The relative nature of norms and values

• Norms and values of any culture are relative.

  What does this mean?

  They are not fixed and they change continuously
• State 2 ways in which norms and values are relative:

  Space and Place

  1. Wearing clothes in public is a norm, whereas in the shower it isn't.
  2. In the USA, it is normal to make conversations with people in a public space, whereas in Britain, it is not necessarily acceptable
• State 2 ways n which norms and values are relative:

  Change over time

  1. Smoking weed used to be normal in many social situations, whereas it is becoming more deviant to smoke now
  2. Women didn't have the right to vote but this norm has changed to reflect the value of equality in Britain
• Explain how the ideas of the relative norms and values in The Hamar Tribe (CASE STUDY)

  • Norms and values would be deemed completely unusual to a British society
  • In tradition, they make males perform a ceremony where they leap onto the backs of cattle and run across them to reach adulthood
  • Women are whipped before this ceremony to show their devotion to men
• The Hamar tribe also practice female genital mutilation (FGM), which is when girls undergo an operation to remove parts of their vagina. It is believed that FGM will prevent promiscuity and ensure virginity on her wedding night. However, it can cause serious health problems such as bleeding, infection and infertility.
• Explain the relative norms and values in The Ik of Northern Uganda

  • Family is not an important part of society
  • Ik face a daily struggle to survive in the face of drought, famine and starvation
  • People who are unable to take care of themselves are deemed as a burden and hazard to the survival of others
  • Children are useless appendages
  • Old, sick, disabled are abandoned
  • Mothers throw their 3 year old children out of the village compound to fend themselves
• Explain the relative norms and values for the Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies - Margaret Mead (1935) : CASE STUDY

  • In the Aparesh tribe, both males and females were gentle and cooperative
  • In the Mundugmor tribe, both genders were violent and aggressive
  • In the Tchambuli tribe (Chambri), women were dominant and aggressive and not involved in childrearing

  - The men were timid, emotionally dependent and spent their time decorating themselves

  - Aggressive men were considered "abnormal"