After viewing the episode of Taboo, what are your reactions? In a paragraph, respond to the following questions here by Thursday 10/18 at 8:00 am.
- Choose 1 deviant behavior you witnessed
- Describe the behavior, it's value in that culture, and why it is taboo to us
- Describe the sanctions associated with each (are they positive? Negative? How so... How are the sanctions based on culture? In the US how would we sanction this behavior?)
- Overall reaction
- How did your ethnocentrism affect you?
Video Link: Taboo (National Geographic): Signs of Identity
"Signs of Identity | National Geographic Channel: Marks of identity are not always about the art. In Japan, tattoos mark criminal gangs. In Canada, "branding" tests courage."
"Signs of Identity | National Geographic Channel: Marks of identity are not always about the art. In Japan, tattoos mark criminal gangs. In Canada, "branding" tests courage."
One deviant behavior that I witnessed in this episode of Taboo was seen in the Ethiopian Tribe. In this tribe beauty is represented by strength, and this strength is mainly shown by the number of scars a woman has from being whipped. Before a boy can become a man his sisters must first suffer for him. Unlike what one may expect, rather than trying to hide from the whipping, the women encourage the stickman to whip them. This entire situation was very confusing for me because the women were being whipped in support of their brother. Being whipped would seem like a negative sanction. However, it is a positive one because people in the tribe respect women who have scars from being whipped. Sanctions in other cultures differ greatly because there whipping is a good thing, as opposed to the US where it is an illegal punishment. The number of scars a woman has is very important to the culture because it is a reminder that they supported their family member becoming a man. This is strongly valued by the people of the tribe because it is a celebration of culture and it defines who they are. If this were to occur in the US today, the reaction of the people would be very different. The "stick men" would receive negative sanctions and would be arrested for abusing another person. The women would also receive negative sanctions for their scars because it makes them “imperfect” which is frowned upon in American society. On the other hand, women would also receive positive sanctions for showing such devotion to her family. My ethnocentrism affected me because I compared everything to my own culture and was unable to understand the way the Ethiopian Tribe worked. I was not able to get the idea that American culture was the right way to live. The entire section of the episode was very disturbing in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteOne deviant behavior I witnessed was the Whipping of women, a part of the Ethiopian Tribe. In Ethiopia, specifically in this tribe, women have to show they support their male relatives. The women's support for their male tribes is proven by their scars on their body- the more whips you take on, the more support you show and respect you get. They do this before their male relative, whether it be a cousin or brother, jumps over the cattle 4 times to transition from a boy to a man. The whipping is extremely valuable, if a women does not participate in the whipping to support them they are looked down upon. The men jumping over the cattle is extremely important as well, if they don't succeed it is seen as failing your family, and not something taken lightly. This is taboo to us because whipping is not normal here in the United States, we don't do that anymore. This is something we wouldn't and don't tolerate. This is seen as inhumane in our country. And we also don't have men to "prove" their manliness. Men are considered men by their age and maturity, not by their ability to jump over cattle. Whipping is seen as a negative sanction here, but in this Ethiopian Tribe, it's seen as a positive sanction. The more whips, the better. Jumping over cattle is another positive sanction because you have succeeded and are seen as a man finally. Not participating in whipping and not jumping over the cattle are both negative sanctions. Overall, I was completely disturbed and extremely uncomfortable watching this. I can't bring myself to understand why whipping is seen as a good thing. I would never ever tolerate that. I do find this inhumane and barbaric. My ethnocentrism affected me throughout this whole episode of Taboo. I really can't find myself to understand their logic at all between the whipping and proving your a man by jumping over cattle. I am just really disturbed by this whole thing, and I don't think I'll ever understand this completely.
ReplyDeleteIn this episode of National Geographic Taboo, one deviant behavior I witnessed was the practice of branding human skin. Just like piercings and tattoos, branding skin is another way to show off creativity, individuality, and beauty. Branding involves taking a scorching hot iron and pushing it into the skin to make designs. Not only is this extremely painful and dangerous but it is permanent. The artist who was creating the brandings for customers mentioned that it was "good kind of pain". He believed it was beautiful and that there was nothing wrong with it. Most people do not believe in branding as it was originally meant for cattle and not humans and for the damage that the hot iron can do to skin. My overall reaction was that while I do not thoroughly agree with this practice, I understand why one might feel that they would like to decorate their bodies with brandings. However, I do not think it is smart or safe to expose your skin to temperatures that high. My ethnocentrism definitely affected me, because in the area that I live in and the people that surround me, no one that I know would even think about doing something so drastic as to brand skin. Therefore, I have the negative perception of this practice.
ReplyDeleteWhat caught my attention on this episode of taboo was the ritual of Japanese mobsters to get full body tattoos. In the eyes of some Americans, this is a completely normal thing; however, in Japan, a full body tattoo such as those displayed in the episode signals to a Japanese citizen that the man is dangerous. This is why these tattoos are so looked upon by fear – they represent the dangers of the Japanese mob. Full body tattoos are not necessarily taboo in America. If a man from the Japanese mob came to the U.S and showed his tattoos, it wouldn’t be looked upon in a weird way; however, we do have a similar fear in the U.S. If a man walked down the street with a tear drop tattoo on his face, we would have the same reaction to them and the Japanese have to these mobsters.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, while these tattoos are looked upon negatively by the Japanese, these tattoos are generally taken lightly in the U.S because we do not know the true meaning and our culture is more accepting. I, personally, did not have an issue with these full body tattoos. I actually was interested by the history behind these tattoos and what they actually stood for. I think being from the U.S, I’m more able to accept these tattoos as normal, especially if I was an everyday person and saw the sleeve of someone with this tattoo on the street. I would probably find it pretty interesting.
