Hey everyone… We’re starting something new today by doing a Weekly Wrap-Up video. To begin, I made a short video introducing the new format: And then here is the video specifically for this week, and the topic of taboos: Let me know what you think of the format. All suggestions are welcome. Lastly, here are the links from video: Wikipedia Article for Taboos Eight Modern Cultural Taboos The Mental Illness Taboo Being An Unperson (YouTube video) List of 50 Taboo Words Taboos In Language (on Steven Pinker’s The Stuff of Thought) Luz’s Question of the Week See you next … Read more »
Tag Archives: taboos
NYC Public Schools’ List of 50 Taboo Words
I found this recent article in the New York Post while doing some research for the current topic (taboos). It’s more about education than about taboos in general, but I found it pretty interesting… In it, columnist Michael Goodwin discusses the NYC Department of Education’s newly-created list of 50 taboo words, all of which are to be banned from usage on any school testing materials for grades 3-8 (I’m still can’t figure out why K-2 isn’t included). An excerpt from the article: The ban, which covers tests for students in third through eighth grades, is straight out of the touchy-feely … Read more »
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 »
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 »