Christina Jahnes, Anth 101 Student, Truckee Meadows Community College (published with permission)
Gezon and Kottak
(2011, p. 32) define ethnocentrism as “the tendency to view one’s own culture
as superior and to apply one’s own cultural values in judging the behavior and
beliefs of people raised in other cultures.”
There are many differences between cultures and in an ethnocentric view,
one cannot see the value of any culture but their own because it is believed to
be far better than any other. They
typically view other cultures’ behaviors as bizarre or without warrant. This narrow view does not promote tolerance
or acceptance of the beliefs and practices of others.
Alternatively, cultural relativism
is a very different viewpoint than ethnocentrism. It is an understanding that cultures may be
different, but each deserves respect; no behavior should be judged by the
standards of another culture (Gezon & Kottak, 2011, p. 33). The prospective of cultural relativism takes
into account the factors that would lead to a culture’s behavior. They recognize the value in each culture,
which leads to tolerance and respect.
In an ethnocentric view of these
parents’ actions, a baby was left outside in the cold, which is dangerous, while
Annette Sorensen and Exavier Wardkaw enjoyed a meal inside in the warm
café. Leaving a baby outside by itself
seems negligent. In New York, it is not
common practice to leave your toddler outside on the street while you dine
inside. Something terrible could happen
in such a dangerous city. This mother
must be crazy to think that endangering her baby by leaving it unattended in
the cold was okay, which is why her baby was taken away from her for days and put
into foster care.
In contrast, from a culturally
relativistic point of view, the traditions of the Danish culture have their own
merits. From their perspective, the cool
fresh air is ideal for children because they are not exposed to the smoky
environment of a restaurant. Keeping the
children outside also keeps them healthier because they are not exposed to the
cold and flu germs so rampant in the wintertime. The mother properly dressed
the baby for the outdoors and had many layers of blankets on, while she could also
see the baby from the window, never leaving the child unattended. Sometimes shops and cafés are so small that
they do not easily fit a stroller, so this would be a better option for
parents.
My own opinion falls somewhere
in-between these two views. I would not leave my baby outside on the streets of
New York City. It is dangerous and you
never know what might happen. She could
have been kidnapped or hit by a car, however it is not so shocking to me that
she was left outside in the cold. I am a
preschool teacher and take my students outside all winter long, even when it
snows. We bundle them up and make snow
angels and build snowmen. As long as the
baby was dressed properly, the air would not do her any harm. If I traveled to Denmark, I would consider
the idea. It sounds to me like it is a
more relaxed environment where this would be safe and make a lot of sense. The café’s are small and therefore there may
not be enough room. I would much prefer
the fresh air to smoke, which I would never want to expose my baby to. If I were in my own house on a fall day and
my baby fell asleep outside all bundled up, I would certainly let him or her
sleep outside in the brisk air. I think that there is a big difference between these
two views. Arresting the mother for
endangering her baby seems extreme once you hear that she is a tourist and this
is common practice in Denmark. Just
because they are not your views, does not mean they are wrong. I was glad to hear that their baby was
returned to them after four days because they obviously love their child very
much and were just following the practices of their culture, which is
understandable.
Gezon, L., &
Kottak, C. (2011). Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social
Sciences/Languages.
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Esmeralda Salas, Anth 101 Student, Truckee Meadows Community College (published with permission)
Humankind shares
a defining feature that encompasses many facets of life and has allowed
innovative advances for survival: culture.
Though people share this concept of culture, ideas about what is acceptable
or not vary from one society to the other. Childrearing practices are an
example of how, because of different customs, children are brought up in particular
manners. What is seen as beneficial for the child and completely normal to one group
may be viewed as utter neglect and potentially dangerous to another. A perfect example of this is the case of Copenhagen
native, Annette Sorensen, Brooklyn resident, Exavier Wardlaw, and their 14-
month-old daughter. The manner to which
a person approaches and examines this situation can be categorized into one of
the two perspectives used to understand culture.
Ethnocentrism is
measuring one’s own culture as well as its practices and beliefs against others
and arriving at the opinion that the former has superior qualities over the
later. To a lesser extent, ethnocentrism
contributes to groups having cultural or national pride. However, this attitude
limits an individual’s perspective because it fails to look beyond one’s own
boundaries and recognize the diversity in humanity.
A contrasting
viewpoint to ethnocentrism is cultural relativism. Cultural relativism seeks to understand the
beliefs and practices of other cultures based traditions deemed acceptable in
that group. This position does not compare one culture to another, rather it
understand the different cultures existing parallel to one another. Prescribing
solely on this belief can be problematic since some societies’ practices push
the limits and border on the unethical.
Seeing Sorensen
and Wardlaw’s situation through an ethnocentric lens (based on American
standards), one would say their behavior as parents was abnormal and completely
careless. Leaving a child outside in the
dark, “in area with quite a bit of
drug activity” is considered a reckless and unsafe act (qtd. in Rohde). Children in America remain at close proximity
to a parent or adult at all time in public.
They are taught at an early age not to “talk to strangers.” Even though this child was not yet of age to
properly communicate with others, she was exposed to many unfamiliar and
potentially harmful people. There could
have been a number of tragic consequences had the police not intervened; the
child could have been abducted or “caught in
cross-fires between dueling drug gangs” (Haberman).
A cultural relativist would point out that
this practice fits within the conventions of Danish society. Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard wrote in an
Op-Ed piece an explanation of this Scandinavian practice where “fresh, cold air is good for babies” and
they are protected from the elements by being bundled up in heavy
goose-down comforters (qtd. in
Gordon). Thus, Sorensen was justified in simply doing
what she had learned was best for her child.
Her actions were akin to those of an American parent being overly
protective.
After reading this piece, I was able to understand why
people, influenced by their cultural beliefs behave the way they do. I also was made aware of how easy it is to
impose one’s own standards upon other’s actions. Sorensen left her child outside out of habit
without thinking there would have been any negative consequences. She did what
any typical Danish mother would. It
shows how progressive Denmark to what a high standard it holds its citizens.
However, considering it was late at
night and her child’s father resided in Brooklyn, it is difficult to comprehend
why he did not inform her of local customs.
In the United States, crime is perceived to be lurking behind every
corner. Whether this is true or not, many people are under the assumption that
something bad will always happen. We are
immersed in a culture where mass media fixates on the horrifying deeds
residents here commit. It is not
farfetched to think that some of the few people who contacted the police in
regard to this child being left outside, seemingly unattended, honestly
believed they were preventing something unimaginable from happening.
Gordon,
Stephen J., M.D. "The New York Times." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 20
May 1997. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/20/opinion/keeping-baby-outside.html?ref=annettesorensen>.
Haberman, Clyde. “NYC; Let It Snow, And Put Out The Baby.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Dec. 1999. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/14/nyregion/nyc-let-it-snow-and-put-out-the-baby.html?ref=annettesorensen>.
Rohde,
David. "Court Ruling Favors 2 Who Left Baby Outside." The New
York Times. The New York
Times, 23 July 1999. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/23/nyregion/court-ruling-favors-2-who-left-baby-outside.html?ref=annettesorensen>.