Spotlight on Students: Cultural Relativism & Ethnocentrism

Each semester my students are tasked with deconstructing a situation where a cultural misunderstanding occurs in order to demonstrate their understanding of cultural relativism and ethnocentrism.  The following is an example of exemplary student work from one of my students.  

Topless swimming is commonplace throughout Europe.  Image Source: www.inquisitor.com

Hailey Hernandez, Anth 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Student

As per our assigned reading this week, the goal of this paper is to discover how ethnocentrism differs from cultural relativism. A young college student had recently met an international student, Anna, from Germany. The two girls had made plans to go swimming at a community pool. Once the girls arrived at the pool, they began to remove their clothes down to their swimming suits. Anna continued to remove her swim suit top unveiling her bare breasts. Anna’s new friend immediately heard others around them snickering with rude comments. The locals at the pool quickly became shocked and horrified. Anna’s friend advised her to put her top back on. Anna had a dazed look in her eyes. Her friend then explained to her in America you cannot abide in public nudity. Anna was confused as to why it was not permitted in the United States because in Germany nudity was socially accepted.  

There are many different approaches that could have been taken on the described situation. There are two terms that need to be focused on- ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. In the book, Culture, ethnocentrism is defined as “The tendency to view one’s own cultural as superior and to apply one’s own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people raised in other cultures… ethnocentrism contributes to social solidarity, a sense of value and community, among people who share a cultural tradition” (Gezon and Kottak, 2013, p. 30). Conflicting against ethnocentrism, cultural relativism is another term that must be viewed. Culture defined cultural relativism as “…the viewpoint that behavior in one culture should not be judged by the standards of another culture… cultural relativism argues that there is no superior, international, or universal morality, that the moral and ethical rules of all cultures deserve equal respect” (Gezon and Kottak, 2013, p. 30).

  

The locals at the community pool acted in an ethnocentrism manner. Gezon and Kottok claim, “People everywhere think that the familiar explanations, opinions and customs are true, right, proper and moral” (2013, p. 30).  In other words, individuals only know what is “right” from living or being involved within a certain culture for a long period of time. Often, people do not want to see what is justifiable within other cultures because they do not want to face the norms of other culture’s values and believes. For example, the surrounding people at the pool criticized Anna for simply carrying out an action she did not know was wrong to do in America. A judgment was placed upon Anna due to her removing her swim top. Culture states, “[People] regard different behavior as strange, immoral, or savage” (Gezon and Kottok, 2013, p. 30). In Anna’s case, others at the community pool made rude and unnecessary comments based on believing Anna was strange and “needed to go back from where she came from.” The Americans at the pool did not take the time to understand why Anna proceeded as she did before they spoke hurtful words and prior to Anna reflecting on how nudity is normal in Germany.

If the locals at the community pool acted in a cultural relativism style, Anna would not have been asked to put her swimming suit top back on nor would the abrupt comments been made. The people at the pool would have accepted her in the nude and understood as to why she removed her top. This is because cultural relativism allows a judgment free zone toward other cultures. In Culture, it suggests, “…To understand another culture fully, you must try to see how the people in that culture see things. What motivates them- what are they thinking- when they do those things? Such an approach does not preclude making moral judgments or taking action” (Gezon and Kottok, 2013, p. 31). This seems to be true. You cannot understand a culture by the concepts you may have an idea of or from being around a culture for a short amount of time. The authors state, “…one can understand the motivations for the practice by looking at the situation from the point of view of those who engage in it” (Gezon and Kottok, 2013, p. 31). The goal to understand a culture is to experience it by living in it, to be able to study it, understand why and how they have their own values and beliefs, and accept it. With that said, it will be a challenge for any individual throughout our world to practice cultural relativism. Many people have not been able to experience any other culture besides the one(s) they were raised within. 

