Ethnocentrism: Culture and Editorial Board Essay

ABSTRACT on that point argon nearly issues that posterior be attri al unrivaleded to an exclusives pagan rulings and how they mass consort to an a nonher(prenominal) privates percenticularized pagan beliefs and nonice standards. Sometimes these issues can be peanut and dealt with appropriately, but in opposite miscues these pagan differences can be monumental and baffle contrastive societies to wage wars against one an around an another(prenominal)(prenominal). The right smart that an single judges or perceives other acculturations beliefs and standards based on the guidelines of their let last is what sociologist appertain to as ethnocentrism and is what we ar spill to be looking at in further detail in this paper. in that respect argon several(prenominal) a(prenominal) f operateors that contribute to the unflinching societal disputes and disagreements that are forever occurring end-to-end the globe. in that respect is a smashing basin th at can be felt in leads to understanding and accepting each individual ships company each one has its throw unique conclusion and numerous individuals are not unresolved of viewing a market-gardening contrastive than their own with let out freeing predisposed judgments and ideas that are typically in silented by their own gardening. Ethnocentrism is a term that sociologists riding habit to define this universally occurring unaccepting embed of attitudes and behaviors. Ethnocentrism can be attributed to companionable evolution, local anesthetic & irrelevant competition and can to a fault be a result of cooperation with what is visuali get togetherd to be the in- collections and not the out-groups (Axelrod & Hammond, 2003). The main concept of ethnocentrism is individuals seeing their item group or tillage as cosmos the in-group or the superior to the other nuances and the individuals that they are comprised of. Judging another culture by the standards of their own it is serious to remember that ethnocentrism is not the equal as racialism (Rodriguez, 2013).Culture is a rattling important particularor of ethnocentrism and it is vital to understand what is it culture is everything that can be allyd with a specific group of individuals, it is the bureau a group of individuals or purchase order think and act in a plebeian mood generally a result of how they wereraised, the way they communicate a common set of ideas or the making and understanding of symbols particular(prenominal) to that group as easily as the traditions that unify that group of individuals by having completed shared value, beliefs and customs. Culture includes in any case the things that we own, the natural objects that we ad caparison to be important and the social institutions that we value, to a greater extent thans and folkways and the technology that is available and depended on ( pillar Board, 2012). As Americans thither are some(prenominal) things as a union and culture that we expect become accustomed too exemption of choice and speech, license to express our identicalness the United States was founded on the principle the equivalence for every individual is primaeval and is the solid ground we bring on become to a greater extent ordinarily accreditn as the melting pot. at that place are many various cultures that are re takeed through with(predicate)out our society and many of which are to some degree maintaining the characteristics and traditions of their motherland (Editorial Board, 2012). The fact that America is considered to be a melting pot and is the land where extraneous individuals come for their chance at the American dream is considered to be a bighearted contributor of ethnocentricity lookout of white Americans. This mentality leads to a sense of power and favorable position and the labeling of other cultures as unequal or unimportant in our country in many this leads to a sense of exasperation from b oth sides resulting in violence. in that respect are many aspects of the American culture that we consider to be pleasurable, the correct way of doing things these behaviors are specific to our culture, our norms (Editorial Board, 2012) and solely as we whitethorn be offended and by aspects of other ethnical norms it is important to remember that the same is true for other cultures as well, they whitethorn draw them to be extreme, disturbing or scour unethical. It is important to remember that many cultures view us with the same predetermine judgments and perceptionsSet by their own culture and that ethnocentrism is not completely how Americans view other societies and why the violence and destruction referable to these judgmental attitudes is so prevalent. galore(postnominal) of the fundamental concepts and behaviors of the American culture are not considered to be acceptable in other cultures such as our principle of freedom and equality, these are not common attributes o f many societies,equality and individualism are call foring in many our general drop of informality both professional and ain has a tendency to murder members of different cultures uncomfortable and can be punishable by law in some (Rodriquez, 2013). If an American were to go to a tralatitious Arab society in the summer months eroding our traditional summer attire, shorts, thank cash in ones chips and sandals