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Lawliet1

In my abnormal psychology collage course i learned about something called culture-bound syndromes,which is abnormal behavior that is prevalent in some cultures but virtually absent in others.

For example,anorexia nervosa is a plague in american culture which i think has alot to do with the way american society projects the image of universally accepted physics(muscle bound vs slim and curvy for men and woman,respectively).Anorexia is almost non existent in less developed cultures.I believe this goes hand in hand with the stereotype that Americans are generally overweight.

In Asia,most males strive for a slim feminine look and as a result anorexia seems psychotic to them.On the other hand their is a CBS called TKS which is popular in japan but rare elsewhere,that is characterized by the excessive fear of embarrassing or offending other people.It's a psychiatric disorder with extremes to the point of dreading to blush in front of others in fears of embarrassing them.It's derived from deep cultural issue of shame.Something like this is virtually absent in other places in the world.

The last one i want to discuss is Koro syndrome which is prevalent in Asia where it's characterized by an excessive fear of the genitals shrinking into the body and that death may be a result.Similar to Dhat syndrome prevalent in India which is characterized by the fear of losing sperm through ejaculation and urination out of fear of losing vital male energy necessary to live.

How do you feel about culture-bound syndromes om general and in places that you live and do you feel that syndromes like anorexia are a ripple effect of the cancerous repercussions of the American media?

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Ronin

Classifying all aspects that escape a general classification, because they are not generally appearing is surely interesting.

I think however that bringing in the association of culture boundness is an association fallacy.

The waist to hip ration that is found to be most attractive deviates only marginally around 0,7 in all cultures. A.N. is not "sexually attractive" in the US, or Europe and woman are not culturally endorsed to fast.

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Lawliet1

Why do you feel that the association is a fallacy?

Because of the tallying of percentiles in which they occur in certain regions?

I ask because their was a poll conducted throughout the Muslim world on the popularity of suicide bombings and the results of Muslims in favor of it was very high.

Suicide bombings don't generally occur in other places nor is it really a syndrome but it is encouraged by a particular cultural segment.

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Ronin

No, because it's virtually impossible to not find a link of any act to some or other "beneficiary" cultural factor.

Like for example it's impossible to label any act a woman commits as not related to her feminine nature.

Aside from the fact, that suicide bombers are not insane and thus not afflicted by the condition of a cultural bound pathology;
You can't attach suicide bombing to culture.

Why did Bin Ladin decide to name the USA as his prime enemy? Because he abhorred their culture? Well, he did do that, but was he motivated by it? Was his motivation bound to it? Would it go away where there no cultural differences?

He wanted to protest against the US troop presence on Saudi Arabian Soil as well as in Kuwait.

Suicide bombings are a paramilitary tactic.
They are not endorsed by the ones associated with the paramilitary campaign because of their cultural background, because of cultural reasons, but because they are used for a campaign that is adjunct to their interests.
Specialties, military know-how, effectiveness in the respective theaters are technical properties.

In the 19th century the idea that the highly Prussian culturally inspired makeup of the Wehrmacht was bound to make it the best army on the planet.
Today one can say English management qualities are what gives anglo saxon companies an advantage.
Sentences like "it's hard to introduce Americans in the southern states to the standards associated with German engineering" can be found in newspapers.

That's not scientific reasoning...
If we read in some mag that all woman are *****es we might be happier, but we leave dumber.

Would a Muslim who got killed by a roadside bomb in Egypt find the fact that the attack was somewhat "cultural close" mitigating? No of course not. Such closeness never existed and that was the second major the reason why in Egypt the period of Muslims bombing was a fad that ended soon (the other being the economic impact on the nation as a whole by the huge influence tourism has).

To bring in another example:
Would a Catholic person find the idea of blowing up buses full of school children naturally pleasing, more so than say, a Muslim who prefers Coffees and himself?

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Hizumi

i hate culture, i'm for individualism and identity but i guess this contradicts why i hate it.

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