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Seeing the relevance of Anthropology in Everyday Life

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Racial Purity Doesn’t Exist, and Here’s Why

May 4, 2017 by Carie Little Hersh 2 Comments

Racial Purity Doesn’t Exist, and Here’s Why

With the recent increase in folks’ throwing shade and swastikas on other people’s ethnicities, I thought I’d take a moment to remind us all that racial purity is as fictional as Draco Malfoy. Here are four reasons why race categories don’t mean what you think they do. There are No Clear Racial Divides: Like water, human genetics flow around the world, sometimes pooling up in isolated places but never really disconnected from everyone else. American genetics are no different. If there are pools of particularly briny water, or mosquito-laden water, or salt-free water, it’s because that water has been temporarily isolated from the free flow of water around the world. It is never completely disconnected, and it is never completely pure. Even the clearest flowing natural spring water has … [Read more...]

Filed Under: American Culture, Biological Anthropology, Race Tagged With: biological anthropology, Ethnicity, gene flow, genotype, phenotype, race, racial purity, racism, skin color anthropology

5 Homophobic Myths Destroyed by Anthropology

July 15, 2016 by Carie Little Hersh 3 Comments

5 Homophobic Myths Destroyed by Anthropology

After the horrific mass murder in June focusing on the LGBTQ community at an Orlando club, the only thing worse than the massacre has been the thread of homophobic comments following it. The folks who have been loudest about their disdain for LGBTQ members continue to rely on outdated, subjective, and outright false suppositions about sexuality to justify discrimination against LGBTQ members. It turns out that when you look globally at issues of sex, gender, sexuality, and marriage, it is extremely difficult to summarize human practices as universal or natural. They’re just too damn diverse. So, fighting “truthiness” with anthropological “factiness”, I present the top five homophobic myths that anthropology (and a little social psychology) completely demolish. Myth 1: I know … [Read more...]

Filed Under: American Culture, Culture, Enculturation / Learning Culture, Gender, Sex, & Sexuality, Social Systems Tagged With: American Indian, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, Berdache, biological anthropology, bisexual, Brazil, Cultural Anthropology, disgust, Etoro, evolution, gay, gay sex on the down low, gender identity, Hijra, homophobia, homosexuality, India, intersex, intersexual, Iraq, Jon Haidt, lesbian, LGBTQ, Ma’dan clan, moral disgust, Mustergil, Native American, Ninmah, Orlando, polygamy, Pulse, queer, Raymond Kelly, same-sex marriage, same-sex parenting, Scalia, sexuality as spectrum, Shiva, third gender, transgender, Travesti, Two Spirit

Surviving the Holidays, Anthropologist Style

December 19, 2015 by Carie Little Hersh 1 Comment

Surviving the Holidays, Anthropologist Style

As the holidays inch closer, and you’re beginning to dread joining the bag of mixed nuts you call your family, consider approaching them with anthropologists’ eyes this year. Participant-observation is the primary way cultural anthropologists come to understand people who live very different lives from their own, but we use it also to understand people who are *ahem* uncomfortably close to us, too. Rather than hitting the eggnog too hard and arguing with Aunt Fifi about her political views, pretend you’re writing a book on people you don’t know anything about and respectfully ask auntie about her politics. Sit at the kids’ table and check out how different the conversations (and the table customs) are from the grown ups’ table. Notice with new ears how, despite the fact that your black … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kinship, Participant-Observation Tagged With: biological anthropology, Christmas, Cultural Anthropology, Dian Fossey, family, holidays, interview, Jane Goodall, mindfulness, participant-observation, primate studies, stress

Dr. Carie Little Hersh

Dr. Carie Little Hersh is an American cultural anthropologist, former attorney, and teaching professor in Anthropology at Northeastern University. This is her personal blog about anthropology and its relevance to everyday life.

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Disclaimer

As someone who was an attorney for between 3-7 minutes, I feel compelled to state that the views on this blog are mine and don’t reflect those of my employer.

 

relevANTH is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

 

Bonus Disclaimer: References to specific products and services on this podcast do not constitute or imply an endorsement and the views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily state or reflect those of either relevANTH or Dr. Hersh.

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