One deviant behavior I witnessed in this episode, was the whipping of Ethiopian women to show support and faith in their male relatives. In order for the boy of a family to be converted into manhood, his female relatives had to be whipped to show that they had faith in their brother being able to go over the cattle's back four times. If he did not have the support from his sisters and cousins then he would not be able to continue with the task. It is taboo for us because in our culture, first of all there is no ceremony to convert yourself into manhood in order to get married and have kids. Men in our culture can embrace their manhood whenever they choose and also have the freedom to get married and have kids whenever they like unlike Ethiopian Men. It is also taboo that the women have to sacrifice themselves for the men to move on in my life. They have a positive sanction of being their for their brother and know that they will have him to support them for the rest of their life. But, at the same time it contradicts itself with the negative sanction of being painfully whipped. They do not have anything to celebrate women hood, it is all sacrifice for men. My overall reaction was so shocked. I could not believe that these women were so proud to have these scars because they knew they did it for their brothers. Also the fact that the brothers and male cousins felt no shame for the girls getting whipped, they were instead happy. I feel like there are many different ways to show support for your family rather than having to do an inhumane action. The women were proud of their new identity that they gained from their scars, but similar to showing support, there is other ways to gain new identities as well without having to whip an innocent women. Regarding Ethnocentrism, in our culture, we would never volunteer ourselves as independent women to be whipped for a male no matter who it is. We take a lot of pride in our women's rights and would never even consider doing something so drastic like that for a male. Overall I was very surprised and shocked and think that those women should stand up for themselves and take pride as who they are independently and prove to the men that they do not need them in order to survive.
ReplyDeleteOne deviant behavior that I witnessed was branding that was happening in Toronto, Canada. Branding is when people are marked with third degree burns (up to 1200 degrees) throughout their body. Branding is when the artist takes hot tools and makes designs for the individual on their body. As a result, it is killing layers of skin and nerves with every touch. Its value in that culture is that it marks their identity. It shows that it is their body and they are defining themselves as individuals. Branding shows the things that they are committing themselves with and it gives the feeling of safety and permanence. Also, it makes them feel alive and it is pleasurable for them. Sanctions are based on culture because in Canada people see it as a good thing. On the Other Hand, I can’t see anyone going through this and seeing it as a good thing that has meaning. This is taboo to us because it was meant for punishments and ownership. My reaction to this behavior was that I was shocked people are willing to undergo burning of their skin because there is so much risk involved such as going into shock. My ethnocentrism affected me because I can’t imagine anyone that I know willingly going through this painful and risky behavior.
ReplyDeleteThe deviant behavior I found most shocking was definitely the one about the man branding his skin. In Canada, there was a man who specialized in branding people, burning their skin to make unique designs that would be permanent. This dangerous activity, which could cause serious infections and even cost you a limb, is something many people are willing to go through just to achieve the unique look branding can give you. To some it shows a feeling of permanence in an ever changing world and gives them a sort of achievement from going through the pain to gain the look. It is taboo to me because I don’t agree with people putting themselves in a dangerous situation just to change their appearance. Pain is not my idea of a good time.
ReplyDeleteThe positive sanction of branding is that it shows your identity, symbol of permanence, and shows endurance. Some negative sanctions is that branding once represented a form of punishment. I think in the US, it could appear normal to some, since Canada borders us and may influence us, but I would assume that people would be divided in saying whether they approve or disapprove of this deviant behavior. My overall reaction was just that I could not even bare to watch the man get branded because of the way it makes your skin look, so I had to keep looking away. I don’t understand why someone would get branded because it is extremely dangerous and there are other ways to express yourself and be unique.
One of the deviant behaviors I witnessed in the taboo episode was the whipping of the women in the Ethiopian tribe. These women would get beaten severely in order to show respect for their brother. In order for their brother to become a man he had to jump the bulls. His sisters watched and he was so happy they were there and willing to get whipped for him. They would have whip offs of who would get the worst scar and uphold the most pain. These women subject for men. They were scarred for life which showed the respect and pride. It was an honor to be whipped and scarred for a man. The man had to get the support from his sisters in order to take on this incredible task of showing becoming a real man by jumping the bulls. This is taboo to us because whipping is unethical and frowned upon here. It is a negative sanction to us but a positive one to them! In the U.S this is considered abuse and no one should ever get beaten for any reason. To us, scars are considered ugly and not looked at as a positive thing. The Ethiopian tribe looks at it as a positive sanction and seen as beauty and pride. Not many people have pride in their scars and especially none that are so severe. Another positive sanction is jumping the bulls successfully and becoming a man. In the American culture, men can do whatever they want when they want. There is no specific time to “become a man” or anything to test their manhood. They can get married and start a family on their leisurely time. This deviant behavior really had an effect on me because of how a woman could be beaten so severely and not even care about the pain or the scars. I thought it was completely unethical and disturbing. They ruined their bodies for a man which is so wrong. It was terrible to watch and see that these women were so engaged in it. My ethnocentrism affected me because I immediately judged their culture and thought of my own. I kept on thinking that my own culture did not do that, so why is it acceptable for them? It was mind bottling. It just does not make sense to me at how these women take this. We are all women; I don’t understand how they think it is okay to be beaten and scarred for life.
