te produc of Misra development depend thereto to fat exes on tn Gee of iain of coy, are164 Gayle Rubin arti on te conone under wie, nd conaquenty on {Ee iaite sod depo of comfre in wie, ie daw of Se {Slouree tar ben fone. conduction therfore 10 the ‘Su of other commode thar enter st the determination of the sa of ibourpouer 2 hor end mort ema (an, 973174, my tae) It ix proviely thie “historical and moral cloment™ which Altermines that a “wife” Is among the necositios of ‘worker, that women rather than ten do housework, and that {eptaism feito long tradition in which women do not inher, in which women do not lsd, and in which women do not talk to god. It ls thie "historical and moral element” hich presented capitalism witha cultural erage of forms ‘Fmeseulnty and femininity te within this “historical and mora element” thatthe ene domain of sex, exalt, nd tex oppesson subsumed. And the brent of Maras com mont only serves to emphasize Uhe vast area of social life Which it covers and leaves snexattined. Only by subectng thie “hrcrial and orl element lo analy can the struc tue of sex oppression be delineated Bre In The Origin of the Pemlly, Prvate Property, and the State, Engels sees sex opptenion as part of capital's her tage from prior social forms. Moreover, Engels integrates sex set sealty Into his theory of society. Ongn ia fastrating hook. Like the nincteenthcentary tomes on the history of Thariage and the family which 1 echoes the sate of the ‘rience in Origin render t qUalnt to a seeder familiar with hore recent developments in anthropology, Neverthelees, it Thadored’ by is lito. ‘The ides has the “relations of ftecualty" can aud should be distinguished Srom the "mela ‘ons of production” i not the leat of Engel” intulions: Accor to fmt coneptio, the detaining fa ‘The Treffc Women 166 fn te one hard he proditon of the sans Of ute of oo, ating and hte andthe foe neceary forth ‘Gestion: onthe othr ade the production of human ong Hee Sete, propagation the spo. Se sal onpeton Unde vie the people ofa parser Mtl epoch and & Paria cour” Ie eatiined by both Ende pret fico: by tn stg 9 dolopeat of Koren te oe nd, fof te fniy cn he other (ne S9TRTL Ty ‘Tals passage indicates an important seougnition-that a human group mast do more then apply is sciity to reshape Ing the natural world in order to clothe, fed, aid wath ‘sei, We usualy call the system by which elements of te ‘natural world te teformed Into objects of human con fumption the “economy.” But the needs which ae sted by economis acivty even inthe richest, Maria use, do not exbatst fundamental Suman roqutements A hiuan ‘goup must alse reproduce faut from generation do gener ton. The needs of sexuality and procreation must be saiced as much st the need to eat, and one of the mott obvious eductions whi can be made tom the data of anthro ology Is Ut these needs ane hardly ever sisted in any natural” form, any more than are the needs £4 f00d, unger is hunger, but what counts a food i culty dete mined and obtaitd. Every society has some form of ong laedeconomne atty. Sox is sex, but wht counts as wx equaly culturally determined and obtained. Bary society tlk has sexignder systema set of arrangement by which the biological aw material of human sex and procretin is Sayed by human, soca intervention and satished jn 8 com cel hepa niay sexy hough te at168 Gayle Rudin ‘Tho realm of human sex, gender, and procreation has boon subjected 9, and changed by, rlentle social aetvty for ‘lenis, Sox'as wo Know it-gender identity, sexual desire ted fantasy, concepts of childhoods ia social prodce ‘We need to understand the relations of is production, and forge, for swine, about food, clothing, automobiles, and (tatstor radiow Ia tmost Marxist tradition, and even Engels! book, the concept of the "second aspect of material |e” hae tended to fade into the background, oF to be incor ‘Dortad into the sual notions of "material fs” Engel sug ‘etion has never been followed up and subjected tothe re Ehement which it needs, But