This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 |
Why would that be taboo for the United States? I know it would be concidered anti-Semetic but still it's totally ridiclous.
It's more having to do with post-holocaust shame (the Jews, like blacks and gays are victims of humanity's worst crimes), political correct diversity training, and religious tolerance of a strong seated belief of a "Jewish state". It may be Muslims in the U.S. and Europe, the far left (Communists and the USSR), third world activism against colonial rule (they say Israel is doing the same over an Arab people) and Christians in support of Israel is part of the "judgment day/last days/apocalypse" prementition in the bible. The "taboo" of protesting against Israel is weaker now in Europe, since socialists and pacifists since the 1960's seem more protected than holocaust deniers; and the bigger taboo of warfare in Europe, wants to politely remind Israel not to go overboard with fighting terrorism and to respect the wishes of Palestinians to have their own side of the Holy Land. Compared to Europe, Canada and Australia, the U.S. are more likely to practice the rule of taboo than ever before. Because of our conservative right-liberal left ideologies, our minds seem geared to think sex, death, money, certain words, diversity and anything political or religious, esp. in public, is not free speech and forbidden thoughts. What happened to the 1960's, 70's & 80's during times of taboos vanish or become minor violations? Free expression of how we feel of the world should not disappear out of morbid fear, offensiveness, profanity, and disrespect of any authority. The American image is a joke to the liberal societies of the West, even the communists and Muslim world are in awe of our bipolar hypocrisy on what we can say or protest is not P-C or not 'Christian' or not 'patriotic'. We don't live in a golden age America and my friends it's a new age when the "people of the taboo" live in elective darkness. + 207.200.116.9 10:15, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
Taboo artists - I wondered why Robert Mapplethorpe isn't on here. I see some arguments both ways, but if it's just an oversight then I might suggest someone add it, who knows what they're doing. It says on the Robert Mapplethorpe site that he's frank and erotic, so maybe that covers it. He deals in some areas that are sometimes taboo but that doesn't make him a taboo artist.
I've removed this section because no sources were provided for the original research and unsourced claims. If you're going to make such lists in the future, make sure you have the appropriate sources to back them up. Sofeil 10:39, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
I've removed this section because no sources were provided for the original research and unsourced claims. If you think you can find sources for some of the statements here, please include them in the article. Taxico 12:44, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
I noticed that there was a long, discursive and irrelevant quotation on this page by someone called Fady Bahig, who is an unknown self-published novelist. Bahig's work has also been seen cropping up on the God and gender page. These quotes are not relevant and I suspect they come under Wikipedia's ban on advertising. I've deleted the section on this page, but please keep an eye in case it returns. -- TinaSparkle 16:06, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
The sections regarding the origin of taboo should be cleaned up to provide a more balanced view. This article clearly favors Freud, who is himself a taboo among certain circles. If there are other opinions on the origin of this phenomenon, they should be given an equal amount of attention (rather than a pair of unsupported sentences immediately contradicted by a well developed description of Freud's opinion).
These paragraphs make many strong statements that I doubt can be properly backed by reputable sources:
Therefore, unless some supporting sources are added, I plan to remove these sections.
-- Johnkarp 05:47, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
I'm with you, I came here to make the same point. Since it's been nearly two weeks since you first proposed it, I made the cut for you. 68.49.243.231 22:41, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
Well, someone's bot prevented my change. Damned bots. Ok, I know leave this up to someone who knows more about wikipedia to make that particular change and fight it out with the bots. 68.49.243.231 22:45, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
Here are reasons I find obvious and can be stated in the taboo article.
1. Superstitions (the fear of the unknown or abnormal in mystical terms). 2. Religious/ moral values (ours are based on Judeo-Christian tradition). 3. Modern Hygeine (behaviors considered dirty"or based on the germ theory). 4. Etiquette (manners, codes, ethics, actions, beliefs and folkways). 5. Political correctness (how not to offend any social minority group). and 6. Authority (political laws, the workplace, military code, etc.)
Of course, there are universal taboos observed by virtually every society, country and culture: Insect, patricide, cannibalism, sacreligious or profane language, sexual obscenity, bodily excretions or functions, wanton violence, suicide, torture, criticism of an authority figure (even where's it's legal), and family traditions (disrespect of parents or elders, deference of children or teens, esp. where's the adult age is 18 or 21).
Improper discussion/subject matter: sexual intercourse, war (esp. nuclear), hate/prejudice on others, drug use (illegal or not), religious expression in certain situations, foul language, vulgar or "declasse" euphemisms in high society, political controversy in most places, violations of dress codes, irregular observance in rituals or practices, gender roles (although this is less common in the west, but males complain that females are unrestricted), and scenes of death, surgeries or diseases (includes birthing images to many people). Taboos are vigourously enforced by the FCC or self-regulation of entertainment industry, especially the material may air before 10PM.
Adults may or may not observe taboos in a major scene, because it's gross or disturbing or graphic to view/speak/hear of ... usually in American society, children or minors should not be near or hear certain words/topics that their parents or families disapprove of...esp. if they are conservative religious or moralist/puritanical that it "threatens children's spiritual innocence", even though young children may not understand or relate to what they were exposed to.
