A Cross-Cultural Test of Collins’s Theory of Sexual Stratification
Author(s)
Johnson, G. David; Hendrix, Lewellyn
Abstract
A multivariate model for the explanation of cross-cultural variation in sexual stratification as implied in Collins’s (1971, 1975) theory is presented. The model predicts that the degree of sexual dominance in a society is primarily determined by a set of economic and political conditions. Family and kinship variables are predicted to be much less important. The model is tested using a subsample of societies (N = 74) from Murdock and White’s (1969) Standard Cross-cultural Sample. The results are inconsistent with Collins’s theory. Kinship and family variables, especially marital residence and descent rules, are better predictors than the economic and political variables.