he does indesta the exsance ‘ad importance ofthe domain of socal ie which Iwant to ‘al the eexigonder estos. Ey'theavfund of her groom's tha: After bearing’ cd y tit Sah ep have cone nh fer rn hn eh ‘Rens pres ice lee ne of Bran an he we hs Seen Cees 110 age net ee the Erm ming int Bey male esl ecompenie ys peas sg rcton (Oh, 1871 My 1870, ey tan enn nal nti, oe ge wns [ous who tv siclnt (Oocdae sed Cowsing 197), Ober {frntng ere vations ean be found Yalmon (1088) and ong i800 The Traffic im Women 187, Other names havo been proposed for, the sex/gender system. ‘The mest common alternatives ae “mode of repro. Auction” and “patriarchy” It may be foolish to quibble fsbout tenns, but both of these can lead to confison. All three proposals have boon made in order to introduce » die tinction between "economiio” syrtamne and “sexual” systemn, nd to Indicate that sexual syrtms havea certain suitonomy fod cannot always be explained in terms of economic forces, "Mode of reproduction,” for instance, hasbeen proposed in ‘opposition ta the more fair “mode of production.” But {RE terminology links the "economy to production, and the Sexual system to “reproduction.” It reduces the richness of fithersyrtm, snce "productions and “reproductions” take place in both. Every ode of production involves reproduc fionmof tools, bor and social relations. We cannot rlogats all of tho multifaceted aspects of social rproducton tothe Sex system Replacement of machinery is an example of feproduction in the economy. On the other hand, wo cannot Tinit the sex system Uo “reproduction” in either the social biological sense of the te. A sexjgender system ie not Elmply Use repreductive moment of a "mode of production.” ‘The formation af gender Mdentty iran example of prod tion in the wed ‘of the sexual system. And a sox/gender fystom involves more than the “relations of procreation. "production in he biologie! saze “The term “paviarohy” was inteoduced to dstingulsh the fovees maintaining vex from other socal forces ch as captain. But tie we of "patsarciy” obscures other de finctions. Its us is analagout to sing capil to refer to all modes of production, whereas the usefulness of the term captain” Kis preci in that i ditinguisnes between the diferent ystems by which societies ate provisioned and of fsized. Any society wil have some system of “litical [Sconomy.” Such a system may be egalitarian or social, Fe ‘ay be class sttitied, in which case se oppressed clas may onsst of sets, peasants, or saves. The oppresed ciate may ‘onsst of wage laborers, in which eas the system ls properly168 Gayle Ruin Inbele “capitals.” The power ofthe tern les int implica: ion that, in fact, there ae alternatives to caplaism Silay, any society will have some systematic ways to deal with Sox, gender, ad babies, Buch'a tyson oop te Sexually egalitarian, at lectin theory or it may be “geades stratified,” as seems to be the ease for most eal Of the ‘Known examples. But itis important~-even inthe tase of depressing history—to maintain a distinction between the ‘human capacity aod necesity to create sev world, and the empircally oppresie ways in which sexal worlds have ‘been organized. Petsarchy rueumes both meaning te she same term. Sex/gender system, onthe other hand, a neutra, ‘em which refers to the domain snd indicates that oppor Son isnot inevitable in that domain but i the product of the speci social relations which organiae i Finally, there are genderstratifed systems which are not ‘weuately described as patricia. Many New Guinea socr sties (ngs, Masing, Bena Bena, ul, Melpa, Kum, Gahak Gama, Fore, Manind Anim, ad’ nauseum: sce Bem 1902; Langnes, 196%: Reppapore, 1975: Read, 2052, Mgt, 1970; Glase, 1971; Suathem, 1972; Reay, 3080; Van el, 1966; Lindenbaum, 1973) st viciously oppressive to women But the power of males in these groupe i not founded on their voles as fathers or pate, but on tet cllectie ‘sult malenes, embodied in secret cults, en's housn wee faze, exchange networks, tual knowlege, and