Female Circumcision As An Example Of Ethnocentrism In Western Culture

Throughout times there has been this belief that one’s culture is better than others. We believe that our traditions, food, clothing, and customs are superior to those in other cultures. This belief system is called ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism originates from the Greek words “ethnos” meaning “people” and “Centrism” meaning “center” (“What Does Ethnocentrism Mean?”). This means that one’s ideas and values are centered on the superiority of their own group. Having an ethnocentric attitude changes how we view other cultures and limits our capability to be culturally relative to others not a part of our own.
Ethnocentrism by definition is the “evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of

Many feminists in the Western Culture have this ethnocentric idea that female circumcision is “female mutilation” portraying it as a “barbaric tradition” and “violence against women” (“Yes to Female Circumcision?”). According to Fuambai Ahmadu, a Sierra Leonean-American anthropologist, female circumcision is an initiation that symbolizes matriarchal power. The practice is “synonymous with women’s power, their political, economic, reproductive, and ritual spheres of influence” (Ahmadu, pg. 14). By having no regards to the cultures and traditions of these small-scale societies, we are invalidating their beliefs and presenting ethnocentric

Ethnocentrism is a profound habit and a steady propensity, however its significance to political issues relies on upon the circumstances at hand. The United States is often accused of being unduly arrogant in world affairs or intervening in other nations affairs for self-interest with ill intentions rather than have the pure intention to promote freedom and democracy. Believing that America should foist its practices of democracy in the Middle East can be considered in partaking in ethnocentric thinking (Stoller, par. 12). Ethnocentric Americans favored military intercession over diplomatic strategy. They will probably say, after the fighting was over, that we made the best decision in sending in troops. Furthermore, they were more able to express the desire that the war had been carried on to Baghdad to expel Hussein from power (Kinder and Kam, Pg.93). When it came to domestic policies, Kinder and Kam found a strong connection between white ethnocentrism and opposition to higher spending on welfare, food stamps, and other open help programs. However when it came to programs like Medicare and Social Security, ethnocentrism correlated with higher support. How someone feels about his or her own ethnicity or culture influences their politics on everything from which candidate or policies they will support (Zigerell and Kabir, par.