Every culture develops rituals of initiation into adulthood. These rituals could include retreats, individual reflections, or physical examples like getting a tattoo or cutting hair. Some cultures in particular, may have more drastic measures of initiation. For example, circumcision is a surgical procedure in which the child is transformed into an adult. An initiation ritual that has stirred up quite the controversy is female genital cutting, as it is not a traditional ritual that most people follow. Female genital cutting is a surgical process that cuts or adjusts certain parts of female genitals (Miller, Van Esterik, P, Van Esterik, J, Fagan 2013:60). This includes; stitching of the vaginal opening – also known as infibulation – or removal
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Some individuals see this initiation as ‘the norm’ which means that the culture sees female genital cutting as a part of their transition from childhood to adulthood (Miller et al. 2013:62). Cultures that accept female genital cutting, see nothing concerning about it because the individuals are already brought up with it. From a Western view, female genital cutting is not as accepted since one has not been brought up with this type of initiation. Individuals from a Western background would view female genital cutting as strange since they bring their own values and beliefs to the table when analyzing this initiation (Miller et al. 2013:50). These beliefs are known as ethnocentrism – the idea that your values or beliefs are better than someone else’s (Miller et al. 2013:50). From an anthropologists’ perspective, they would try to understand why cultures take part in this type of initiation. In addition to ethnocentrism, cultural relativism plays a role in what an individual perceives about female genital cutting. Anthropologists would use cultural relativism to explain their perception or view of a culture to further understand their beliefs that they follow (McGarry 2013). As a result, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are significant factors that play are role in how individuals see female genital cutting as …show more content…
Western culture often overemphasizes this initiation in particular, because of the unnecessary pain the process causes (Miller et al. 2013:62). It is hard for individuals in the West to fathom female genital cutting because they have been educated about the potential risks linked to this initiation. For example, this procedure is linked to a higher risk of getting HIV/AIDS (Miller et al. 2013:63). Fuambai Ahmadu took part in the female genital cutting initiation as part of her research, and tried to explain the ‘outsiders’ view of this process (Miller et al. 2013:63). She described her experience as physically unbearable, but she felt as though she had become a part of a stronger female community (Miller et al. 2013:63). Ahmadu wanted to experience this initiation for herself to better understand people who do not agree with it, like human rights groups. This explains person-centered ethnography, meaning Ahmadu wanted to understand how she –the individual- was impacted from the culture that uses female genital cutting (Miller et al. 2013:52).Ahmadu wanted to know what people are thinking mentally and how they are influenced by the culture (Miller et al.
Some individuals see this initiation as ‘the norm’ which means that the culture sees female genital cutting as a part of their transition from childhood to adulthood (Miller et al. 2013:62). Cultures that accept female genital cutting, see nothing concerning about it because the individuals are already brought up with it. From a Western view, female genital cutting is not as accepted since one has not been brought up with this type of initiation. Individuals from a Western background would view female genital cutting as strange since they bring their own values and beliefs to the table when analyzing this initiation (Miller et al. 2013:50). These beliefs are known as ethnocentrism – the idea that your values or beliefs are better than someone else’s (Miller et al. 2013:50). From an anthropologists’ perspective, they would try to understand why cultures take part in this type of initiation. In addition to ethnocentrism, cultural relativism plays a role in what an individual perceives about female genital cutting. Anthropologists would use cultural relativism to explain their perception or view of a culture to further understand their beliefs that they follow (McGarry 2013). As a result, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are significant factors that play are role in how individuals see female genital cutting as …show more content…
Western culture often overemphasizes this initiation in particular, because of the unnecessary pain the process causes (Miller et al. 2013:62). It is hard for individuals in the West to fathom female genital cutting because they have been educated about the potential risks linked to this initiation. For example, this procedure is linked to a higher risk of getting HIV/AIDS (Miller et al. 2013:63). Fuambai Ahmadu took part in the female genital cutting initiation as part of her research, and tried to explain the ‘outsiders’ view of this process (Miller et al. 2013:63). She described her experience as physically unbearable, but she felt as though she had become a part of a stronger female community (Miller et al. 2013:63). Ahmadu wanted to experience this initiation for herself to better understand people who do not agree with it, like human rights groups. This explains person-centered ethnography, meaning Ahmadu wanted to understand how she –the individual- was impacted from the culture that uses female genital cutting (Miller et al. 2013:52).Ahmadu wanted to know what people are thinking mentally and how they are influenced by the culture (Miller et al.