ReplyDeleteThe deviant behavior that affected me the most definitely had to be the branding of the skin. I couldn't believe that people would go through all of that pain and suffering just to be unique. For all of those who don't know what branding is, branding is when someone makes a mark on their skin by burning themselves (or have a professional do it for them...) with a tool that can get as hot as 1200 degrees. This takes place in Toronto, Canada, a place that doesn't seem like it's worlds away. This deviant behavior affected me the most because people voluntarily do this to themselves. I actually had to leave the room for a minute, but when I came back, someone was in the process of being branded and talked about the pain and the smell. I didn't understand why people thought it was so great to be branded, especially since centuries ago only slaves were the ones who were branded, and it was looked at as shameful. I guess you can say the same thing about tanning and how people would do anything to be pale back then (but today we'll do anything to be tan). A tan though, can be acquired with a simple, painless spray-down and eventually fades, while the "brand" will stay with you for the rest of your life. I was surprised that people would go through so much pain just to have a symbol on their skin. It doesn't really make sense to me because people did it to become unique, and we're all unique in some way.
ReplyDeleteThe most alarming deviant behavior to me was the whipping of the women part of the Ethiopian Tribe. Throughout the video, I cringed as I viewed the torment that these women had to endure in order to show their respect for their male relatives. Although I somewhat believed that I didn't judge other cultures, I realized how much I judged this culture. I immediately reverted back to my morals and what I was taught. I just felt like this was wrong, even though I truly didn't have the right to make that decision. The value of the male and respect is so high in this culture, that women must prove this with scars. This is taboo to us...simply because our culture is so far away from their rituals that I can't comprehend the justification of it. I was about to write that this is a negative sanction, but in fact it is the opposite. Scars that the women receive show their undying respect for their male relatives. This is a positive sanction. In our society, being whipped would absolutely be a negative sanction. Being that this culture derives so much on respect, the marks symbolize strength and courage.In the U.S., we believe that this torment is not acceptable. Overall, I was saddened but enlightened at watching this episode. I'm saddened because it is difficult to believe that cultures believe that these rituals are right. I'm enlightened because I take for granted our society. In other cultures like the Ethiopian Tribe, it is difficult to be a woman. But here, there are so many more opportunities (even if not exactly equal). In the end, I realized how much I was blinded by ethnocentrism. Throughout the entire video, I was comparing this culture to ours and believing that ours is right and their culture is wrong.
ReplyDeleteOf the deviant behaviors presented in the episode of Taboo, the one that I found most interesting was definitely the whipping of Ethiopian women by their own brothers. In Ethiopia, the process of transitioning from boyhood to manhood is one that is incredibly different from any I have heard of before. In addition to having to jump over the backs of a heard of cattle completely naked a boy who wants to achieve manhood must also partake in a ceremony in which he whips his sisters and female family members. Shockingly, the women who partake in the whipping do so voluntarily and even take pride in the number of times they are whipped and the prominent scars that are formed in the aftermath. To the members of the Ethiopian culture, the whipping and subsequent scars symbolize beauty, respect, and devotion. The women are even described as "bloody and proud." Although we in the United States, find this behavior and mindset to be appalling, the people of Ethiopia reward it with positive sanctions such as a higher social status. The scars, which in our culture would be considered grotesque and would be typically masked, are put on display for all to see and are even considered marks of beauty. Overall, I was very surprised and a little disgusted by the support of the voluntarily chosen wounding of the Ethiopian women. I did not understand why a culture would encourage its members to be hurt in any way and was even slightly angered by the idea. Because of my ethnocentrism, I still do not fully understand why the women would want to be scarred for life and although I try to keep an open mind, I have a very hard time accepting the fact that they do.
ReplyDeleteThe deviant behavior that I witnessed was the whipping of the women in the Hamar tribe in Ethiopia. In this culture, it is a ritual that involves striking the women repeatedly with sticks as part of the rite of passage of one of their male brethren. The women's endurance of such pain displays their immense courage and dedication to their brother. Their selflessness and sacrifice is considered a symbol of respect for their men as well. The resulting scars do not only identify the women as brave, but honorable, and in a way, beautiful. I think the main reason that this ritual may be taboo to us is because most people in our society would not be willing to submit themselves to any physical harm on purpose. Although there are people who self-harm, the women of Hamar tribe are different because they deliberately persuade their men to hurt them. They believe that undergoing that pain is a show of honor. Women in our society are certainly more independent of men, therefore we would think that this idea of women having to sacrifice their own well-being, inside and out, for a man's "rite of passage" is ridiculous. Our society's morals also come into play when we feel the need to discern whether this ritual is right or wrong. Within the Hamar tribe, whipping women is a positive sanction because it reflects their courage and commitment to their brother's success in his rite of passage. In our culture, however, whipping a women would be a negative sanction, and in more specific terms, domestic violence. We consider it to be horrific for women to willingly subject themselves to whipping. My overall reaction was that for their men. My overall reaction was definitely shock and disbelief that women would actually have to be whipped in order for a man to have his rite of passage. I was also really confused as to why they would even let this happen to them without trying to avoid the whipping. In fact, I was surprised that they were actually encouraging the men to whip them in the first place. If I were even in that situation, I would probably be in some far-off corner so that no one would whip me. My ethnocentrism affected me a lot. I was constantly judging their rituals and I could not comprehend their reasoning. While watching this episode, I would look away because it was so graphic, I was disgusted.