various lls son procedures. Patnarchy iss specifi form of male domi ance, and the use of tho tenn ought to be confined 0 the Old Testament-type pasiorsl nomads from whom the tem comes, or groups lko them. Abraham was » Pisarchone ‘ld man whose absolute power over wives, eildren, hens snd dependents was an aspect of the inston of father ‘iniehever tam we us, what is important isto develop concepts to adequately dese the social ongenization sexuality and the reproduction ofthe conventions of se sad sender, We need to pursue the project Engels sbandoned ‘The Trffe x Women 169 ‘hen he locted the subordinstion of women in develop ‘ent within the mode of production To do this we ceo ‘imitate Engels in hls method rather than in hs resulta Boga approached the tak of snalysing the “second apest cfs fal fe” by way of an examination of « theory of hinekie ‘ystems Kinship ystems are and do thany things But they se made up of, and reprodute, concrete forme of socially ‘ganized sexuality. Kinship eyes are obsernbe ted one Piel forms of sxjgender systems Kinship (On the part played by eesuaty 1 the tention from ape to nan") ‘To an anthropologist, a kinship system ie not a lst of ological relatives tis’ system of categories snd seattnes hic offen contndlet actual genetic relationige, There are dozens of examples in which roctally defined Kinship sses take precedence ovr biology. The Nuer custom of “women mariago" Isa casein point The Nuer define the wu of fatherhood a belonging to the person in whose name cate Dridewealth is given for the mother. Thus a woman can be ‘panied to another woman, and be husband to the wife nd father of her chien, despite the fact that she is hot the ‘nseminator (Brans Pritchard, 1951-107-09) In prostate soci, inchlp isthe idiom of scil inten setion, onganzing economia, palit, and. ceremonial, as Well ss sexual, acivty. One' duties reeponsbiites aad {Bag tooght tht mn sogsed wal inthe fom ob nd Soe ie a ome siete ro degraded wd wie fo170 Gayle Rubin tegen vets ote as defined interme of tai Bip ‘o lck thereat, Th exchange of goods and sercon Frutsction aid dsbvtion, how snd slant, al LEX remoay lle pace wishin Se onpeiatona ste SKre of Kindip The blqty and adept efacurenes of iininp hat le many antropeogts fo conader five {tom slong withthe lvenon of guage, to have boon the developments which decsely sted the caso be frees semfnen hominids and buna beings Sate, 1300, Livingstone, 1060, Levitate, 1969) While he tea’ of the importance of Kihip enove the satis of fit principle in antopolog, the internal work Ings of kup tutes have long bee & fon for intents trove, Rint sem ary ily fom one claro {Benes Tay eontalt ll so of Bewiderng ros whieh orem whom one mayor may not many. The tera Siopety is aastng. Kinship systems hare or decade pro ‘eked the enthroplopclmagation into ying to expan Tnest tows, coerce tata, terms of een, rat nape of votdance or ford intmay, cla and sections, {aboos.on names-the dives aay at aa fund i Seip {ious of actual Kinship tiene Inthe nineteenth cent, Several thinkers ateempted to wee comprchensive accounts bo oatare so tory of haan sel pees ie Fe, S013). One of thee was Ancient Society, by Laws Hey Morgan twas this book whch apsed Baga o wa The natn ofthe Pani, Prsate Proper and the Site Boge {ory Je bese Upo Mona's acount of Knap snd at age Th taking up ng project of extracting «theory of sox ‘oppression fron the sty of kinship, we have the svantage ef ie maturation ot eitaology ence ihe neoent etry. Se abo have she aarantgs Of u pec wn peteluly pronto book, Lint Stause The Elsmantor” Stctures OF Kncip. Tiel he bolder wenethcentry version of the ninteatveentary project to undentand human mar tage Ins ook in which Kinship ienpllly conceved of Sh inpocton of curl osieation upon the face of ‘The Traffic Women 172 ologieal procreation. I is permestad with an swarenes of the Importance of sexuality in human society. Tei dscrip- tion of society which doesnot assume an abstract, genderess human subjc On the conteary, the