Research Paper

Cultural Morality: Sex, Marriage, and Interpersonal Relationships
A Study of the Theories of Absolutism and Relativism





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Armond Lorenzana
English 112
Professor Schelle
April 7, 2010


“Don’t you dare put me into a nursing home,” shrieks an elderly woman to her middle-aged son.
“This will be for the best. You’ll receive the care that you need at the home, mother,” replies the son in a hasty, frustrated voice.
A deep moral offense was enacted in the situation above, but not in the eyes of a westerner. Though seen as beneficial for the old woman and possibly, financially responsible for the son in western culture, this act presents itself as an incredibly immoral offense by the standards of Chinese culture, breaching the virtue of filial piety, a respect for ones elders. The question of what is ultimately the right and wrong thing to do can be interpreted many ways, but, depending on the culture one lives in and follows, the ultimate decision will be based on the culture’s morality, which judges the actions of interpersonal relationships, marriage and sex.
A culture’s view of morality reflects through its laws and customs and changes overtime. Morality, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, relates to principles that define right and wrong behavior (“Moral,” 2010). In essence, the term establishes what is “good” and what is “evil” based on the actions of human nature. There are multiple interpretations of morality, mostly from philosophical and religious standpoints, but anthropologist Raymond Firth said, “Morality is a set of principles on which . . . judgments are based.” The definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary and an anthropologist are nearly identical; however, there is a minor difference in Mr. Firth’s explanation: the absence of “right” and “wrong” (p. 125).
Being an anthropologist, Mr. Firth omitted the two words likely because of his beliefs in the theory of cultural relativism. Cultural relativism, a universally accepted, methodological concept in anthropology, claims that every culture is equal in value and that only beliefs and morals can be judged based on their own given culture. The term was coined and theorized by anthropologist Franz Boas and his students (Glazer, 1996). This theory is popular and important in anthropological studies to avoid bias and quick assumptions on the values of a culture.
Different types of values establish themselves in every culture. Out of five different types of values, moral rules are present in all societies (Edgerton, p. 34). Edgerton (1985), an anthropology professor at the University of California, summarized how a moral rule stands in society: “Sometimes we are not at all certain why we follow certain rules; we simply feel that it would be somehow be wrong to do otherwise” (p. 41). Every human society acknowledges moral rules as rules that are right, imperative and unchangeable. These rules work on a reward and discipline basis. In a society, a person who can avoid doing what is wrong, as defined by the moral rules, becomes a good person who is praised and rewarded with virtue (p. 41).
The acknowledgement of these moral rules as the same globally is debated between two moral theories: moral absolutism and moral relativism. As philosopher John Cook (2003) stated in his book Morality and Cultural Differences, an absolutist is one that believes that there are moral principles that are followed by all people everywhere, even to those who do not recognize these certain principles (p. 7). In summary, “Moral absolutism is the ethical view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong, regardless of other contexts such as their consequences or the intentions behind them.” For example, lying may always be considered immoral no matter the situation, even if it is used to promote good (“Moral absolutism,” 2010).
On the other side of the spectrum is the theory of moral relativism or cultural relativism. This theory states that moral truths vary from one culture to another (“Cultural Relativism,” n.d.). Cook defines the relativist as someone who insists that it is incorrect for anyone to assume that he knows what is right and wrong for everyone, everywhere, even for the people of cultures different from his. (p. 7). For the sake of this paper, moral truths amongst cultures will not be seen as absolute truths, but they will be explained to show how people in various cultures interpret these rules as truths and how they differ to other cultures.
Celibacy
Marriage and sex are two of the most highly regarded rituals worldwide, but the practices associated with these events differ around the globe. A culture placing huge moral constraints on the concept of sex is the Cheyenne Indian tribe. According to Edgerton (1985), the rule requiring women of the tribe to be chaste before marriage was particularly important and this rule was hardly broken. The enforcement of such a rule was difficult due to “repressed” men sometimes raping females. In turn, every girl wore a chastity belt until marriage. The importance of such a rule can be seen through a report describing the outcome of a man touching a girl’s chastity belt: the girl and her mother’s attack. Attacks could go as far having the violator stoned to death with no consequences of such brutal retaliations within the community (p. 146). Contrastingly, in western culture, the idea of placing a chastity belt on a girl from her first menses until her day of marriage exhibits extreme, unnecessary behavior, but in Cheyenne Indian culture, it is a way of life.
