What is Taboo?
August 15, 2007
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Dr. Victoria Pitts-Taylor - Professor of Sociology, Queens College
Taboos show us how culturally relative our ideas about the “natural” are. In relation to the body, taboos show us not the body’s physical or biological boundaries, but its cultural boundaries. What does the natural body look like? What is naturally beautiful? What looks healthy and normal? The answer to these questions depends upon the social and historical context — what is normal in one place and time might be taboo in another.
In one culture, a natural, perceptibly healthy body might be considerably larger than in another culture. In the Renaissance the beautiful woman’s body was often large and fleshy, as depicted in the renderings of great artists. Displaying such a body now in an advertising campaign would violate a contemporary taboo against showing what we may presently call an “obese” body.
The “perfect” Victorian body in Europe and America - which still informs some of our western beauty ideals - might have relatively unmarked skin, but a tribal body elsewhere might proudly display permanent designs made by scarring or tattooing. Colonial perspectives often viewed the marked bodies of tribal peoples as “primitive” or savage.
Violating taboo can be appealing, of course. Subcultural groups have long found ways to violate taboos, and in doing so, to establish their social distance from mainstream culture. Punks, goths, tattoo enthusiasts, contemporary body modifiers, sailors, bikers and many other subcultural groups have used or adapted tribal body practices like tattooing and body piercing as a way to mark their distinct sense of bodily style.
Sometimes, the broken taboo can be so alarming that it seems to demand attention as a social problem. In the 1970s, the British media openly worried about what the rise of punk represented in Britain’s youth culture. In the 1990s, the popularity of body art raised media concerns about an epidemic of “self-mutilation.” Sociologists who study social problems often see such media responses as promoting “moral panic,” which has the effect of buttressing cultural norms and marginalizing or pathologizing groups who violate them.
Comments (12)
You guys are twisted, that stuff is not cultural. Its just a chance to show your sick, twisted minds
Posted by Heather | August 16, 2007 6:31 AM
What are major taboos of West Africa and/or Latin America?
Posted by Alain del Risco | August 21, 2007 3:58 PM
I Might say good information.thank you.
Posted by john | August 24, 2007 2:48 PM
I think this is very interesting. I'm interested in writing a paper about taboos. Thanks
Posted by Elisabeth | August 30, 2007 7:45 PM
I think that taboo is interesting but creepy... those people need to get a life!
Posted by nicole | September 8, 2007 4:44 PM
In "Taboo: Nudity," why are the white women's breasts blurred but not the young black girls'? Seems to me the people running National Geographic programming might not be the best to judge what is taboo. I won't be watching anymore. These people are provincial.
Posted by Susan | September 14, 2007 7:14 PM
This stuff is very interesting it teaches people how we may see others as weirdos but to them we are just as strange. I'm doing a school report on it so that people learn not to judge someone just by an appearance.
Posted by Annette | October 22, 2007 2:18 PM
I believe the things I saw on your television program due to personal experiences. I have an evil spirit that has plagued me for 11 years. My health is declining and I may soon die if I don't get some help. I think I know the spirit that is plaguing me. Can you all help me? Afterall, this is a story for you once you see that I have a real problem but do know anyone who can help me.
Posted by Kate | October 24, 2007 2:05 PM
Heather, you are obviously ignornant and closed minded. Please keep your uneducated comments to yourself. There are people in the world who wish to expand their horizons
Posted by ALENA | October 25, 2007 2:06 PM
Your excuse for "culture" is appalling. The show, "Taboo" is a clumsy attempt to disquise cheap sensationalism and offer it as "cultural". To my point, a quote from the show on foods in Hanoi, "would you eat dog on a dare?". I thought that National Geographic had higher standards and the goal was to educate - if that is so, you should go back to the drawing board. You lost a customer.
Posted by Molly | October 31, 2007 10:43 PM
Taboo, like religion, was created by mankind for primitive reasons: a piercing could get infected and without proper care it could become serious, ecc. It is extremely hard to understand which taboos are appropriate today. In my opinion tattoos and piercings shouldn't be considered offensive if they don't harm anyone, even if they are a little impractical. But many of todays taboos are unnecessary. There really is no right answer to which taboos should or shouldn't be practiced, in the end it is a matter of opinion.
Posted by Emalia | January 24, 2008 1:11 PM
Dude its awesome how you chose to show your culture, you have inspired me to showing my culture in taboo body art and don't listen to the people who say you need to get a life because if they had a real life they wouldn't be looking at this sit.
Posted by vanessa | February 19, 2008 12:56 PM