Please go to the link to read the whole thing, because this little excerpt doesn't capture the funniness of the whole thing. It's a commentary on both American Indian families and anthropologists.
At lunch, one Short-Haired White Professor asked me, “Did your family matriarch set an example of strong oral communication?” I wondered, while chewing my free lunch, if they confused “matrilineal” with “matriarchal.” But the food was good and I didn’t want to talk too much, so I just kept it pretty short and honest.
Me: >chew, chew< “Well, mom yells a lot. But that’s just because we didn’t listen. Plus, she’s kinda hard of hearing.”
Short-Haired White Professor 1: >Smiling smugly< “Did you listen to the women figures in your life? And was your upbringing more woman-friendly?”
Me: >realizing that this vegetarian food isn’t half-bad< “Woman-friendly? What’s that? Er, well, mom and my sisters told me what to do. And I listened. I don’t know if that’s what you mean, but yeah. … that happened.” >chew, chew< My sisters could fight – much better than me. And my mom spanked us. So >chew<, I listened >burp<.”
SHWP: >squealing with joy< “Women were the unquestioned leaders in your society then? You simply accepted their authority?”
Me: >wiping crumbs from my face< “My society? Huh? Maybe? I’m really not sure who else could be leaders. There were no men around.”
SHWP: >looking disappointed< “Oh.”
Years later, I had a moment of clarity about the conversation with my Short-Haired White Professors. It happened while I watched the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” There was a quote: “The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.”
Repeat:
“The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.”
Wow. That quote articulated, in a way that I could not, my disagreement with the Short-Haired White Professor’s theory.
Again, go to the link for the whole thing....
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