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Agree or disagreeAnswer to critique: with perspectives expressed in the readings, in discussions supporting your own point of view

Sociology

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Agree or disagreeAnswer to critique: with perspectives expressed in the readings, in discussions supporting your own point of view. Suggest and justify reasons to be critical of the ideas presented in the readings or in class. Highlight parts of the text that weren't clear and offer tentative understandings.

As Knauft records, the majority of the Gebusi men in the 1980s are heterosexual with purposeful homosexual tendencies during their pubescent, bachelor and early years of marriage. As they age and marry, however, their homosexuality converts itself into what Knauft refers to as "homosociality" (80), opting instead towards bawdy humour and banter during their seances. Their homosexual activity, however, contributes to the masculine development of uninitiated Gebusi teenagers. Such practices are a source of what Knauft calls "masculine life force" (81) which the

Gebusi consider being essential in aiding the uninitiated in their maturation from boys to men.

Often, the topics of gender and sexuality are sensitive, leaving only a fine line between informative and offensive. No matter how delicate a subject may be, I think an ethnographer has the responsibility, above all, to document their observations with as much depth and respect for those they observe as possible. To illustrate, Knauft, for instance, shifts to what could be considered a more objective perspective and scientifically accurate method of description in the chapter on Gebusi sexuality. It is also important to consider who the audience would be. In many cases, the audience would be other anthropologists, who would, as Knauft says, be curious. (81)