Body Rituals of the Nacirema
The Nacirema article challenges the natural instincts of humans to believe that
those who are described to be far from one’s norms are characterized as being different
or rather bizarre. The interpretation I made about the Nacirema culture demonstrates
human’s innate internal bias towards atypical behavior. After reading the article a
second time, I was baffled by how oblivious I was to exactly what the author was
illustrated in his creative choice of wording.
After the first reading of the article, I could not generalize any connections
between the customs that I possess in my culture compared to those descriptive of the
Nacirema culture. The “unnatural” customs depicted by Nacirema in contrast to
Americanized beliefs seems barbaric or uncivilized at first glance.
One point that I swiftly noted was the belief towards supernatural phenomenon.
Nacirema show patterns of religious performance that are believed to result in glory
from a magical phenomenon. Because I mark my religious belief to be quite open, this
You've reached the end of your free preview.
Want to read both pages?
- Spring '17
- Nacirema Culture
