2008 Woodie Awards
Reader's Forum
Anthropology major finds cultural article unacceptable
Erica Varlese
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Opinion
To the Editor:
As an Anthropology student and someone who considers herself active and knowledgeable in human rights, I was downright miffed by the article published last week titled, "Cultural acceptance not an all-encompassing necessity." First off, let it be said that I agree with Pura in saying that female genital mutilation and human sacrifice are horrendous human rights offenses. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that we cannot look at the actions of particular cultures in a vacuum.
Pura starts off by asking, "Why is everyone afraid to say that some cultures are wrong?" Well, for one thing, ethics vary from person to person, let alone from cultural tradition to cultural tradition.
Our own cultural patterns are not mere "preferences," but ways of thinking that have been deeply ingrained into our minds, shaping not only our opinions, but subconscious ways in which we interact with the outside world. Do you think twice about shaking someone's hand when you first meet them? Probably not. Hand shaking may be considered appropriate behavior in our culture, but it might seem anomalous and even pushy for other groups of people.
Anthropologists have spent the last 100 years trying to understand where the peculiarities of each culture come from. Diffusionists believed that cultural traits were picked up as groups moved throughout the world. Social evolutionists believed that "primitive" traits demonstrated previous stages in human history. But we have to ask ourselves, does the man who lives in a hunter-gatherer society consider his religious rituals any more primitive or silly than the Catholic that attends mass every Sunday? The answer is "no."
Thus, it is important for us to remember that we can't just "write off" cultures, as Pura seems to be saying. When we question practices, such as the mutilation of female genitalia, that endanger the lives of women throughout the world, we have to recognize that this is not seen as deviant behavior in certain societies.
As an Anthropology student and someone who considers herself active and knowledgeable in human rights, I was downright miffed by the article published last week titled, "Cultural acceptance not an all-encompassing necessity." First off, let it be said that I agree with Pura in saying that female genital mutilation and human sacrifice are horrendous human rights offenses. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that we cannot look at the actions of particular cultures in a vacuum.
Pura starts off by asking, "Why is everyone afraid to say that some cultures are wrong?" Well, for one thing, ethics vary from person to person, let alone from cultural tradition to cultural tradition.
Our own cultural patterns are not mere "preferences," but ways of thinking that have been deeply ingrained into our minds, shaping not only our opinions, but subconscious ways in which we interact with the outside world. Do you think twice about shaking someone's hand when you first meet them? Probably not. Hand shaking may be considered appropriate behavior in our culture, but it might seem anomalous and even pushy for other groups of people.
Anthropologists have spent the last 100 years trying to understand where the peculiarities of each culture come from. Diffusionists believed that cultural traits were picked up as groups moved throughout the world. Social evolutionists believed that "primitive" traits demonstrated previous stages in human history. But we have to ask ourselves, does the man who lives in a hunter-gatherer society consider his religious rituals any more primitive or silly than the Catholic that attends mass every Sunday? The answer is "no."
Thus, it is important for us to remember that we can't just "write off" cultures, as Pura seems to be saying. When we question practices, such as the mutilation of female genitalia, that endanger the lives of women throughout the world, we have to recognize that this is not seen as deviant behavior in certain societies.
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