Religious Hysteria… Somehow, It Almost Always Turns Against Women
October 20th, 2009 by SocProf and tagged Collective Behavior, Gender, Mass Violence, Patriarchy, Religious Fundamentalism, Social Deviance, Social Sanctions, Social Stigma, Sociology
Video here.
Now might be a good time to revisit Kai Erikson’s Wayward Puritans for an interesting study of how accusations of possession and witchcraft are almost always directed at women and involve both symbolic and materials issues:
In highly patriarchal societies, women without men (orphans, single women, and widows) are more vulnerable to stigmatization that reinforce patriarchal norms (women with men – fathers, brothers, or husbands) are safer through ritualized violence. The collective punishment of “witches” reminds all other women of what their place and status is in society. At the same time, it permits good ol’-fashioned dispossession as well. In a typically Durkheimian fashion, the public denunciation and sanctioning of deviance reminds the entire community of the norm and unites them against an enemy that is powerless to defend itself.
Posted in Collective Behavior, Gender, Mass Violence, Patriarchy, Religious Fundamentalism, Sexism, Social Deviance, Social Sanctions, Social Stigma, Sociology | No Comments »
