- Jan 2025
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sociology.morrisville.edu sociology.morrisville.edu
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Natural reproductive functionsare similarly distorted. Intercourse is taboo as a topic and scheduled as an act.Efforts are made to avoid pregnancy by the use of magical materials or bylimiting intercourse to certain phases of the moon. Conception is actually veryinfrequent. When pregnant, women dress so as to hide their condition
This is very interesting because it exemplifies how topics like birth, pregnancy, intercourse, babies, etc., differ from culture to culture. In a Westernized perspective, pregnancy is an exciting concept in which people are expected to nurture and care or infants with enthusiasm, however, in the social constructs of Nacirema, this perspective is not culturally held and is typically responded with the suppression of the pregnancy. This furthers the idea that there is not a clear "natural" way to exist or function within the world.
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While each family has at least one such shrine, the rituals associated with it arenot family ceremonies but are private and secret. The rites are normally onlydiscussed with children, and then only during the period when they are beinginitiated into these mysteries
Rituals are a large part of cultural practice, and in many ceremonies, a level of secrecy is required, some to uphold traditional standards. This reminds me of Sambia, a tribe in Papa New Guinea that historically relied on the confidentiality of rituals to maintain power for men through shared knowledge.
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