Children take the name of their mother’s family, who they live with all their lives....
BITS 'N' PIECES
The Mosuo people are an ethnic group that lives in the Yunnan and Sichuan regions of China. Long isolated from other parts of China—and insulated against the occasional upheavals that impacted other cultures—they continue to maintain cultural institutions commonly described as matriarchal or matrilineal.
Children take the name of their mother’s family, who they live with all their lives. Households are run by matriarchs, often the grandmother, and inheritance goes from mother to daughter. The matriarch makes all major household decisions, including financial ones, and women do work often doled out to men in other cultures.
It is worth noting that men do have some power in this society; they are in charge of all things death-related, including funerals and the killing of animals. They also have some political power, though women often have most of it. A variety of sources indicate that the men in this society, who are well aware of the alternatives, are often content with their situation.
Even with these caveats, it is fair to say that the women of the Mosuo are highly autonomous and have a long history of personal freedom beyond that which is known to women in many other cultures.
Two manifestations of this are that women tend to have higher blood pressure than men after reaching post-reproductive age and that women of all ages tend to experience more inflammation than men. Both of these are important markers of long-term health and are commonly associated with other serious conditions.
In a surprising find, not only did the Mosuo women living in the areas where they have control over their lives enjoy lower rates of these conditions than other women, they are healthier than their men as well.
These interpretations would be in line with other findings that suggest racism, which similarly limits human autonomy, is terrible for people’s health. The stresses of racism are linked to babies with low birth weight, heart disease, and poorer health outcomes.
Curiosity may have killed the cat but before he died, the other cats knew a lot of things about his character.
If you’re a curious person, it may be of interest to you to know what your inquisitive character is revealing to the world, especially if you don’t want to reveal anything. Here are 12 things that curiosity reveals about your personality.
1. You’re a social butterfly when you need to be.
2. You’re a great listener.
3. Your word is trustworthy.
4. You are attentive to small details.
5. You aren’t ashamed when you don’t know anything.
6. You don’t live in the past.
7. You are a brave individual.
8. You can be irritatingly persistent.
9. You’re patient.
10. You focus well when you want to.
11. You’re very intelligent.
12. You’re healthy and/or have healthy habits.
Every now and then, too much snooping may get you in trouble. However, it will be balanced out by all the other positive benefits you gain from being curious, so keep up the good detective work.
