Domestic–public dichotomy

The domestic–public dichotomy is the division between men's roles and women's roles in life. Although these divisions are not being strictly utilized across the world today, they used to be shared across most prehistoric cultures. This also includes gender status in the hunter-gatherer community, where men participate more in outside work, such as trade, politics, warfare, and work, whereas women, on the other hand, participate more in activities in or around the home, such as gathering fruit and plants, child bearing, and preparing feasts. In the hunting/gathering communities, men are usually the hunters and the warriors, where they use tools such as spears, bows, and knives. “Men make better [warriors] because they are bigger and stronger than women in the same population” (Kottak, 165). Men came to be seen as the stronger of the two sexes partly because when women are pregnant, it is harder for them to move around, which is necessary for a successful hunter or tracker.

References

• Kottak, Conrad (August 2004). "Gender". Window on Humanity: A Concise Introduction to General Anthropology (1 ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 165. doi:10.1036/0072989424. ISBN 0-07-298942-4.