The Price of Perfection: Nacirema Beauty Standards,Anthropology Analysis of "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" Essay
WebApr 5, · Topics: Culture, Mind Words: Pages: 2 Updated: Apr 5th, The Nacirema people are a North American group that inhabits the territory between the WebJan 18, · The Nacirema culture is known for its elaborate body rituals, materialism, and preoccupation with physical appearance. These practices are used to reflect upon WebThe Nacirema is a North American group, although it suggests that they came from the East little is known about their origins. What makes the Nacirema so interesting are their WebEssay on the Nacirema Practices and Their Way of Life. It seems strange that in this day and age there are still groups of people scattered about the earth that we have learned WebJul 7, · According to Miner, the Nacirema people have the belief that the human body is ugly and weak, so the people made shrines to their homes to perform everyday rituals ... read more
Now without the photo below but maybe skewed by the photo above and in the context of the rest of the paper, many students do not recognize this as our daily habit of brushing our teeth. When described the way the Miner does, it sounds strange and maybe even a bit gross. What one culture does and believes to be normal, others may see as unusual. Remembering that practices are driven by the culture someone is situated in, including our very own practices, is key to avoiding ethnocentrism — the mistaken belief that your culture is the standard by which others should be compared. The following is an excerpt from one of the excellent papers I received from a student, Emily Ong used with her permission. She does a great job of describing the US rituals of the Christian holiday, Christmas.
For example, we can look at Christmas from the perspective of someone who is not a part of American culture. These wires are attached to a side of the house and only come on at night. When they do, the house and shrubs look very bright, and not a single house on the street is without these wires. These Americans, thus, are all quite concerned with the overall presentation of their houses: they make sure other people see and admire them. One could almost call them obsessed, as some houses have giant men, white bears, and black and white birds puffed full of air in front of their houses. Families also make sure they get a hold of a rather sizable green tree, but they go outside of their property to find such a tree.
The ones immediately outside their house are apparently not fit. They desire a different one, which holds more importance. In addition, for some reason, the tree must be a rather large tree with lots of foliage. The small and thin trees with exposed branches are often not given a second look and are left with the person selling the trees. Once the family has picked out their rather plump tree, they have to go through the challenging and exhausting task of bringing it back to their home. They have to lift it up and tie it to the top of their vehicle, and then drive very slowly so the tree will not fall off the car.
Once they get home, they have to lift it once again off the car and into their house. Once the tree is inside, for some reason they put it in the center of the room, and proceed to decorate it with various gaudy balls and gems on strings. They also put some wires around it, which when attached to the wall, make the tree look very bright. The most peculiar act, however, has yet to be done. A star, or in some cases an angel or other figurine is put on top of the tree, and it seems to be an honor for the person who is allowed to put it there.
They must be of some great importance or have some great wisdom, which allows them the honor of completing this task. Once they do, everyone admires the tree even more. The tree also seems to serve as some kind of offering place because people gradually place decorated boxes around the tree in the days leading up to Christmas. People also stop and like to gather around the tree and gaze at it. Then they leave hard biscuits shaped like men and a cup of milk out next to the tree. I do not understand the importance of this, as usually the father of the family just eats the biscuits and drinks the milk anyway, and it is always late at night when he does this too. Does the eating of the man-shaped biscuits represent some sacrifice?
This I do not know. Anyhow, in the morning, more boxes appear, and children act very wild, almost savage-like. They rip up all of the paper covering the boxes, and leave a mess on the floor. It seems that the boxes were for them all along, not another being or deity. That is curious. Why did they not just give them to the people in the first place? federal government——has objectified a people placed second to breathtaking views, siphoned minerals, and crunched reform movements. Luckily, we had not arrived as tourists; rather, we came as men on a mission, with more-than-mere-Philistine. and seer stones. The Smiths went on several treasure hunting expeditions.
While on these expeditions,. Essay Topics Writing. Open Document. He tells about how the tribe performs these strange daily rituals and how their peculiarity is extreme, but in fact he is actually speaking of Americans as a whole Miner. Miner uses this style of writing to more effectively prove his point: that Americans are ethnocentric. Miner does an exceptional job in disguising the Nacirema as Americans. Some of the things he disguises are the bathroom, which he says is a cleansing shrine. He disguises the medicine chest as the main device in the shrine, a bundle of hog hairs on a stick as a toothbrush, and magical …show more content… Miner also states things that make it a lot less obvious that the Nacirema are American.
Things like describing the territory where America is located. He talks about very pricey gifts you must give before entering and leaving a latipso, and also how you get tortured there and continue to keep going. He also explains how the dentist practices his work with a very complex use of words. There are a few points the author is trying to get across here. The purpose of the article is to have Americans read this, then have an opinion of the Nacirema that is of a lower standard then our culture. Therefore, once again, Miner is proving that we, as Americans, are ethnocentric. In this article, Miner takes the role of an outsider and judges the Nacirema just as we judge other cultures. Miner wants us to realize that when someone, such as an anthropologist describes another culture, we can interpret that into being abnormal but in actuality, it is, by all means, very normal.