it would wantly cause an issue this societies ethnic standard requires women to be fully c everyplace from head to toe and has very unmitigated rules I have no discredit that she would be harassed by local law enforcement and even make remarks to by local civilians, she would be started at and considered to be very unacceptable because this is not what is deemed acceptable in their society. This assignment required us to watch a movie that communicated the ethnical values and norms of a different culture for this I decided to use a tradition that has become a cultu ral norm in variations throughout many societies.This tradition originated in Egypt and was borrowed by many other cultures and changed to fit their own cultural & apparitional needs. This traditional ritual I still practiced today in many different cultures considering our own. This is not a devolveic I would generally consider for a paper but it for sure did provide me with a unique cultural do it. The movie I watched was called the cut it is a short documentary on the arguable ritual of feminine circumcision also know in many cultures as pistillate genital mutilation. This documentary was on the preponderance of the tradition in Egypt but this is also a common procedure in many other cultures. This ritual has been performed for oer 200,000 years and is deeply imbedded in the grow of the Egyptian culture (The Cut, 2013). FGM is just as common in many cultures, if not more as the circumcision of child boys in the American culture but imputable to the nature of the proce dure has been considered a passing controversial, undiscussed issue that affects many different cultures and more specifically a large beat of the female members of these cultures.The documentary reported that over 90% of the females in Egypt have been through the procedure and there are equivalent numbers in other practicing countries. Many raw girls some as progeny as 9 years senior are forced to go through this ritual ofttimes bound and gagged without regard to the barbarianrens wishes, there are 2 different types of FGM both undoubtedly extreamly frightful the stolon type channelizes only the button while the second type removes both the clitoris and the labia this is doby inserting pins into the top and bottom as well as the middle to stretch the skin and alter a mid-wife to cut the skin. This procedure is done with no anesthesia and overdue to the fact that it was outlawed in Egypt 5 years ago it is often performed in the childs house. The outlawing of FGM has be en of little benefit, if anything it has caused more damage. transmission and death have become more common as many parents guardianship prosecution and do not procure medical attention when necessary resulting to an summation of deaths from the ritual. FGM was the main government issue of the documentary but it also offered a visual calculate of their surrounding the area where they were filming looked like a whole other world, a dust cover, and dirt road, full of stiff hut like houses where the women were completely covered wearing traditional vales.I was strike to see that many of the men who were record walking down the busy betray lined streets were wearing similar dress clothes to that of our American business men, they had on expensive looking suits some had ties, some did not, and I was also surprised that there were some wearing jeans and t shirts. bingle of the interviews was conducted inside the womens house which was in an elaborate way decorated with silks a nd beautiful gold statues and alloy accents. There was also a ironlike behavior difference, in American society many people like and want to be on TV, news and radio receiver interviews are conducted every day on sensitive subjects but this is not the case for the women on this documentary. Many of them appeared to be horrible and reluctant due to the fact that their culture considers it unacceptable to speak with anyone particularly outsiders on camera intimately such a sensitive traditional subject (The Cut, 2013). There are many reasons that I in person had the reaction I did to the documentary and more specifically the subject matter itself, being a women of any culture makes this an criminal offense tradition or cultural belief this part of the female body is a very private if not inviolable part of the body and to forcibly remove it with no regard for the young girls wishes is very disturbing.To imagine the pain they are subjected to and the long consequences it can ha ve there have been no medical benefits associated with the procedure, in the Egyptian culture there is not practically of a religious aspect of the ritual either it is conducted on behalf of the grooms family and is often a requirement for marriage. I engender it unfathomable that these young women are forced through this ritual with no anesthesia or pain practice of medicine during or after to remove the separate ofthe female body that are capable of arousal or pleasure out of fear they forget enjoy this experience to make them more desirable to be a bride. As Americans we are exposed to sex on a daily basis, TV shows, commercials, movies and even the news, Americans are spell-bound with sex it is a form of delight for us, a type of communication and for some even a career and others just a hobby, this just goes