Cultural Relativism In The United States

While many societies around the world are becoming more connected due to globalization, individual civilizations have distinct cultures that affect all aspects of that society’s behavior, including play. How people play is often misconstrued as a universal constant, however, this is not the case and such an interpretation can make it difficult to objectively study a group of people. Indigenous tribes, like the Yanomamo Tribe, and western civilizations, like the United States, are where some of the starkest differences can be seen on both how play is perceived and how people engage in play. In the United States play is largely perceived as a pleasurable activity. People play to avoid responsibilities or relax in the United States, but this is
Cultural relativism is defined as the idea that a person actions or behavior should be judged within the context of that person's culture. While this seems like a simple concept, it can be difficult for many people to fully accept (Eriksen 73). Whether this is caused by ignorance or a negative bias of the culture being analyzed as a whole, the most effect method to increase cultural relativism is to increase awareness of the differences between cultures. Throughout western society, many people look down on those who live without the same level technology. They may see those people as less fortunate or less intelligent and that is very rarely how the people in the societies with less technology see it. It is important to study cultures that differ from someone’s own to increase one’s understanding of others around the world. Looking at play, in particular, provides a narrow scope into particular differences between the two societies. Choosing the Yanomami, an indigenous tribe who has been untouched by outside societies (Indigenous Culture in the Amazon), and the United States, one of the most industrialized societies in the world will exaggerate the differences that can be seen throughout the