Fortunately, I have been raised around two different cultures- the American lifestyle and many of the Hispanic traditions. Because of this, I am aware of different values each culture carries out. I believe I can be more understanding toward different cultures. If I was Anna’s new friend, I would have initially acted in the same manner as described. I would have been shocked, asked her to put her swim top back on and acted in an ethnocentrism demeanor. After Anna would have detailed to me as per why she removed her top, I would have been more understanding. I would have then explained to her that Americans do not believe in public nudity. I would suggest to Anna that if she wanted to tan in the nude, she could do so in her private backyard or in a tanning bed. I would have attempted cultural relativism, although I would have not fully understood as to why her culture allows public nudity. Because of my upbringing, I would have been more understanding then others toward Anna.

           

Works Cited 

Gezon, L., & Kottak, C. (2013). Culture. In Culture (2nd ed., p. 30,31). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Star-Crossed Lovers: Resolving the Neanderthal-Human Love Affair Debate

Chances are you believe you have met a Neanderthal at least once in your lifetime.  I met my first "Neanderthal" my junior year of college.  He was a young man who identified himself as a Neanderthal based on an exaggerated nuchal crest (bony ridge at the back of the skull) that he identified as an occipital bun, a characteristic that is diagnostic of Neanderthals.  He believed that he was a Neanderthal as a girlfriend of his had just taken an anthropology course and said that he had several features that were reminiscent of Neanderthals.  At the time I laughed and didn't think too much of it because there was no evidence to support his assertions, but recent investigations over the last few years have changed that viewpoint and provide support for this young man's assertions.  Today's blog post is dedicated to discussing the now resolved debate about sexual relations and the production of viable offspring between Neanderthal and Archaic Homo. sapiens couplings.

Neanderthals have had one of the most colorful histories in regards to how they have been interpreted in the paleoanthropological community.  They were originally depicted as brutish, hunched over, dim-witted members of the human lineage, and some of the times they were depicted as the slightly funny looking cousins of modern Homo. sapiens.  Both are inaccurate depictions of Neanderthals that still resonate today.  

These inaccurate depictions may have led to several scholars reluctance to acknowledge the possible relations and viable offspring between Neanderthals and Archaic Homo. sapiens.  Both species coexisted for a period of time, meaning that couplings between them was possible.  Whether or not said unions occurred and successfully produced offspring was hotly debated by many paleoanthropologists.  Paleoanthropologists who did not believe such unions occurred cited morphological and growth and development differences between the two species as sufficient evidence as evidence against successful Neanderthal and Archaic Homo. sapiens couplings.  Other scholars who believed such unions did occur and produced viable offspring cited small similarities in DNA between the two species.  These genetic studies, however, were not without criticisms, particularly as paleo-DNA analyses were new and delicate and prone to inaccuracies as a result.  

This debate, however, was resolved in 2010 when scholars at the Max Plank Institute successfully sequenced the entire Neanderthal genome.  Scholars at the Max Plank Institute compared Neanderthal DNA to human DNA and noted that several populations around the globe had Neanderthal DNA present in their modern Homo. sapiens DNA (Figure 1).  The modern populations that have Neanderthal DNA present in their own DNA correspond to the geographical expanse of Neanderthal populations in the past or, in the case of East Asia, Polynesia, and Australia, are derived from populations that came from these areas.  This pattern makes sense as Neanderthals would have had greater access to Archaic Homo. sapiens mating partners that existed in their same geographical areas, which is similar to modern Homo. sapiens mating preferences where we find mating partners within a small geographical ranges.  

Figure 1: Map Demonstrating % of Neanderthal DNA in Modern Human Populations (Source: Live Science)

But why did Archaic Homo. sapiens elect to breed with Neanderthals?  It appears that there were some genetic reasons that may have led Archaic Homo. sapiens women to choose Neanderthal males as their sexual partners and the fathers of their offspring.  Neanderthals had a suite of immunity genes known as HLA genes that may have provided them a longer life span* or a more healthy appearance* that was seen as attractive in some way to Archaic Homo. sapiens females who bore their children.  These HLA genes were passed on to their offspring and continue to exist in modern Homo. sapiens populations.  But these were not the only genes that came from Neanderthals and continue to exist in modern Homo. sapiens populations.  Neanderthals also provided genes that increased Homo. sapiens jaw size; allowed us to have rosy cheeks; and thicker skin, thick, straight hair.  Neanderthals may have also provided alleles for pale skin and red hair, but this information is highly contentious and not fully explored by scholars.

