Components of Culture: Values

Values defined: A standard by which members of culture define what is desirable or undesirable good or bad beautiful or ugly acceptable or unacceptable

Values are regularly contested. For example, What makes a Woman beautiful?

The answer often depends on WHEN the question is asked… Today mainstream America might cite a woman like this as being beautiful:

Or perhaps one of these women:

But what about 50 years ago? Americans might have said that these were the most beautiful women.

How are these women different from today’s version of beauty? How about 100 years ago? How are these women different from today’s version of beauty?

Beauty also depends on WHERE the question is asked. Around the world, there is not just one standard of beauty, but many. Certain features of the face or body are emphasized in various parts of the world. Women from Burma

Ears and mouths are features commonly accented… Women from Ethiopia

Adornments for the mouth can include tattoos and jewels for the teeth. Girl from Borneo Maori Woman with Moko

Here beauty accents are focused on the face and head… Nigerian Woman Mangbetu Woman Here beauty accents are focused on the face and head…

Although other parts of the body have also been emphasized, such as the feet. Sketch of a woman’s bound feet

The overall body can also reflect values of beauty. Today thinness is commonly accepted in many cultures as synonymous with beauty.

In some cultures thinness might be a reflection of physical fitness…

Although there are still extremes: When does thin become “too thin?”

Thinness has not always been a Western standard of beauty. Painting by Peter Paul Rubens

Nor is thinness the standard everywhere in the world today.

To summarize: Values are standards set by the members of a society. Values are often highly contested. Values can change significantly over time. Values can differ within one society and around the world. To summarize:

Beauty – What’s Real? Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW9 1UauE What can you note about the differences and similarities between the two sketches? Do you think if someone were to sketch you, you would see the same results? Beauty – What’s Real?

Beauty – What’s Real? Dove Campaign Cont’d http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rSY7 zpINa4 Evolution of Beauty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSpB2 qRrFUM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17j5Q zF3kqE Beauty – What’s Real?

YOUR VALUES? In a house is a young woman married to a man who works very hard. She feels neglected. When her husband has gone off on still another trip, the young wife meets an attractive man who invites her to his house. She spends the night and at dawn she leaves, knowing her husband is coming back. Alas! The bridge is blocked by a madman who kills everyone who comes near him.

The young wife follows the river and meets the ferryman but he demands $100 to take her over to the other side. The young wife has no money. She runs back to her lover and asks for the $100, but he refuses. The woman then remembers a platonic friend who lives nearby. She runs to him, explains her plight, and asks for the money, but the friend refuses to help; she has disillusioned her friend with her conduct. Her only choice is to go by the bridge in spite of the danger, and the madman kills her. With a partner discuss and decide in what order you hold the principals (woman, husband, lover, madman, ferryman, and friend) responsible for the woman’s death?

CULTURAL RELATIVISM Anthropologists promote cultural relativism as an approach to understanding diversity. Cultural relativism is the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities make sense in terms of his or her own culture. Cultural Relativist perspective explains human diversity as a logical outcome of the diverse environments in which humans live. Therefore, when it comes to matters of right or wrong, there is no fixed truth but rather all is relative. What are some examples of ideas that are culturally relative?

QUESTIONS - 1. Can you think of examples of universal values that supersede the particularities of cultures? 2. What are the challenges associated with determining international standards for morality within cultural relativism? 3. What are the benefits of cultural relativism? 4. What would you say are the deficiencies or dangers of cultural relativism?