I'm amazed older children get a thrill or kick out of sexual acts or using the bathroom, mutter coarse language with humorous jest, criticism of their religion or others' religious views (esp. devil worship as teen rebellion) or violent scenes in movies/television...while it's their parents or elders plus teachers or clergy seems sensitive and afraid of the children's psyche or moral character is distorted by the media.
And finally in a democratic society where people can easily discuss, agree or disagree, and protest policy in government ... many issues are more likely are taboo, in order to side with conservative or liberal political agendas, or threatens big business in any way, plus are highly divisive: abortion, death penalty, gay marriage, affirmative action, terrorism, racial tension, the value of life (euthanasia) and the status quo, to some people is taboo as a sign of disobedience and disrespect, when in fact it's really not. -- Mike D 26 21:04, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
This page needs some heavy proofreading. One example: "Europeans bulk in Americans...." I believe the phrase the author was looking for was "Europeans balk at...". Article marked for cleanup.
The sentence in the introduction doesn't make sense: "It is generally supposed that taboo is older than gods and dates back to a period before any kind of religion existed." Gods are usually considered to be eternal. The sentence needs to be reworded. Does it mean before a "belief" in gods?-- Jagz 19:49, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
The examples section seems pretty much a mess to me. Especially the second paragraph, which doesn't seem to make much sense. I'd suggest deleting the second paragraph, and breaking the first paragraph into example groups by taboo type. -- 24.170.135.104 05:48, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
Shouldn't someone include something on Claude Levi-Strauss who while being noted more for his novel approach to Anthropology (so-called Structuralism) also contributed much to the understanding of taboo in The Raw and The Cooked and other texts? My knowledge of his contribution is pretty elementary but if someone out there has more authoritative knowledge on Levi-Strauss I encourage you to add to this section. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 211.220.183.26 ( talk) 01:19, 13 April 2007 (UTC).
The Taboo and art section either needs a big rewrite or it should be deleted. If it stays, it needs to cite sources and indicate what taboo topic(s) the subjects have dealt with. - Joltman 12:59, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
Harry potter hardly qualifies as literature . i suggest either the section to renamed more suitably or the reference be removed or put in a new section.. also the number of references in this section seems insufficient.There is also the fact that it reveals a part of the plot without a spoiler warning .. Manquer 05:37, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
These are some of the largest taboo's out there, however there is little specification in certain articles about the subject in question about the taboo, however minor or major it is. Example in being, taboo against men shaving thier legs, its normally associated with female, and women can't run outdoors without a shirt on, also normally associated with male; like it or not, many find it taboo. There are more, but this is by far the largest area of 'taboo'. -- Chase-san 09:52, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
I've removed the Harry Potter reference again. Taboo is evidently a unique concept in that series of novels. It should be covered in an appropriate article, unless the concept as used in Harry Potter achieves general use. -- Tony Sidaway 13:01, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
I've been wanting to try out an alternative citation style, and this article seemed ideal for a trial. Perhaps pushing the limits of WP:BB a bit, I've done it unilaterally. If a quick consensus emarges against it, revert it.
In the process of making the changes from one citation style to another, I noticed a few apparent preexisting problems.
I've not read any of the referenced material — please correct any errors I may have introduced. -- Boracay Bill 01:49, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
this is the worst article i've read in Wikipedia. Is it because it's so hard to talk about taboos ? the current article enumerates a few very exotic kinds of 'taboos' and relates in no way to the numerous taboos in our current developed societies. There would be a huge lot of things to say, but... nothing. what a waste ! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Swisscott ( talk • contribs) 22:35, August 29, 2007 (UTC)
Why is there nothing on human defecation and feces in the taboo article?? -- Topk ( talk) 14:53, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
I was looking through the "death taboos" section and noticed that they're tied down to superstition and made to seem unreasonable. This may be the case with fearing the spirit of the dead or the shadow of the recently widowed, but really, having a corpse-touching taboo is not only reasonable but a matter of public health. Although what I might call "the modern civilized world" does understand the concept of germs and the passing of diseases, and is capable of not only reducing the chance of contamination but dealing with contamination once it happens, this is not the case with many places in the world even today, and certainly was not the case some generations back and throughout history.
Just as... okay, a quick search doesn't reveal the name, and I'm too lazy to look him up. But before the guy who brought germs to the attention of scientists became famous, there was this other guy who first proposed the idea that doctors were killing their pregnant patients by dealing with corpses and transferring germs from the corpses to the women when they helped deliver the babies. It was a long time before this idea became accepted by the general scientific community. Prior to this, people had no idea that germs existed, and c'mon, you can't see the durn things, what harm could they do? So the spread of diseases was likely greater in areas that did not have a corpse taboo.
