The Power of Privilege: Understanding Specifically What Privilege Is & Does

The word privilege invokes a variety of emotions, thoughts, and mental images.  For many, it conjures up ideas of people with monetary wealth and luxury goods, such as expansive mansions, couture clothing, luxury cars, and more.  Chances are that when those images come to mind there are specific people that model and embody that way of life.  What do they look like to you? 

Figure 1: Think about what specific images of PEOPLE & THINGS come to mind when you think about privilege.

If you thought that the patrons of these lavish items were white, blonde, blue eyed, and young women and/or older (and “distinguished”) men you are not alone.  These images are very much culturally & socially defined and driven.  Today’s blog post is going to discuss these cultural and social constructions of power, what they look like, and how they affect our daily interactions within ourselves and with others.  These cultural and social constructions of power are the topic of privilege.  I will start by discussing privilege from a general perspective for now so as to clarify the term and ideologies associated with it for ease of understanding, but I will focus on to specific examples of privilege later in this post to demonstrate the latter points about the effects of these privileges on the individual and on group interactions.

Privilege in everyday language refers to a system of rewards, opportunities, and freedoms afforded to an individual but not the rest.  This definition is quite comparable to how the term is used academically to discuss social inequalities that exist in every culture and society.  Typically when one discusses privilege the discussion focuses on one type of privilege, such as male privilege, white privilege, Christian privilege.  This narrow focus on privilege can be problematic because it provides too fine a lens in understanding specifically what privilege is as it spotlights one type of privilege and how it affects people but sometimes (or, in my experiences, more often than not) distorts a learner’s understanding of what specifically privilege is.  While it is good to focus on one type of privilege and specific types of privilege do exist, it is important to know that privilege refers to any individual or group of individuals who have real but often invisible access to power and advantages that other members of the culture and society do not have. 

Now let us break down this definition further, starting with real but often invisible.  This is crucial to understanding privilege because most of the time individuals are unaware of their privilege.  This may not be a matter of willful ignorance on the part of the privileged but simply a matter of lack of knowledge and understanding of the social agreements that provide benefits to some as well as the social struggles that deny access to others. 

Another part of the definition that we need to focus on is access to power.  When one thinks of power all sorts of ideas come to mind.  A primary theme that is present with these ideas of power is control and influence.  This can refer to individual power, meaning the power to control one’s destiny or future, or group power, which refers to an entire group of people having the ability to collectively control their own destiny or future (e.g. choose what to wear, where to live, who to interact with, what to do for work or in one’s free time, etc.).  Now I can already hear you thinking (and/or saying) what do you mean I do not have control in what I wear?  Of course I can choose what I want to wear!  Well, I hate to break it to you, but culture very much controls your decision making there.  There are social and cultural expectations pertaining to what is acceptable to wear and when.  For example, a business suit is typically considered masculine attire.  We see this in the advertising and imagery associated with advertising and businesses associated with men (e.g. Armani suits or Men’s Wearhouse [Figure 2]).

Figure 2: Giorgio Armani Advertisement (Left) & Men's Wearhouse Advertisement (Right)

A man who wears a business suit is considered professional, intelligent, and capable.  A woman who also wears a business suit is often times considered the same: professional, intelligent, and capable (Figure 3).  But what happens when we switch the clothing type for our hypothetical man and woman?  What if we put a man and woman in the same dress (Figure 4)?  What are your thoughts then?  Chances are that no one (or very few people) would question the woman wearing the dress because culturally we view dresses as women’s attire, but a man who opts to wear a dress would be considered absurd or less of a man.  So why is it that a woman can wear a business suit, which is typically described as masculine attire, but a man cannot wear a dress, which is typically associated with women?  Because we, as Americans, place importance and preference on men over women and therefore a woman who wears masculine clothing is validating a man’s worth whereas men who wear women’s clothing are diminishing their power and worth by taking on a inferior role as a woman.  And before you start getting upset, critically think about what I am saying here.  Who would you follow if you were trapped in a seemingly impossible and incredibly dangerous situation: a man or a woman?  Be honest.  Most people (re: Americans) would follow the man because men are viewed as protectors, authoritarians, and leaders.  Women are not less capable of fulfilling those roles, but we (re: Americans) view women as nurturers, subservient, and followers.  Furthermore, we tend to believe that these characteristics are natural, biological traits and not culturally dictated and determined (which they are!).  This is an example of male privilege because emphasis and preference in power and advantages are placed on men over women.