ReplyDeleteThe most deviant behavior in the episode of Taboo that stood out to me the most was the whipping of the woman in the Ethiopian tribe. The female family members of a boy who is becoming a man are whipped to show their respect for him and his beginning of manhood. Doing this is a strong value of the culture. The women voluntarily participate in this act because it shows that they have faith in their family member. This is taboo to us because where we live it is illegal for people to abuse one another like that, especially if it is a man abusing a woman. It is frowned upon, in our culture, to torture and destroy someone’s body. The people of the Ethiopian tribe look at the whipping of the women as a positive sanction. If a woman is willing to sacrifice her body to show her respect and dignity it is looked at very positively. If a woman turns away from this it shows that they are weak and it is a negative sanction. To us, the beating of woman, or anyone for that matter, is a negative sanction. We find nothing positive about abuse, and we do everything to prevent it in our society. My overall reaction is that this is absolutely crazy. I can not believe that woman would willingly do this, because I never would have the guts to. My ethnocentrism affects me a lot in this situation because I definitely use what my culture thinks is normal to measure how normal the other culture is. It is really hard not to judge the Ethiopian tribe while watching this, because you can only wonder, why on earth would someone want to do this to their own body?
ReplyDeleteThe deviant behavior that stood out to me when watching the episode of taboo was the whipping of the women in the Ethiopian tribe. The females in the tribe are whipped by the males when they are “becoming men”. By the females being whipped they are showing respect to the men beginning manhood. In this culture the strength of women is determined by how many scars they have from being whipped, and in their eyes that is beauty. This behavior is so deviant to us because in our culture hurting women in any way is frowned upon. In their culture, by beating a woman they become a man, in our culture if a man would beat a woman they would be looked upon as a coward. It would certainly not make him manlier in our culture. Being whipped would seem like it would be considered a negative sanction. But, it is a positive because people in the tribe respect women who have many scars from being whipped. Sanctions in all cultures differ because the Ethiopian tribe sees whipping as a good, while in the United States it is illegal to harm someone in that way and is frowned upon. All the scars a woman is important to the culture because it shows how they support the men in their family. If this happened in the United States, everybody’s reaction would be the opposite. The "stick men" (the person doing the whipping) would receive negative sanctions from people in the U.S. because they are harming another human being. The women would receive negative sanctions for the scars because it makes them look ugly to Americans. My ethnocentrism affected me because it was hard for me to not think about my culture and it was so hard for me to understand why Ethiopian Tribe did this to women. I kept thinking the whole time how crazy this is. This whole part of the episode about the Ethiopian tribe was so troubling to me.
ReplyDeleteThe deviant behavior in the episode of Taboo that stood out to me the most was the Ethiopian tribe. The women would be whipped in honor of their family members. They would voluntarily be whipped. This is crazy. In their society this was normal and a positive sanction, but here in the United States it is quite the contrary. If a man were to beat a woman they would be put in jail, a negative sanction. But here were women trying to provoke the men to strike them with their whip. They were begging for more scars to show more support. Why not just cheer him on as he jumped across the bulls back? Or made a poster, a tee-shirt? My ethnocentrism completely affects me. I still cannot fathom this tribe's behavior. I keep comparing them to my own culture. The nudity of the mail the whipping this is all negative to us. Why is it not to them? Why allow somebody, AND provoke somebody to harm you?
ReplyDeleteOut of every deviant behavior explained during this episode, the whipping of the Ethiopian women stood out the most to me. In this Ethiopian Tribe, it is considered a status symbol to be whipped and scarred in the name of a blood brother becoming a man. These courageous women would drink honey wine and endure senseless whippings in honor of a loved male figure. In their eyes, these scars represent respect and love for family members. This is extremely discomforting to me because in our American Society is it highly offensive to touch a woman in a violent manner. To imagine it being a sign of respect and social status in any culture is shocking. Depending on the number and severity of whip scars, a woman feels a sense of pride and devotion to her relative. This in their culture is a positive sanction, almost equivalent to a medal or award. If such rituals were to take place here, these men could face criminal charges, a very negative sanction. Over all, I was taken aback by the brutality of this ritual. Even though I did my best to try and understand it, the fact that these women were subjected to such pain really upset me. I tried not to relate what was happening back to our American culture, but at times I could not help but compare the two and think how wrong it was to be whipping these poor women. It truly made me question what else would be acceptable within their society.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching an episode of Taboo on National Geographics, the deviant behavior in which I felt was most disturbing was watching men violently whip women in Southern Ethiopia. Appearance in that country, signifies status, bravery and courage. The beating that takes place is a painful reality that scares women of all ages, ranging from young teenagers to middle aged women. The women subject themselves to the men (their brothers) and provoke the men to whip them with branches. This tradition proves one's devotion to blood relatives, and celebrates their identity.
ReplyDeleteThose who hit these women were men, better known as their 'brothers' who also experienced dangerous traditions. They must run across the backs of a series of cattle four times without stumbling or falling, it is called the 'bull jump'. Another tradition in which they do is stick their hands in a bag full of bees, and whoever can smile while enduring the pain is known as a true man. If he fails at either of these, he fails the women, who have sacrificed themselves to pain for the men. During the 'bull jump', concentration leads to success. If the man is successful, he then cuts off the cord around his body, which represents their childhood.
