By: Julian Emme
Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are two different viewpoints
in the world of anthropology. Ethnocentrism is the practice of viewing another
culture based on what you know about your own culture and comparing the two.
Ethnocentrism is not necessarily a bad thing but can lead to discrimination. Cultural
Relativism is the idea that cultural practices make sense in their own culture
and should not be viewed in the terms of any other culture but their own. They
are similar, but cultural relativism is much more about a respect of all
cultures (Fluehr-Labbon).
In the passage it is supposed that I attend a wedding,
presumably in America. The bride is seen wearing a red dress. The parents of
the groom are heard speaking about it. One parent is shocked she would go
against American tradition and not wear white; the other explains that where
she is from white is a color of sadness and this is a happy day for her so she
wears another color. An ethnocentric response to seeing the bride in a red
dress is what the first parent said: "In America the bride always wears
white!" This is ethnocentric because instead of respecting the bride’s
culture and trying to understand it he or she puts the bride’s actions in
context of his or her own culture. When looked at in terms of American culture
the bride’s actions may seem disrespectful to tradition and this may make the
onlooker prejudiced towards the bride’s culture. This is why ethnocentrism is a
dangerous viewpoint.
A culturally relativistic response to what the bride chose
to wear is precisely what parent number two interjected. Explaining that in the
bride’s culture white is a color that represents sadness and mourning so the
bride choses red, a color that most likely represents happiness, because this
is not a day of mourning for her. Understanding the bride’s actions based on
who she is and where she comes from is a culturally relativistic viewpoint,
which is one that spreads respect and understanding for the bride’s culture
instead of disdain.
The difference between the two terms may seem slight, but in
the grand scheme of things it is quite major. An ethnocentric view of things in
small doses may seem harmless, but it promotes hateful thinking and makes
people think their race or culture is superior to others. The ethnocentric view
as aforementioned makes it seem like the brides beliefs are less valuable or
important than traditional American beliefs, which is dangerous because it will
cause people who are exposed to it to believe that American culture in general
is superior. In history anytime one culture puts itself before another things
end catastrophically. (Chapter 05) My reactions to the story are immediately
and unfortunately somewhat ethnocentric. I thought: “Do brides usually wear
white?” I am not thinking it is a bad thing she is in red but just that it is
different. Upon finding out she is from a culture where white is a color of
mourning I completely and totally understand and no longer think it is odd. I
believe to those not educated in anthropology ethnocentrism is kind of a
knee-jerk reaction, but through education and unity we can spread cultural
relativism to be a more prominent way of thinking.
By: Monica Kalmen
Citations
"Chapter 05- Culture." . Paul Cheney, 1 Jan.
2009. Web. 3 June 2014. <http://freebooks.uvu.edu/SOC1010/index.php/05.html>.
Fluehr-Lobban,
Carolyn. "Anthropologists, Cultural Relativism, and Universal
Rights." . The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9 June 1995. Web. 3
June 2014.
<http://home.sandiego.edu/~baber/gender/culturalrelativism.html>.By: Monica Kalmen
In this essay, I will be discussing how different cultures
can be viewed from two different perspectives. Culture is a culmination of a
society's beliefs, values, and customs that are expressed through religion,
art, and the group's way of life. Ethnocentrism is a perspective of viewing
differences among people from one's own standpoint and culture, whereas
cultural relativism is a perspective of viewing differences among people with a
different culture from a standpoint of understanding, realizing that those
differences deserve respect (Gezon, Kottak 30). A bride wearing a red dress can
be viewed by an observer in an ethnocentric way or with a viewpoint of cultural
relativism.
From an ethnocentric view, a bride wearing a red dress might
be thought of as racy, offensive, and defiant. Because American brides wear
white to signify virginity, an observer who judges a bride by these standards
will view a bride wearing a red dress as impure and unfit. The bride may be a
virgin, but because she is being judged according to traditional American
culture, she will not be thought of as a pure. An observer with an ethnocentric
point of view makes false assumptions about others who practice different
customs. Judging someone from one's own cultural standards can lead to false
assumptions and the disrespect of other people's cultural norms. Observers with
ethnocentric views believe their culture is superior to other cultures (Gezon,
Kottak 30). Observers with these views will not consider to think that a
red-dress-wearing bride will have a reasonable reason for going against
American tradition. At best she will be viewed as careless, and, at worst, savage.
According to Gezon and Kottak, people with an ethnocentric view see their
culture as "right, proper, and moral," and will consequently see
other cultures as wrong (30). A bride wearing a red dress is wrong, even if
wearing a red dress in the bride's culture is the same as wearing a white
wedding dress in American culture. Those with ethnocentric views do not care
what the bride's reasons are because it is their own culture's customs that
matter to them and are seen as right and correct.
People with cultural relativistic views are likely to
understand that a bride from a different culture wearing a red dress to her
wedding has reasons for doing so that are valuable to her, and her decision
should be respected. Cultural relativism is a viewpoint that behavior from one
culture is not to be "judged by the standards of another culture"
(Gezon, Kottak 30). People with this viewpoint will not automatically assume
the bride is not a virgin because she is not wearing a white wedding dress.
They are also not likely to be offended by the behavior because they are not
judging it by their own standards. According to Gezon and Kottak, people with
cultural relativistic views do not see their culture as superior to any other
culture (30). They recognize that the bride has a valid reason for wearing a
red dress and is to be treated like any other bride. Someone observing the
red-dress-wearing bride with cultural relativism is open to the idea that
perhaps the bride is wearing a red dress because it is a happy event, or because
she is in love, or because brides in her culture traditionally wear red.
