This post highlights the work required of my SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology students. Students were given the opportunity to explore a different culture through two lenses, cultural relativism and ethnocentrism, and through this exercise learn about themselves and the other culture. Several students were given the opportunity to have their exemplary work featured on the blog, and the students who provided permission have their work featured here in this and the following blog posts. Please show your appreciation for their work through the comments.
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| Artistic depiction of the "Stand on Business" challenge Love Island USA contestants participated in (Google Images) |
By: Marlee Brown
I would have never thought that anthropology could be applied to a reality television show, but here I am. Love Island USA is a dating television show originally taking place in the United Kingdom but has expanded to 22 other countries (OnlineDancers, n.d.). The most well-known versions are in the United States and Australia. A group of people aged 20-40 years old enter a tropical mansion house to find the love of their life. As time passes, people get into couples and compete in challenges to test the strength of their love. In the finale, one couple wins by being voted by the viewers, and they get a monetary prize. On the show, it showcases a high level of cultural diversity within the cast. There are bound to be cultural differences. It is clear that some of the contestants have a culturally relativistic mindset, while others have ethnocentric perspectives. In a confrontation on Love Island USA Season Seven, it is a clear dispute of affection culture.
This tenacious confrontation is started by a nightly challenge. The “Stand on Business” challenge has contestants submit anonymous complaints or other thoughts about each other. Amaya, a Latina-American woman, receives the complaint about how she “cr[ies] more than needed…[and] move[s] too fast for everyone.” Amaya at this point has had connections with Bryan (a Latino-American man), Austin (a White-American man), Ace (a Black-American man), and Zak (a Thai-British man). Austin and Ace admit to writing their complaints about Amaya. They both claim she is too emotionally attached early to her matches. She calls them “babe,” “honey,” and “love,” which these men believe is extremely affectionate for the short time they have known her romantically. Amaya is hurt as she thinks she is just expressing her Hispanic culture by being affectionate for the people she cares about, and Bryan supports her. He too understands that level of affection towards others in a relationship; he has his own personal experience with it. He says that it is just their Hispanic culture and if the other men had a problem while in that relationship with Amaya they should have put in the effort to understand her instead of judging her. Amaya expresses that she has spoken to both Ace and Austin about her cultural words of affirmation in the past, and they have never expressed negative feelings toward her behavior. Amaya stands strong and is proud of her culture at the end of this conversation. She says, “You can view it as a weakness, but given what I have been through in life, I view it as a strength. I’m just not your cup of tea to be drinking.”
From this conversation, I can see that both Austin and Ace have ethnocentric ideas about Amaya and her culture. Ethnocentrism is “the assumption that one’s own way of doing things is correct, while dismissing other people’s practices or views as wrong or ignorant” (Welsch et al., 2017, pg. 11). They both believe that she is wrong for her style of communication. Amaya expresses her Latinx culture through words; the two boys are completely uncomfortable with Amaya’s cultural expression. It is not that Austin or Ace is conveying their culture through words just as Amaya is, but they are actively judging her affection.
Bryan, however, has the opposite perspective on Amaya’s actions. Bryan is practicing cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is “the moral and intellectual principle that one should withhold judgment about seemingly strange or exotic beliefs or practices (Welsch et al., 2017, pg. 12).” Bryan is speaking about Amaya’s affection with a sense of familiarity. He is Latino and grew up expressing and receiving this kind of affectionate communication style. He sees nothing wrong with what Amaya is doing. He even thinks that if those men had an issue they should have come to the situation with an open mind and not discriminatory thoughts.
Now with understanding both ethnocentric and culturally relativistic perspectives, I would say my opinion of Amaya’s situation is culturally relativistic. I grew up in a predominantly Hispanic community, and I personally have friends that use Amaya’s communication style. I see nothing wrong whatsoever with having an affectionate way of talking. I was shocked that Amaya was even put down. She is a caring and lovely person from what I can observe from watching the show. She truly is caring and she would push past the comfort zone of the person she is in a relationship with. If the men had a problem during their romance with Amaya, they should have told her. Austin and Ace both need to keep open minds; they need not judge before communicating their feelings. Without proper communication, Austin and Ace both are judgmental toward Amaya’s behaviors. Amaya is justified in this situation that they do not need to complain about her behaviors because she is simply not their “cup of tea to be drinking.” It is nice to see Bryan stand up for Amaya by explaining that it is just their Latinx culture surfacing as it has nothing to do with being intensely romantic or just caring. It is just their culture, and everyone's culture should not be judged.
Love Island USA is full of diverse people and cultures. It shows both cultural relativism and ethnocentrism intertwined within romantic relationships. Amaya’s situation during the “Standing on Business” challenge on Love Island USA is just one of many ways that these ideas are shown. Bryan ended up matching with Amaya. He showed her his cultural acceptance, and it made her feel heard.
References
OnlineDancers. (n.d.). Love Island Wiki Home Page. Love Island Wiki Love Island Wiki.
Retrieved September 1, 2025, from https://loveisland.fandom.com/wiki/Love_Island_Wiki
Thursby, B. (Director). (2025, July 1). Love Island USA (Season 7, Episode 26) [TV series
episode]. In C. Fenster, J. Barker, A. Cadman, R. Cowles, R. Foster, B. Garrett, D.
George, T. Gould, J. Hochman, C. Rosenthal, B. Schaeffer, A. Sher, M. Spencer, & B.
Thursby (Executive Producers), Love Island USA. ITV Entertainment.
Welsch, R. L., Vivanco, L. A., & Fuentes, A. (2017). Anthropology: Asking Questions About
Human Origins, Diversity and Culture. Retrieved September 1, 2025, from
https://platform.virdocs.com/read/581908/49/#/4/4
