Y the Last Man
J Boogy
Anthropology 101
12/5/09
Y: The Last Man Essay
The graphic novel Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra is an interesting story of an epidemic that took place that killed every sperm, fetus, and living mammal with a Y chromosome. This is particularly interesting because if every male human and mammal were to die what would the world be? How would culture change not only in our country but also in every country across the world? Before reading this graphic novel I never would’ve thought about a scenario where every male dies in the whole world. But now that I have I’ll tell you how culture will change and how it will affect everyone across the world. Culture has many definitions but the one that regards to the kind of culture I will be talking about can be defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning. This is a bit lengthy but accurate. My own definition of culture can be defined as shared, learned, beliefs that shape and influence perception and behavior. Culture to me is how people were brought up and what makes them the way they are. In Y: The Last Man culture will change greatly because the male plays a huge part in society and with all of them gone things will have to change. Now that every male is gone, things like marriage and family life will be much different. Now marriages will be between two women only since there are no men, women will not be able to bear children any longer, and in households where children are still present women will have to be the sole caregiver and provider for the family. In situations where two women marry, one may assume the role of husband and one the role of wife to make things easier. All residence becomes matrilocal because there simply are no men.
Kinship roles also shift. A women or little girl may have to
Anthropology 101
12/5/09
Y: The Last Man Essay
The graphic novel Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra is an interesting story of an epidemic that took place that killed every sperm, fetus, and living mammal with a Y chromosome. This is particularly interesting because if every male human and mammal were to die what would the world be? How would culture change not only in our country but also in every country across the world? Before reading this graphic novel I never would’ve thought about a scenario where every male dies in the whole world. But now that I have I’ll tell you how culture will change and how it will affect everyone across the world. Culture has many definitions but the one that regards to the kind of culture I will be talking about can be defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning. This is a bit lengthy but accurate. My own definition of culture can be defined as shared, learned, beliefs that shape and influence perception and behavior. Culture to me is how people were brought up and what makes them the way they are. In Y: The Last Man culture will change greatly because the male plays a huge part in society and with all of them gone things will have to change. Now that every male is gone, things like marriage and family life will be much different. Now marriages will be between two women only since there are no men, women will not be able to bear children any longer, and in households where children are still present women will have to be the sole caregiver and provider for the family. In situations where two women marry, one may assume the role of husband and one the role of wife to make things easier. All residence becomes matrilocal because there simply are no men.
Kinship roles also shift. A women or little girl may have to