Figure 3: Man & Woman Wearing A Suit

Figure 4: Man & Woman Wearing the Same Dress  (Note: Matt Stone & Trey Parker, the two men pictured centered, were intentionally spoofing the outfits worn by Jennifer Lopez (left) and Gwyneth Paltrow (right), but they received heavy criticism not for making fun of the two female entertainers but for daring to wear dresses.)

Now let’s look at this example from a different perspective.  If we have two men wearing a business suit, what do you think?  Do your perceptions change if I say that one man is Caucasian (white) and another is African-American (black)?  What if one is Hispanic and the other is Asian?  Do your thoughts of these men change?  You may not feel comfortable answering those questions or you may believe that your thoughts and feelings do not change.  Again, however, think about these questions critically and honestly.  Scholarly studies demonstrate that perceptions do change and that preference is given to Caucasian individuals over racial minorities, such as African-Americans & Hispanics.  These individuals are often viewed as trying too hard, faking it, or selling out when they don professional business attire than individuals who are Caucasian or Asian.  Why?  Because in American culture and society there is a belief that Caucasians and Asians are smarter and better than all others.  Again, one need only turn on prime time television (or even non-prime time television) to see this demonstrated.  Leading roles on popular shows on most networks are filled by white actors.  Or even more telling, do a web image search for the following terms separately: Men, Women, and Couples.  Who shows up?  

Figures 5, 6, & 7 are the web image searches that came up for me.  Are they any different for you?  As you can see in my image searches all of the subjects are Caucasian (white) or appear to be.  I do not know who these individuals are so I cannot 100% guarantee that any (or all) of them identify as being Caucasian, but their appearance does speak volumes about white privilege in our (American) society.  It is both obvious (on television) and latent (in web searches).

Figure 5: Web Image Search for Men

Figure 6: Web Image Search for Women

Figure 7: Web Image Search for Couples

The one part of the definition that I want to discuss is the last part: advantages that other members of the culture and society do not have.  Privilege provides advantages to some while denying it to others.  We often see this in access to the best and most advantageous jobs, housing, and education.  For example, think about the following professions: Medical Doctor, Janitor, Teacher, Gardener, Accountant, and Manicurist.  Who comes to mind when you think of these positions?  You might be catching on and realizing that specific types of individuals (based on race and educational level) come to mind when you think of each of these professions, and again, that is very much culturally dictated and driven.  Certain professions are associated with certain types of people, and these ideas are reinforced one way or another by individuals in our society through education, individual interactions, popular media, etc. as comedienne Margaret Cho points out.  She makes light of this situation but it is unfortunately a reality that all individuals must face, be it those with privilege and those without. 

But as I have already discussed racial privilege I want to demonstrate this point about advantages of some members of the culture and society over others with another example.  It is actually the example that inspired this post.  I want to discuss heterosexual privilege, or privilege afforded to individuals who are interested in the opposite sex.  A couple of months ago a very good friend of mine was turning 30, which in American culture is considered a big deal and unfortunate age milestone (which demonstrates privileges placed on the young), and I wanted to find just the right card, not necessarily because of my friend’s age but because I wanted the “perfect” card.  Now for the purposes of this story I will disclose that this friend is homosexual, meaning this friend is attracted to members of the same sex.  I thought it might be humorous to find a sexually provocative card for this individual, but all of the cards that met this criterion stressed the notion of heterosexuality.  Cards for men featured women in provocative attire and poses, and cards for women featured men in provocative attire (or lack thereof) and poses (Figure 8).  All of these emphasized and promoted heterosexuality in an extreme way.  I decided to move on to less sexually provocative card and still heterosexual ideologies were emphasized: men pursuing a date with a woman and a woman pursuing a date with a man.  Heterosexual privilege is very easy to see in regards to the opposition against the Supreme Court of the United States legalizing homosexual marriage throughout the USA, but it is subtly emphasized and reinforced through mundane experiences, such as looking for a birthday card at the local supermarket.