All was not well in regards to the gene flow from Neanderthals to Archaic Homo. sapiens.  Modern Homo. sapiens also received several not-so-great genes from Neanderthals.  From Neanderthals modern Homo. sapiens became more susceptible to several diseases and conditions, including Lupus, an autoimmune disease; Type II Diabetes, an insulin deficiency; Chrone's Disease, a gastro-intestinal disease; and Biliary Cirrhosis, a liver disease.  Also, while Neanderthals never consumed tobacco or possibly nicotine based plants something in their genetics that they passed on to modern Homo. sapiens provided us with a predisposition toward nicotine addiction.  

Ultimately, this evidence supports the position that Neanderthals and Archaic Homo. sapiens did breed and were successfully producing offspring.  This evidence, however, goes beyond resolving this debate.  It provides scholars with insights into what it means to be human and where hominid ancestors exist within the definition of human.  The next few years should be exciting as scholars evaluate and redefine human evolution based on this new evidence, but on a lighter note the lay public can confidently say that we all know at least one (or more) Neanderthals because they-or at least parts of them-still exist today.  

*Author's Note: Neither I nor any scholars have definitive proof of what led Archaic Homo. sapiens females to choose Neanderthal males as their mating partners.  This information is my personal conjecture based on the principles of natural selection.  In order for genes to be passed on individuals must live long enough to successfully breed and pass on those genes to offspring.  The HLA genes in Neanderthals may have allowed them to live longer than Archaic Homo. sapiens males and therefore provided more opportunities to breed with Archaic Homo. sapiens females.  Alternatively, the offspring of these unions may have been more successful than offspring of solely Archaic Homo. sapiens unions and therefore those hybrid offspring were more reproductively successful due to their HLA gene suite.   

 

Spotlight on Students: Gender Comparisons

The following post features the work of a student in my Anth 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course.  In this assignment they were tasked with comparing the gender norms of the Hijra with those that exist in the United States.  

Hijra of India (Image Source: The Guardian)

By: Stephen Haw

 

Sex and gender are important for the study of anthropology. Sex is static and non-changing while gender and the definitions of such vary among different cultures. Sex is attributable to biological occurrences when the zygote inherits the sex genes from two parents. Gender is inter-changeable and the definition of such varies among cultures. Gender is described as a “cultural construction of whether one is female, male, or something else” (Gezon and Kottak). Gender norms of the Hijra of India and American culture vary, and the differences of each culture and their gender values are a unique contrast.  

India is just below the Himalaya Mountains and is east of Pakistan and south of China. India is considered a union of twenty-eight states and seven territories. The society is structured under a rigid caste system that separates each individual into an ascribed status, which is attributed to which part of society the person was born into. The nation’s economy has modern industries as well as agriculture. Hindi is the official language of the country as well as fourteen other languages that make up the country. The majority of the people in the country practice Hinduism while the remaining practice Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism.

(Funk & Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia)

The Hijras of India is associated with transgenderism. They are the third party gender in India and are generally accepted or feared for their social and traditional roles. In a social role, the Hijra may work as a prostitute or will perform at a wedding or a birth ceremony which is believed to bring a blessing to the baby or a newly married couple. (Nanda 2008) In a religious context, the traditional view of the Hijra “are devotees of Bahuchara Mata, one of the many versions of the Mother Goddess worshiped throughout India.” ([C1] Nanda 2008) It is believed since the man or woman cannot reproduce they can take on a greater role in society by being reborn into a Hijra who does not desire sexual intercourse and which fulfills a religious significance in society. The Hijra are able to bless or curse an individual to fulfill their religious role. They are believed to have divine powers from the goddess because of the ritualistic emasculation ceremony in which the penis and testicles are removed (Nanda 2008).   