Another difference between cultures and sexual morality is the idea of supernatural punishments upon enacting immoral acts. Kim et al (2006) observed that the Chewa and Tumbuka in the African country of Zambia distinguish teenagers and adults (sexually hot individuals) from infants, sick persons, and old adults (sexually cold individuals). If sexually hot individuals engaged in premarital sex, chigololo, then the Chewa and Tumbuka believe that the sexual misconduct from these persons has a polluting power that can make the sexually cold people of the society suffer. Such an issue is viewed as a moral issue for this indigenous culture, while western culture sees the situation as a matter of personal issue or as a convention (p. 229). Moreover, some cultures even disregard celibacy as a necessary part of society, as it is discouraged in the middle east as dictated through the Islamic religion (“Religion and Sexuality,” 2010). As observed, celibacy is indisputably sacred in many societies whether through moral or religious obligations, but it is just as easily discouraged in another. Celibacy, however, is not the only moral constraint of sexual actions in a culture’s population.
Homosexuality
Smaller customs, such as celibacy, between several cultures are bound to be different; likewise, the same can be said for larger subjects regarding sexual morality such as homosexuality. Influencing followers throughout the world, major religions commonly label homosexuality as a grave sin. Islam strictly forbids homosexuality by considering it as a devious and indecent action. According to the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, the punishment for homosexuality is to be thrown off the highest cliff and stoned to death (“Sexual morality,” 2010). Especially amongst the world’s major religions, religious texts are all too common at casting down and spiting homosexual actions.
Shared with Islam in its condoning of homoerotic acts, Judaism and Christianity view homosexuality as a mortal sin. A common passage written in Leviticus 22:18 of the Old Testament supports these claims, “Though shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is an abomination.” The opprobrium of homosexuality is shared commonly with Christians from North America and Africa (“Christian views of homosexuality,” 2010). This is apparent within the prejudices of western culture involving homosexuals, ranging from the prohibition of gay marriage in many of the fifty states and the public’s general discrimination towards possibly homosexual political candidates.
Major religions, however, do not govern every culture with their views of homosexuality. In ancient Hellenic (Greek) society, homosexuality was not only accepted, but also encouraged, especially for men going into the military (“Sexual morality,” 2010.) This may be an outdated example with information concerning the ancient Greeks, but views of this are still supported today in Melanesia, a sub region of Oceania, through a tribal culture with a profound interest in semen. Showcased in Sambia culture, Gilbert Herdt (1984), an assistant professor of anthropology at Stanford University, described how the Sambia practice secret homosexual fellatio. Boys from seven to ten years old engage in the first initiation by ingesting semen from older youths, an important ritual in male development and masculinization. Young males continue to do this until they enter the third-stage where the older youths become the fellateds, inseminating prepubescent boys. The drinking of the bodily fluid is viewed as an essential to make boys grow big, strong, and healthy (p. 173). Once adults, youths pass from an exclusively homosexual period into a bisexual one, or until they father children (Herdt, p. 174). Only when the boy is married to a woman can he have heterosexual intercourse. Outside of marriage, heterosexual contact is a moral infraction in Sambia culture (p. 179). From a complete asphyxiation within Sambia culture to a total intolerance in Muslim and Christian regions, the different acceptance levels of homoerotic activities reveal contrasting moral rules and beliefs. Such differences of moral interpretations between societies range into any possible action a human can engage in sexually.
Polygamy
Perhaps one of the biggest taboos of any society is polygamy, illegal in many cultures and yet accepted and practiced in several others. In western society, polygamy is not recognized and bigamy, being married to another person while being lawfully married to another is considered a crime. In all 50 states of the United States, Turkey, Canada, China, etc, this act of bigamy is outlawed (“Polygamy,” 2010).
