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Respect in different societies
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Imagine getting off the plane for the very first time after living the majority of your life in a Muslim country. The first sight you see is a couple being publicly affectionate. This is my grandmother’s very first encounter on Canadian soil. To any Western this is a social norm, but to an Arab woman it is a cultural shock, which is perceived as uncomfortable at the least. Although she is closed minded, it partially is not her fault, as I have lived with her in Tehran and Dubai –two Muslim cities located in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. (PDA) Public display of affection is forbidden in these two countries. To me public affection is not just “…people making out and touching each other inappropriately…” it is the respect you have for your self and the people around you that is brought about through your identity. (Davis).
In Dubai PDA is legal, however as it is a Muslin city, the only legal activity is holding hands. According to BBC News, a young British man and women were “sentenced to a month in prison” followed by deportation and fines for PDA. If this were any Western country, then such problems would not arise from being publicly affectionate with a partner. It seems that the phrase PDA has a different definition within each society. For the Iranian culture, PDA is not only illegal –it is forbidden. No man or women can be affectionate in public, whether it is holding hands or making eye contact. Research claims, “Islam has determined that any sex-oriented pursuit of happiness and enjoyment in public is to be avoided” (Motahari 19). Therefore such actions will not get you a fine and deportation, but a death sentence. This punishment illustrates the major difference in each society, for example a simple ‘thumbs up’ h...
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...gious paradigm, being exposed to PDA causes a shift in her perception of individual respect within Western society. This experience formulates a new insight into a Western reality that she needs to learn to familiarize to. Although laws play a sufficient part towards PDA, the respect you have for yourself and your surroundings should always be considered, as you are part of a multi-cultural society.
Works Cited
Berrada, Khalid. “Metaphors of Light and Darkness in the Holy Quran:
A Conceptual Approach.” n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2014.
“Jailed Dubai Kissing Pair Lose Appeal Over Conviction.” BBC News. 4 April. 2010. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.
Motahari, Ayatollah Morteza. Sexual Ethics in Islam and in the Western World. Iran: Foreign Department of Bethat Foundation. Web. 25 Jan. 2014
Mackenzie, Davis. “Public Displays of Affection Gross Out Other Students.” Artesian Herald.
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She makes the case that Western feminists have radically misinterpreted the veil. For many Muslim women, the veil acts as a divide between the public and private. The veil may actually liberate women from “the intrusive, commodifying, basely sexualizing Western gaze”. The veil frees women from the oppressive hyper-sexualization of found in Western culture. Reducing the veil to a symbol of oppression disregards the possibility of female agency outside a Western feminist paradigm. The veil has the potential to liberate women in the public space. Projecting our Western notions of sexuality and gender roles denies the possibility of different forms of sexual
The Indian Residential schools and the assimilating of First Nations people are more than a dark spot in Canada’s history. It was a time of racist leaders, bigoted white men who saw no point in working towards a lasting relationship with ingenious people. Recognition of these past mistakes, denunciation, and prevention steps must be taking intensively. They must be held to the same standard that we hold our current government to today. Without that standard, there is no moving forward. There is no bright future for Canada if we allow these injustices to be swept aside, leaving room for similar mistakes to be made again. We must apply our standards whatever century it was, is, or will be to rebuild trust between peoples, to never allow the abuse to be repeated, and to become the great nation we dream ourselves to be,
There is one day out of the year when you see sights of couples everywhere: Valentine’s Day. You see individuals out in stores buying roses, large teddy bears and grabbing the last remaining chocolate candy boxes that are left on the shelves. But if you are imagining a man and a woman as the couple you’re visioning, you are in for a surprise. A man and a woman isn’t the only way to go through life as how a couple should look. In fact, it is estimated over 100,000 monogamous people in the Unites States are performing polygamy secretly with their partner’s full permission. These popular nonmonogamous relationships do not match to the cultural norm of a loving couple in love for life. One of the most difficult aspects of multiculturalism is the determination to adapt to some cultural groups’ needs involving certain traditional practices that might clash with the ideas of multiculturalism and self-governing civil rights. Normally, many of these exercises have religious roots, but these are not limited. Some important cases are certain rights of opening exercises: spiritual and religious. For most of the cases, a smaller group’s traditional exercises are against the norms of a typical society but also organize a substantial aspect of the way of life for that certain culture. Some samples of polygamy in Islam, female circumcision in Eastern Africa nations, or Ta-moko, as referred to as tattooing of the face, in the culture of Maori. The most crucial topic around these established practices in the multiculturalism debate is the idea of agreement. Yet, not all exercises are achieved with the agreement of the subjects. Some cultures and historic periods are seen to embrace polyamory, while other cul...
