Gender Roles

In the Dogon carving of “Linked Man and Woman” the artist represents the primary gender roles of traditional African society in the 19^th century. The man carries a quiver on his back, just as the woman carries a child on her own back. The artist thus emphasizes the female role of nurturer and the male role of protector. They sit side by side with accentuated masculine and feminine features. The slightly taller man puts his arm around his woman and touches her breast in a protective gesture. Similarly on the Etruscan terracotta “Cerveteri Sarcophagus” a husband and wife recline together (uncommon in Greek symposiums) on a banquet couch, giving life to male and female relationships in the 6^th century BC. Here, however, the arm around the woman’s neck and her very placement next to him are representative of her relative freedoms in the Etruscan culture. Etruscan women did attend banquets, could keep their own names and could own property independent of their husbands. Both the African carving and the Etruscan sarcophagus represent the domestic relationships of men and women during their respective time periods.