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Critiques of cultural relativism
Critiques of cultural relativism
Summary of cultural relativism
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Every culture in the world has their own traditions and customs they lived and die too. Around the world we see customs that are humane while there are customs that are seen by westerners as non-humane. Such topic is known as cultural relativism, which is the principle of the values, traditions, and cultural practices that a religion or a social group performs. Meaning that each individual group views their customs different from other social groups. We see different traditions occurring throughout the world, we see the practice of female genitals cutting, dowry, gender murder, and even animal cruelty. While these options I listed have differences what ties them together is that all these customs have global social issues that cause different …show more content…
Magazine, “How West Africa Stops Cutting,” we learned about the occurring global issue of female genital cutting also known as genital mutilation. This female genital cutting is a traditional custom in which the elderly of the village cut the female genital in order to remove all sexual sensation and to maintain a pure image of a female. According to the article there are about 28 percent of the women in Senegal whom have suffered genital cutting. Also in Burkina Fuso about seven out of ten women were cut as a child. The reason why cutting is done at such a young age is because they want to preserve the purity that a female child holds. In such issue, there will always be social groups who want to prohibit such traditional customs from continuing. As mentioned in “How West Africa Stops Cutting” there are groups of people that help teach villagers of Senegal the health consequences and social consequences of female cutting. These social activists state “The idea being that, to change societal norms, large intermarrying groups must decide collectively to ensure that change last”. Meaning that in order to make a change there has to be enforced education for those who are unprivileged to understand the negative consequences to this issue. We also see the issue of female genital cutting and activists fighting to educate villagers that such traditions should change because they are full of health consequences in the movie “Shape of Water”. In the movie “Shape of …show more content…
Although, there are some customs of our way of living that would appear strange to other countries such as fast food eating, spending sprees, and national violence, such as gun violence. The reason, why I think such customs would appear strange to other countries is because they represent carelessness and disorder. It also feels that the “first-world” has a big ego and that it tries to embrace its opinions on every “third world country”. In this week’s reading, I learned that the “first-world” view is seen as powerful and assuring and the “third-world” views are not similar to ours. For example, in many of these third world countries dowry is seen normal because it is a tradition. For of those of you who do not know, dowry is the exchange of money and property for the marriage of a daughter. Like in any culture there are standpoint views that believe this tradition should remain because it maintains culture and history. While there are others who believe such “tradition” should be removed because it controls the lives of many women. Overall, there are social issues that are harmful to people, but in order to be suitable activists, we first have to understand the values and differences of every culture. Because change is not always easy for everyone especially not for the elderly who grew up with traditional values. To be a successful activist in any type of equality there has to a common
It examines questions about cultural practices and why some/all people accept them and whom that might be benefitting or harming (ibid). In other words, it examines the behaviors, consequences, social factors, and above all the power structures in play. In Althaus’ article, she postulates that one reason that female circumcision is used is to increase the sexual pleasure of men (Althaus, 131). Here we can see the strong presence of a patriarchal society. Recall the purpose here is not to actually criticize this practice but rather seek the underlying interests or motivations of implementing it. The strong presence of a patriarchy indicates that women in a way are indeed used as means to serve the interests of men both sexually and also by providing a child. This brings about the winners (men) and the oppressed
Female genital mutilation is mostly practiced in Islamic and African cultures, claiming young girls as t...
...tradition today want to stop it themselfs . However others involve in this culture don't accept it because religion and their social acceptance is greater than their desire stop this cruelty to woman.
The women in Nampossela lack the social and economic rights to make many significant decisions about their life. Due to her simultaneous position as an outsider and a member of the group, Holloway becomes an unbiased outlet that Monique and other woman can speak with regarding their difficulties. One such difficulty amongst women in Mali that Holloway discovered was female circumcision. Holloway, prior to her visit to Mali, was aware of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in rural villages. However, the intense birth of Korotun’s daughter causes Holloway to question the reasoning behind the traditional cutting. In response to Holloway’s mention of FGM, Monique explains her painful experience of circumcision at nine or ten and her thoughts on the subject, “Here we say that koloboli helps girls become good wives and bear children…it does not help the baby pass through…”(114). The practice of FGM in Mali occurs often enough that Monique had never met an uncut woman prior to Holloway, whose western background does not practice FGM.
Many of us never heard of Female Genital Mutilation until the story of Kauziya Kasinga, a woman from West Africa. Her father did not believe in polygamy, forced marriage, or "female circumcision". He died when she was 17 and the father's sister inherited the home, banished the mother, ended Fauziya's schooling, and arranged a marriage as a fourth wife to a man she had never met. The aunt scheduled her for the circumcision and she ran with 3,000 dollars that one of her aunts had saved.
Female genital mutilation (also known as female circumcision) is the cutting of female clitoral hood and removing clitoris. Following the cutting of female genital organ, there are many short-term and long-term health risk problems, and even death due to some complicated infections. The reasons for performing female genital mutilation are connected with socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes, values and customs, transition of girls into womanhood, tradition and cultural heritage, the fear of not having access to resources and opportunities as a young woman, perception to reduce sexual desire of females; hence, will sustain premarital virginity, and maintain marital fidelity. Actions have taken at international, national and regional levels since the past many years and have begun to bear fruits, but the practice is still undergoing in many countries in the world and highly prevalent in Africa. To continue and motivate further reduction in changing the society’s attitudes towards female genital mutilation in the countries where the prevalence has remained stable so it’s therefor...