There's actually a book that details how corpse taboos, and several other taboos, were instrumental in keeping the Jews healthier than most of their neighbors. I haven't read it yet, but I've read about it more than once, and I believe it's called None of These Diseases. Turns out certain taboos can save your life. Anyway, what I would like to see as an improvement to this page is a note as to which taboos may have some sense to them (not touching a corpse, or being unclean if you've touched one; not eating certain foods such as pork), instead of having them lumped in with paragraphs that try to explain away the lot as "superstitious nonsense." I hope my argument makes sense; it's hard to think when I'm fighting off germs myself. Kilyle ( talk) 12:18, 6 January 2008 (UTC)
Because we cannot completely remove ourselves from our cultural world, we are unable to know what tabook is "valid" and which is not. Any devil's advocate can point out ways that "invalidate" taboos. For example: proper washing after coming in contact with the dead; veterinary screening for pork; using proper contraceptives during incest to prevent unwanted genetically damaged offspring and so on. Age of consent is another touchy subject for taboos. In many cultures, sexual activity is allowed from the start of puberty, but in the West, 18 is the norm. Still, adolescents form a special sub-group where they are permitted to engage in sexual activities with other adolescents but not with younger or older people, and even this is taboo. -- 88.165.109.248 ( talk) 18:59, 26 February 2009 (UTC)
Although these theories are not any more harmful as unproven scientific theories, people who believe in, or merely discuss them in a formal manner, are depicted as fanatical, ridiculous, and/or paranoid. This should be listed as a taboo, since it is not based on rationality and encourages criminals of certain crimes by giving invulnerability to punishment. 173.183.69.134 ( talk) 02:28, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
If no one opposes before Nov. 20 I'll be adding it... 173.183.69.134 ( talk) 04:04, 15 November 2010 (UTC)
Done. (User 66.183.58.62 is user 173.183.69.134 on a different computer) 66.183.58.62 ( talk) 06:03, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
anarchism a taboo? not here (brazil). source or delete -- 187.40.253.78 ( talk) 00:24, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
Can "fabricating or modifying data, drawing premature conclusions from the same" really be considered "taboo" for scientists? It sounds more like part of a general job description. Many might argue that someone who does these things cannot be called a scientist, as a scientist is one who avoids such behaviors.
I can sort of see why it's included in the list, but at the same time, couldn't one just as easily say that it's taboo for doctors to intentionally maim or kill their patients, or that it's taboo for air traffic controllers to cause mid-air collisions for fun?
Also, I added a note about incest/cannibalism to the table, mentioned Freud mostly talked about those two in T&T 64.4.109.139 6 July 2005 18:06 (UTC)
Taboos, esp. on sexuality, obscene-profane-vulgar language and group libel topics (like to talk about race, politics, religion, gender aand sexual orientation) are highly adhered at the workplace, being both a business and professional setting, and on private property where not every law regarding the First Amendment on freedom of speech is observed. Most likely, the employee caught or reportedly in a violation of workplace conduct will lose their job or face disciplinary action of a various level. Also they are liabilities and many cases, civil rights violations depending on federal or the state level (the US Civil Rights Acts and California Professional Code), but the majority of violations are taken care of within the confines of corporate businesses, unless authorities discovered discrimination and inciteful acts of hatred in the public arena, esp. in a workplace environment, occurred to be taken seriously by legal authorities and civil attorneys. + 71.102.12.55 ( talk) 10:39, 30 December 2010 (UTC)
The examples section lists the following incorrectly:
None of these things are taboo in any cultures that I'm aware of. Good examples of taboos are child rape, murder, infanticide, cannibalism, etc. Burping, nudity, obscenity, etc. are violating folkways or mores at best. These examples are misleading and understating the meaning of "taboo".
Also, why not mention the differences between folkways, mores, and taboos in the article? Berserk798 ( talk) 21:26, 22 January 2008 (UTC)
... restrictions on state of genitalia (circumcision or sex reassignment, exposure of body parts, pornography and nudity esp. in the US) ...
Why is nudity tabooed (?) in the US any more than it is in the rest of the world? I've never been to the US, so I'm most likely wrong, but having seen Video Hits (an Australian music video show) I had the impression that the inverse was true, if anything. Do the words 'esp. in the US' refer to the entire 'restrictions on state of genitalia' section, and if that is the case should this be moved out of the bracket or something for clarity? 124.182.83.118 04:08, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
The vast majority of this article is completely unreferenced. Please provide references or remove the material. There are a couple references in etymology, but the meat of the article is (somewhat poorly) written without any supporting citations. Jbower47 ( talk) 15:43, 11 March 2011 (UTC)
In the Fijian language (Bauan Dialect) the word "Tabu" (Tamboo) loosely translated means "Forbidden" in the strongest sense of the word, its origin is always been within the Fijian Language, maybe someone can incorporate this into the article. Vinaka MB ( talk) 00:04, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
I believe that this word is originated from tamil word " தப்பு"(thappu), which literally means wrong. Some Tamils were brought to fiji few decades back as labourers by british. Due to their presence, this word may have accumulated to fijian and to english also. Can anyone disprove my fact by showing that this word was in fijian before the arrivals of tamils(before 18th century). I kindly request you to reply to this. -தமிழ்க்குரிசில் 13:56, 21 October 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by தமிழ்க்குரிசில் ( talk • contribs)
After Etymology and before Examples there is a phrase in Danish or Norwegian that doesn't belong. I can't see it in edit mode, though.
