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Tag Archives: common cultural taboos

High Royds Asylum (mental institution)
Posted in Act I Chapter VI: Taboos /By dustin m. smith /5 comments

The Mental Illness Taboo

Building on one of the eight modern cultural taboos discussed yesterday, I want to talk about the way our society views and deals with the issue of mental illness. There are two distinct aspects of this: 1) How we as individuals approach mental illness in our own lives. and 2) How we as a group approach mental illness in the lives of those around us. Today, I want to talk about the second. Tragic Misunderstandings To begin, check out this short video from National Geographic: Though I’ve never personally met anyone whose story was quite like Larry’s, I’ve seen many … Read more »

22May
taboo graffiti
Posted in Act I Chapter VI: Taboos, Curious? /By dustin m. smith /1 comment

Eight Modern Cultural Taboos

Taboos are things we often associate with ancient history, cultural anthropology, or perhaps with aboriginal tribes. We don’t, however, often use the term as an aspect of modern society in the developed world. But every society has its taboos, and we are no exception. Here are some we experience today: Eight Modern Cultural Taboos 1. Openly discussing divorce. Kristy Campbell explores how divorced women, in particular, struggle with being able to share about their past marriage, and the painful process of divorce. 2. Streaking at sports events. I’m pretty sure you can just chalk this up to public nudity in general, … Read more »

21May
the arnolds
Posted in Act I Chapter V: Culture /By dustin m. smith /4 comments

What Stays and What Goes

Ted Arnold was having a bad morning. Ted was a one-legged automobile mechanic who, all things considered, had until very recently lived a calm and pleasant life. The ‘until very recently’ addendum went by the name ‘Penny’, a name Ted Arnold now found himself using on an alarmingly frequent basis. What’s more, he often found himself shouting it. Ted shot Mrs. Arnold a menacing look as he ate his 1% milk and Cheerios. It was hard to be angry at someone who still put two sliced strawberries and a generous portion of sugar into your cereal, even after your doctor … Read more »

15May