The sanctions in their culture is positive! They celebrate and gather together during the time of this tradition in their culture. It is evident that this sanction is indeed negative, and is highly looked down upon in society. if this were to ever take place, it would be considered abuse, and the person held responsible would endure serious consequences.
While watching this episode, I was honestly disgusted in the tragic behaviors that men and women WILLINGLY put themselves through. My ethnocentrism definitely played a big role because I would have never thought that somewhere in the world this would be happening. It is so foreign to us here in the United States and it is still difficult for me to grasp and wrap my head around.
Watching this video was very scary for me. i had to stop it a few times because it made me feel ill. out of all the deviant behaviors, the beating of women was the worst thing for me to watch. It blows my mind how someone would go through that pain to show loyalty to her brother. This tribe values the women getting whipped because it shows their devotion to their blood relatives. It is way to har for me to understand something like that because of the world we live in. It was defiantly a culture shock to watch. The women would have to line up for their ritual beating, to prepare for their brother to become a man. If anything likee this ever happened in the U.S people would probably end up in jail. Their culture is very harsh and painful. I think the sanctions are extremely negative because they degrade women and physically hurt them. My overall reaction was appalled. First of all i think that jumping across vows to become a man is ridiculous. a true man would not beat a women, just to see how much they love their brothers. i know that they do this because it is what they grew up with, but i do not understand how a human being doesn't know this is wrong. My ethnocentrism is making me so happy that i live where i live, and i have never been so grateful to have my education and my family.
ReplyDeleteOne deviant behavior I witnessed in this episode of Taboo was the whipping of Ethiopian women. These women were the female relatives of men who were becoming men in their tribe. Along with the man's requirement to walk across the back of cattle 4 times without falling, the man also needed to whip these women. The whipping left terrible scars which took a week to heal but last a lifetime. The women wanted to be whipped by the men because they felt it showed their support of him becoming a man and to prove themselves worthy members of the tribe. The women also knew that these scars would leave an everlasting reminder of the responsibility that man owed to you for life. This behavior is taboo to us because in our culture the idea of a man physically hurting a woman is a crime and looked down upon. Women in our culture are never seen begging to be whipped by men and most likely won't be in the future. In the Ethiopian tribe, this behavior and these scars are seen as a positive sanction. The man is happy that the women would make such a sacrifice for him and these scars are rewards for the women that they are devoted to this men. If this behavior took place in the United States, the man would be considered a criminal and could even face time in jail. Both of these consequences are negative sanctions. These sanctions are based on culture because in America, men don't have to walk across cattle or whip women to become men. The differences in the behavior of cultures affect our sanctions on these behaviors. The whipping of these women was very hard for me to watch. I am very sensitive to violence, especially inflicted upon women. It seemed very irrational to me that these women would WANT to feel this pain. My ethnocentrism affected me because of the two extremely different sanctions of this behavior in my culture and in the United States. I tried to understand where this Ethiopian tribe was coming from in the motives of these whippings, but because my culture is so different, it was very hard. I think that these women are incredibly brave, but their culture and its values are very bizarre to me as a citizen of the United States.
ReplyDeleteIn order to stand out from the crowd, a minority group in Canada undergoes a painful process called branding. When a person chooses to get branded, they are choosing to have their skin burned at temperatures up to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit; after the skin is burned it is left to heal and scar over, effectively branding a person. This method holds value in Canadian culture because it separates those who have branded themselves against the mainstream; it's extremely painful but the pros outweigh the cons for those brave enough to endure it. This is taboo to the majority in our culture because we are supposed to perfect our bodies, not mar them. Positive sanctions would most likely be limited to the small percent of people who have undergone this process; they would have to respect each other because they understand the overwhelming pain that is associated with branding. Negative sanctions would be stares of disapproval from the conventional members of society. In the United States, the majority of people would sanction this behavior as negative because it is painful and counters our commonly held belief that flawless skin is the most desired appearance. During the entire clip I was nauseous and although I understand the reasons for tolerating branding, my ethnocentrism has turned me off to it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was watching the video, I was shocked at what I was watching. What some of these people had to go through was shocking. I was most surprised by the branding. I couldn't even watch the process. I couldn't figure out why somebody would go through all of that pain just to be an "individual" and stand out. One man who got it done said that it's more original than just getting a piercing or tattoo. It is something that will always stay with you. I couldn't even watch the people who were getting the branding done. The amount of pain that they were going through was horrifying to watch.
ReplyDeleteThe whipping of the women in the tribe stood out to me most, I think, because the show's right, in western culture abuse towards women is such a touchy subject. Women being whipped because of something good in the family? That seems so outrageous to us, who were born in the age where Women are "becoming" (that is to say in popular culture, not basic principle) equal to men, and therefore deserve to be treated with respect. What's so interesting about this behavior, however, is that in their own respective tribes, whipping is an honor, a way of showing strength and support in their male family members, meaning is gains a generally positive sanction. Whereas in our culture, whipping of a women would be outrageous, the most negative sanctions being given to all involved- both the whipper and the whippee, to say. Now a days it's almost seen that, yes, the person beating the woman would be wrong, but also the woman for allowing herself to fall into such a situation. It's all this western culture, our ethnocentrism, that makes it so easy to judge the Ethiopian tribe for what they're doing, where to them, it's a part of becoming themselves, of learning who they are and representing strength.