"Asbjørn og WIlliam er seje." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.59.39.187 ( talk) 06:02, 22 January 2014 (UTC)
Problem fixed. Someone removed it. 46.59.39.187 ( talk) 15:26, 25 January 2014 (UTC)
I made a few preliminary changes. The claim that taboos can be uese to reconstruct history is pretty contentions; most people reject it today. The article needs to qualify the claim. Also, a law against smoking or drinking is not a taboo. It is a law. Law and taboo are not the same -- there are different ways to distinguish them. One difference is that laws are written down by some ruling authority. Another is that taboos express some spiritual/emotional belief or experience. There are taboos in American (and no doubt European and other) societies, but laws and statutes passed by legislatures are not them. Slrubenstein
I want to add here that in Egypt, the reason the Pharaoh could marry within his family (in fact was required to) is that they were assumed to be reincarnations of the Gods--two Gods who were not related. So just like every other society, the taboo wasn't about sexual biology, but about sex with whoever is constructed as "family". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.53.29.3 ( talk) 15:04, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
Is it true that the taboo against incest is not universal? How about cannibalism? Not sure where to look this up... --GG
The taboo against cannibalism is very definitely not universal-hell there was this problem in New Guinea-the natives were getting this deadly disease from eating the brains of their dead, and the government couldn't get them to stop. I think the taboo against murder has existed to some degree in all societies, though.
Are dietary restrictions and offensive language really taboo? Didn't taboo only rever to behavior? -- Ann O'nyme 07:00, 23 Aug 2003 (UTC)
Re the last two comments: Use of language and eating are behaviors, in my book. I pretty sure that cannibalism is not taboo in all societies; a recent and well documented example is certain tribes of New Guinea. I'm not sure if they still practice cannibalism, but they certainly did in the early part of the 20th century. - ike9898.
Can the mountaineer example (stepping on climbing ropes) really be considered "taboo"? In my experience, there is a specific and well-known reason for not stepping on climbing ropes: so that they don't wear out as quickly. Does it really carry the social stigma of the other examples? That's like saying that holding a DVD by the data surface is taboo in the techie community. — BryanD 17:22, Apr 27, 2005 (UTC)
In the first paragraph, where taboo is being defined, it states this
A taboo is a vehement prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behavior is either too sacred or too accursed for ordinary individuals to undertake, under threat of supernatural punishment.
Why must it be under the threat of supernatural punishment? I think a good example of this being false would be the taboo that is the n-word. That is not a taboo because people are afraid of some higher power punishing them for saying it, but rather it is a taboo because of restrictions imposed by society. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.184.229.183 ( talk) 17:58, 7 April 2015 (UTC)
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The first paragraph of the example section says that "However, although cannibalism, in-group murder, and incest are taboo in the majority of societies, modern research has found exceptions for each and no taboo is known to be universal", but the whole string of sources mentions only incest in Roman Egypt, so I added a "failed verification" marker. Also, isn't that entire string of references all referring to one and the same, quite specialist topic a bit superfluous?
Update: I changed the text altogether, so that only brother-sister marriages in Roman Egypt are mentioned now. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.205.75.143 ( talk) 21:07, 9 December 2015 (UTC)
Update (2): Apparently my edit has been reverted three days after I made it, even though the long string of references still only refers to incest in Roman Egypt, not at all justifying the very strong statement that "no taboo is known to be universal". Can someone explain to me what's going on here? I think the text as it stands now is very irresponsible from an encyclopedic point of view, as such a strong statement will likely be remembered by readers, who will expound is as truth to their friends, even though it is entirely unsourced. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.190.253.150 ( talk) 21:41, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
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Even with the freedom of speech and expression, there are conversation subjects to avoid at work, in public and polite company, in addition around young children (teens are expected not to rebel against their parents as well).
10 terrible topical taboos: Politics, religion, money, criminality and violence (including war), personal things or choices (i.e. divorce, abortion, single parenting, and smoking or alcohol use), negative things (natural disasters), social group differences (race, culture, ethnicity or nationality, and biological sex, gender identity, roles or expression), appearance (age, color, height and weight), medical issues (disease, addiction and disability), and bodily functions or fluids. 2 very taboos: Sexuality (including sexual orientation, behaviors and fetishism), and death. The 13th one would be controversy (like legality, morality, ethics, the paranormal, science and history).
The first two can be discussed in certain places in a civil manner, but they are divisive when one's view can offend minority beliefs, opinions, ideologies and sects.
Other distressing topics not to talk about are (examples) Depression, discrimination, domestic violence, mental illness, race relations, stereotypes and suicide.
And finally, people are told to avoid gossip or talking about others, because this is considered bad manners or etiquette. 67.49.89.214 ( talk) 12:54, 23 December 2016 (UTC)
Two points:
This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 |
Why would that be taboo for the United States? I know it would be concidered anti-Semetic but still it's totally ridiclous.
