Positive Consequences Essay Example for Free

Positive Consequences EssayEthnocentrism is the practice of judging otherwise cultures in the context of use of singles pick up culture. By using the standards of a certain culture to assess other cultures, ethnocentric tidy sum a good deal make hasty and offensive generalizations about slew whose cultural backgrounds disaccord from theirs. Racial stereotypes and the usage of scapegoats are two negative effects of ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism A common mistake that occurs in the study of other cultures is the tendency to critically judge the culture being studied using the standards of ones own culture.In doing so, the researcher imposes the assumptions and perspectives of his or her own culture on everything that he or she encounters about the culture that he or she is studying. The researcher stock-stilltually starts to dismiss facts that may appear various or strange to him or her as bad, dumb, pagan, primitive, etc. The end result is that the researcher unkno shape upgly practices ethnocentrism (NCSU-CHASS, n. d. ). Us against Them Merriam-Webster Online (2008) defined ethnocentrism as a (belief that is) characterized or based on the attitude that ones own group is gilt-edged (Merriam-Webster Online, 2008).Ethnocentrism occurs when people make generalizations about other cultures and customs that are based on their own cultural norms. More often than not, ethnocentric individuals unconsciously use their own culture as a universal yardstick that can accurately judge cultures that are different from theirs. As a result, they come up with erroneous, hurtful and disrespectful assumptions about other people (Culbertson, 2008). Positive Consequences Ethnocentrism satisfies the human caputs need for identity and belonging.By claiming that his or her culture is superior over other cultures, a person gains a sense of importance over other people. Ethnocentrism also fosters intarethnic loyalty, which, in turn, leads to the extract of a society. In h er article Ethnocentrism and Xenophobia A Cross-Cultural Study (2001), Elizabeth Cashdan argued that being social animals, humans do not have the capacity to survive on their own. They had to form groups or communities wherein members shared the complex responsibilities needed for survival (Cashdan, 2001).But they also have to compete with other groups or communities, especially for resources. In order to win the competition, a communitys sense of identity must be strong enough to run its members to abandon personal interests and work together towards the societys advancement. As a result, the community survives and even improves (Cashdan, 2001). Negative Consequences Ethnocentrism is the root cause of various misconceptions about people of certain cultures. Ethnocentric individuals often progress to racist stereotypes about them simply because they regard them as inferior or uncivilized. Below are some examples of racist stereotypes The Mammy. The mammy is the oldest and the mos t popular racial stereotype regarding African-the Statesn women. She is portrayed as dark-skinned, center aged, overweight, very religious cheerful and extremely loyal and faithful to the white family she was working for. There is no historical evidence that supports the existence of actual mammies. Further research revealed that this stereotype was created to justify the institution of thralldom the mammy was proof that blue women were happy and contented as slaves.In addition, her desexualized nature was intended to suppress sexual relations between white men and black female slaves in pre-Civil War America (Pilgrim, 2000). The Tom. The Tom is the male counterpart of the mammy. He is frequently presented as a hardworking, smiling and dependable black server, usually working as a fieldworker, cook, butler, porter or waiter. Just like the mammy, the Toms life revolves around his white masters and their families. Furthermore, the Tom is another racial stereotype that was intende d to queer arguments about the evils of slavery.Nowadays, Uncle Tom has evolved into an expression that is used to criticize a black person who is unreasonably subservient to white people. Lotus Blossom. The Lotus Blossom is one of the most well- live onn stereotypes attached to Asian women. The full term Lotus Blossom refers to a prudish, quiet and submissive Asian woman. But Hollywood took this stereotype to a higher level by featuring Asian women who are prudish, quiet and submissive, but at the same time, impatient(predicate) to please white men. Consequently, movies such as Street Fighter and The Joy Luck Club often pair white actors with Asian actresses (Dugong, n. d. ).Dragon Lady. Akin to the Lotus Blossom, the Dragon Lady is also physically stunning. However, the latter uses her sexuality to get what she wants. Aside from having the ability to seduce men, the Dragon Lady also has superior physical strength and martial arts skills. It is believed that she has the power t o hypnotize her male rivals, gain trust by seducing them, and when they least expect it, she rids of them through sabotage or backstabbing (Dugong, n. d. ). As a result, this stereotype projected the misconception that Asian women are avaricious and not trustworthy (Dugong, n. d. ).Scapegoats The usage of scapegoats is another detrimental effect of ethnocentrism. Some people and or organizations unjustly blame other people or groups for the occurrence of certain problems. The targets, in turn, receive rejection and even outright persecution from parties that the perpetrators have managed to influence. The Holocaust is a classic example of using other people as scapegoats. Adolf Hitler got himself into power by constantly blaming the Jews for Germanys economic, political and social instability after humanity War I.Conclusion There is a saying that prejudice is the idle mans diversify for thinking. This byword is very much applicable in ethnocentrism. Instead of taking the time to r eally know other cultures, some people would rather judge them negatively simply because they are different from their culture. True, struggle other cultures unfairly may be cathartic. But doing so also exposes ethnocentric individuals as uncertain people who put other people down to make themselves look and feel good.