ReplyDeleteOne deviant behavior that I witnessed in the episode of Taboo was the beating of the Ethiopian women. This part of the episode definitely stuck to me the most, because I could not even believe this was happening. In one Ethiopian tribe, when boys become men they go through an initiation process. Part of this process requires their female family, sisters, and girl cousins to take beatings from sticks from other men. The women do this as a sign of respect and support to their male family member as he then tries to jump the back of a bull four times to become a man. This whipping that the women take is to show respect, the scars and wounds on their backs and sides symbolize bravery and courage and are a sign of beauty on these women. The cuts are a sense of pride and remembrance for the men to show that these women cared and supported them in their process to manhood. This is very different from our culture, because women do not sacrifice their bodies for boys to become men. Boys become men through maturity, age and responsibility. No whipping, abuse or pain is involved in these processes like the Ethiopians. What confuses me is, when girls become women do men receive beatings, and why do so many women have to endure this pain for one man. From an Ethiopian point of view there are many positives sanctions that come out of the whippings. The women are proud of the marks when they get them and are happy about getting whipped; the blood that is shed shows their relation to their blood relatives. The only negative sanction that occurs is when the man fails the jumping of the bulls and then is ridiculed and shameful. From an American point of view, there is not one positive sanction from the beating these women endure. First of all if this happened in America those men would be arrested for assault. Not one good thing comes from these whippings yes they might feel a sense of pride and be all smiles about the initiation of the manhood their male relative took part in but they still have wounds all over their bodies. I hate to be rude and judgmental of another culture, but this was weird. I do not understand how women willingly endure these harsh beatings that leave deep scars and raised skin for the rest of their life, for a boy in their family to become a man. I think it is unfair because the man does not go through any physical pain, but his family members do. I do realize that they do this out of love and respect and by doing this they are under the protection of their male relative after his manhood, but I believe it is a lot of physical pain for nothing. The boy is now considered a man but he did not go through the pain, he didn’t show off his bravery and courage and strength that the women did. I also wonder if a girl does not like her male relative is she forced to endure this pain for someone she does not even like. My ethnocentrism really affected me, everything they did I judged because I do not think this is right in any way. I believe that they go through all this pain for nothing and that the scars do not make them beautiful but make them look like abuse victims. After seeing this episode I thought of the saying “no pain, no gain”, which this Ethiopian tribe takes to a whole new level.
ReplyDeleteOf all of the deviating behaviors we witnessed, the branding affected me the most. Branding is exposing the skin to high temperatures (about 1000 degrees)and burning certain areas into designs that will later turn into scars. The idea of people willingly burning their skin to leave scars, just so they could be a little different shocked me. This is complete taboo in the United States and is probably more times than not associated with negative sanctions. Most of the positive sanctions that come with this are probably the people who receive the burns and chose to have it. The people who have positive sanctions have that sanction because to them this type of behavior is normal and acceptable, but to you and me we think it is absolutely horrible. I used my ethnocentrism of never knowing anyone to do this as well as knowing self-harm is bad.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching this video, it was so shocking and terrible for me to see all of the deviant behaviors that were going on. Honestly, it was hard for me to look at some parts because of how disgusting and terrible it all was. The worst deviant behavior in my opinion was the whipping and beating of the Ethiopian women. It is considered a ceremonial ritual for the sisters and female cousins of man there to be severely whipped to show their support for their male cousin or brother. It is all apart of a test of manhood where first the women are subjecting their bodies to the whipping publicly and then the man must jump over cattle 4 times to transition into manhood. It really got to me what the sister was saying during the episode about how she likes being whipped and how she is proud and happy about it. It is all considered a sign of respect and no one will have sympathy for the women. This is taboo to us because women do not want to be whipped or beaten in the U.S. and it is simply not allowed. I can't understand how anyone could willingly subject their selves to this kind of beating. The sanctions were based on culture and in Ethiopia it is considered a positive sanction because the women believe that they are helping their brother and that the more scars they have the better. In the U.S., this kind of behavior would be considered an extremely negative sanction. My ethnocentrism affected me because I can't imagine myself or anyone I know ever participating in a behavior like this. I think it is absolutely terrible and disgusting so it baffles my mind to see these women running happily while getting whipped.
ReplyDeleteA deviant behavior I witnessed was the full body tattoos used by a Japanese gang. Every member in this gang gets an almost full body tattoo that is very detailed and intricate. This tattoo identifies them to everyone else that they are a member in this gang. This is taboo to me because a full body tattoo is not common in my culture. It is very rare to see someone with a full body tattoo and is therefore not normal. A positive sanction associated with this is that the tattoo shows their perseverance and it makes them proud that they could withstand the pain. In the US I tattoos do not hold this meaning and instead are seen as a form of artwork. A negative sanction associated with this is that in Japan tattoos are seen as very negative things because they used to be given to criminals to identify them. My overall reaction to the full body tattoos is that it’s a great amount of pain to put oneself through for means of pride. Also, these tattoos are permanent and I think it’s ridiculous to mark your entire body for a gang. My ethnocentrism affects my judgment because I’m judging these tattoos based on my beliefs instead of looking at it objectively.