It's more having to do with post-holocaust shame (the Jews, like blacks and gays are victims of humanity's worst crimes), political correct diversity training, and religious tolerance of a strong seated belief of a "Jewish state". It may be Muslims in the U.S. and Europe, the far left (Communists and the USSR), third world activism against colonial rule (they say Israel is doing the same over an Arab people) and Christians in support of Israel is part of the "judgment day/last days/apocalypse" prementition in the bible. The "taboo" of protesting against Israel is weaker now in Europe, since socialists and pacifists since the 1960's seem more protected than holocaust deniers; and the bigger taboo of warfare in Europe, wants to politely remind Israel not to go overboard with fighting terrorism and to respect the wishes of Palestinians to have their own side of the Holy Land. Compared to Europe, Canada and Australia, the U.S. are more likely to practice the rule of taboo than ever before. Because of our conservative right-liberal left ideologies, our minds seem geared to think sex, death, money, certain words, diversity and anything political or religious, esp. in public, is not free speech and forbidden thoughts. What happened to the 1960's, 70's & 80's during times of taboos vanish or become minor violations? Free expression of how we feel of the world should not disappear out of morbid fear, offensiveness, profanity, and disrespect of any authority. The American image is a joke to the liberal societies of the West, even the communists and Muslim world are in awe of our bipolar hypocrisy on what we can say or protest is not P-C or not 'Christian' or not 'patriotic'. We don't live in a golden age America and my friends it's a new age when the "people of the taboo" live in elective darkness. + 207.200.116.9 10:15, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
Taboo artists - I wondered why Robert Mapplethorpe isn't on here. I see some arguments both ways, but if it's just an oversight then I might suggest someone add it, who knows what they're doing. It says on the Robert Mapplethorpe site that he's frank and erotic, so maybe that covers it. He deals in some areas that are sometimes taboo but that doesn't make him a taboo artist.
I've removed this section because no sources were provided for the original research and unsourced claims. If you're going to make such lists in the future, make sure you have the appropriate sources to back them up. Sofeil 10:39, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
I've removed this section because no sources were provided for the original research and unsourced claims. If you think you can find sources for some of the statements here, please include them in the article. Taxico 12:44, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
I noticed that there was a long, discursive and irrelevant quotation on this page by someone called Fady Bahig, who is an unknown self-published novelist. Bahig's work has also been seen cropping up on the God and gender page. These quotes are not relevant and I suspect they come under Wikipedia's ban on advertising. I've deleted the section on this page, but please keep an eye in case it returns. -- TinaSparkle 16:06, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
The sections regarding the origin of taboo should be cleaned up to provide a more balanced view. This article clearly favors Freud, who is himself a taboo among certain circles. If there are other opinions on the origin of this phenomenon, they should be given an equal amount of attention (rather than a pair of unsupported sentences immediately contradicted by a well developed description of Freud's opinion).
These paragraphs make many strong statements that I doubt can be properly backed by reputable sources:
Therefore, unless some supporting sources are added, I plan to remove these sections.
-- Johnkarp 05:47, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
I'm with you, I came here to make the same point. Since it's been nearly two weeks since you first proposed it, I made the cut for you. 68.49.243.231 22:41, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
Well, someone's bot prevented my change. Damned bots. Ok, I know leave this up to someone who knows more about wikipedia to make that particular change and fight it out with the bots. 68.49.243.231 22:45, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
Here are reasons I find obvious and can be stated in the taboo article.
1. Superstitions (the fear of the unknown or abnormal in mystical terms). 2. Religious/ moral values (ours are based on Judeo-Christian tradition). 3. Modern Hygeine (behaviors considered dirty"or based on the germ theory). 4. Etiquette (manners, codes, ethics, actions, beliefs and folkways). 5. Political correctness (how not to offend any social minority group). and 6. Authority (political laws, the workplace, military code, etc.)
Of course, there are universal taboos observed by virtually every society, country and culture: Insect, patricide, cannibalism, sacreligious or profane language, sexual obscenity, bodily excretions or functions, wanton violence, suicide, torture, criticism of an authority figure (even where's it's legal), and family traditions (disrespect of parents or elders, deference of children or teens, esp. where's the adult age is 18 or 21).
Improper discussion/subject matter: sexual intercourse, war (esp. nuclear), hate/prejudice on others, drug use (illegal or not), religious expression in certain situations, foul language, vulgar or "declasse" euphemisms in high society, political controversy in most places, violations of dress codes, irregular observance in rituals or practices, gender roles (although this is less common in the west, but males complain that females are unrestricted), and scenes of death, surgeries or diseases (includes birthing images to many people). Taboos are vigourously enforced by the FCC or self-regulation of entertainment industry, especially the material may air before 10PM.
Adults may or may not observe taboos in a major scene, because it's gross or disturbing or graphic to view/speak/hear of ... usually in American society, children or minors should not be near or hear certain words/topics that their parents or families disapprove of...esp. if they are conservative religious or moralist/puritanical that it "threatens children's spiritual innocence", even though young children may not understand or relate to what they were exposed to.
