SMH offers enculturation argument about topless lust

The Life and Style section of the Sydney Morning Herald has a fascinating article by Sydney-based writer Emily Maguire about the way culture trains men and women to respond in particular ways to their “biological responses to beauty.” Here’s an excerpt:

…boys are not taught, as girls are, that their bodies could have a disruptive effect on people around them, that they should wear looser clothing so as not to distract their classmates. They’re not told that how they look could incite nasty rumours or prevent them advancing at work or cause them to get raped. They aren’t told that the sight of their flesh may cause grown women to turn into mindless brutes.

But the fact is male bodies can have the same effect on women as female bodies can have on men. That far fewer men than women are harassed or attacked by people claiming sexual provocation is not because women aren’t visually aroused, but because women have learnt that their biological responses to beauty are not an excuse to commit acts of violence or discrimination.

The context is a recent attempt by conservative MP Fred Nile (Parliamentary Leader of the Christian Democratic Party in New South Wales) to ban women’s topless bathing on Sydney beaches.  Here’s what Maguire has to say about that:

Women’s learnt ability to deal with inappropriate lust brings us back to those topless sunbathers. In supporting Nile’s proposal, the NSW Labor MP Paul Gibson revealed his deep discomfort with both women’s bodies and the language used to describe bits of them when he asked, “Do you want somebody with big knockers next to you when you’re [at the beach] with the kids?”

Plenty of beach-loving mums can relate: there you are, rubbing sunscreen into your toddler’s back when a delicious slab of man meat lays his towel down right beside you. What to do?

How about this – remember that the person lying there is a human being whose hotness does not negate their right to bake unmolested. If the kids ask awkward questions like, oh, “What are those?” You say, “Nipples, we’ve all got them. Cool, huh?” Then you stop being a creepy perve and concentrate on the sandcastles and surf.

In a culture which is fascinated by biological arguments about the differences between men and women, it is awfully refreshing to hear a wittily argued rejoinder that lust and reactions to naked bodies are shaped by culture.

–L.L. Wynn

More on the Military’s ‘Culture Rush’: Brian Selmeski interview

There’s a culture rush going on in the U.S. military. While the Human Terrain System gets most of the media attention for being the face of the military’s sudden interest in culture, there are a whole host of other military efforts revolving around the concept of culture. For example, as we have mentioned on Culture Matters, the Marine Corps has just published a textbook called “Operational Cultures for the Warfighter” with chapters that include sections on topics such as “tribes,” “folklore,” “rituals,” and “religious beliefs.” In 2006 the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) opened the TRADOC Cultural Center which teaches soldiers about foreign cultures and languages, particularly “the cultures of Iraq and Afghanistan.” And the Air Force teaches what it calls “cross-cultural competence,” or the idea that soldiers can be taught to comprehend and act in a culturally complex environment, even without having any past experience in that part of the world.

On 3 September 2008 (actually it was 2 September in the US), I interviewed one of the driving forces behind the Air Force’s Cross Cultural Competence (dubbed “3C”) program, Dr Brian Selmeski.  He’s the Director of Cross Cultural Competence at the Air Force Culture and Language Center of Air University at the Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. I thought it might be interesting for Culture Matters readers to hear about how one branch of the military is applying anthropological concepts in practice. He gives us information about the Cross Cultural Competence program and talks about the ethics of anthropologists working with the military.

Lisa L Wynn: Some have said that the past 5 years or so have seen a “culture rush” in the US military. Do you think this is an accurate assessment? Do you think it’s a passing fad or here to stay? And what do you think is driving this recent “culture rush”?

Iraq, occupation, culture and the military: brief roundup

There has been a fantastic discussion going on here on Culture Matters that I wanted to draw attention to, for those who don’t meticulously follow the stream of comments on older posts.  After I ate humble pie over my simplistic and error-filled rendering of Steve Featherstone’s recent article on the Human Terrain System in Harpers, I have stepped back and enjoyed a really interesting dialogue between Steve and a couple of commentators: Gonzo, who supports collaboration with the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Joneilortiz, who fiercely opposes it.

