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On this earth, there are billions of people and we are separated by borders, oceans and vast masses of land. We are placed into groups based on our nationality, religion, race, class and even age but at the end of the day we are very much alike. Humans are all the same before birth and again the same after birth. What distinguishes us from each other are our qualities both internal and external ones.
These differences among us lead to diversity and if not mistreated can bring about infinite to an Individual such as better critical thinking and a broader perspective of the world. Nonetheless, this diversity can lead to discrimination, stereotype and even phobias. One of these discriminatory behaviors Is ethnocentrism. Our world has many cultures each with Its own unique practices and beliefs and when a person falls to recognize these practices as normal, they are being ethnocentric.
Ethnocentrism is when a person views the world from the perspective of their own culture hence anything that is not practiced in their own group is abnormal to them. These individuals are viewing other cultures in an etc way and are being superior, instead they must view other cultures from that group’s perspective. An example of cultural practice that would never be understood unless viewed from an Insider’s perspective are the marriage forms In Inure, Sudan. This part of the world is patrimonial and so descent is carried down the father’s side of the family.
As a result of this, ghost marriages for example have been established to ensure the continuing of the father’s lineage. In ghost marriages, a male ghost marries’ a omen to his dead relative and the children are that of the deceased man. This way the newborns will continue to carry the dead man’s lineage. In Inure, there are also women to women marriages to continue male lineages. In this form of marriage, an elder male relative of a female will make her an honorary male. She can then marry a woman and arrange for her to bear a child from a man. The children will continue the honorary male’s lineage.
If these practice are not viewed from the culture’s perspective, one would never understand them. I would have never understood the practices of Inure and I would have thought they are completely bizarre. Another situation that I also failed to perceive from the culture’s perspective Is the fact that female In India wed at a very young age. Marrying at 14 and 15 is completely insane to me. These beliefs made me ethnocentric. I believe I developed this mentality because I grew up enclosed in my own culture and I was not aware of other practices and so I view them as peculiar now.
I am now aware that my way of thinking was wrong and close minded. By having my culture as the standard for Judging other cultures, I also failed to practice higher level thinking. Accomplished by ethnocentric people. They do not look at situations from the viewpoint of different people or cultures. Ethnocentric people also fail to look at inferential reasoning which is also a form of advanced thinking. When a person encounters an unusual cultural habit, they must look at studies and evidence to try and understand the practice and not merely Judge it based on their own practices.
Ethnocentric people also do not practice balanced thinking as they do not consider both sides of a situation or practice. They must understand the culture’s side and reasoning for practicing something that may be odd to an outsider. By aiming to improve higher level thinking individuals can rid themselves of this discriminatory thinking and superiority. To get rid of my narrow perspective of the world, one thing that has truly helped was attending an anthropology class.
The main purpose of this class was to study ultras and to view the world in a holistic and culturally relative manner. By learning about other cultures and understanding their practice, I was able to understand different groups better. Another thing I aim to do is make a conscious effort to socialize with individuals with beliefs and practices different then mine and to try and understand them. I will also try to use books and the internet to learn about different cultural groups and their own perspectives. Hopefully once I start doing these things, I will no longer be ethnocentric.