Whatever the case may be, cultural relativism respects differences among
cultures and considers them equal.
Personally, if I saw a bride wearing a red dress at a
wedding, my automatic first thought would be that of confusion. Because red is
so different than white, I would be a little shocked upon seeing something so
different than what I am use to seeing. Upon reflection, I would try to gather
information to explain the reason behind the bride wearing a red dress. If I
were to come to the conclusion that the bride is not from American culture,
then I would start to understand that she may have a reason for wearing a red
dress on her wedding day. I would then understand that she is not merely
shrugging off American tradition, but practicing her own culture, which is just
as valid as mine.
Works Cited
Gezon, Lisa, and Conrad Kottak. Cultural Anthropolgy.
Reno: McGraw-Hill Education, 2014. Print.
By: Samantha Noose
The
United States has several traditions that belong to the American culture. For
American weddings, in particular, the cultural traditions include a wedding
cake with many tiers, a first kiss and dance as husband and wife, a special
friend or family member chosen to represent the bride and one for the groom,
and the bride being clothed in a fancy white dress to symbolize purity. The
United States is known for its immigration and variety of ethnicities among its
citizens, so despite its American traditions, this country is home to many
different cultural values and traditions. For example, a bride whom was raised
in another culture, different from typical American culture, may wear a red
dress because in her culture red may represent happiness and purity, whereas
white may symbolize something entirely different, such as in this particular
scenario. For the mother to place judgment on the bride based on her own life
experience in her American culture is very ethnocentric of her, and she is a
good example of a person who needs to expand their outlook on life by learning
more about other cultures and their reasoning for their own traditions before
the judges them.
Ethnocentrism is defined as “the
tendency to view one’s own culture as best and to judge the behavior and
beliefs of culturally different people by one’s own standards” (Gezon and
Kottak, 30). On the other hand, the definition of cultural relativism is “the
position that the values and standards of cultures differ and deserve respect”
(Gezon and Kottak, 30). The difference between these two different views is
that ethnocentrism would most likely be the view of someone who has either been
raised to strongly believe that their traditions and cultural values are the
only right ones in the world, or maybe by someone who has had little to no
exposure to other cultures and how they go about their everyday lives. Cultural
relativism is something that people can feel in order to try to relate to or
understand another culture, even if they believe that that particular culture’s
traditions are strange and are completely unlike their own. For example, in the
textbook, Culture, a scenario is
given where a certain culture eats grasshoppers. As Americans, we may find this
to be strange, think that people who eat grasshoppers are repulsive, and not
give a second thought to it. This would be an ethnocentric view. On the other
hand, if an American were to view this photo and think that it may be a good
source of food for another culture because they may not have the same meats
that we do then that would be a culturally relativistic view (Gezon and Kottak,
30).
In this particular scenario of the
bride wearing red at her wedding rather than white, an ethnocentric view would
be that of the mother in the situation. She believes that it is a bad thing for
the bride to be wearing red; she should be wearing white, regardless of her
culture, because she is living in the United States. Many other people raised
in the typical American culture may think the same type of thing about this
situation. They may believe that the American groom should not marry this woman
of a different culture because she is disrespecting the culture of the country
that she is living in, that she needs to change her beliefs and customs in
order to fit with the norms of the United States, or go back to the country
where she or her family came from where she learned that wearing red as a bride
is best. Many Americans may also believe that this woman must not be “pure”
since the symbolism behind the white dress in America is typically “purity.”
There are several different stereotypes or false accusations that someone with
an ethnocentric view that does not have a good understanding of the bride’s
culture could place upon her.
Someone with a more culturally
relativistic view on the bride’s actions, however, may think that it is good
that she is keeping up with the traditions of her culture, especially if that
person tries to understand her culture’s own symbolism of the red dress worn by
brides at their weddings. To the bride, red rather than white may be the symbol
of happiness and purity. So to her, wearing white would symbolize something
entirely different, and she may feel like it could bring bad luck to her
marriage or it may make her unhappy. The more culturally relativistic view may
focus on the fact that her culture is one of many that resides in the United
States and that those traditions deserve equal respect to any other culture.
Personally, I felt a bit of
ethnocentrism and cultural relativism when I first read over this scenario. I
was ethnocentric in that I would personally have chosen a white wedding dress
over a red one because of the culture that I have been raised in, and at first
I did not understand why the bride would be wearing a red one. The cultural
relativism came into play when I learned the symbolism for the red dress, and
then I understood her reasoning. I would not place judgment on the bride for
her actions. After all, it is her wedding, and the only other person whose view
really matters is her soon-to-be-husband’s, as he is the one who would be
marrying her. Clearly, if he is still willing to go through with the wedding
without problems, then he has already taken a more culturally relativistic view
by accepting her culture and marrying her, even if her traditions are not the
same as the ones he has been raised with.
Overall, it is a perfectly natural
reaction for a person to take an ethnocentric view on a situation that is
outside the culture that he or she belongs to. It would be beneficial for many
people, however, especially in America, to try to look past those views and try
to understand people of other cultures as this helps not
only with travel but in everyday life. The United States is home to many
different cultures, not just American culture. Each one deserves respect, and
just because a person does not agree with a certain tradition does not mean
that he or she cannot respect it. Learning cultural relativism and cultural
awareness can help to expand a person’s worldview and be beneficial to any
individual, regardless of their own beliefs.
Works Cited
Gezon, Lisa L., and Conrad Phillip.
Kottak. Culture. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2014. Print.
