Ethnocentrism Essay

Growing up in an American society, we are surrounded by certain customs and mannerisms. We pay little attention to them, as they have been ingrained into our society and is apart of our everyday lives. It is when a new culture or society gets thrown into the mix that we notice the different customs. Our first reaction is to think their way is wrong or weird, but when you take a step back you realize that it’s not weird at all, in fact it is as natural as breathing. They are from a different country, therefore they have different customs and way of living. To them, our ways are just as strange.

This concept is called Ethnocentrism. To define it, it is quite simply when one overlooks different cultures and compares them to their own culture.

I couldn’t understand how somebody could kill their own child. But after looking at it, native americans had a completely different way of living. For them that was normal and part of their ways.

Just like we think other countries ways are strange, they think the same thing about us and some of the things we do. For example One thing that we discussed in class is pour money system. If you come to the United States and have a lack of knowledge on how our money system is ran, you will be very lost. Take for example a dime. A penny is bigger than a dime physically but as far as it value it is significantly different. Plus a dime does not say the value of its worth. It just say a dime on the back. To Americans we do not think twice about it. It is just common sense to know that a dome is a ten cent.

Another way to look at ethnocentrism would be through race. In the readings, there is not a genetic link to that pushed people into one group or another. We are all made out of the same stuff, blood, bones and organs. The example reading gives us is if you were to look at a Russian and African, you would see not different anatomically but a variation in the skin. Another thing that they brought up was the population. Just because you are in a certain location does not mean you are surrounded by that one particular race. Take for example the United States we are a country made up of different races. Some where you are going to cross

For example some men in the Kayapo tribe in South Africa use lip plugs to express their transformation to fatherhood. The size of the plug is based on whether or not the male is actually able to produce a son. Another way that body art is expressive in other countries are the use of henna tattoos in Indian weddings. Weddings are a wonderful and beautiful time for two families to come together in love and happiness. Typically when you think of a wedding in the US you think of the bride wearing the gorgeous white dress all dolled up walking down the aisle. That is not the case in different countries. As I stated above, Indian brides are decorated with henna tattoos on their hands and feet for their big day. The tattoos are symbolic because they represent the bride’s beauty, hey are also to give the bride good fortune.

A third and final we can look at bodt art from across the globe would be in central Borneo. The people here have the belief that there are evil spirits that haunt them. So in an attempt to protect themselves from these spirits, the people with tattoo themselves. Now the tattoos will not be very intricate. They have a very mundane look to them as they are of the everyday items use. They believe that the items will protect them, and who are we to tell them that they are