Read the following excerpt and complete the activity.
Gender is the socially constructed difference between men and women. In Bali children learn their gender roles from a very early age, with girls learning to collect water from the village well, buy and sell produce from the market and learn traditional dances for temple and tourist performances. Boys will learn how to look after the rice fields and the responsibility involved in making family and community decisions.
Men are responsible for all major decision made within Balinese households, however it is women who look after the home, the market, the family budget and the religious responsibilities of the household. Men tend after the rice fields, although it is women who are responsible for harvesting the crop, and they can often be seen carrying out other much harder and more physical work than men including major roadworks.
Source: B. Howitt & R. Julian, Heinemann Society and Culture (Pearson, 2009).
ACTIVITY
a) Describe the differences and similaraties in gender roles between Bali and Australia.
b) What cultural misunderstandings might arise if an outsider observed a Balinese woman carrying out roadworks.
c) Go to the student discussion page and post your thoughts about gender roles in Bali and Australia.
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