Figure 8: Sexually Provocative Birthday Cards for Men (Left) and Women (Right)

 

So why do we need to be aware of privilege?  Why does it matter?  Because privilege-be it that you have it or not-affects our everyday experiences and interactions.  If you are a member of a privileged group you have fewer daily struggles than members of a non-privileged group.  Also, these privileges also affect how you interact with other individuals, specifically based on their status as either privileged or not privileged.  These culturally created and guided notions and ideas do affect our every day interactions and experiences in both positive and negative ways.  They provide us/some access to material and social resources, while also denying us/some to those same material and social resources.  I recommend that you become more aware of the cultural interactions around you and your own privileges (and/or lack thereof) and critically evaluate how they affect you.  Once you realize and understand that think about what those mean and how they affect you and those around-positively and negatively.  Then start thinking about what you may want to do to change (or not change) yourself and your actions in our society and culture.  You may elect to do nothing, you may elect to make drastic changes, or you may elect to change some things.  No one course of action is right or wrong despite what others may think or believe.  You ultimately must do what is most comfortable for yourself.  But gaining the understanding and awareness of the cultural forces around you and that affect your life is the most important step.

For more on privilege check out this amazing video and article that was published on The Huffington Post.

References Cited

Scott, Mona.  2012:  Think Race & Ethnicity.  Pearson Education.

Welsch, Robert L., Luis A. Vivanco.  2015.  Cultural Anthropology: Asking Questions About Humanity.  Oxford University Press.

Spotlight on Students: Gender Comparisons

The following post features the work of a student in my Anth 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course.  In this assignment they were tasked with comparing the gender norms of the Burrnesha with those that exist in the United States.  This is the last time I will give this assignment, so it is with great pleasure that I feature this exemplary work.

The Burrnesha of Albania are also known as "Sworn Virgins".  They are women who take on the roles of men due to financial hardships, to avoid a bad marriage, or to assist their families.

By: Jennifer Greenlee

In the United States, we are now starting to slowly open ourselves up to accepting that sex and gender are not interchangeable. We are starting to see that just because a child was born with little boy parts it does not mean that he in terms of sex will want to live as a boy in terms of gender his whole life. The difference between sex and gender is that “sex refers to biological differences”, and gender “refers to the cultural construct of whether one is female, male or something else” (Gezon and Kottak 146). The sex of the baby boy was determined when the little boy is born and the gender of the little boy will be decided after he becomes more aware of his culture and how he feels in it. In our culture, the majority of the time, being male or female is a choice that we can freely make should we decide to be the opposite gender than that of the sex we were born. In other cultures, Albania for example, women used to take an oath of celibacy to become a man for various reasons and not always by choice but by necessity. The U.S. is just now starting to become somewhat accepting of the differences in regards to sex and gender, while other cultures have been giving their people the choice since the fifteenth century.

             

Albania is a little country in Europe that is located on the southwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula and is mostly made up of mountains. Albania also has flat land along the coast of the Adriatic Sea for agricultural purposes; the agriculture does not bring in money as Albania is one of the poorer countries in the world. Albania currently has a rising democratic government, but was a communist country for an extended period of time. During this communist time, women in Albania were seen as half of the value of men and were only to take care of the home and children. Albanian men during this time were allowed to carry weapons and were generally given more freedoms than a woman (Bilefsky). Albanian women were given the option to live as men for a list of reasons, but the most common seemed to be due to a shortage of men caused by wars turning out high numbers of death among men or because of a natural death of a male member of a family.  In these cases where the man of the family is now deceased and there is not another male to assume the role of the head of the family, a woman in the family is lawfully allowed to do so should she choose. In the case where a woman decides, or is forced, to take on the role of a man, she will then take an oath of virginity and become what was known as a “sworn virgin” and will then “assumed male gender roles and activities to meet the societal needs when there was a shortage of men” (Gezon and Kottak 161). After this oath is taken the woman will dress and act like a man for the duration of her life and is held accountable to that by her culture.

            

 Women of the Albanian culture did not just take the role of a man to assume a lead role when needed, they also took the oath to become a “sworn virgin” to prevent or get out of an arranged marriage. Albania is a country that was “strictly patriarchal, patrilineal”, meaning that the wealth of the family came down through the men’s side and that once the man and woman were married, the woman would move in with the man’s family (Tarifa). With Albania being “such a male dominated society” that was a very “oppressive culture for women”, becoming a sworn virgin gave women a chance to come out of that oppression and be treated as an equal to men giving them new freedoms that they would not ever experience as a women (Tarifa). In Albania, the choice to live as a different gender was most often a means of necessity. Living as a man became a necessary part of these women’s lives as they either needed to be the head of a family or needed get out of an unwanted situation, and in some cases just wanted to simply be treated as an equal and have more freedoms. For a women in the U.S., the need to live as a man looks very different and is hardly ever a necessity like it is in Albania.

            

 The United States of America is located in North America and is bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The U.S. has a democracy that is based on elections of presidents by the people that reside in the U.S. The U.S. is also one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In the U.S., historically speaking, traditional families consisted of a mother, father and some children. Traditionally, and much like the Albanian family, the father would go out and work as the mother stayed home to take care of the kids and the house. As decades have passed, the U.S. has started to see a large percentage of women join the work force as almost an equal to men. In Albania as decades past, women were allowed to become equals to men if they took a vow of celibacy and dressed and acted like men. In Albanian culture, it was acceptable for a woman to decide to take on the role as a man, but here in the U.S. it was looked down upon in our culture. For a women to dress as a man in the U.S. and try to act like an equal was not something that was socially acceptable. Until recently, if a baby was born as a woman, she was expected to live the entirety of her life as a woman doing women specific jobs. If the little girl felt the urge at any point to dress like a man, she needed to do it in private and may be shamed for doing so if someone found out. There has never been a need for women in the U.S. to dress like a man and the only reason it is done now is because women feel that they identify more as a man than a woman.

             

The U.S. is recently starting to recognize the difference between gender and sex and is slowly starting to accept the notion that people may identify more with the opposite gender then that of the sex they were born. Social norms are slowly starting to change as more women are starting to join the work force in positions that were once deemed “for men only” jobs. The U.S. is starting to lift the demands of women staying home to raise the kids as families are changing to single mother families or same sex families. The purpose for gender in the U.S. and Albania is clear for what the needs for men and women are, but as the needs of the culture start to change in the U.S. and Albania, so does the purpose for gender. There will always be gender roles and those roles will always be fulfilled, but the person that fills those gender roles may look a little different then they used to.

             

In doing this assignment, I have learned that both of these countries have gender roles that need to be filled for the purpose of life. In both the U.S. and Albania, women and men are typically doing the same things for their family and in both countries, the women have the ability to live a life as a man. The biggest difference between these two countries is that Albania is doing it out of necessity or to get out from under oppression and the U.S. is doing it because some people identify more with one gender or the other. The other difference I noticed is that in Albania, it is in some cases encouraged, while in the U.S. it can be greatly looked down upon. The biggest thing that I took away from this assignment was that culture plays the biggest role in deciding whether a person will take on the role of a different gender and be accepted or mocked. I also learned that while Albania heavily relies on the strength of “men” to be the providers, the U.S. with its rise in single mothers and same-sex couples, is getting away from relying on men to be the providers. This was a very thought provoking assignment  in regards to the way culture plays the biggest part in a lot of life changing decisions that people make.

           

           

Works Cited

Background Note: Albania." Background Notes On Countries Of The World: Albania (2007): 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 21 July 2015.

Bilefsky, Dan. “Sworn to virginity and living as men in Albania”. New York Times. Europe, June 23, 2008. Web. 20 July 2015.

Gezon, and Conrad Kottak. ANTH 101 Cultural Anthropology Truckee Meadows Community College. United States: McGraw-Hill Education, 2014. Print.

Tarifa. 2007. "Balkan Societies of "Social Men": Transcending Gender Boundaries." Societies Without Borders 2 (1): 75-92. Available at: http://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/swb/vol2/iss1/6

Spotlight on Students: Cultural Relativism & Ethnocentrism

Each semester my students are tasked with deconstructing a situation where a cultural misunderstanding occurs in order to demonstrate their understanding of cultural relativism and ethnocentrism.  The following is an example of exemplary student work from one of my students.  

Topless swimming is commonplace throughout Europe.  Image Source: www.inquisitor.com

Hailey Hernandez, Anth 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Student

As per our assigned reading this week, the goal of this paper is to discover how ethnocentrism differs from cultural relativism. A young college student had recently met an international student, Anna, from Germany. The two girls had made plans to go swimming at a community pool. Once the girls arrived at the pool, they began to remove their clothes down to their swimming suits. Anna continued to remove her swim suit top unveiling her bare breasts. Anna’s new friend immediately heard others around them snickering with rude comments. The locals at the pool quickly became shocked and horrified. Anna’s friend advised her to put her top back on. Anna had a dazed look in her eyes. Her friend then explained to her in America you cannot abide in public nudity. Anna was confused as to why it was not permitted in the United States because in Germany nudity was socially accepted.  

