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status, property, and the value on virginity
Author(s) -
SCHLEGEL ALICE
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.1991.18.4.02a00050
Subject(s) - virginity test , dowry , value (mathematics) , database transaction , sociology , demography , gender studies , political science , mathematics , statistics , law , computer science , programming language
This article tests and confirms the proposition that a cultural value on the virginity of girls is, in large part, a function of the form of marriage transaction. The study is based on a worldwide sample of preindustrial societies and includes an interpretation of the association between several forms of marriage transaction and a prescription of or preference for premarital female virginity. Several other explanations for the value on virginity are also discussed. [ virginity, bridewealth, dowry, marriage transactions ]