 The United States is located in North America, which is south of Canada and north of Mexico. The government of the United States is considered a Constitutional Republic divided between state, local, and federal governments. The federal government is divided between Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government. This system is supposed to offer checks and balances to the government. The economy of the United States is capitalistic with large mineral and agricultural economic sectors. Along with this, the country has a huge manufacturing industry. America is predominately white, while the other ethnicities include African American, Latino, Mexican American, Asian, and American Indian. The religion of America is mainly Christian, while there are practicing Muslims, Jewish, Hindus, and Buddhists. The primary language spoken is English while it is not the recognized language of the country.   (Funk & Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia)

 Traditionally American culture has embraced a strict set of gender qualities. This can be seen by the aggressive or “Macho” man associated with action films. Also, the man has been seen to be the main, if not the only, breadwinner of the household. The women in American society are culturally seen to be passive or mostly sweet. The traditional role of the woman of American society has been to solely take care of children or contribute to the household. The nuclear family unit in the United States has been considered to be a father, mother and children. In an article by the Center for American Progress, it is stated, “While women made up only about one-third of the workforce in 1969, women today make up almost half of all workers in the United States”. Women, because of economic factors, are reshaping the workforce. The male is still seen as the protector in American society seen in the predominantly male military of the United States while women are seen as caregivers.

 Transgendered[C2]  Americans are considered “abnormal” or taboo. While there has been significant advancement for transgendered individuals in America, it is still considered culturally unacceptable. It is described that “there is nothing new or abnormal about diverse gender roles and identities, as the anthropological record attests. Gender variance is a human phenomenon that has taken many forms across societies and cultures” (Getzon and Kottak). Gender inequalities still exist in the United States while transgendered individuals can often be discriminated against.  

The Americans and the Hijra are polar opposites [C3] when it comes to gender. The Hijra are transgendered with a religious and societal role to bless others during wedding and birth ceremonies. They are accepted in Indian society for their religious significance. In comparison, American gender roles are differentiated between the masculine or aggressive male and the passive or feminine female. It could be argued that in comparing the groups, the American transgendered individuals are similar with the Hijra because of a steadily growing acceptance of transgendered individuals in America. American society has a long way to go before fully accepting transgendered individuals like the Indians regarding the Hijra.

American society has had traditionally set gender roles with the man being the head of the household and the woman contributing to taking care of the children. But that has been shifting due to different political movements. Women now take on a greater role in society and the transgendered are being seen as more socially acceptable. Men are still seen as aggressive or masculine and women passive. But the role of women in American society has come a long way. The transgendered are still labeled as taboo in American culture. While in India the Hijra are seen with respect and admiration due to their religious significance in bestowing blessing and luck to a marriage or a newborn. One is culturally accepted while another is culturally taboo.    

            During this assignment I have learned that there is a unique culture in India where the transgendered individual is favored. I have also learned that gender values among cultures can be very relative. Gender roles among transgendered individuals in the different cultures are vastly different. This paper shows me how ethnocentric my values can be with gender. I have a more traditional view of transgendered individuals. Though I definitely do not want to discriminate against a transgendered individual, I still view this as very different to my own beliefs. Culture varies among societies and gender is so fixed in America that it is hard for Americans to take a more accepting response toward the transgendered individual. The Hijra are fascinating examples of transgendered individuals being incorporated into a religious role in society. They represent a group of people that are integrated into society whereas in America the transgendered individual has to hide from society in order to fit in.     
 

Works Cited

"India." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2014): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 15 June 2015.
Gezon, Lisa, and Conrad Kottak. Culture. Truckee Meadows Community College ed. New York: McGraw Hill Education, 2014. Print.
Nanda, Serena. Sex-Gender Diversity: A Cross Cultural Perspective (2008). Web. 15 June 2015.
"United States Of America." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2014): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 15 June 2015.
Chu, Anna and Posner, Charles. The State of Women in America (2013. Web. 15 June 2015.

Spotlight on Students: Analysis of the Anthropological Subject Matter of "Encino Man"

The following is a student post provided by Murdoc Brickel, a student in the Spring 2015 Introduction to Physical Anthropology course:

            In this cultural study I chose to look at Encino Man, the 1992 movie with Pauly Shore, and Brendan Fraser.  This movie had several things that were slightly less than accurate according to the points of early human evolution that we learned in class.  Aside for the overdose of the nineties, the main character Link who is played by Brendan Fraser is a caveman who is found inside of ice in the backyard of an Encino California home.  He is thawed out in a shed by the two high school students that found him Dave played by Sean Astin and Stoney played by Pauly Shore.  After which the two high school students enroll Link into high school and acclimate him to become a modern man. 

