Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism

Ethnocentism is defined as "the use of one's own culture as a yardstick for judging the wasy of other individuals or societies, generally leading to a negative evaluation of their values, norms, and behaviors." Most of us are guilty of judging other people and looking down on them because they are different. Every society has aspects that make it different than any other culture, and that is why we are different because, honestly, what would this world be like if we were all the same? As in the Nacirema article, we were told to mark the texts for things that we thought were odd and different from what we find normal, and make notes about what was interesting. Even in that instance, we could be classified as being ethnocentric by judging the rituals that the people performed. As we looked closer at the rituals and things that, at a first glance, seemed weird to us started to sound like some things that take place in American society every day. For example, there were rituals to make fat people skinny and skinny people fat; America has this too. The medicine men are like our doctors, and they were seen as being all-knowledgeable, just like our doctors are; according to some, they have all of the answers. Once we made these parallels, we started relating to this article more because we could see our lives within it, which brings us around to cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is "not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms," and it exactly what you are able to do once you can put yourself in someone elses shoes are truely relate to what is being said.

Social Construction of Reality- Long Hair vs. Short Hair

Our realitites are shaped by our experiences and interactions with everyone around us. Together we form certain rules and guidelines that tell us this is right and this is wrong. We have the capability to change these blockades, but once they are popularly known in a society, it is difficult to alter what everyone thinks to be true. One norm that society in America has taught us is that males should have short hair and females should have long hair. But why is this? Growing up, our parents decided what our hairstyle would be, and as young adults we still go along with what is socially acceptable lengths. Moving farther into the 21st century, it is more common to see this lengths of hair drastically changing, but in everyday life, it is the girls with long, flowing hair, and the guys with the short, cropped hair. As women, we like the feeling of having long hair to style and make look attractive so that our appearance is enhanced. There has never been a reason that women need longer hair, but there also has never been a reason for them to have short hair, unlike men who need it short so that when they worked, predominantly in agrarian jobs, or factories, it would not get in the way. This has been how hair has been styled for centuries, and it appears that it will continue on this trend for a while to come.

Sociological Imagination

The sociological imagination is what changes our perspective of the world from our neighbor's. Our sociological imagination is influenced by every detail of our lives, including who we know, what we've done, and where we live. Take makeup for example: makeup is a simple, yet popular, way to enhance one's beauty. But why do we need it? The history of makeup can be traced back to the ancient Egyptains, but why is modern culture infatuated with covering up their appearance? The cosmetics once only worn by prostitutes now is on the face of every high school student, and even middle school students. This is so because our culture is obsessed with perfection, which to Americans, includes clear skin, young, bright looking eyes, and rouged cheeks. At an increasingly earlier age, young girls are feeling pressure from their peers, media, and cosmetic companies to alter their appearance so they are "acceptable". Little girls see their mothers applying makeup, and they want to be just like them. Our sociological imagination, being formed from birth, tells us that since our mothers, and every other beautiful woman, wears makeup, then I should too. So why is America captivated with hiding itself behind potentially harmful chemicals? This is because society is driven by appearance, and in order to get ahead, you need to have both beauty and brains.