This would seem like an astonishing amount of cultures that argue the immorality of polygamous marriages and relationships; however, interesting statistics from the Ethnographic Atlas Codebook stated that out of 1,231 noted societies, 186 were monogamous, 453 had occasional polygyny, 588 had more frequent polygyny, and 4 practiced polyandry (having more than one husband) (“Polygamy,” 2010). Explanations for these numbers were stated on Indopedia, noting that polygamy is practiced in many Asian and African cultures, as well as polyandry being an accepted norm in a few Indian and African societies, as well.
One of the larger cultures that supports polygamy is based in the middle east and in Africa as a result of Islamic beliefs. In most countries, Muslims are allowed to have up to four wives while non-Muslims are not forbidden from pursuing the same number of wives (“Polygamy,” 2010). The country of Somalia, due to nearly all Somali being Sunni Muslims, allows marriages that can consist of up to four wives for a single man, as long as he can provide for them (“African Wedding Traditions,” 2004; “Culturegrams Africa”, 2009). Entire cultures that embrace Islamic faith and the polygamist aspects outlined within the religion are not committing any moral fractures within their own communities. This, however, may not be the case in western, Caucasian, Christian culture where monogamous marriages are favored while polygamy is shunned. Obviously, the viewpoints on polygamy are far from universal, but nearly every culture has agreed on the immorality of at least one topic.
Incest
Throughout the entire process of researching, evidence collected from the most primitive of societies to the most civilized provide a scope of universal agreement on the topic of incest: that it is highly immoral and highly prohibited in all cultures. Researcher Lloyd Demause (1991) claimed that the only absolute, universal trait shared amongst every culture is the prohibition of incest (Para. 1). The extremes of incest are detailed in Malinowski’s Crimes and Customs of Savage Society of Melanesian societies: “One day an outbreak of wailing and a great commotion told me that a death had occurred somewhere in the neighbourhood. . . . I was informed . . . a young lad of my acquaintance… had fallen from a coconut palm and killed himself . . . . The boy had committed suicide . . . . The truth was that he had broken the rules of exogamy, the partner in his crime being his maternal cousin, the daughter of his mother’s sister” (p. 77, 1959).
Though incest is not common in many cultures, the definition of incest differs. Trobriand Islanders that live just off the coast of eastern New Guinea forbid relations between a man and his mother and a woman and her father. While a relationship between a man and his mother is always prohibited, a relationship between a woman and her father can be acceptable. This is because the Islanders are matrilineal, meaning that children belong to their mother’s clan rather than their father’s. In fact, it is often that a man and his father’s sister will engage in an intimate relationship and sometimes even marry. To sum up the varying definitions of incest, approximately 50% of marriages in Arab and southern Indian areas are with first cousins or closer. Not only that, but events that would be classified as an act of incest in western culture is practice in the islands of New Guinea, Polynesian, and Melanesian tribes. Mothers are encouraged to sexually stimulate infants (“Incest,” 2010). In summary, the image of incest is morally unacceptable in every society, but the interpretations of the injustice differ between many. A visible trend shows that the definition of “right” and “wrong” behavior alter everywhere based on interpretations, but sexual deeds are not the only cases under analysis within cultures.
Interpersonal Relationships
The emphasis of keeping sexual activities moralized appears to be the dominate form of moral regulation in nearly every society, but these rules spread to other aspects of daily life and human communication. Though not always affected by sexual concepts, interpersonal relationships between people of different gender, color, status, and age also make up the identity of a culture. Considering the Cheyenne Indians, a cultural favor towards people of faith or the priestly class can exist and is shown through the exemption of a moral value (celibacy) for a higher priority. Edgerton (1985) explained, “During several sacred ceremonies, the wife of the man who pledged the ceremony was expected to have sexual intercourse with the priest instructor” (p. 147).
The exemption of moral rule for a greater importance was not just present within the Cheyennes, but in the ancient Greeks as well. An uncle marrying his niece was regarded as acceptable, though it may be incest, because keeping and continuing the family name was regarded as a more important moral act (“Sexual mortality,” 2010). Even the global immorality of incest can be disregarded at the hands of a culture’s expectations and standards, in this case the passing on of the family name.
