Taboos Across Culture

By Matthew Lubaszka

Norms

• Folkways- socially acceptable customs

• Mores- norms associated with morality

• Laws- formal rules

Definition

• The dictionary defines a taboo as something that is forbidden by culture or tradition

• Sociological definition is “something that is absolutely forbidden

Taboos in America

• Asking someone how much they earn

• Not tipping at a restaurant

• Child abuse

• Murder

• Cannibalism

• Incest

Taboos in America

• Asking someone how much they earn

• Not tipping at a restaurant

• Child abuse

• Murder

• Cannibalism

• Incest

Incest Taboo

• Reason of its existence

• Shrinking in the United States

• China’s loophole

Universal Gestures

• No Such Thing

Globalization

• Dangers of misinterpretation

• Mixture of cultures

Pictures (in order from left to right)

• The Sign is in the Air, and The Air is Everywhere by DiaTM

• Thumbs Up!!! By pie4dan• Taboo by Mercuriain• Chinese flag by Rose Davies • Cake by saucy_pan • Under The Eiffel : Unspoken (Part 2) By jay-chill• Breaking the law, Breaking the law by bitzclet

Works Cited • Cohen, Yehudi. “The Disappearance of the IncestTaboo” 27

September 2009 <http://www.ndnu.edu/aboutus/mission_diversity/documents/Cohen-DisappearanceoftheIncestTaboo>

• CliffsNotes.com. Cultural Norms. 27 September 2009 <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/topicArticleId-26957,articleId26853.html>

• Brooks, Amir “A Clear Guide to Islam” 26 September 2009 <http://www.bahagia.btinternet.co.uk/customs.htm#hand>

• Wolf, Arthur P. “Adopt a daughter-in-law, Marry a Sister, A Chinese Solution to the Problem of the Incest Taboo” American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 70, No. 5 (Oct., 1968), pp. 864-874. Blackwell Publishing < http://www.jstor.org/stable/669753>

• Banutu-Gomez, Michael. Africa: we owe it to our ancestors, our children, and ourselves. Pg 71-72 Lanham, MD : Hamilton Books. 2006