What I think it particularly interesting in their discussion (which incidentally is remarkable for the way that two anonymous commentators can spar over an issue which they clearly feel passionate about, but at the same time engage respectfully without resorting to name-calling, which so often happens in debates over anthropology and the military) is the way Joneilortiz reorients the framing of the issue, pressing us to think about what occupation means for Iraqis, not Americans, and what the ethical obligations are for anthropologists who oppose the occupation.  Here’s an excerpt:

Operational Culture for the Warfighter

Marine Corps University Press has just published a book by Barak A. Salmoni and Paula Holmes-Eber called “Operational Cultures for the Warfighter: Principles and Applications.”  Word got out that they were offering free copies of the book for a short time, and I wrote to request my own copy.  Dr Holmes-Eber, who is an anthropologist trained at Northwestern who now teaches at Marine Corps University, wrote back to say that they couldn’t ship free copies outside of the US but she sent me a PDF of the book instead and said that I was free to make it available to my colleagues as it is a U.S. government publication and its distribution not limited by copyright laws.

So, if you want a copy, feel free to write to me at lisa [dot] wynn [at] mq.edu.au, or you could write to Dr Holmes-Eber yourself.  If you’re curious to see at a quick glance how culture is being “operationalized” for the military, I’m pasting below the table of contents.  I’ll review the book once I’ve had time to read it.

Pentagon officially begins project ‘Minerva’

Wired magazine has just reported that the Pentagon has kicked off ‘Minerva’, its project to include social scientists and other academics into the “War on Terror”.  The article also mentions the debate that has been going on in anthropology over the US military’s new-found enthusiasm for culture and social science methods.

Wired also has covered this issue in surprising detail, and there is a good archive of related stories at the bottom of their article.

Thanks to ANU PhD student Bree Blakeman who posted this link on the AAS mailing list, AASNet.

“To wage war, become an anthropologist”

Brian McKenna writes in CounterPunch that he wants to work for the Army War College. Here’s an excerpt:

“To wage war, become an anthropologist.” That’s the opening line from a 2007 article in the U.S. Army War College journal “Parameters.” The feature, by Oxford educated historian Patrick Porter, says, “from the academy to the Pentagon, fresh attention is being focused on knowing the enemy.”

Today anthropologists are busy at work for the CIA and Pentagon…. I agree with the idea that “to wage war, become an anthropologist.” The trouble is that it turns out that we are on different sides of the war. “Human Terrain” anthropologists are with imperialism. I’m with Gramsci. …

McKenna goes on to outline a 10-day curriculum for soldiers.

Applying Anthropology in the Future: the future is now

I’m sure many of you have heard about Masdar, the ‘green city’ being built in Abu Dhabi.  For those of you that haven’t the city is touted as:

a world model of energy conservation with zero carbon emissions and zero waste. Compared to average urban levels, fossil fuel consumption will be reduced by 75%, water demand by 300% and waste production by 400%. Cycling and walking will be the most common means of travel.

Accoring to the city’s master plan, no one will be more than 200 meters from essential facilities, including shops selling locally grown produce. A fully automated, electric Personal Rapid Transit System will provide a flexible and comfortable alternative to private cars. A Light Railway Transport system will link the Masdar development to adjacent developments, the airport and in the future with the center of Abu Dhabi.

Through a micro-chip-like network of connections, developers plan to coalesce the expertise and resources to enable global technological breakthroughs in advanced energy technologies. There will be a university education and research center – the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (in partnership with MIT) – which will offer Masters and PhD programs in science and engineering disciplines focused on advanced energy and sustainability. Its research and educational institutions and partnerships will search for solutions to mankind’s most pressing problems: energy security, climate change and truly sustainable human development.

For the full story see –

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.feature/id/1497

While I applaud the effort to build more sustainable cities I recently came across an article which asks a provocative question; what impact will cities like Masdar have on cultural diversity?

If successful, Masdar City could act as a model for environmentally friendly urban planning and sustainable development. “Green cities,” such as Masdar, could become a future trend around the world. But are there unforeseen consequences for such initiatives? While the environmental advantages of promoting and constructing green cities are clear, such planning may also accelerate the homogenization of, and even destruction of, cultures around the world. Cultural diversity is currently in decline. Globalization and the dominance of Western (especially U.S.) economic and cultural practices have influenced and altered almost all regions of the world. Languages and cultural traditions are becoming extinct at greater rates than ever before.

