For Work / Against Work
Debates on the centrality of work

Bell, Diane Women's Business Is Hard Work: Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Love Rituals 1981 Article Women and Work, Anthropology of Work Women, Segregation, Aboriginal, Indigenous, Gender, Colonialism, Australia
Citation Bell, Diane 1981 Article Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society Women Segregation Aboriginal Indigenous Gender Colonialism Australia Women and Work Anthropology of Work

"Women's Business Is Hard Work: Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Love Rituals"

by Bell, Diane (1981)

Abstract

To appreciate the impact of the changes wrought by the colonization of aboriginal land in Australia, one mustfirst appreciate the quality of gender segregation in the aboriginal society. While devastating for aboriginal men and women alike, segregation has affected the two sexes differently because of the sex-segregated natureof their society and the male- oriented nature of the colonial power. The twin assumptions that gender values are ordered in an unchanging, rigid, hierarchical structure and that men are the most important social …

Keywords

Women, Segregation, Aboriginal, Indigenous, Gender, Colonialism, Australia

Themes

Women and Work, Anthropology of Work

Links to Reference

Citation

Share


How to contribute.
Australian Research Council Ethics and Agency Research Centre
Privacy policy • Contact • Latest updates • Subscribe • RSS

Content Copyright 2026 Jean-Philippe Deranty and Macquarie University. This website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike Licence (except for journal/book abstracts and quotations which are the property of their respective authors).


Cite this page as though it were a secondary source, thus the inline citation should be (Bell, D. 1981 p. 314-337 cited in Deranty et. al. 2026). In the references, use: