GUARDIANS OF THE FLUTES: Idioms of Masculinity: A Study of Ritualized Homosexual Behavior

Gilbert H. Herdt; (Robert A. LeVine, Foreword); Lawredrence B. Apple, Suzette H. Annin (Editors)

ISBN 10: 007028315X / ISBN 13: 9780070283152

Published by McGraw-Hill, 1981, Blacklick, OH, 1981

About this Item

Text/BRAND NEW & Bright. Illustrated bi-color linen boards/Fine. DJ/NF w/a whisper of edge wear. Maps to endpapers. Socio-cultural institutions. Practice of manhood rites in conjuction with ritual homosexualty. Anthropological study of the Sambia tribe (pseudonyn to protect true tribal identity), New Guinea. All boys become initiates of the Warrior group. Supported by an elaborate ideological system, homosexuality is practiced within the group (including ceremonial use of flutes), with heterosexual experiences postponed until marriage. The tribal belief, alien to the world at large, is that it is within the homosexual period that boys become men. Volume based on 2 years (1974 - 1976) of field studyf by Gilbert H. Herdt, Assistant Professor at Stanford Univ at the point of publication, who specializied in gender identify. 382 pgs in 9 chapters followed by 5 appendices.

Seller Inventory # 000147

Bibliographic Details

• Title: GUARDIANS OF THE FLUTES: Idioms of Masculinity: A Study of Ritualized Homosexual Behavior
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 1981, Blacklick, OH
• Publication Date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 007028315X
• ISBN 13: 9780070283152
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition, First Printing
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Society/Social Sciences/Cultural Studies
  • History
  • Philosophy

About this title

Synopsis

In the first systematic documentation of New Guinea rituals of manhood, Gilbert Herdt places the homosexual customs of the Sambia in their ecological and ideological contexts while exploring what they mean to the individuals who practice them. Raising a host of issues concerning gender identity, hostility between the sexes, and the relationships between myth, culture, and personal experience, Herdt provides a vivid and convincing portrait of how Sambia men experience their sexual development.

From the Back Cover

This unique study of boy-inseminating rituals among the Sambia of New Guinea challenges our deepest assumptions about the role of culture in understanding homosexuality and gender-identity development.