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  • Essay / The concept of cultural relativism - 698

    Miner stated that "looking from afar and from above, from our high places of security in developed civilization, it is easy to see all the crudeness and uselessness magic. But without his power and guidance early man could not have mastered his practical difficulties as he did, nor could he have progressed to higher stages of civilization” (1956, p. 507). This tells us that if we can see and understand everything that is happening around us, we can progress, but if we don't, we will never be able to move forward in our lives. This article aims to talk about the relationship between body ritual among the Nacirema and the concepts of cultural relativism and cultural invisibility, up to post-materialism and consumer culture. Cultural relativism is a concept that refers to the fact that what is considered true, valued or expected in one social system may not be so in another (Sociology. About.com, n.d.). While cultural invisibility is defined as “Invisible,” it refers to cultural and social groups whose contours are difficult to identify (Gheller & Carrer, 2013). These two concepts are related to the article "the body ritual at Nacirema" because it may or may not be understood by other people, may or may not be accepted by people, and it is known by people as fact or simply an invented concept. . There are many things in our society that are accepted and known to people, but there are some things that are present in our society but are unknown to everyone. The body ritual among the Nacirema is a culture that is only true in the Nacirema society, or if we want to put it backwards the Americans, they give so much importance to their physical appearance and their hygiene and health. For Naciremas, these rituals are accepted by everyone in society, make...... middle of paper ...... appearance. Overall, this Miner article, "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" is about people's semi-obsession with their physical appearance, hygiene and health who, when seen by others, find it bizarre and seems foreign to them, but in fact, if we analyze it more deeply, we can see that these rituals are basically the natural practices of a person. who cares so much about their hygiene, health and appearance. Because they care so much, these rituals have become part of their culture and are passed down from generation to generation. As they do it regularly, they tend to consume more products on this subject. These rituals make them a society, this becomes their common factor in every home. This is just one of the weirdest things I've read, but we need to think outside the box to understand the concept of Nacirema and consider it a normal ritual..