I'm amazed older children get a thrill or kick out of sexual acts or using the bathroom, mutter coarse language with humorous jest, criticism of their religion or others' religious views (esp. devil worship as teen rebellion) or violent scenes in movies/television...while it's their parents or elders plus teachers or clergy seems sensitive and afraid of the children's psyche or moral character is distorted by the media.
And finally in a democratic society where people can easily discuss, agree or disagree, and protest policy in government ... many issues are more likely are taboo, in order to side with conservative or liberal political agendas, or threatens big business in any way, plus are highly divisive: abortion, death penalty, gay marriage, affirmative action, terrorism, racial tension, the value of life (euthanasia) and the status quo, to some people is taboo as a sign of disobedience and disrespect, when in fact it's really not. -- Mike D 26 21:04, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
This page needs some heavy proofreading. One example: "Europeans bulk in Americans...." I believe the phrase the author was looking for was "Europeans balk at...". Article marked for cleanup.
The sentence in the introduction doesn't make sense: "It is generally supposed that taboo is older than gods and dates back to a period before any kind of religion existed." Gods are usually considered to be eternal. The sentence needs to be reworded. Does it mean before a "belief" in gods?-- Jagz 19:49, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
The examples section seems pretty much a mess to me. Especially the second paragraph, which doesn't seem to make much sense. I'd suggest deleting the second paragraph, and breaking the first paragraph into example groups by taboo type. -- 24.170.135.104 05:48, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
Shouldn't someone include something on Claude Levi-Strauss who while being noted more for his novel approach to Anthropology (so-called Structuralism) also contributed much to the understanding of taboo in The Raw and The Cooked and other texts? My knowledge of his contribution is pretty elementary but if someone out there has more authoritative knowledge on Levi-Strauss I encourage you to add to this section. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 211.220.183.26 ( talk) 01:19, 13 April 2007 (UTC).
The Taboo and art section either needs a big rewrite or it should be deleted. If it stays, it needs to cite sources and indicate what taboo topic(s) the subjects have dealt with. - Joltman 12:59, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
Harry potter hardly qualifies as literature . i suggest either the section to renamed more suitably or the reference be removed or put in a new section.. also the number of references in this section seems insufficient.There is also the fact that it reveals a part of the plot without a spoiler warning .. Manquer 05:37, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
These are some of the largest taboo's out there, however there is little specification in certain articles about the subject in question about the taboo, however minor or major it is. Example in being, taboo against men shaving thier legs, its normally associated with female, and women can't run outdoors without a shirt on, also normally associated with male; like it or not, many find it taboo. There are more, but this is by far the largest area of 'taboo'. -- Chase-san 09:52, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
I've removed the Harry Potter reference again. Taboo is evidently a unique concept in that series of novels. It should be covered in an appropriate article, unless the concept as used in Harry Potter achieves general use. -- Tony Sidaway 13:01, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
I've been wanting to try out an alternative citation style, and this article seemed ideal for a trial. Perhaps pushing the limits of WP:BB a bit, I've done it unilaterally. If a quick consensus emarges against it, revert it.
In the process of making the changes from one citation style to another, I noticed a few apparent preexisting problems.
I've not read any of the referenced material — please correct any errors I may have introduced. -- Boracay Bill 01:49, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
this is the worst article i've read in Wikipedia. Is it because it's so hard to talk about taboos ? the current article enumerates a few very exotic kinds of 'taboos' and relates in no way to the numerous taboos in our current developed societies. There would be a huge lot of things to say, but... nothing. what a waste ! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Swisscott ( talk • contribs) 22:35, August 29, 2007 (UTC)
Why is there nothing on human defecation and feces in the taboo article?? -- Topk ( talk) 14:53, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
I was looking through the "death taboos" section and noticed that they're tied down to superstition and made to seem unreasonable. This may be the case with fearing the spirit of the dead or the shadow of the recently widowed, but really, having a corpse-touching taboo is not only reasonable but a matter of public health. Although what I might call "the modern civilized world" does understand the concept of germs and the passing of diseases, and is capable of not only reducing the chance of contamination but dealing with contamination once it happens, this is not the case with many places in the world even today, and certainly was not the case some generations back and throughout history.
Just as... okay, a quick search doesn't reveal the name, and I'm too lazy to look him up. But before the guy who brought germs to the attention of scientists became famous, there was this other guy who first proposed the idea that doctors were killing their pregnant patients by dealing with corpses and transferring germs from the corpses to the women when they helped deliver the babies. It was a long time before this idea became accepted by the general scientific community. Prior to this, people had no idea that germs existed, and c'mon, you can't see the durn things, what harm could they do? So the spread of diseases was likely greater in areas that did not have a corpse taboo.