In contrast, moral values are sometimes believed to be so important in some cultures that it is put before a certain type of person in the society. Cook (2003) supported this point, explaining that in Middle Eastern countries, where Islam is the main religion, if a woman is to have sex with a man out of wedlock (not married), then it is her brother’s or father’s duty to perform an honor killing to restore the family’s honor through murdering her (p. 84). Islam’s treatment of woman within its culture is considerably affected through the high, moral precautions implemented on sex and marriage.
Returning to Sambia culture, the glorifying of semen transaction and homosexual intercourse has stigmatized wives as inferior. The menstrual and vaginal fluids are believed to deplete men to a premature death. In turn, such a taboo is practiced at times, with couples disengaging from coitus for up to two and a half years after childbirth.
Sometimes, contrary to the examples explained before, interpersonal relationships aren’t byproducts of sexual morality at all, but are an integral part of the culture. This is the case for Chinese culture through the belief of filial piety, as mentioned before. Filial piety is a Confucian ideal and is regarded as the first and most important virtue of Chinese culture. The virtue is to be good to one’s parents, to show respect, support your parents, and to pay respects towards one’s ancestors. Filial piety discourages rebelliousness, especially to the wishes of ancestors. Once again, a major difference can be made between the ideals of one culture and another. The Inuit Eskimos killed their elders when the time seemed right. Cavan observed, “An acceptable method of reducing tensions was in the approved killing of members of the community who were not self-supporting as judged by the amount of work they do. These persons were the very old whose days of usefulness were over” (Steckley, 1949). The Inuit are not heartless or cruel based on these cultural norms; their moral beliefs find the act of abandoning those who cannot contribute any longer permissible. It is once again only the interpretation of what is ethical and what is not based on cultural beliefs. The question remains though: are these beliefs truly different in every culture or has the adoption of certain rules universal?
Conclusion
This paper has explored evidence encouraging the theory of moral relativism and moral absolutism throughout various customs around the world’s numerous cultures, past and present. Indeed, several controversial issues have been forbidden in many cultures while embraced in others. However, the universality of incest nearly insists that there is at least one absolute moral rule amongst all cultures.
When one looks back through history, the ideas of what is right and what is wrong has globally changed, specifically towards the treatment of fellow human beings. Universally, the acceptance of slavery merged into everyday life, since the beginning of civilizations. These ancient people could not fathom today’s 21st century mentality that slavery was an immoral act until activists within cultures started protesting for the rights of minorities, thus changing the cultures in themselves over time. Almost like a snowball effect, cultures, major and minor, adopted the thought that slavery was morally wrong. This is not the only issue to undergo a change in every society. Human sacrifices and the taking of innocents’ lives, for example, are no longer practiced, either through religious or moral implications. The taking of human life, though, has always been culturally acceptable when it involves bringing justice to a murderer or contributing to war efforts.
Historically, over a broad sense of time, moral absolutism has evidence supporting itself; however, cultural relativism displays just as much evidence with the overwhelming diversities present on this Earth. Most traditions in a culture, from the homosexual rituals in Melanesia to the practicing of polygyny, are important in keeping the culture’s identity. But all too often, people believe in the absolutism of moral rules and become guilty of ethnocentrism. Cook’s (2003) gave a perfect example to define the term, “Europeans were guilty of ethnocentrism when they condemned as immoral the “wife swapping” practiced by the Greenland Eskimos, who regarded the practice as perfectly natural” (pg. 8). As shown, ethnocentrism is used when one regards the actions his/her own culture as right while others are deemed wrong. Through the topics discussed throughout this paper, the interpretation of what is right and wrong differs everywhere and one culture cannot possibly be more “right” than another. However, every culture has embraced the same belief that slavery, murder, and incest are morally wrong; there exists some form of absolutism as well.
Perhaps this is not a black and white situation where one theory can be applied for every cultural phenomenon. The belief in this dichotomy of what is right and wrong provides no clear rules or explanations of how a group of people or even one person is to define what is permissible in human nature and what is not. A gray area, where the two theories come together, appears to be the most plausible answer due to the complexity of moral beliefs. Even with the mother and her son, when one traverses the two’s minds, spanning one cultural generation to another, the idea of what is right and wrong is not as easy it appears to be.


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