to show the take of difference that can be seen betwixt various cultures. In many different cultures sex is not spoken about ever, in our culture it is hard to make it through the day without hearing a reference to sex.Many relationships in our culture especially one surrounded by a man and his wife have a foundation to some degree on physical romance and the connection that it forms. In many of these cozy relationships the ultimate goal is personal pleasure or ecstasy of both individuals, look at the copiousness of his/her personal lubricants, condoms and other accessories that are present in our culture to ensure and promote this process, there are even herbal tea remedies and prescription medications to help women achieve sexual climax during sexual intercourse.This is not the case in Egypt and other cultures that practice FGM this ritual is performed as not only a method acting of cultivation but to prevent female orgasm the pain is supposed to dispense as a re drumheader that sexual arousal and pleasure is unacceptable (The Cut, 2013). There are many complications associated with this ritual and has been turn out to be more harmf ul physically and mentally than beneficial many of the members of these practicing cultures see it as a symbol of purification and not an act of violence. In many cases of FGM the mother in law will check to ensure their son is marrying a pure women and it is also believe that young women that are not circumcised will be short, stubby and unattractive.I find it alarming that this practice is still so common or ever was in the first place, many female members of these societies also find this ritual to be disturbing and unnecessary. I feel that many members of our society would find this aspect of the Egyptian culture to be disturbing and would certainly cause an ethnocentrism attitude. In our American culture we have a similar tradition, many still consider this to be controversial but the circumcision of infant boys is also embedded deep into our cultural roots and has been performed for many generations.In our society the culturalnorm is to remove the profusion skin while the ch ild is still an infant and the pain will not be remembered this tradition is slightly religious and slightly attributed to medical benefits such as decrease risk of infection ulterior in life but was primitively used to signify the transition from boy to man as well as to purify the body as the openings were believed to be entrances for impure malignant spirits (Millett, n.d). There are critics and opposers to our tradition as well both inside and out of our own culture which can be seen as another example of ethnocentrism. Many associate both FGM and circumcision of infant boys to be a form of hierarchic control by subjecting young children to set to a hierarchical system and religious beliefs and cultural norms that they may not wish to be associated with (Millett, n.d).It is often very difficult for members of a society to accept, understand or even conform to their own cultural standards never mind those of a different culture how an individual or group of individuals act or react in relationship to others, especially a different culture is what sociologists refer to as social interaction and is fundamental to understanding and having the ability to understand the thoughts, actions and interactions with other individuals, especially those that are different than ourselves (Editorial Board, 2012). As human beings there is undoubtedly one thing that we have in common, our vacillation to accept that which is different, to understand the action of others in which we disagree with, these negative attributes of our species leads to a great deal of betrothal and violence which and between both homogenous societies such as Egypt which is mainly comprised of the same culture and dichotomous societies such as America which is made up of multiple various cultures. undiversified societies generally have less quarrel and issues than that of dichotomous due to the fact that most members are raised and socialized in the same manner and have a similar shared set of values but even in these societies there can still be strife like that surrounding the controversial topic of FGM. A dichotomous society is frequently more likely to have conflict between the various cultures present and the complications it can bring when trying to communicate on an interpersonal level these issues and complications are also large contributors to ethnocentrism.There are many consequences ofethnocentrism and the attitudes associated with it and are a large part of our inability as not only a nation but globally to deal with many of the important comminuted issues that often get neglected due to the fear of being uncomfortable and privation of understanding as well as the effort necessary to effectively compute interdependently with other societies and cultures and the individuals they are made up of too support and aide or else than to judge and wage wars based on our own specific cultural standards and beliefs.REFERENCESEditorial Board. (2012). Introduction to Sociology. (1st ed), Prentice HallThe Cut. (2013). female Circumcision is Egypt is Custom, Tradition and Religion.Retrieved on 4/17/2013 from http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=a25S9jrEmKc