Culture: A Panoramic View of Some Horrific and Barbaric Practices

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Once upon a time, lived a woman who used to celebrate Thanksgiving by cooking a turkey, however her tradition was always to remove the wings and rear-end of the turkey. When she was asked why she did so, she replied “it is our family tradition, my mother and her mother did it so I am doing it too”. Being curious people sought to find out why she did it. Further Investigation soon found out that the tradition was started by her great grandmother, and luckily enough she was still alive so they asked her the same question, she replied “I never had a big enough pot so it was only sensible for me to cut of the wings and rear-end, so it could fit!”.
What is culture? Culture is simply a society/group of people who believe (and uphold) certain traditions, morals, values, viewpoints and common ways of life. Culture has become an essential tool, which separates different societies. Culture is deceptively simple, in the sense that culture is practiced because it gives societies a unique form of identity—whether it is good or bad. Although people may argue that culture should not be tampered with, I strongly believe that there are some objections to cultural practices. People may argue that humans are subjective and are (very) opinion biased in their reasoning, and therefore do not have the authority as an outsider to scrutinize another human beings traditions. However I truly believe that there is a point on the continuum where humans have common grounds also considering the fact that exposure to different cultures has somewhat given us an edge in understanding most cultures –Cultural Competence-- . Despite the importance and prestige of (sexual) cultural traditions and practices around the world, some practices still going on today have be...

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..., both good and flawed, and a fine line needs to be drawn that defines what is culturally acceptable.

Works Cited

BBC News - When circumcision can mean death in South Africa [Video]. (2013, July 19). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23378694
Kassindja, F., & Bashir, L. M. (1999). Do they hear you when you cry? New York, N.Y: Delta.
Mabuse, N. (2011, October 28). Horror of South Africa's 'corrective rape' - CNN.com [Video]. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/27/world/wus-sa-rapes/
Rachels, J., & Rachels, S. (2010). The right thing to do: Basic readings in moral philosophy. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Smith, D. (2012, July 27). South Africa urged to end silence on dangerous circumcision rituals. The Guardian [Eastern Cape]. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/27/south-africa-circumscision-danger
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