Tattoo and Cultural Relativism

© by Jensen DG. Mañebog/MyInfoBasket.com

Culture is an inherent part of our social life as well as of our personality and sense of subjectivity. Using one of the senses of the term culture, one can say that it is a quality that some have more of than others, that is, how “cultured” somebody is relative to his or her lifestyles, education, speech habits, social class, and taste in film or music.

There are those who display that they “appreciate culture” more than others by attending poetry readings, plays, symphonies, and operas. To increase “cultural awareness,” some visit places such as museums or art galleries.

Probably, you have heard also somebody in the “cultural elite” bemoans the deplorable “popular culture” of television, graphically violent computer games, mass-marketed films, rock or rap music, pierced navels and tattoos.

Tattoo refers to an indelible mark or figure fixed upon a person’s body by insertion of pigment under the skin or, in some cases, by production of scars. Tattoos are permanent colorings inserted into the skin. The Tahitian word tatau, which means “to inflict wounds,” is the origin for the English word “tattoo.”

Tattoo Meanings

In 1595, when Europeans first set eyes on the inhabitants of the Marquesas Islands, the locals appeared to be wearing lace outfits. But these turned out to be tattoos upon closer inspection.

Tattooing has been a vital corporal decoration throughout Oceania, especially in the oriental part of the Marquesas Islands and Polynesia. In Oceania, tattoos were commonly done by piercing the skin with bone or metal combs with sharp, needle-like teeth that had been dipped in dye.

The sharp needles of the comb would inset the dye under the skin and leave lasting designs. The Maori in New Zealand create unique swirl designs by employing sharp chisels to sculpt deep grooves into the skin.

It normally takes several decades to cover an individual’s whole body with this distinctive tattoo as it is done by a skilled master in tiny sections at significant moments throughout the course of a one’s life.

Imprinted forever in the skin, tattoos in Oceania signify a one’s position in society, deflect evil spirits, and are means to decorate the body. They indicate social status, age, sex, and wealth. Since tattooing is very costly (especially before), only the upper classes in a social group can avail of tattoos. Slaves (or the poor in the society) are banned from being tattooed.

Among some groups, tattoos have religious significance. Tattoos are merely ornamental, though tremendously essential, in other groups. For instance, in Samoa, men would be sternly criticized and have a tough time finding a wife without tattoos covering his lower body.

Some tattoo meanings, especially today, are not cultural but a sort of arbitrary or conventional. An angel tattoo, for instance, is seen to symbolize faith, devotion, spirituality, or a relationship with God. Subjectively intended as a figure of guidance and protection, angel tattoo designs are becoming more and more popular among enthusiasts.

Under symbolic interaction theory, how individuals communicate and interact with each other rests on how they construe factors (symbols) such as language, actions, and designs (like tattoos). Depending on context, the symbolism of a thing varies. And as time passes by, symbols may also change.

For example, tattoos (and long hair in males) once symbolized rebellion (or indicated being an ex-convict), but now, they may signify something else, like of being fashionable.

Interestingly, tattoos have been used to make conclusions in history and anthropology. For instance, the uncanny resemblance of complex body tattoos among the Filipino Visayan and those of Borneo is submitted to prove some interesting connection between Borneo and ancient Philippines.

Using the ocean as natural highways, communities of ancient Philippines were believed to have had long-range trading with their Asian neighbors (as far as West as Maldives and as far as North as Japan) and regular contacts with the people of Western Micronesia.

Cultural Relativism

Culture is one of the most complex words in the English language. Culture is used to denote that which is related to the arts and humanities. In a broader sense, culture denotes the practices, beliefs, and traditions of a given society. Culture is often opposed with “savagery,” being “cultured” thus is seen as a product of a certain evolvement from a natural state.

In Ethics, there is a popular theory (though not necessarily sound) which states that morality is relative and is based on culture. It is called Cultural Relativism.

Under this theory, wearing of tattoos and the belief in their cultural meanings should not be considered wrong or immoral, say by Europeans, since inside the Oceania culture, the use of tattoo is good. Using tattoo as a case, Cultural Relativism seems to sound sensible—but is it really a sound ethical theory, especially when considering other serious ethical cases?

As a theory in ethics, Cultural Relativism poses a challenge to the notion that morality is objective. The following are some of its claims and conclusions. As they tend to prove a single theory, these statements are unsurprisingly interrelated:

1. “Morality differs in every society, and is a convenient term for socially approved habits” (Ruth Benedict. Patterns of Culture, 1946).

2. What is deemed right within one group may be entirely detestable to the members of another group, and vice versa.

Commonly given as an example is the case of a tribe of Indians (Callatians) who customarily ate the corpse of their fathers in relation to the Greeks who performed cremation, instead.

3. Conceptions of right and wrong differ from culture to culture (as suggested by many anthropologists and sociologists).

The case of Eskimos in North America and Greenland is usually submitted:

(a) Their men often had more than one wife;

(b) They would share their wives with visitors as a part of hospitality;

(c) A dominant male might demand regular sexual access to other men’s wives;

(d) Infanticide was common—female babies were liable to be exterminated (as based on the report of famous anthropologist, Knud Rasmussen);

(e) Old people were left out in the snow to die.

4. “The right way is the way which the ancestors used and which has been handed down. The tradition is its own warrant. It is not held subject to verification by experience.” (William Graham Sumner. Folkways, 1906, p. 28)

5. “The notion of right is in the folkways. It is not outside of them, of independent origin, and brought to test them.” (William Graham Sumner. Folkways, 1906, p. 28)

6. “In the folkways, whatever is, is right. This is because they are traditional, and therefore contain in themselves the authority of the ancestral ghosts. When we come to the folkways we are at the end of our analysis.” (William Graham Sumner. Folkways, 1906, p. 28)

In other words, the moral code of a society determines what is right within that society; that is, if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society.

7. There is no “universal truth” in ethics; that is, there are no moral truths that hold for all peoples at all times. There are only the various cultural codes, and nothing more.

8. The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is merely one among many.

9. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code better than another.

10. It is mere arrogance for us to try to judge the conduct of other peoples. We should adopt an attitude of tolerance toward the practices of other cultures.

Apparently going naturally together, these propositions are nonetheless logically independent of one another. That is, some of them might be false even if others are true.

Against Cultural Relativism, one may argue nonetheless that just because some societies disagree on something does not mean that there is no objective truth in the matter. Some societies might simply be wrong in their views. Hence, Cultural Relativism can be said to err in drawing a sweeping conclusion about a subject from the mere fact that people disagree about it … continue reading

Read also: Cultural Relativism: An Analysis

SA MGA MAG-AARAL: Maaaring ilagay ang inyong assignment/comment dito sa comment section ng Ang Kahalagahan ng Pag-Aaral Ng Kontemporaryong Isyu (Mga Kultura)

*If you want to know about other topics in Ethics (e.g. Aristotle’s Ethics, etc.), search here:

Copyright © 2013-present by Jensen DG. Mañebog/MyInfoBasket.com

Also Check Out: From Socrates to Mill: An Analysis of Prominent Ethical Theories, also by author Jensen DG. Mañebog

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