the thought police. In today’s society if a women gives into sexual intimacy with another person
Most of the Arab cultures prohibit young people from interacting with members of the opposite sex despite the fact that they are of the same age. However, this is unlike the western cultures where most members of the society do not see any wrongdoing if a male youth develops a relationship with a female youth. The western culture is also very permissive when it comes to public expression of love, unlike the Arab culture where people are restricted by their culture on the extent to which they can portray their affection publicly. Furthermore, the Arab culture does not allow homosexuality and when males are seen together engaging in similar behaving and enjoying themselves, they are not viewed suspiciously because the incidences of homosexuality is very rare. However, since homosexuality has been accepted in the Western culture, Wilmar and Scott did not expect the escort to be alarmed by their inquiry of whether he was gay. Nevertheless, the Arabic culture have harsh penalties for homosexuality, including execution, which explains why their escort was alarmed by the suggestion that he was
Conducting an observation at the mall allows for one to view many different people interacting and demonstrating numerous behaviors. The Mall in Columbia is generally a happy place where people visit to shop, socialize, and eat. While conducting my observation, I saw that some people at the mall were by themselves, with a loved one, or with friends. When out in public, there are certain norms or rules of behavior that people are expected to follow. People who do not follow these often face consequences such as stares, verbal reprimands, or possible legal action (Woller, 2013). Taboos often regulate sexual behavior. A person’s culture greatly influences the way in which sexuality is expressed and acted upon (Yarber & Sayad, 2013). Although
Schneider, Carol. “PDA: How Much Affection Is Too Much To Show In Public.” Givology: Eagle News. N.p., 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. . From this article, I gained information on the students’ perspective of PDA.
...dy of sexuality, and the destructive effect of institutionalised power discourses upon personal relationships. It emphasises the need for cultural acknowledgment of an individual autonomy, thus destroying the morality of the nineteenth century patriarchy which dictated sexual repression and ownership. Love as an integral element of sexual relations, with the definition of love conveying mutual respect as well as desire is presented as a major theme in the film, and sexual relations as a requirement of oppressive transactions such as arranged marriage are shown to be not only irrationally unjust but potentially tragic.
Lila Abu-Lughod’s article titled, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” takes a closer look at the problematic ethnocentric approach many have when trying to gain an understanding of another culture that may be foreign to that individual. In this analytical paper, Lughod looks at women in Islam, specifically the treatment of women and how it might be utilized as a justification for invading into a country and liberating its people. The country Lughod refers to in her article is Afghanistan, and Lughod points out the misunderstanding from the people to the Bush administration like First Lady Laura Bush who believed that intervention was necessary to free women from the captivity of their own homes. It is important to consider the role that different lenses play into all of this, especially when one’s lenses are being shaped by the media. Depictions of covered women secluded from society leave a permanent image in the minds of many, who would then later support the idea of liberation. This paper will discuss that the practice of using propaganda when referring to the lifestyle in the Middle East is not exclusive to the U.S; rather it has been utilized throughout history. Additionally, we will take a closer look on the importance of symbols, such as veils in this case; help to further emphasize the cause to liberate. Finally, we will analyze Lughod’s plea towards cultural relativism and away from liberal imperialism.
Fijian relationships between men and women have undergone many changes since the introduction of Western influences. These changes are due to the desire to become more "Westernized" and therefore, incorporating the ideals that they perceive are important within Western society to their culture. This has caused relationships based upon an idealized version of "love". These Western influences, such as movies, magazines, and books make it seem as if many people have casual sex, and that they are all in "love" relationships. They portray love as this necessary aspect in a relationship and do not focus upon the amount of time that the majority of people feel is necessary in order to fall in love.
“No PDA!” I will continue to hear through out my day when I went from class to class at the midst of passing period during high school and middle school. I never knew what teachers meant by saying that until they would start to get on my case about showing some affection to the girlfriend I had at that time. That was when I learned that “PDA” abbreviates Public Display of Affection and one of the first times I learned an American display rule. At the same time, I believe some manners may contribute to the display rules. Then, the topic of it is “unmanly” for a man to show their emotions. The other discussion about holding in anger opposed to expressing it. I believe there are limitations to how men show their emotions, but I do believe that men should be able to show their emotions. Also, anyone should be able express his or her emotions instead of holding it and letting it all come out all at once.
As highlighted in this song, American society feels the need to police women’s sexual desires and silence them, only until they are associated with fulfilling a man’s libido. Throughout adolescence, the social construction of desire molds a woman’s expected behavior. This normalized behavior is then carried into adulthood. A woman who seeks out to focus her attention and energy into her own sexual desire, is considered a taboo within this western notion. The chains placed on women’s desire is due to the heteronormative environment that we live in. This idea of policing women is not only viewed within western society but, transnationally as well. Women are open to criticism due to the expression of their sexuality (Shah). Women are influenced to believe that complying to a man in any shape or form is the societal norm, even when we are talking about something as intimate as their own erotic
First of all, according to the article, there is a comment made by one journalist that really got me engaged. The journalist wrote, “This is slowly changing as a relative handful of younger gays and lesbians, many educated in the West, seek to foster more acceptance of their sexuality and to carve out an identity, even in a climate of religious conservatism.” By comparing the life of the people in Pakistan and people in the West, there is a crystal clear difference between the lifestyle people have in the West and in Pakistan. The people educated in the West have more freedom in what they want to be and do, they are able to express their true colours and just let their preferred sexuality flow without having conflicts. Having considered life in the West, it is ...
Public display of affection an immoral behavior that students, not only by students but for all people involved or may not be involve in a relationship should not be done inside the campus in order for students or people to achieve the respect they have been asking for, so that students may focus on their students to have a better future, so that young teenagers may avoid being parents at a very young