For the full story see – http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article/5989

 

While there is arguably potential in the development of ‘green cities’ to accelerate cultural homogenization historically people have found an almost infinite number of ways to diversify and differentiate and I’m relatively confident this will  continue to be the case.  However, as planed cities ‘green cities’ offer anthropologists a unique opportunity/burden in influencing the future of culture and cultural diversity. 

It seems probable that governments and city planners will hire anthropological consultants to advise them on the design an implementation of ‘cultural spaces’ (for example) within ‘green cities’. So while anthropology has typically been directed at documenting, analysing and comparing culture, if we take on a role in helping to plan the cities of the future will we become instead the creators of culture? If so on model will we rely?  Will the ‘cultures’ anthropologists instil in these ‘green cities’ be based on notions of tradition, authenticity and existing diversity or on notions of progress and sustainability?  Ultimately will anthropologists ask what kind of cultures have there been or what kinds of cultures should/could there be?  And what are the potential benefits and risks associated with our choices now?

how dictionaries mark the evolution of language

When I arrived in Australia 5 months ago, one of the first things that struck me was how different the English here is. When a student pronounced one of the class assignments “a bit naf,” I ran to Jovan to ask him what it meant. He soon delighted in feeding me baffling colloquialisms. (The result is that I have post it notes all over my office shelves with notations like “dinky-die,” “ocker,” “yobbo,” and “bogan,” but I’ve already forgot what all of those mean.) The only rule I’ve managed to glean is that Australians love to use diminutives (”brekkie” being my favorite). Once my undergraduate students cottoned on to how thick I was, they had lots of fun introducing me to new terms.

Yesterday, fellow American Anne Monchamp brought me a little news item about Macquarie Dictionary’s new additions for 2007. I went to the website to pore through the new additions and see if I could learn a little more Australish.

Is copying “part of Chinese culture”?

I have often encountered culturalist explanations of why Chinese don’t respect intellectual property rights. One version of this is that it “in Chinese culture,” it is okay to copy other people’s writing without acknowledgement. I remember a professor at Heidelberg, Germany’s most famous university, asking me whether this was true. This has always seemed to me a kind of well-intentioned “intercultural communication” orientalism, but also universities and professors looking for cultural excuses for not enforcing their standards on students who bring money and who they think will go back to China anyway. In China’s good universities, plagiarism is as unacceptable as anywhere else — though let’s remember that the institutionalised plagiarism scare is something new in the West, and often seems as a surrogate reaction to failing education standards.

But recently, Sina.com reported that 19 Chinese organizations in Christchurch, New Zealand, protested against a story in a local paper, identified as “Evening News,” that described Chinese students as “the biggest cheats,” showing a photo of Chinese students copying exam papers and asserting that “cheating is part of Chinese culture.” The paper apologized.

Cultural Diversity versus Cultural Difference; Examples from Australia

In one of my previous posts, I talked about the Norwegian anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen’s essay on cultural diversity versus cultural difference called Diversity versus difference: Neo-liberalism in the minority debate (http://folk.uio.no/geirthe/21st.html)

Eriksen describes cultural diversity as aesthetic aspects of a specific culture like arts, cuisine, folklore which are neutral and don’t require any moral judgement about that culture. Cultural diversity also means business and entertainment. Think of many ethnic food restaurants in Sydney like Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, Turkish, Lebanese, Indian, Polish, Spanish etc. Think of many different dance courses offered in Sydney like Salsa, Tango, Belly dancing, Bollywood dancing. Cultural diversity has also influenced the language . For example people say ‘let’s eat Chinese (food) tonight’.

Example: Macquaire University Open Day Brochure, the section on Anthropology(according to the ad below, anthropology brings to mind culture, and culture brings to mind cultural diversity):Anthropology: Don’t miss the opportunity to dance up a storm at the Indian Dance Workshop led by renowned Indian classical dancer Kavitha Muthukrishnan. A brief introduction to Indian Classical Dance (Bharatha Natyam) will be given and an invocatory dance item will be performed in praise of the Hindu Lord Ganesha. There will be demonstrations of expression (abinaya) and rhythm (tala), so come along and join in the fun! 11am, 12pm, and 1pm in the tent outside the Library.

Example : An extract from Ghassan Hage, White Nation:Fantasies of White Supremacy in a Multicultural Society,1998:97; in Borderwork in Multicultural Australia by Bob Hodge & John O’Carroll, 2006:53:

Simonne: I really feel at home here…I like the multicultural feel.