ReplyDeleteLet me preface my response by saying that I had to leave the room twice while watching Taboo. I can honestly say that behavior that hit me the hardest was the whipping of the women in Ethiopia (as many people above me also said). It is considered a positive, honorable thing to do in Ethiopia in order for a woman to prove her love for her male relative. The woman expose their bare skin to whipping and are willing to bleed just to show their honor. The women want to be whipped, and once whipped there is a sense of belonging and pride within the family. I found this so ironic because in America, the exact opposite is true. Women who are whipped within a family are expected to leave the "abuser" and cause a rift between them. In Ethiopia, this abuse brings the family together, while in America it tears the family apart. Here, if a man were to whip a woman, he would get informal and formal negative sanctions. He would be looked down upon by his community and go to prison. My ethnocentrism affected me because when I watched this I immediately thought they were "wrong". I didn't even think twice when judging the morals behind their actions. I didn't see how they did it from a place of honor and love, instead I just saw hitting and I know hitting as bad.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching this video i think the most shocking behavior was the branding. I thought this was not only shocking but hard to watch. I don't understand why and how people could willing get burns all over there bodies. I've never heard of anyone doing this to them selves, and this was taking place in canada which you would never think is that far or different from the way we live in the united states. People brand themselves to be unique and different but in the end there just going through unnecessary pain. Also these people are putting themselves in danger of infections which could be dangerous and its just crazy to me that anyone would want to do that to themselves. Some people in canada see this as a good thing and a sign of who they are but i could never see it in the way that they do because it is not a part of our culture.
ReplyDeleteThe most disturbing social deviance that I saw in this episode of Taboo was the whipping of the women of the Hamer tribe in Ethiopia. In a coming-of-age ceremony for boys in the culture, the sisters of the boy going through the transition would be whipped to show loyalty to their brother in the transitional time of his life. The whipping of the women is not seen a s cruel, but as a necessary demonstration of their dedication and support to the male in their family who is putting his manhood to the test. Taking abuse in honor of another is taboo to us because it's hard for us to view the act as one of love and loyalty over one of cruelty. If the women take the beatings in good stride, they're awarded with the positive sanction of loyalty from their brother from the rest of their lives; their scars serve as reminders of the abuse they took in his name, so if any of a man's sisters who took the whipping for him come to him in a time of need, he will remember their sacrifice and take them in without a second thought. If the women don't go along with the whipping, they could be rebuked with the negatives sanctions of ostracization from society and could hurt their brother's chance at successfully completing his coming-of-age task. These sanctions were probably developed from the sentiment of male dominance of their society, while they also show strong family ties and the importance of being loyal to one's relatives for the Hamer people. Seeing this behavior on a show like Taboo in the U.S. would elicit negative sanctions of rash judgments of the tribes' customs, but if this practice actually happened in the U.S., the perpetrators would most likely be penalized with arrest and imprisonment for abuse. Overall, this practice really disturbed me, but it also put me in awe at the strength of the Hamer women and the family ties among people in their society. Seeing the women get whipped made me uncomfortable, but in seeing their fearlessness and willingness to step up to the whipping, I was put in awe of the strong family bonds that exist among the people of tribe. The women, one of which only eleven years old, took the beating eagerly; it was clear that they took it in honor of their brother, and seeing a group of women take severe beatings so selflessly left me speechless at their courage. Still, ethnocentrism affects how I view this cultural practice. I can't help but feel like the men are cruel to subject the women to these
ReplyDeletebeatings, but in looking at this instance of social deviance with objective eyes, I can see the cultural importance that the beating has to them, and I can appreciate that they view it as an honorable, not cruel, act.
One deviant behavior I witnessed was in Japan when people would get their whole bodies tattooed. These tattoos were to mark criminal gangs. The value that this had in their culture was that it showed pride because they went through the pain for their gang. Most of the sanctions were negative, one was that the gang made people fear them because of how violent they are. Another sanction was that if someone from the gang offended anyone that they would have to physically hurt themselves by chopping off his two pinkies and then giving it to the person they offended. In the US this particular sanction would not exist because if we had to cut our fingers off for every time we offended someone we would be fingerless. Although many people feel as if the US is violent in certain ways but majority of Americans do not harm people for no reason. Not saying we do not have killers and bad people in our country but not as many as the gangs in Japan have. I was quite disturbed by this because of how much pain and time these full body tattoos take. It said that if a person went to the tattoo parlor everyday for two hours that they would be done in three to four years but if they did not go as often then it could take up to ten years. I think that is absurd because not only is that a waste of time and very painful but it is also a lot of money for someone to pay for. My ethnocentrism affected me because I could not watch certain parts like when they were giving the tattoos because it is not normal in our culture to see people with full body tattoos. Not only that but I do not like needles and I cannot even imagine how that felt.
ReplyDeleteThe deviant behavior that stood out the most to me was the whipping of women in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia. In this area of the world, a man must go through a series of tasks in order to prove his manhood. One of these tasks consist of a man's women relatives be whipped by other males in the valley. Their whipping, however, is not seen as a punishment or cruel but instead symbolizes their loyalty and love to their male relative. These women are eager to get whipped and provoke the other males to continue whipping them even when they don't want to. The women believe that the more whip marks they have, the more love they have for their relative. These women are sore for days due to this painful and grueling procedure. This was seen as a positive sanction in the Omo Vally due to it's culture. A women believes that by getting whipped, she is showing devotion to her relative. On the other hand, if this happened in the US, it would be seen as a negative sanction. This would be not acceptable and would be viewed as abuse rather than pledging loyalty.My ethnocentrism affected me because I could not understand how women could go through this painful experience, causing me to look away a lot during the episode. It really made me be so thankful for where I live.
