Many of the problems that I have noticed are extremely precarious in Colombian society are those revolving around women’s rights and gender-based oppression. Because of this, I have reason to believe that the feminst theory would be the most relevant anthropological perspective to consider when studying Colombia. Oftentimes feminist theorists focus on a few major points involving the ways in which gender impacts the inequality and whether or not this inequality exists specificially due to gender. It is also important to consider the scale of how large this inequality is present (anywhere from individual to national). In the commonly understood definition of the feminist theory, people assume only the mistreatment of women is being recognized, but modern gender and feminist studies also consider the inequalities faced by men and any other gender. Through the use of intersectionality, theorists are able to combine various theoretical approaches to better understand the inequalities in a deeper and more profound way. Although there are certainly inequalities that are abundant and problematic in Colombia, the feminist theory takes action in dealving into whether or not certain inequalities are rooted from the basis of gender, and whether or not these roles affect the community’s ideas and behaviors. 

The methodologies described by the University of Alabama department of anthropology speaks of feminist anthropology’s specific focus on the roles, statuses, and contributions of women in their respective societies (Dominguez et al., 2017) This directly correlates with the findings that I have studied in Colombian domestic culture, in which women’s roles are demeaning, statuses are below those of men, and household contributions are tremendous. It was surprising and disappointing to me to find that the most common offenders of this mistreatment are the women’s spouses, who not only expect much of their housewives, but also oftentimes abuse them when the performance is less than anticipated. This in-house violence has been occurring for generations, creating a difficult cycle to break. One article describes this hole as the “hidden health burden”, explaining that such physical and psychological scars result in women being unable to fully lend their labor and ideas to the community (Heise, 1993). These actions directly relate to the feminist theory of anthropology as it proves that Colombian women are being mistreated simply becuase the opposing gender views their counterparts as having lesser-than roles in society, and can therefore be treated like property. The common cultural responsibilities of men and women in Colombia differ incredibly, where men are often seen as the breadwinners and women stay home to take care of children and tend to the home. In a man’s eyes, these roles are not contributing to the family nearly as much as his own job, and so therefore he, as the man, is entitled to be treated well when he gets home. There is no doubt that power similar to this constructs and enforces the oppression of the targeted demographic, in this case women (Gellner and Stockett, 2006). After much analysis and research, I have been thoroughly informed on the lives that women who reside under the same roof as their spouse live, and how sometimes abusive it can be. I have found that this directly relates to the feminist theory in a sense that such abuse of the body and mind results in women, for the sole reason of their gender roles in society, have been stuck multiple steps behind men in the societal progression ladder for generations. 

Heise, Lori. “Violence against Women: the Hidden Health Burden .” WHSQ, 1993, apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/48688/WHSQ_1993_46_No.1_p78-85_eng.pdf.

Dominguez, Johnna, et al. “Feminist Anthropology.” Anthropology, 24 Apr. 2017, anthropology.ua.edu/theory/feminist-anthropology/.

Geller, Pamela L and Stockett, Miranda K Feminist anthropology : past, present, and future. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2006.