The Sambia

This collection of essays on the sexual culture of the Sambia of Papua New Guinea examines: fetish and fantasy; ritual nose-bleeding; the role of homoerotic insemination; the role of the father and mother in the process of identity formation.

This cultural and psychological study of gender identity and sexual development in a New Guinea Highlands society includes initiation rites and socialization studies, and contrasts the Sambia with other societies, including our own. Sambia boys experience ritualized homosexuality before puberty and do not leave it until marriage, after which homosexual activity is prohibited. The implications are developed cross-culturally and contextualized in gender literature.

This cultural and psychological study of gender identity and sexual development in a New Guinea Highlands society includes rich material on initiation rites and socialization studies, and contrasts the Sambia with other societies, including the United States. For example, Sambia boys experience ritualized homosexuality before puberty and continue this practice until marriage, after which homosexual activity is prohibited. The implications are developed cross-culturally and contextualized in gender literature. This new edition contains updated information about the Sambian ritualization and socialization of gender practices and will include a new chapter on sexuality, gender and social change among the Sambia. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

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.

Attempting to bridge the epistemological gaps between "positivist" and "postmodern" approaches to theoretical models of sexual behavior, this book brings together essays and discussion by scholars representing a range of viewpoints and contrasting theoretical approaches. The essays examine four areas: sexuality through the life cycle, sexual orientation, individual differences in sexual risk taking, and adolescent sexual behavior.

Gilbert Herdt is Director of the Program in Human Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University, where he is also Professor of Human Sexuality Studies and Anthropology.

This book contains the work of seven leading anthropologists on the subject of ritualized homosexuality, and it marks the first time that anthropologists have systematically studied cross-cultural variations in homosexual behavior in a non-Western culture area. The book as a whole indicates that contemporary theories of sex and gender development need revision in light of the Melanesian findings.