human subject in Livi Strauss work is always either male or fora, andthe diver gent social datnles ofthe two sexes ean therefore be ace Since LévStnus coe the erence of Kinship epson tole sm exchange of women between men, he constructs an is plicit theory of sox opprestion. Aptiy, the Book i dedicated fo the memory of Lewis Henry Morgan "Ve and predous merchandive™ “Monique Wittig ‘The Blomestary Structure of Kinship is @ grand satomént fon the origin and nature of human rociety. Ie isa treatise on {he Mashp systema of approximately one third of Use etn igaphic globe Most fundamentally, isan sttompt to dscom the applieton of these principles (summarized in te last chapter of Elementary Structures) to kinship data reveals an Intligble logie to the taboos and marringo rues whic have ‘Rricts chess gaiae of auch complexity that i cannot be ‘o‘pitlated here, But two of hie chess pisces ae pati Inny relevant to womenhe “gif” and the inet saboo, ‘whose dual articulation adds up to Ms conoopt of the ex: Change of women ‘The Elamevtary Structures is in pact « radical gloss on smother famous theory of primitive soci organization, Mauss" Eswy on the Gift (Soe also Sahlins, 1972: Chap. 4). Te {he most strkng features of primitive scitier the extent #0 ‘which ging, resiving, and reciprocating sift: dominates 20 ‘nl intercoune. Ln such roe, all srt of tinge culate fm exchange food, spells, ital, words, nabs, rmatents tools, and powers172 Gayle Rubin {fans tat you hve id up Yoo may st sa Ober pope's ‘try oor peopl sam ote people’ pip oer eons Sune a tng ate ped ep, you ma ea (taps, eed In typical gift transaction, nether party gaing anything. In the Trebstaad lands each hossehold malntans «garden of {yams and each housshold eats yams. But the yams a hose Tod growe and the yam i eas are not the sme. At harvest ‘mn, a man sends the yams ho bas cultivated tothe house- hold of his sister, the household in which he les i pro- ‘ironed by bis wife's brother (Malinowski, 1928). ince such {procedure sppea to be 4 useles one from the point of ‘ew of asumultion or trade it logic has been sought l= ‘where, Mase proposed thatthe signfeance of eit giving Is that expromes, aims, or exeates a social ink between the purines of an exchange, Cif iving confers upon its patch pants a opecial telatonship of tur, solar, and mutual Sd, One can slit a fuendly relationship in the offer of & fa; aoveptance implies willingness to retum gift and @ nftrmation ofthe relationship. Gift exchange may also be the idiom of competition and rivalry. Thare are many ex fmples in which one person umllates another by giving tnore than an be reciprocated. Some political systems, such 1 the Big Man systems of highland New Guinea, are based on ‘change which la unequal on te material plano. An aspen 2g Man wants to give sway move goods than canbe reine ‘aed, Te gota he etura in politcal prestige “Alinough both Masse ane Lévi-Strauss emphasize the soi day aspects of itt exchange, the other purposes served by {pf giving only strengthen the point that i an ubiquitous eats of seca commence, Mason propoocd het gift wero the thieads of socal discourse, the means by which such fcletes were held together in the absence of specialized fovemmental insite, "The if ie the primitive way of Echieving the peace that in ch society secured by the Siate. Composing society, the gift wae te Liberation of ‘tare (Sabling 1072:169, 176), The Traffic in Women 173 LéviStraust ads tothe theory of primitive reciprocity the ‘ea that manages are most basi form of git exchange, in which it is women who are the most precious of gifts. He ‘mus that the incest taboo should best be understood a & ‘mechani to inaiae that sich exchanges take place betwee {amlies and between groupe. Since the existence of incest {aboos is unlvasal, but the content oftheir prohibitions va ble, they camiot be explained as hating Ue aim of prevent Ing the occurner of genetiealy clove mating. Rather, the Incest taboo impote the socal sim of exogamy and