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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| Scene from the Real Housewives of Orange County where the cast makes voodoo dolls. |
By: Rhian Meredith
Culture is made up of many different aspects. One of the aspects that contribute to a culture is religion and religious practices. Every culture deals with religion differently and practices in their own unique ways. An example of a culture’s religious practice is discussed in an episode of the television series, The Real Housewives of Orange County. In the episode titled “What Voodoo You Do?” the group of women the show follows go to New Orleans, exploring its culture. One of the women, Gina Kirschenheiter, takes the group to a “Voodoo bar,” where the women are going to make voodoo dolls (“What Voodoo You Do?”). When the owner of the shop tells the women that the creation and usage of the voodoo doll is not harmful, Gina believes the owner and is intrigued (“What Voodoo You Do?”). Other women of the group do not believe this and react negatively (“What Voodoo You Do?”). In this essay, the women’s reactions, whether ethnocentric or culturally relativistic, will be further evaluated as well as my personal thoughts and reactions.
People learn and become most familiar with their own cultures, and when confronted by another culture, particularly one that is different from their own, will experience a variety of feelings and emotions. These experiences can often be classified as ethnocentrism or cultural relativism. Ethnocentrism simply means “judging or understanding cultural beliefs from the perspective of your own” (Cherry). In other words, a person believing that only their way is right, ignorant to any other way, is ethnocentric. The opposite of that is cultural relativism. This concept proclaims that “all cultures have their own beliefs and that there is no universal or absolute standard to judge those cultural norms” (Cherry). In other words, a person acknowledging the reasons a different culture does something is culturally relativistic. The latter of the two is the preferred reaction for people to have. While cultural relativism is preferred, it is not always portrayed. In the episode with the women in New Orleans, both reactions occur from different women.
Ethnocentrism is portrayed by a few women in this episode. The shop owner tells the women that the practice of the voodoo doll is not evil, and some of the women disagree (“What Voodoo You Do?”). Tamara Judge expresses her strong concern by saying, “It’s like inviting the Devil in or something”. Shannon Beador, another castmate, agrees with Tamara. A different castmate, Gretchen Rossi, also does not approve of the situation when she says, “As far as I know voodoo is like woodoo. Like woo woo woo. I don’t like voodoo-woo". Those three in agreement leave the shop and do not partake in creating the voodoo dolls. Then, they all proceed to talk about the ladies who stay, expressing their negative thoughts. Tamara even mentions that the women still there would become “possessed”. These women have a negative reaction to this part of New Orleans culture. Instead of recognizing the nonevil practice of the voodoo doll, they let their assumptions obscure their judgment. They judge from their perspective without considering the other cultures’ reasoning, which is a prime example of ethnocentrism.
As evident as ethnocentrism is in this episode, so is cultural relativism. Some of the women in the shop react in a culturally relativistic way. For instance, Gina listens to the owner of the shop. She hears what they have to say and continues to pursue learning about their culture. Gina participates in the practice of the voodoo doll to experience a part of the New Orleans culture (“What Voodoo You Do?”). She expresses how she feels when she says, “Most people think that it is like, evil spirits and dark. But there is this whole other side to it that is powerful and about manifestation, and really positive”. The other women that stay in the shop with her feel the same way. They have an open mind, willing to listen and learn about the different practices of this new culture. They believe in the positive parts of the creation of the voodoo doll and continue to create them. They are a great example of cultural relativism.
While both ways of viewing cultures are present in this episode, I relate to each of them when viewing the practice of this culture. When I first read the scenario of the episode being evaluated, I had an ethnocentric reaction. I do not participate in any craft or practice that is not my religion, and I do not wish to dabble in any others. That being said, I was immediately skeptical of the creation and usage of the voodoo dolls. What Tamara said about the invitation to the Devil resonated with me, because I also do not want to invite the Devil into my life. Even so, that does not mean that the voodoo dolls will necessarily do that. For practitioners of vodou, the dolls are not harmful, nor are they evil. Despite my immediate reaction, once I read the entire scenario and considered the other culture, I changed my perspective to be culturally relativistic. They have their beliefs just as I do, and there is nothing wrong with them practicing those beliefs. The episode “What Voodoo You Do?” in the television series The Real Housewives of Orange County, touches on two of the aspects of culture, religion and people. The ethnocentrism and cultural relativism present in the episode and in my reactions have been thoroughly evaluated.
Works Cited
Cherry, Kendra. "Understanding Cultural Relativism and Its Importance." Verywell Mind, edited by Akeem Marsh, People Inc, 24 Oct. 2025, www.verywellmind.com/understanding-cultural-relativism-7549709. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
“What Voodoo You Do?” Real Housewives of Orange County, Bravo, 14 Aug. 2025.
5 comments:
I found this passage very interesting. I learned what ethnocentrism is through this very post too. I think it can be valid for someone to think negatively about someone else's religious practices, BUT, religion is still a very broad, confusing topic sometimes. And just because you think negatively about someone else's religion, does not mean judge just because you are not used to it. Everyone is different and everyone will do different things in different ways. If I was introduced into voodoo, I wouldn't think I would be "possessed", I would think it is interesting. I like to learn about different religions, because every culture has their own religion and other cultural practices. Religion requires deep-talk sometimes and it requires a lot of questioning too. Overall, I enjoyed this passage/article, it really makes you think!
I think this is such a great example because it is so easy to fall into ethnocentrism when things do not seem right. I can watch the division between the cynical females and the open ones in order to learn about how simple it becomes for me to see and experience ethnocentrism and cultural relativism in practice. Thank you for noting your idea about first forming an opinion and changing it based on further education. This is a very natural response that I am certain we all have.
Sebastian Rouse- This article talks about how some women in a TV show reacted differently to voodoo dolls when they visited New Orleans. Some of the women were scared and thought it was evil, which is called ethnocentrism because they judged the practice based on their own beliefs. Other women were open-minded and wanted to learn more about it, which is called cultural relativism. The writer also shares how they first felt unsure about the voodoo dolls but then understood why some people see them in a positive way. It shows how it can be hard to accept things that are different from what we know. My question is how can people keep believing in their own traditions but still be open to other cultures that are different?
I really enjoyed this post. You were able to show the difference between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. You specifically said that Tamara’s quote “it’s like inviting the Devil in” was able to show ethnocentrism because it was judging what they practiced before they actually knew the history behind it. You also made a point bringing up Gina’s perspective because she said voodoo can be “positive” which shows cultural relativism because she was willing to learn. You also made a personal reflection that you agreed with Tamara first then later changed your mind. You reconsidered what you were thinking about which shows growth! You were able to see where you may be close minded.Thank you for your post.
- Kori Bullard
Bre’Awn Richmond I find this article interesting to read.It not only went over what ethnocentrism and cultural relativism is but that they can both exist at the same time, even if it’s just within one person.The example from real housewives of orange county made it easy to see how quick people can judge something they aren’t familiar with especially when it comes to religion.
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