cultural relativism?
i must
i must
i must increase my bust
first, if you do not know where this quote is borrowed from, you better ask somebody. it’s taken from my favorite book of all time - a children’s literary classic - and was a point of conversation during my harvard interview as well as comedic references on the simpsons’, the daily show, south park, lost, and wille & grace to name a few.
this being an arts & society blog, i want to point out an article that ran on the cnn website today. the headline read, “breast ironing to stunt girl’s growth widespread: 1 in 4 girls in cameroon suffer this abuse to protect against rape.” curious this morning at my internship, i clicked on the link to find tragic words about small girls having their chest stoned with hot objects to delay the onset of breasts.
this brings me to the tricky topic of cultural relativism, or "the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities make sense in terms of his or her own culture." (smooches wikipedia) despite my fiercely liberal politics, i simply can’t condone it. children are in pain, men are exonerated, and i can’t quite seem to balance the equation between regional culture and standards – albeit western standards– of human treatment.
what irks me most, however, is the underlying sentiment that women leave themselves vulnerable to rape in cameroon, or, that women “get raped” like i “get the flu.” perhaps, cultural relativism is a way to turn narccisus’ mirror back onto the west? in the us, rape is “psychological,” a perverted scheme to assert dominance through a sexual means. in cameroon, the logic is diametrically different – the comments suggest:
big breasts + ample bottom + juvenile mind + male dominated society = rape
we (whoever we is) see that rationale as too simple, too rough. perhaps they are on to something? i work at the office of sexual assault prevention and response and the mother's rationale goes completely against what i teach to unsuspecting first-years. maybe rape isn't always that completed - a horny bastard, bitch, or tranny simple taking advantage.
i must
i must increase my bust
first, if you do not know where this quote is borrowed from, you better ask somebody. it’s taken from my favorite book of all time - a children’s literary classic - and was a point of conversation during my harvard interview as well as comedic references on the simpsons’, the daily show, south park, lost, and wille & grace to name a few.
this being an arts & society blog, i want to point out an article that ran on the cnn website today. the headline read, “breast ironing to stunt girl’s growth widespread: 1 in 4 girls in cameroon suffer this abuse to protect against rape.” curious this morning at my internship, i clicked on the link to find tragic words about small girls having their chest stoned with hot objects to delay the onset of breasts.
this brings me to the tricky topic of cultural relativism, or "the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities make sense in terms of his or her own culture." (smooches wikipedia) despite my fiercely liberal politics, i simply can’t condone it. children are in pain, men are exonerated, and i can’t quite seem to balance the equation between regional culture and standards – albeit western standards– of human treatment.
what irks me most, however, is the underlying sentiment that women leave themselves vulnerable to rape in cameroon, or, that women “get raped” like i “get the flu.” perhaps, cultural relativism is a way to turn narccisus’ mirror back onto the west? in the us, rape is “psychological,” a perverted scheme to assert dominance through a sexual means. in cameroon, the logic is diametrically different – the comments suggest:
big breasts + ample bottom + juvenile mind + male dominated society = rape
we (whoever we is) see that rationale as too simple, too rough. perhaps they are on to something? i work at the office of sexual assault prevention and response and the mother's rationale goes completely against what i teach to unsuspecting first-years. maybe rape isn't always that completed - a horny bastard, bitch, or tranny simple taking advantage.
i hate to say that the “answer” is probably located at a cliched diplomatic crossroads. for now, that’s all i got.
posted by Shawna at 9:04 AM
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