In the Maasai society, genital cutting is a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, and both men and women go through the process of circumcision. As society ages, opinions on cultural norms change. This is true for the Maasai society, where the views on female circumcision have and are changing. Female circumcision is classified into three categories, and defined by the World Health Organization, Type I is the removal of the foreskin on the vagina, Type II is the removal of the clitoris, and Type III is the removal of all external genitalia with the stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening (“New Study”). Traditionally in the Maasai society, women underwent Type II or Type III circumcision. Written in 1988, “The Initiation of a Maasai Warrior,” by Tepilit Ole Saitoi, and is an autobiographical story of Saitoti’s circumcision in his initiation to a warrior. Though his story mainly focuses on the male circumcision part of the Maasai society, women’s circumcision and other basic traditions are discussed. Throughout the short story, the topic of circumcision and the rite of passage, both long- standing traditions in the Maasai society, are central themes.
Many feminists in the Western Culture have this ethnocentric idea that female circumcision is “female mutilation” portraying it as a “barbaric tradition” and “violence against women” (“Yes to Female Circumcision?”). According to Fuambai Ahmadu, a Sierra Leonean-American anthropologist, female circumcision is an initiation that symbolizes matriarchal power. The practice is “synonymous with women’s power, their political, economic, reproductive, and ritual spheres of influence” (Ahmadu, pg. 14). By having no regards to the cultures and traditions of these small-scale societies, we are invalidating their beliefs and presenting ethnocentric
It has been recently documented that there are about 140 million females worldwide that are currently living with the consequences of female genital cutting (World Health Organization, 2013). That is approximately two million girls annually or approximately 6,000 girls per day who endure torture that results in pain, trauma, bleeding, infection or even death (Dorkenoo & Elwothy, 1992). The “long-term physical complications are numerous, and there appear to be substantial psychological effects on women’s self-image and sexual lives” (Toubia, 1993; p46).
... that this practice is happening around the world to females around our age. To even imagine that somewhere around this world, there is a dangerous and painful unsanitary procedure that's practiced on women and girls is very sad to know. I believe that this world should pay closer attention to this tradition that is hurting nearly two million women each year and killing at least fifteen percent of that two million. I do understand that it's important to hold on to the traditions and to keep the roots of your ancestors, but we need to consider a different approach once the tradition starts taking away women around the world. By reading about this in class, it has opened my eyes about this situation and made me realize that the world is still grieving and searching for justice. We, the people need to bring action into this world to help stop female genital mutilation.
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a practice that involves the removal of part or all of the female external genitalia. It occurs throughout the world, but most commonly in Africa where they say that it is a tradition and social custom to keep a young girl pure and a married woman faithful. But to some Westerners, the practice is viewed as being primitive and barbaric. We react with disgust and find it nearly incomprehensible that female genital mutilation can occur in the world today
One cannot generalize or predict all human behaviors, thought processes, morals, and customs. Because human nature is dominated by different types of cultures and societies in various parts of the world, this can often lead to misunderstanding which ultimately leads to the illusion of cultural superiority, and in most cases this can lead to genocide - the systematic murder or annihilation of a group of people or culture. Anthropology is the study of humans, our immediate ancestors and their cultural environments this study stems from the science of holism - the study of the human condition. Culture is crucial in determining the state of the human condition, as the cultures are traditions and customs that are learned throughout an individual
...action with others… especially men. This supplies final substantiation of the authors' argument, that women continue to be oppressed by their male-dominated societies. It is a bold undertaking for women to ally and promote a world movement to abandon sexist traditions. Although I have never lived in a third world or non-Westernized country, I have studied the conditions women suffer as "inferior" to men. In National Geographic and various courses I have taken, these terrible conditions are depicted in full color. Gender inequality is a terrible trait of our global society, and unfortunately, a trait that might not be ready to change. In America we see gender bias towards women in voters' unwillingness to elect more females into high office, and while this is not nearly as severe as the rest of the world, it indicates the lingering practice of gender inequality.
Rachels says that “different cultures have different moral codes” and I believe that is true what might be okay in one culture could be absolutely immoral in another. His reference to what Daruis notice between the Greeks and the Callatians can show us that each culture has their own method of dealing with a situation. As well as the Eskimos who had multiple wife and use the method of infanticide. This being unheard of, immoral to the people of America but since the time of Herodotus they have notice “the idea that conceptions of right and wrong differ from culture to culture.” I think this concept is right however, I haven’t actually seen a culture as different as my, I have seen some small differences and I know some culture have big differences to mine but I haven’t encounter them. I...
In explaining Cultural Relativism, it is useful to compare and contrast it with Ethical Relativism. Cultural Relativism is a theory about morality focused on the concept that matters of custom and ethics are not universal in nature but rather are culture specific. Each culture evolves its own unique moral code, separate and apart from any other. Ethical Relativism is also a theory of morality with a view of ethics similarly engaged in understanding how morality comes to be culturally defined. However, the formulation is quite different in that from a wide range of human habits, individual opinions drive the culture toward distinguishing normal “good” habits from abnormal “bad” habits. The takeaway is that both theories share the guiding principle that morality is bounded by culture or society.