There are many different approaches that could have been taken on the described situation. There are two terms that need to be focused on- ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. In the book, Culture, ethnocentrism is defined as “The tendency to view one’s own cultural as superior and to apply one’s own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people raised in other cultures… ethnocentrism contributes to social solidarity, a sense of value and community, among people who share a cultural tradition” (Gezon and Kottak, 2013, p. 30). Conflicting against ethnocentrism, cultural relativism is another term that must be viewed. Culture defined cultural relativism as “…the viewpoint that behavior in one culture should not be judged by the standards of another culture… cultural relativism argues that there is no superior, international, or universal morality, that the moral and ethical rules of all cultures deserve equal respect” (Gezon and Kottak, 2013, p. 30).

  

The locals at the community pool acted in an ethnocentrism manner. Gezon and Kottok claim, “People everywhere think that the familiar explanations, opinions and customs are true, right, proper and moral” (2013, p. 30).  In other words, individuals only know what is “right” from living or being involved within a certain culture for a long period of time. Often, people do not want to see what is justifiable within other cultures because they do not want to face the norms of other culture’s values and believes. For example, the surrounding people at the pool criticized Anna for simply carrying out an action she did not know was wrong to do in America. A judgment was placed upon Anna due to her removing her swim top. Culture states, “[People] regard different behavior as strange, immoral, or savage” (Gezon and Kottok, 2013, p. 30). In Anna’s case, others at the community pool made rude and unnecessary comments based on believing Anna was strange and “needed to go back from where she came from.” The Americans at the pool did not take the time to understand why Anna proceeded as she did before they spoke hurtful words and prior to Anna reflecting on how nudity is normal in Germany.

If the locals at the community pool acted in a cultural relativism style, Anna would not have been asked to put her swimming suit top back on nor would the abrupt comments been made. The people at the pool would have accepted her in the nude and understood as to why she removed her top. This is because cultural relativism allows a judgment free zone toward other cultures. In Culture, it suggests, “…To understand another culture fully, you must try to see how the people in that culture see things. What motivates them- what are they thinking- when they do those things? Such an approach does not preclude making moral judgments or taking action” (Gezon and Kottok, 2013, p. 31). This seems to be true. You cannot understand a culture by the concepts you may have an idea of or from being around a culture for a short amount of time. The authors state, “…one can understand the motivations for the practice by looking at the situation from the point of view of those who engage in it” (Gezon and Kottok, 2013, p. 31). The goal to understand a culture is to experience it by living in it, to be able to study it, understand why and how they have their own values and beliefs, and accept it. With that said, it will be a challenge for any individual throughout our world to practice cultural relativism. Many people have not been able to experience any other culture besides the one(s) they were raised within. 

Fortunately, I have been raised around two different cultures- the American lifestyle and many of the Hispanic traditions. Because of this, I am aware of different values each culture carries out. I believe I can be more understanding toward different cultures. If I was Anna’s new friend, I would have initially acted in the same manner as described. I would have been shocked, asked her to put her swim top back on and acted in an ethnocentrism demeanor. After Anna would have detailed to me as per why she removed her top, I would have been more understanding. I would have then explained to her that Americans do not believe in public nudity. I would suggest to Anna that if she wanted to tan in the nude, she could do so in her private backyard or in a tanning bed. I would have attempted cultural relativism, although I would have not fully understood as to why her culture allows public nudity. Because of my upbringing, I would have been more understanding then others toward Anna.

           

Works Cited 

Gezon, L., & Kottak, C. (2013). Culture. In Culture (2nd ed., p. 30,31). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Star-Crossed Lovers: Resolving the Neanderthal-Human Love Affair Debate

Chances are you believe you have met a Neanderthal at least once in your lifetime.  I met my first "Neanderthal" my junior year of college.  He was a young man who identified himself as a Neanderthal based on an exaggerated nuchal crest (bony ridge at the back of the skull) that he identified as an occipital bun, a characteristic that is diagnostic of Neanderthals.  He believed that he was a Neanderthal as a girlfriend of his had just taken an anthropology course and said that he had several features that were reminiscent of Neanderthals.  At the time I laughed and didn't think too much of it because there was no evidence to support his assertions, but recent investigations over the last few years have changed that viewpoint and provide support for this young man's assertions.  Today's blog post is dedicated to discussing the now resolved debate about sexual relations and the production of viable offspring between Neanderthal and Archaic Homo. sapiens couplings.

