Cultural Relativism Examples

Why This Matters

Cultural relativism is one of the foundational concepts in anthropology—and one of the most frequently tested. When you encounter exam questions about this topic, you're not just being asked to define the term. You're being tested on your ability to apply the concept: Can you explain why anthropologists suspend judgment when studying unfamiliar practices? Can you distinguish between understanding a practice and endorsing it? These questions get at the heart of what makes anthropology distinct from other social sciences.

The examples in this guide illustrate key tensions in anthropological thinking: emic versus etic perspectives, the universalism-relativism debate, and the ethics of fieldwork. Each practice demonstrates how cultural context shapes meaning—what seems harmful or strange from one perspective may carry deep significance within its own society. Don't just memorize these examples; know what anthropological principle each one illustrates and be ready to discuss the limits of cultural relativism when human rights concerns arise.

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Practices Tied to Gender, Kinship, and Social Control

Many cultural practices that challenge outsiders' assumptions are deeply embedded in systems of kinship, gender roles, and social organization. These examples reveal how societies regulate sexuality, marriage, and family structure through culturally specific norms.

Arranged Marriages in Various Cultures

• Families select spouses based on social, economic, and kinship considerations—romantic love is secondary or irrelevant in many societies
• Strengthens alliances between kin groups and ensures marriages align with broader community interests, not just individual desires
• Challenges Western assumptions that marriage should be based on personal choice, illustrating how ethnocentrism can distort our understanding of family systems

Polygamy in Some Islamic Societies

• Permitted under specific conditions in Islamic law, allowing men multiple wives when they can provide equally for each
• Often serves economic and social functions, including supporting widows or ensuring family continuity in contexts of high male mortality
• Illustrates legal pluralism—the coexistence of religious and state legal systems—a key concept in legal anthropology

Child Marriage in Certain Societies

• Driven by poverty, gender inequality, and cultural norms about female sexuality and family honor
• Often linked to bride price or dowry systems, where younger brides command higher payments
• Tests the limits of cultural relativism—anthropologists must balance understanding cultural logic with acknowledging documented harms to girls' health and education

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Rites of Passage and Bodily Practices

Anthropologists study how societies use the body as a canvas for cultural meaning. These practices often mark transitions between life stages or signal group membership, illustrating Victor Turner's concept of liminality and Arnold van Gennep's three-stage model of rites of passage.

Foot Binding in China

• Originated in the Song dynasty to create "lotus feet"—a symbol of beauty, status, and marriageability among elite women
• Caused lifelong disabilities including broken bones, infection, and limited mobility, yet was embraced by families seeking upward mobility
• Banned in the early 20th century, but remains a key example of how beauty standards are culturally constructed and tied to gender and class hierarchies

Scarification and Body Modification Practices

• Intentional scarring serves aesthetic, spiritual, and social purposes—marking adulthood, clan membership, or spiritual protection
• Functions as a rite of passage in many African and Pacific societies, transforming social identity through physical transformation
• Raises questions about bodily autonomy—who decides what modifications are acceptable, and by what standards?

Female Genital Cutting in Parts of Africa and the Middle East

• Involves partial or total removal of external genitalia for cultural, religious, or social reasons, often as a rite of passage into womanhood
• Carries significant health risks including hemorrhage, infection, and complications in childbirth
• Central to the universalism vs. relativism debate—anthropologists study why communities practice it while international organizations advocate for eradication

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Mortuary Rituals and Death Practices

How societies treat the dead reveals deep beliefs about personhood, the afterlife, and social obligations. These practices often seem shocking to outsiders but carry profound meaning within their cultural contexts.

Cannibalism Among the Fore People of Papua New Guinea

• Practiced as part of mortuary rituals—consuming deceased relatives was an act of love and respect, keeping the person within the community
• Linked to the spread of kuru, a fatal prion disease transmitted through brain tissue, which anthropologists helped identify
• Largely ceased by the 1960s due to Australian colonial intervention and health education—an example of culture change through external contact

Sati (Widow Burning) in Historical India

• Widow self-immolation on husband's funeral pyre was framed as an act of devotion and spiritual merit in some Hindu traditions
• Criticized as coercive even by contemporaries—British colonial officials banned it in 1829, sparking debates about cultural imperialism
• Illustrates how "tradition" can be contested—Indian reformers like Ram Mohan Roy opposed sati from within, challenging the idea that outsiders alone drove change

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Survival, Scarcity, and Ecological Context

Some practices that seem cruel in isolation make more sense when understood within their ecological and economic contexts. Anthropologists emphasize that behavior must be analyzed in relation to environmental constraints and subsistence strategies.

Infanticide in Inuit Cultures

• Practiced historically under extreme scarcity, when families could not support additional members in harsh Arctic environments
• Reflected cultural values about resource management and collective survival over individual life—a painful but rational response to ecological limits
• Raises questions about moral universalism—can we judge a practice without understanding the conditions that produced it?

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Honor, Shame, and Social Sanctions

In many societies, family honor functions as a form of social capital that must be protected. Violations—especially by women—can trigger severe consequences, revealing how gender, reputation, and violence intersect.

Honor Killings in Some Middle Eastern and South Asian Cultures

• Murder of individuals (usually women) perceived to have shamed the family through behaviors like premarital sex, refusing arranged marriage, or seeking divorce
• Justified by cultural norms that place family reputation above individual autonomy, particularly female autonomy
• Represents a severe human rights violation and has sparked international condemnation—a key example where anthropologists must balance cultural understanding with ethical critique

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two practices in this guide are both mortuary rituals but differ in terms of gender dynamics and who participates? What does this comparison reveal about how death practices reflect social hierarchies?

2. Identify three examples that anthropologists commonly use to discuss the limits of cultural relativism. What do these practices have in common that makes them controversial?

3. Compare foot binding and scarification. Both are bodily modifications—what cultural functions do they share, and how do their social meanings differ?

4. If an FRQ asked you to explain how ecological context shapes cultural practices, which example would you choose and why? What anthropological concept would you use to frame your answer?

5. How would an anthropologist using cultural relativism approach the study of honor killings differently than a human rights activist? What are the strengths and limitations of each perspective?