Taboo
A taboo, also spelled tabu, is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred, or allowed only for certain people.[1][2] Such prohibitions are present in virtually all societies.[1] Taboos may be prohibited explicitly, for example within a legal system or religion, or implicitly, for example by social norms or conventions followed by a particular culture or organization.
For other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation).
Taboos are often meant to protect the individual, but there are other reasons for their development. An ecological or medical background is apparent in many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin. Taboos can help use a resource more efficiently, but when applied to only a subsection of the community they can also serve to suppress said subsection of the community. A taboo acknowledged by a particular group or tribe as part of their ways aids in the cohesion of the group, helps that particular group to stand out and maintain its identity in the face of others and therefore creates a feeling of "belonging".[3]
The meaning of the word taboo has been somewhat expanded in the social sciences to strong prohibitions relating to any area of human activity or custom that is sacred or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs, or cultural norms.[3]
Function[edit]
Communist and materialist theorists have argued that taboos can be used to reveal the histories of societies when other records are lacking.[56] Marvin Harris explains taboos as a consequence of ecologic and economic conditions.[57]
Modernity[edit]
Some argue that contemporary Western multicultural societies have taboos against tribalisms (for example, ethnocentrism and nationalism) and prejudices (racism, sexism, homophobia, extremism and religious fanaticism).[58]
Changing social customs and standards also create new taboos, such as bans on slavery; extension of the pedophilia taboo to ephebophilia;[59] prohibitions on alcohol, tobacco, or psychopharmaceutical consumption (particularly among pregnant women), also sexual harassment and sexual objectification are increasingly becoming taboo in recent decades.
Incest itself has been pulled both ways, with some seeking to normalize consensual adult relationships regardless of the degree of kinship[60] (notably in Europe)[61][62] and others expanding the degrees of prohibited contact (notably in the United States).[63] Although the term taboo usually implies negative connotations, it is sometimes associated with enticing propositions in proverbs such as forbidden fruit is the sweetest.[64]
In medicine, professionals who practice in ethical and moral grey areas, or fields subject to social stigma such as late termination of pregnancy, may refrain from public discussion of their practice. Among other reasons, this taboo may come from concern that comments may be taken out of the appropriate context and used to make ill-informed policy decisions that would lead to (otherwise preventable) maternal death.[65][66]