Neanderthals have had one of the most colorful histories in regards to how they have been interpreted in the paleoanthropological community.  They were originally depicted as brutish, hunched over, dim-witted members of the human lineage, and some of the times they were depicted as the slightly funny looking cousins of modern Homo. sapiens.  Both are inaccurate depictions of Neanderthals that still resonate today.  

These inaccurate depictions may have led to several scholars reluctance to acknowledge the possible relations and viable offspring between Neanderthals and Archaic Homo. sapiens.  Both species coexisted for a period of time, meaning that couplings between them was possible.  Whether or not said unions occurred and successfully produced offspring was hotly debated by many paleoanthropologists.  Paleoanthropologists who did not believe such unions occurred cited morphological and growth and development differences between the two species as sufficient evidence as evidence against successful Neanderthal and Archaic Homo. sapiens couplings.  Other scholars who believed such unions did occur and produced viable offspring cited small similarities in DNA between the two species.  These genetic studies, however, were not without criticisms, particularly as paleo-DNA analyses were new and delicate and prone to inaccuracies as a result.  

This debate, however, was resolved in 2010 when scholars at the Max Plank Institute successfully sequenced the entire Neanderthal genome.  Scholars at the Max Plank Institute compared Neanderthal DNA to human DNA and noted that several populations around the globe had Neanderthal DNA present in their modern Homo. sapiens DNA (Figure 1).  The modern populations that have Neanderthal DNA present in their own DNA correspond to the geographical expanse of Neanderthal populations in the past or, in the case of East Asia, Polynesia, and Australia, are derived from populations that came from these areas.  This pattern makes sense as Neanderthals would have had greater access to Archaic Homo. sapiens mating partners that existed in their same geographical areas, which is similar to modern Homo. sapiens mating preferences where we find mating partners within a small geographical ranges.  

Figure 1: Map Demonstrating % of Neanderthal DNA in Modern Human Populations (Source: Live Science)

But why did Archaic Homo. sapiens elect to breed with Neanderthals?  It appears that there were some genetic reasons that may have led Archaic Homo. sapiens women to choose Neanderthal males as their sexual partners and the fathers of their offspring.  Neanderthals had a suite of immunity genes known as HLA genes that may have provided them a longer life span* or a more healthy appearance* that was seen as attractive in some way to Archaic Homo. sapiens females who bore their children.  These HLA genes were passed on to their offspring and continue to exist in modern Homo. sapiens populations.  But these were not the only genes that came from Neanderthals and continue to exist in modern Homo. sapiens populations.  Neanderthals also provided genes that increased Homo. sapiens jaw size; allowed us to have rosy cheeks; and thicker skin, thick, straight hair.  Neanderthals may have also provided alleles for pale skin and red hair, but this information is highly contentious and not fully explored by scholars.

All was not well in regards to the gene flow from Neanderthals to Archaic Homo. sapiens.  Modern Homo. sapiens also received several not-so-great genes from Neanderthals.  From Neanderthals modern Homo. sapiens became more susceptible to several diseases and conditions, including Lupus, an autoimmune disease; Type II Diabetes, an insulin deficiency; Chrone's Disease, a gastro-intestinal disease; and Biliary Cirrhosis, a liver disease.  Also, while Neanderthals never consumed tobacco or possibly nicotine based plants something in their genetics that they passed on to modern Homo. sapiens provided us with a predisposition toward nicotine addiction.  

Ultimately, this evidence supports the position that Neanderthals and Archaic Homo. sapiens did breed and were successfully producing offspring.  This evidence, however, goes beyond resolving this debate.  It provides scholars with insights into what it means to be human and where hominid ancestors exist within the definition of human.  The next few years should be exciting as scholars evaluate and redefine human evolution based on this new evidence, but on a lighter note the lay public can confidently say that we all know at least one (or more) Neanderthals because they-or at least parts of them-still exist today.  

*Author's Note: Neither I nor any scholars have definitive proof of what led Archaic Homo. sapiens females to choose Neanderthal males as their mating partners.  This information is my personal conjecture based on the principles of natural selection.  In order for genes to be passed on individuals must live long enough to successfully breed and pass on those genes to offspring.  The HLA genes in Neanderthals may have allowed them to live longer than Archaic Homo. sapiens males and therefore provided more opportunities to breed with Archaic Homo. sapiens females.  Alternatively, the offspring of these unions may have been more successful than offspring of solely Archaic Homo. sapiens unions and therefore those hybrid offspring were more reproductively successful due to their HLA gene suite.