Interviewer: Hmmm.

Simonne: You know, I originally came from around Manly. I mean, I love it there…I liked living there because of the ocean. But, ah, it’s too conservative…You miss out on what makes Australia such a nice place.

Interviewer: Is…?

Simonne: You see a mixture of people here, you see the, the, the Indian culture or, down the south end of Newtown, it’s the Fijian Indians and then you, you see the Asian people and ah, and ah, I like going to the deli and…ah visit George’s.

Example : An advertisement from 9 to 5 magazine (a free Sydney city magazine) (11.09.07): International array of the most gorgeous youthful women for your total sexual pleasure. Swedish beauty, Spanish model, Russian princess, Italian delight, Aussie sex kitten, China dolls, exotic Eurasians, French lingerie…..

Cultural diversity is something to be celebrated; and cultural diversity transforms the city turning it into a “cosmopolitan” place of endless celebrations, and this attracts many tourists. Cultural diversity is good for tourism, and probably it’s one of the factors which makes Sydney a popular tourist destination.

Example : From 9 to 5 (11.09.07) Magazine: Ritmo Brazilian Festival. Sunday, September 23, 11.30am-6.30pm, Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour :The nation that gave us Carnivale, Brazilian waxes and Giselle Bundchen will bring Darling Harbour to life with the seventh annual Brazilian festival- a day filled with music, dancing and exotic cuisine. Visit www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

Moon Festival, Saturday, September 22 Sunday, September 23, 5.45pm-7.30pm. Chinese Gardens, Darling Harbour For more than a thousand years the Chinese have celebrated the full moon during its brightest period with a festival. Join the celebrations and enjoy moon cakes, lanterns, dragon dancing, and more.www.chinesegarden.com.au

Examples of other celebrations of cultural diversity from www.darlingharbour.com:

Armenian Cultural Festival 2007, 16 September 2007

The Cedars of Lebanon Folkloric Group, 16 September 2007

Sparkling Korea Festival, 22-23 September, 2007

Darling Harbour Fiesta, 28Sept-1Oct:Feel the rhythm, discover the passion. Experience the sights, sounds, tastes, flamboyance and flair at Australia’s hottest dance and music festival – Darling Harbour Fiesta!Salsa, tango and rumba your way to Darling Harbour Fiesta this October long weekend. With more than 70 FREE performances across three stages, free salsa classes, DJs and Latin-inspired food, the spirit of Fiesta will dominate Darling Harbour for three sizzling days and nights. Now in its 16th year, Fiesta is Australia’s largest annual Latin American festival proving that when it comes to rhythm and passion, Sydney is right up there with Rio!Fiesta brings together traditional and contemporary talent from across South and Central America and Spain including legendary Columbian singer Wilson ‘Sabco’ Manyoma and, direct from the UK, Cuban musician Osvaldo Chacon whose timba-style salsa has been causing a stir on London’s dance floors.

Example: There is a ‘Cultural Diversity’ section for different suburbs in City of Sydney booklet called Preserving and Enhancing Sydney’s City of Villages: A Snapshot of Projects, Local Action Plan Strategy 2007-2010.

Redfern, Cultural Diversity: The Local government aims

-Celebrating indigenous Redfern

-Danks street festival

-Broaden retail mix for neighbourhood shopping

-Indigenous art projects

Inner East, Cultural Diversity:

-Creating an Oxford street cultural precint

-Harmony Park art and events program

-Public art to celebrate gay and lesbian community

Example: On Sydney city culture from the same City of Sydney local government planning booklet:

It’s a culture [Sydney city culture] that is rather funky, hip and urbane with respect to various ethnic, religious, non religious and sexual orientations.

Example: In Australia there’s a special day called Harmony Day, 21 March each year, to celebrate cultural diversity.Harmony Day provides an opportunity for us [Australians] to celebrate our successes as a culturally diverse society and re-commit ourselves to harmony and mutual respect. http://www.harmony.gov.au/

Cultural difference, on the other hand, might have moral and political connotations objectionable by the mainstream society.

Example: On the one hand encouraging aboriginal arts, painting, dance, music which is good for tourism and business, on the other hand turning a blind eye to the indigenous people who demand more rights.

Examples are endless…