aliance ‘pon the bolas! events of sex ad procreation, The incet taboo divides the universe of sexual chole into categories of ppeitied. and prohibited sexual parners. Specifically, by Texbidaing unions within & group i enjoins marital exchange between groups ‘To prot on the sera» hero a ster com es fer to en a marge to anoier man, 2d a he same ei eae pf ant ort of ir oer ‘Bu... Toe woman thom cor dow nl tls fot Ga 0) ‘eon up. (Le Strom 19001) ‘oe prin of nt es a leptin rage with the mote ser, auger than ale obliging the ome, ‘ter, o duper to be geno kes Tee the pee le bei (bate) ‘The result of a gift of women te more profound than the result of othergift transactions, because the relationship ts {Stalihed & sot jurt one of recprocts, but one of kina, ‘The exchange partners have become affine, and their de- ‘scandonts wil b rated by blood: "Two people may meetin frindship and exchange gifts and yet quarrel and fight in manner” (Best, cited in LeviStruss, 1969-481). Asis the ase with othe git ving, marigos are not always so simply Seite fo make peace: Maiages may be highly compet tive, and thor are plony of affnes who fight cach other Nevertheless, nt general senee the argunent Se that the taboo on ince results ina wide network of rlations, ast of74 Goyte Rubin people whote connections with one another ae knthip Euctiue all other lewis, amounts, nd ection of x Sang lncuting bole snore deed by tis sci The mugs csemonls recorded in the eticopaptis tary {ure ane mont n a cals and ordered procession in ‘rien women, cider, sey words eae names, fy a stor whale’ tenth, pgs sume pel, dance, ma fot fom ban to hd eating elt tracks the tes ak Eins Rintip i organization, ad orzaon gee power: But wh oases? eae vi gre sd fake tem who ae inked, the woman beng 8 Tonal of rltonslp miter thanx partner toe The {change of women dow not necenany imply tht women Ste onjcciied nthe modem sews ner ebects In the Punitive word are imbued wits highly penal qualities Bur it dow imply a distinton between git and vet. I ‘women are the git hen son who ae the exchange roca: And it he partner notte een, spon wom ‘eprocal exchange confers is quumyica powes of socal The rains of sucha system te ch as omen tre ino postion fo ele the benefit ofthe ows cca: Sn At long the sation opecly tat en exchange tronie, i foen who ae te beeen of te produc of Tach exchangers onpniaton ‘ot established betwoon a man and woman, but Between ("0 eof m,n wun et font ‘Swot uly the cl, fs aoqieng o She poponed Jou putea, hon wil you go te" Cape id La Soe, Josette) ‘The Treffie in Women 175 lo, she peclate rllows the exebage to take pas, sbe aot ler at = Le Stra In e115)" To enter into gift exchange asa parnes, one must have something wo gv. If women ar for ian to dispose of, they stein no poation ta give themaclves tray setae Wa es castnnta thing who sy at hone simply, ot you se" stn, 1st 63) Whst women indeed! The Melps women of whom the young man spoke can't got wives, thy are wives, ae wha hey get se husbands, an ently different matter. The Mpa won, ‘ant ive their Caughtos to men, because they donot hate fhe same rights n their daughters that their male Lin have, "hts of bestowal although not af ownership) ‘The “exchang> of women” ie ¢ seductive and powerful concept. It is atactive in tha it places the oppreaion of ‘women within social systems, rather than in biology, More over, it suggests that we look for the ullinste locuy of ‘women’s oppression within the trafic in woman, rather thon within the tealficin merchandise tis cevatnly not diesen to find ethnographic and historical examples of tating in women, Women are given in manage, faken in bate, ox clanged for favo, sent as tet, ftaded, bought, and old Far from being confined to the “primitve™ wort, thew ge tices seem only to become more pronounced and corner ‘ializd in more “evilized” socotie, Men are of course aso laficked—but ax snore, hurley, ntlic stats seco us ‘Error intl Spurainn canbe nen te eae a "ight" n wonca, nd ae dal by women of ah ln oes