            One of the first things I would like to address is that they find him perfectly preserved in ice within the ground.  Considering that the environmental situations of the ice not melting in southern California seems improvable at best.  Given the average temperature of around sixty degrees  for Encino, California (Encino, CA) I doubt that a block of ice would perfectly preserve a human specimen to the point to which he could just be thawed out in a shed.  Despite the fact that unless he was instantly frozen at all points of his body when ice fell upon him in his ice cave, perfect reanimation would not be possible.  He would have more than likely suffered necrotic frost bite in several if not all of his limbs and large portions of his body.  Also it is pointed out that “he is a caveman” because while digging the pool in which they found him they discovered cave paintings on the wall of the pool pit (Encino Man).  They just chose to ignore these things until they found a lump of ice within the pit.

            There is also the factor of the amount of contagions and diseases that we have grown immune to.  Having just thawed out from a millennia ago Link would not have any natural immunities to these diseases or pollutants in the air.  It would have more than likely been extremely difficult for him to breath, or for his body to be able to properly process the air which we have grown accustomed to.  If he did manage to breath and not get poisoned, he would likely contract one of the millions of diseases that we carry with us on our bodies that we have grown immune to (Saey, 2008, pg 174).  We have seen evidence of this when the colonialists came to the Americas, and subsequently killed many people by just interacting with them.  The indigenous peoples of the Americas still had thousands of years of acclimation to disease in general.  So someone from prehistoric times would not have these immunities within their systems.  This possibly could mean that Link would have contracted several diseases at once and died a very painful and confusing death.  Perhaps he would not contract diseases from Dave and Stoney, but surely he would have become infected whence they took him into the high school and to an amusement park. 

            If for some reason he were still alive long enough to interact with the students and society in general, he may not have been able to pick up English as quickly as two to three days.  Besides the horrible illogical structuring that is English, he may have not physically been able to speak it.  Modern people have changed physically in the 43,000 years since the early years of the Homo sapiens sapiens (Cro-Magnon, 2015).  Not only have our bodies become more acclimated to our environments according to Allen's, Bergman's, and Gloger's rules (Dr. Boston, Lectures, spring 2015).  Along with these physical changes our vocal chords and several other smaller changes along time have helped us to better communicate with each other.  These adaptations were brought about through the express use of these regions of our bodies including our brains and tongues.  So if Link could understand English within hours, he may not have been able to speak it.  It is highly doubtful that within months he would have been able to deliver a speech with the ease and grasp of a native English speaker to a student body.

            Another glaring contradiction with the movie would be that Link would more than likely not be white, especially not nearly as pasty white as Brendan Fraser is in this movie.  He may have been slightly hairier as well.  We can observe this within people of the world today, in that people who generationally live in colder climates have thicker and more fuller body hair.  Providing that he survived the ice, the bacteria, and the language barriers he would not be a hairless guy with pasty white skin.  He would have more than likely been the 'ideal' man though in that he was tall, dark, and hair-some. 

            In conclusion this movie is a work of fiction.  It is not meant to be scientifically accurate, or historically correct.  Although one positive point of this movie is that it is entertaining, and comical.  This movie while it glosses over several semi-important points, it does illuminate that people were around a long time ago and that we are actually fairly close to the model that was running around then.  The overdose on the message of humanity and decentness that exists within the human species throughout time is not a negative message though.

References

Photo Credit – cover page -http://www.sporcle.com/games/ipitydafoo/brendan-fraser-movies-slideshow

Cro-Magnon. (n.d.). Retrieved May, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cro-Magnon

Encino Man [Motion picture]. (1992). United States of America: Encino Man Productions.

Boston, Christine Dr. ; Lectures ; Truckee Meadows Community College; Spring 2015

Encino, CA (91436) Weather History for November 22nd, 1992. (n.d). Retrieved May, 2015, from http://farmersalmanac.com/weather-history/91436/1992/11/22/

Saey, T. H. (2008). It's a jungle on there: Skin samples contain rich diversity of bacteria. Science News, 174(12), 11.