There's actually a book that details how corpse taboos, and several other taboos, were instrumental in keeping the Jews healthier than most of their neighbors. I haven't read it yet, but I've read about it more than once, and I believe it's called None of These Diseases. Turns out certain taboos can save your life. Anyway, what I would like to see as an improvement to this page is a note as to which taboos may have some sense to them (not touching a corpse, or being unclean if you've touched one; not eating certain foods such as pork), instead of having them lumped in with paragraphs that try to explain away the lot as "superstitious nonsense." I hope my argument makes sense; it's hard to think when I'm fighting off germs myself. Kilyle ( talk) 12:18, 6 January 2008 (UTC)
Because we cannot completely remove ourselves from our cultural world, we are unable to know what tabook is "valid" and which is not. Any devil's advocate can point out ways that "invalidate" taboos. For example: proper washing after coming in contact with the dead; veterinary screening for pork; using proper contraceptives during incest to prevent unwanted genetically damaged offspring and so on. Age of consent is another touchy subject for taboos. In many cultures, sexual activity is allowed from the start of puberty, but in the West, 18 is the norm. Still, adolescents form a special sub-group where they are permitted to engage in sexual activities with other adolescents but not with younger or older people, and even this is taboo. -- 88.165.109.248 ( talk) 18:59, 26 February 2009 (UTC)
Although these theories are not any more harmful as unproven scientific theories, people who believe in, or merely discuss them in a formal manner, are depicted as fanatical, ridiculous, and/or paranoid. This should be listed as a taboo, since it is not based on rationality and encourages criminals of certain crimes by giving invulnerability to punishment. 173.183.69.134 ( talk) 02:28, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
If no one opposes before Nov. 20 I'll be adding it... 173.183.69.134 ( talk) 04:04, 15 November 2010 (UTC)
Done. (User 66.183.58.62 is user 173.183.69.134 on a different computer) 66.183.58.62 ( talk) 06:03, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
anarchism a taboo? not here (brazil). source or delete -- 187.40.253.78 ( talk) 00:24, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
Can "fabricating or modifying data, drawing premature conclusions from the same" really be considered "taboo" for scientists? It sounds more like part of a general job description. Many might argue that someone who does these things cannot be called a scientist, as a scientist is one who avoids such behaviors.
I can sort of see why it's included in the list, but at the same time, couldn't one just as easily say that it's taboo for doctors to intentionally maim or kill their patients, or that it's taboo for air traffic controllers to cause mid-air collisions for fun?
Also, I added a note about incest/cannibalism to the table, mentioned Freud mostly talked about those two in T&T 64.4.109.139 6 July 2005 18:06 (UTC)
Taboos, esp. on sexuality, obscene-profane-vulgar language and group libel topics (like to talk about race, politics, religion, gender aand sexual orientation) are highly adhered at the workplace, being both a business and professional setting, and on private property where not every law regarding the First Amendment on freedom of speech is observed. Most likely, the employee caught or reportedly in a violation of workplace conduct will lose their job or face disciplinary action of a various level. Also they are liabilities and many cases, civil rights violations depending on federal or the state level (the US Civil Rights Acts and California Professional Code), but the majority of violations are taken care of within the confines of corporate businesses, unless authorities discovered discrimination and inciteful acts of hatred in the public arena, esp. in a workplace environment, occurred to be taken seriously by legal authorities and civil attorneys. + 71.102.12.55 ( talk) 10:39, 30 December 2010 (UTC)
The examples section lists the following incorrectly:
None of these things are taboo in any cultures that I'm aware of. Good examples of taboos are child rape, murder, infanticide, cannibalism, etc. Burping, nudity, obscenity, etc. are violating folkways or mores at best. These examples are misleading and understating the meaning of "taboo".
Also, why not mention the differences between folkways, mores, and taboos in the article? Berserk798 ( talk) 21:26, 22 January 2008 (UTC)
... restrictions on state of genitalia (circumcision or sex reassignment, exposure of body parts, pornography and nudity esp. in the US) ...
Why is nudity tabooed (?) in the US any more than it is in the rest of the world? I've never been to the US, so I'm most likely wrong, but having seen Video Hits (an Australian music video show) I had the impression that the inverse was true, if anything. Do the words 'esp. in the US' refer to the entire 'restrictions on state of genitalia' section, and if that is the case should this be moved out of the bracket or something for clarity? 124.182.83.118 04:08, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
The vast majority of this article is completely unreferenced. Please provide references or remove the material. There are a couple references in etymology, but the meat of the article is (somewhat poorly) written without any supporting citations. Jbower47 ( talk) 15:43, 11 March 2011 (UTC)
In the Fijian language (Bauan Dialect) the word "Tabu" (Tamboo) loosely translated means "Forbidden" in the strongest sense of the word, its origin is always been within the Fijian Language, maybe someone can incorporate this into the article. Vinaka MB ( talk) 00:04, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
I believe that this word is originated from tamil word " தப்பு"(thappu), which literally means wrong. Some Tamils were brought to fiji few decades back as labourers by british. Due to their presence, this word may have accumulated to fijian and to english also. Can anyone disprove my fact by showing that this word was in fijian before the arrivals of tamils(before 18th century). I kindly request you to reply to this. -தமிழ்க்குரிசில் 13:56, 21 October 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by தமிழ்க்குரிசில் ( talk • contribs)
After Etymology and before Examples there is a phrase in Danish or Norwegian that doesn't belong. I can't see it in edit mode, though.