ReplyDeleteI found it really hard to watch all of these videos because they are so deviant form our own culture. The one that I found most disturbing, though, was the whipping of the Ethiopian women. There, when the men are trying to prove that they deserve to come of age, their female relatives offer themselves up for brutal whippings to show their devotion to him. The women want to do this because it is valuable in their culture to show that they respect and are devoted to men. Once they do this for him, he will have to support the women for the rest of their lives if their fathers or husbands are failing to do so. This is extremely taboo to us, however, because in our culture hurting women is considered extremely wrong. In Ethiopia, there are positive sanctions for the women offering themselves up to the beating. They are given respect, given a male to depend on, and officially considered part of the group. In our culture, however, there would probably be negative sanctions. The men who beat the women would be arrested, and the women would be pitied and offered support. People would probably look at the whole situation as weird and cruel. This shows how it depends on the culture which reaction people will have. Overall, I found this to be disturbing, cruel, and irrational. I didn't understand how it seemed like a good idea to practice this ritual. But, I know that this is because of my ethnocentrism. Our culture values respecting women, so I used this to judge the Ethiopian beatings.
ReplyDeleteA deviant behavior I witnessed while viewing the episode of Taboo was in Japan where men would get full body tattoos. This behavior was to signify being a part of a gang and either witnessing or being involved with a criminal act. Most sanctions for this behavior were negative because it made outsiders develop fear for them. The only positive sanction involved with this behavior was that of fellow members of the same gang because getting these tattoos should bravery and strength. If this behavior was seen in the US today I believe people would still have a negative sanction toward them but thinking those people were affiliated with a gang would probably not be the first thought in people’s head. Yet I also think that if this were to be seen in the US people would act more passive about it more so because they do not know the people. Overall my reaction was focused on how different acts around the world can meet so many things such as tattoos. Here many people may get these as a way of expression of art or what the person may stand for, yet in Japan it is directly affiliated with a negative sanction. My ethnocentrism affected me while viewing this because I was caught off guard when the show interviewed a man who explained his injuries done toward him because of this gang. To hear that a man was forced to cut off his own fingers just left me in complete shock and sounded obscured to me.
ReplyDeleteOne of the deviant behaviors I witnessed was the whipping of the women. The fact that the women have to suffer for the men to be more manly was completely taboo for me. Women have to be whipped to show a sign of respect and sing a song about their brothers to encourage his success in the challenge of jumping the bulls. To me it seems like these women are happy to be sacrificing themselves for their brother which seemed taboo to me. Being whipped would seem like a negative sanction in the US, but it is indeed a positive one to the women of the tribe. The number of scars received by the women reminds themselves, as well as others that they care about their family and would sacrifice themselves. In the US today, this sanction would be seen as negative because it is considered abuse and is illegal. My overall reaction to this was that it was very alarming. People all over the world have different rituals and in Ethiopia this is how they prove themselves. I found it disturbing that these women would go through with it, but they probably don't know any different and they think it is considered good whereas to me it is considered taboo. My ethnocentrism affected me because I couldn't really grasp the idea of this being a positive thing to do. After watching this, I realized how blessed and lucky I am to live in the US.
ReplyDeleteOut of the three examples of deviant behavior in the Taboo video I found the rituals of the Hamor tribe to be the most shocking. The tribe’s traditional passage to manhood is a test of strength and skill. Even in America where we do not have a test for the rite of passage to manhood those elements still often define “manlyness”, but that is about where the similarities stop. In this Ethiopian tribe when a boy is coming of age the single women in his family are whipped, to show respect for him, and after that he is challenged to run across the backs of cattle three times. If the brother falls and fails to make it across the cows than his female relative’s scars from the whipping are permanent reminders of the shame. If he succeeds the scars represent not only the female relative’s pride in the boy’s success, but they also serve as a secure reminder that the boy is always responsible for taking care of her. It is interesting because the marks left from the wounds serve as either a negative or positive sanction depending on the outcome of the boy running over the cattle. I noticed in their culture there is a lot of value placed on the family unit and a strong family connection. That is why this ritual is so important, I do not think they view it as inflicting pain on the women but rather the women sacrificing themselves to show the love they have for their brother, who in return is meant to take care of them. Although, American’s would especially have a difficult time seeing and accepting that because here beating anyone (especially members of your family) is deemed as abuse and considered illegal. In the U.S., if a woman was spotted with dozens of scars on her back people would be concerned for her safety and most likely report the problem. Another thing I noted, with ethnocentrism in mind, was the behavior of the boy’s younger sister who was being whipped for the first time. Her older sister was very eager for the ritual, nervous for her brother and the cattle but not nervous for herself. On the contrary, the younger sister showed no signs of excitement and seemed much more timid about approaching the ritual. I realized that the way the women provoke the men to whip them is almost in a flirtatious manner so maybe the younger girl was timid not because she was afraid of being hurt, but because she has not hit puberty yet and is not really attracted to guys.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of showing respect or honoring my brother, I think of giving them a gift or loving letter. But, in Ethopia they take it to a whole new level. Women are whipped by other men to help their brothers become a man. It is thought that if these women take these brutal beatings that it will show that their brother is a man. Brutal wounds are left that eventually turn into brutal scars. In the Ethopian society these scars are valued, showing that these women took on the pain for their brother. In our western society these whippings would be considered as abuse and we would report it to the authorities. My overall reaction was that these people must be crazy. Then I realized that these girls are just helping out their brother and showing their love for him in a different way. I know if I were put into a situation like this or a life and death situation, I would take the beatings for my brothers because I love them.
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