Introduction
For a well structured and well functioning Basque society during the 20th century, the roles in which the two genders (male and female) contributed within the Basque culture were an important aspect of their everyday life, it insured balance and equal levels of respect within their society. This essay will briefly look at the Basque culture in general and will then focus specifically on housework and childcare, and also work, land and income. This essay will explore the gender roles of 20th century Basque country, showing how important the role of women is in their society, and that the roles are becoming increasingly modern for women, offering them more freedom. There will be a comparison with the Ju/’Hoansi people to show how …show more content…
The Basque country is famous for its scorching beaches and brilliant architecture, and also for its industrious, hardworking native people. Basque people generally live off of their land, with hunting and harvesting crops being one of their main sources of food and income. Basque is not a power driven society, with women playing a very important role in many aspects of Basque life. Maintaining tradition and the culture is heavily reliant on women, to be passed down to their children. By the late 20th century, traditional Basque culture had declined with the urban and industrial development of the Basque region, emigration to France and the Americas had drastically reduced the population living in Basque. Basques have traditionally been herders, although the introduction of crops from the Americas such as corn and potatoes has resulted in the take off and expansion of cultivation since the early modern …show more content…
The rights and expected behavior for women in this society was largely disputed, their rights were very few. There were not very many laws in place about the behavior and consequences of certain actions for males, they had many more rights and far more freedom than women. During the 1940’s Franco’s ideology lead to the installment of harsh laws that denied women their rights to work outside of the home, restricting their roles to the household. These laws got rid of divorce and established harsh penalties for female acts of adultery. The laws also discriminated against children who were unfortunate to be born out of wedlock (Astelarra 1995). However, change to the laws emerged slowly from the 1960’s through to the 1980’s. Women’s rights to work outside of the home were restored in 1961, their access to abortion if their own health were at risk was granted in 1985, and divorce became legal in 1981. (Jones 1997) Although in modern Basque society today, separation of spouse is far more common. Gender roles in Basque families are slowly being transformed by these legal changes and by the impact of globalization on regional cultures. However these changes and adaptions of gender roles are difficult to measure because they vary from family to family. (Jones
For a well structured and well functioning Basque society during the 20th century, the roles in which the two genders (male and female) contributed within the Basque culture were an important aspect of their everyday life, it insured balance and equal levels of respect within their society. This essay will briefly look at the Basque culture in general and will then focus specifically on housework and childcare, and also work, land and income. This essay will explore the gender roles of 20th century Basque country, showing how important the role of women is in their society, and that the roles are becoming increasingly modern for women, offering them more freedom. There will be a comparison with the Ju/’Hoansi people to show how …show more content…
The Basque country is famous for its scorching beaches and brilliant architecture, and also for its industrious, hardworking native people. Basque people generally live off of their land, with hunting and harvesting crops being one of their main sources of food and income. Basque is not a power driven society, with women playing a very important role in many aspects of Basque life. Maintaining tradition and the culture is heavily reliant on women, to be passed down to their children. By the late 20th century, traditional Basque culture had declined with the urban and industrial development of the Basque region, emigration to France and the Americas had drastically reduced the population living in Basque. Basques have traditionally been herders, although the introduction of crops from the Americas such as corn and potatoes has resulted in the take off and expansion of cultivation since the early modern …show more content…
The rights and expected behavior for women in this society was largely disputed, their rights were very few. There were not very many laws in place about the behavior and consequences of certain actions for males, they had many more rights and far more freedom than women. During the 1940’s Franco’s ideology lead to the installment of harsh laws that denied women their rights to work outside of the home, restricting their roles to the household. These laws got rid of divorce and established harsh penalties for female acts of adultery. The laws also discriminated against children who were unfortunate to be born out of wedlock (Astelarra 1995). However, change to the laws emerged slowly from the 1960’s through to the 1980’s. Women’s rights to work outside of the home were restored in 1961, their access to abortion if their own health were at risk was granted in 1985, and divorce became legal in 1981. (Jones 1997) Although in modern Basque society today, separation of spouse is far more common. Gender roles in Basque families are slowly being transformed by these legal changes and by the impact of globalization on regional cultures. However these changes and adaptions of gender roles are difficult to measure because they vary from family to family. (Jones