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The Nacirema people are a North American group that inhabits the territory between the Tarahumara of Mexico, the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles, and the Canadian Creel the Yaqui. Not much is known about the origin of these people, only the information that they came from the east. In the following paper, the Nacirema culture will be evaluated in terms of the expression it leaves. Overall, the Nacirema culture can be described as strange, contradictive, sometimes shocking, spiritualistic, and ceremonial. Upon learning a few basic facts about the Nacirema culture, a person from the western world may be astonished and even shocked. There are many ideas, seen as a foundation for the Nacirema cultural perceptions, which appear senseless with regards to the facts from modern-day medicine and science.
Thus, the first adjective that I would choose to describe the culture under consideration is strange. The choice of this adjective can be supported by many facts. For example, according to Miner The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. This fact about the Nacirema basic beliefs is simply outrageous to me because I believe in Greek perceptions about the human body which became the foundation of the modern-day western culture. I also share the ideas from the Bible that the human body is a precious gift from above that can be considered miraculous and wonderful. Next, I think that the Nacirema culture is very contradictory.
I can support such a point of view by the information about its washing rituals Perez 7. In the majority of cases, men must hide their bodies during hygiene procedures, but in the latipso, they must act conversely Miner Further, at times the Nacirema culture even seems to be shocking. For example, they believe that their mouths are the sources of decay, immorality, and the spiritual uncleanness, and on this reason, they permit a certain man to make big holes in their teeth. This is not only awkward, but it is very dangerous, and I wonder how they managed to survive for such a long period of time because this lifestyle is dangerous. Besides, the Nacirema culture is also spiritualistic and ceremonial. These adjectives are also very fitting to describe the culture under consideration because it is fully based on the ideas of spiritualism, and spiritualism, in turn, is the basic ideology behind all the abundance of rituals and ceremonies in this culture.
Critically reflecting on the information learnt about the Nacirema culture, I should say I would not like to live in this society because it is built on the foundations of negligence and spiritualism, its rituals are dangerous, and its ceremonies are disgusting to me. My overall impression about this culture is not optimistic. Actually, I can hardly find some facts about the Nacirema culture that would appear reasonable and might show some piece of ancient wisdom. In conclusion, the Nacirema culture is full of unusual perceptions, and mind-blowing ideas. An average observer would say that it is strange, at least.
I would characterize it with the following adjectives: strange, contradictive, sometimes shocking, spiritualistic, and ceremonial. Miner, Horace. Perez, Eduardo. The Nacirema Culture: Unusual Perceptions and Mind-Blowing Ideas. This paper was written and submitted to our database by a student to assist your with your own studies. You are free to use it to write your own assignment, however you must reference it properly. If you are the original creator of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal. StudyCorgi Culture. Learn more. On-Time Delivery! The Sports Administration: Effects of Culture. Multicultural Education in America: Benefits and Challenges.
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Nacirema Essays (Examples),Related Essays
WebMar 19, · the hypothetical case of the nacirema. The Nacirema occupy a broad and diverse geographic zone between Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Their highly WebThe Nacirema has a rich and an untraceable culture and practice of ritual system that is not common to Americans. In fact their true origins are very mythical. The Nacirema’s WebApr 5, · Topics: Culture, Mind Words: Pages: 2 Updated: Apr 5th, The Nacirema people are a North American group that inhabits the territory between the WebThe Nacirema are a contradictory and private society. Horace Miner, a sociologist, describes them as society that ritualize and routinize their bodily functions. However, the WebJan 18, · In conclusion, the Nacirema culture’s obsession with beauty standards can have a negative impact on self-esteem and body image. It reinforces rigid beauty ideals WebJul 7, · According to Miner, the Nacirema people have the belief that the human body is ugly and weak, so the people made shrines to their homes to perform everyday rituals ... read more
Rituals Of Nacirema. This is not only awkward, but it is very dangerous, and I wonder how they managed to survive for such a long period of time because this lifestyle is dangerous. Nacirema Research Paper Words 3 Pages. from our ethnocentric views and think critically about the Nacirema people's. The Nacirema people are a North American group that inhabits the territory between the Tarahumara of Mexico, the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles, and the Canadian Creel the Yaqui.
Remember: This is just a sample from a fellow student. When she began her research, she expected to discover easy-to-classify subcultures within their community, but was unable to do so successfully, and required another way to categorize them We are glad that you like it, but you cannot copy from our website. Related Essays Nacirema: Striving for a Balance Between Growth and Well-Being Essay Capitalism, as an economic system, has played a significant role in shaping the culture and beliefs of the Nacirema society. Nacirema essay Influence on Nacirema: Body Rituals and Materialism Essay The Nacirema nacirema essay, known for its elaborate body rituals and emphasis on materialism, nacirema essay, has been affected by the technological advancements of the digital age, nacirema essay.
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