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Cultural explanations of fertility differences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2011

J. Clyde Mitchell
J. Clyde Mitchell
Affiliation:
Department of Social Anthropology and Sociology, University of Manchester
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Extract

The reproductive behaviour of human beings, in contrast to that of other animals, is distinguished by almost universal awareness of the connection between sexual activity on the one hand and the birth of children on the other. There are, it is true, some classic examples where this connection apparently is not appreciated, as for example, the Trobrianders as described by Malinowski (1937), and the Arunta of the Central Australian desert as described by Spencer & Gillen (1927). These, however, are exceptions rather than the rule. In any case, even in them, reproductive behaviour is still constrained by custom although the connection is not appreciated. The biological potential to reproduction therefore does not, in itself, determine the level of fertility in any human population. Some individuals, or some categories of persons, may deliberately attempt to influence the natural process of reproduction, either to enhance or to inhibit its efficacy.

Type
Fertility in different populations
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 3 , supplement S3: Biosocial Aspects of Human Fertility , 1971 , pp. 53 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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