What made me think:
I am a high school teacher, and in the past when I taught about certain issues I would expect strong negative reactions. Well, what I have learned is that students seem far more open minded than I thought they would be. For example, when discussing polygamy I expected students to think it was wrong. The funny thing is that when they didn't (which was inevitably the case) I was disappointed. What is even funnier than that is that one of the first things I taught in that class was the dangers of ethnocentrism (the belief that what is normal in one's own culture should be normal everywhere). So, you would think that I would be really happy with my students for not harshly judging a different cultural practice. One point open-mindedness! So, why was I disappointed? Because I believe that certain cultural practices are wrong, and I was DISAPPOINTED when students did not see it the same way. (Don't worry, I play it totally cool in class.) So, does the fact that I negatively judge other people's practices make me ethnocentric? Judgemental? Snobby? Closed minded?
*Please note that even saying that I think some cultural practices are wrong does make me slightly uncomfortable.
What I think:
NO. In fact, it may make me thoughtful, critical, and humanistic, and for me it most definitely makes me a feminist.
NO. In fact, it may make me thoughtful, critical, and humanistic, and for me it most definitely makes me a feminist.
(Of course I would say that, I mean I am talking about myself. But let me explain.)
If there were a cultural practice of murdering babies (oh oops, there is) I think it is pretty safe to say that is not ok. If there were a practice of cutting off people's arms for fun, again, not cool. These of course are pretty extreme examples, although the first was accidentally realistic. What gets trickier is when the practice is a little less clear cut. What about eating cat? Refusing birth control? Female genital mutilation? Honour killings? (Male) circumcision? Polygamy? Etc. Etc. Etc. Well, I honestly believe in my heart of hearts that saying something is ok, or even remaining indifferent towards something because it is a cultural practice is intellectually lazy. What I often heard from students was something along the lines of, "Well, I wouldn't do it, but if they want to it is their right." I think this is a great idea when looking at super weird (to me) food different people enjoy, or clothes that people wear that seem strange, but what about when it comes to how people are treated? Do we, as humans, have a right and perhaps even a responsibility to judge the practices of others? If it is culturally normal or acceptable to stone a woman to death because she claims she was raped but cannot prove it and therefore the sex is merely adulterous, should we (you and I) not be asking ourselves if this is ok? I think (hope) the answer to that is pretty clear.
Why it's tricky:
The problem is that assuming we will agree that the above example is wrong also assumes that we agree that rape exists conceptually, that a woman does have the right to decide whether she does or does not want to have sex. This is where things get really tricky, as morality seems to be almost purely subjective. Assuming that everything you learned from agents of socialization is true and good is foolish at best, so how do you decide what is RIGHT? Well, perhaps this is the way faith comes into my life. I have faith that if I listen to my heart and the hearts of others, that what is right will become clear.
I think there are two key questions you can ask yourself to determine if you are being ethnocentric or healthily critical.
1. Does the practice in question harm someone?
2. Can you think of aspects of your own culture that you question? (For example, high heels. Really? They hurt. Anyone who says they don't is lying. Are women still causing themselves physical pain in order to look more sexually appealing for men? Yes, they (I mean WE...'cause I do it too) still are.
So, the point of all this is to say please try to create peace and love in your world but also think about where you draw the line. Not everything is ok, and pretending (or believing) it is ignores, minimizes or accepts some of the very terrible things that go on in this big blue and green world.
Why it's tricky:
The problem is that assuming we will agree that the above example is wrong also assumes that we agree that rape exists conceptually, that a woman does have the right to decide whether she does or does not want to have sex. This is where things get really tricky, as morality seems to be almost purely subjective. Assuming that everything you learned from agents of socialization is true and good is foolish at best, so how do you decide what is RIGHT? Well, perhaps this is the way faith comes into my life. I have faith that if I listen to my heart and the hearts of others, that what is right will become clear.
I think there are two key questions you can ask yourself to determine if you are being ethnocentric or healthily critical.
1. Does the practice in question harm someone?
2. Can you think of aspects of your own culture that you question? (For example, high heels. Really? They hurt. Anyone who says they don't is lying. Are women still causing themselves physical pain in order to look more sexually appealing for men? Yes, they (I mean WE...'cause I do it too) still are.
So, the point of all this is to say please try to create peace and love in your world but also think about where you draw the line. Not everything is ok, and pretending (or believing) it is ignores, minimizes or accepts some of the very terrible things that go on in this big blue and green world.
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