"Asbjørn og WIlliam er seje." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.59.39.187 ( talk) 06:02, 22 January 2014 (UTC)
Problem fixed. Someone removed it. 46.59.39.187 ( talk) 15:26, 25 January 2014 (UTC)
I made a few preliminary changes. The claim that taboos can be uese to reconstruct history is pretty contentions; most people reject it today. The article needs to qualify the claim. Also, a law against smoking or drinking is not a taboo. It is a law. Law and taboo are not the same -- there are different ways to distinguish them. One difference is that laws are written down by some ruling authority. Another is that taboos express some spiritual/emotional belief or experience. There are taboos in American (and no doubt European and other) societies, but laws and statutes passed by legislatures are not them. Slrubenstein
I want to add here that in Egypt, the reason the Pharaoh could marry within his family (in fact was required to) is that they were assumed to be reincarnations of the Gods--two Gods who were not related. So just like every other society, the taboo wasn't about sexual biology, but about sex with whoever is constructed as "family". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.53.29.3 ( talk) 15:04, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
Is it true that the taboo against incest is not universal? How about cannibalism? Not sure where to look this up... --GG
The taboo against cannibalism is very definitely not universal-hell there was this problem in New Guinea-the natives were getting this deadly disease from eating the brains of their dead, and the government couldn't get them to stop. I think the taboo against murder has existed to some degree in all societies, though.
Are dietary restrictions and offensive language really taboo? Didn't taboo only rever to behavior? -- Ann O'nyme 07:00, 23 Aug 2003 (UTC)
Re the last two comments: Use of language and eating are behaviors, in my book. I pretty sure that cannibalism is not taboo in all societies; a recent and well documented example is certain tribes of New Guinea. I'm not sure if they still practice cannibalism, but they certainly did in the early part of the 20th century. - ike9898.
Can the mountaineer example (stepping on climbing ropes) really be considered "taboo"? In my experience, there is a specific and well-known reason for not stepping on climbing ropes: so that they don't wear out as quickly. Does it really carry the social stigma of the other examples? That's like saying that holding a DVD by the data surface is taboo in the techie community. — BryanD 17:22, Apr 27, 2005 (UTC)
In the first paragraph, where taboo is being defined, it states this
A taboo is a vehement prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behavior is either too sacred or too accursed for ordinary individuals to undertake, under threat of supernatural punishment.
Why must it be under the threat of supernatural punishment? I think a good example of this being false would be the taboo that is the n-word. That is not a taboo because people are afraid of some higher power punishing them for saying it, but rather it is a taboo because of restrictions imposed by society. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.184.229.183 ( talk) 17:58, 7 April 2015 (UTC)
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The first paragraph of the example section says that "However, although cannibalism, in-group murder, and incest are taboo in the majority of societies, modern research has found exceptions for each and no taboo is known to be universal", but the whole string of sources mentions only incest in Roman Egypt, so I added a "failed verification" marker. Also, isn't that entire string of references all referring to one and the same, quite specialist topic a bit superfluous?
Update: I changed the text altogether, so that only brother-sister marriages in Roman Egypt are mentioned now. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.205.75.143 ( talk) 21:07, 9 December 2015 (UTC)
Update (2): Apparently my edit has been reverted three days after I made it, even though the long string of references still only refers to incest in Roman Egypt, not at all justifying the very strong statement that "no taboo is known to be universal". Can someone explain to me what's going on here? I think the text as it stands now is very irresponsible from an encyclopedic point of view, as such a strong statement will likely be remembered by readers, who will expound is as truth to their friends, even though it is entirely unsourced. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.190.253.150 ( talk) 21:41, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
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Even with the freedom of speech and expression, there are conversation subjects to avoid at work, in public and polite company, in addition around young children (teens are expected not to rebel against their parents as well).
10 terrible topical taboos: Politics, religion, money, criminality and violence (including war), personal things or choices (i.e. divorce, abortion, single parenting, and smoking or alcohol use), negative things (natural disasters), social group differences (race, culture, ethnicity or nationality, and biological sex, gender identity, roles or expression), appearance (age, color, height and weight), medical issues (disease, addiction and disability), and bodily functions or fluids. 2 very taboos: Sexuality (including sexual orientation, behaviors and fetishism), and death. The 13th one would be controversy (like legality, morality, ethics, the paranormal, science and history).
The first two can be discussed in certain places in a civil manner, but they are divisive when one's view can offend minority beliefs, opinions, ideologies and sects.
Other distressing topics not to talk about are (examples) Depression, discrimination, domestic violence, mental illness, race relations, stereotypes and suicide.
And finally, people are told to avoid gossip or talking about others, because this is considered bad manners or etiquette. 67.49.89.214 ( talk) 12:54, 23 December 2016 (UTC)
Two points: