What are the taboos in your culture?

Texas Al · Last edited by Texas Al on Mon Jan 23, 2006 3:22 pm; edited 1 time in total

The purpose of this thread is not to agree or disagree with taboos. Just to list them. It is admissible to an extent to debate whether or not something is a taboo, but posts that agree/disagree with taboos (or posts that repeat stuff others have posted) will get deleted.

What is a taboo?

You know how they say there's two sides to every issue? Well, a taboo is an issue where one side provokes so much anger, hysteria, and fear that nobody dares to admit having any other opinion on that issue than the one everyone else claims to have.

So, for the USA the taboos appear to be...
* Holocaust revisionism.
* The genetic basis of intelligence.
* Child pornography.
* Methamphetamine manufacture.
* Population control.
* Affirmative action.

EU
* Holocaust revisionism

Japan
* Role in WWII

Turkey
* Armenian genocide

India
* Giving up Kashmir
* Muslim-Hindu hostilities

Pakistan
* Giving up Kashmir

Which ones have I missed? What about the country you live in, what are the taboos there?

Remember, not every controversial issue is a taboo. Only if there is a large majority opinion and those whose opinion is in the minority are afraid to speak out.

LoveMachine

Being Canadian, I have to rack my head to think of any taboo subjects. It's not that there aren't any, they're all just incredibly boring. They aren't even that taboo, but you can't mention any of them to someone over thirty or they'll explode into an opinionated rant you'd rather not listen to.

- George W. Bush. You know, current president of the United States? Yeah. You can't even mutter his name under your breath without being attacked by a Liberal Canadian. And most of us are Liberal (although we'll never admit it.)

- Health care. Nursing shortages, under funding, and waiting periods. My brother had to wait for 6 hours to get a cast put on his leg. Not cool.

- Gay marriage. We allow it. But does everyone like it? Hell no.

Like I said. Pretty boring. I wish we would bomb some poor country just to drum up something to talk about, but we can't afford the bombs.

leat397

I am a Chinese, so there are too many customs and taboos for the mistery cuture...I can't cite them out in this short message..but knowingly, major taboo could be seen in the Lunar New Year Eve..(or the SPring Festival)

n less than a month, this most significant Chinese traditional festival will arrive. The whole nation is going to have at least seven days off
to celebrate. Family reunions, lunar New Year visits, gift money for children, feasts for relatives, friends and colleagues, fire crackers, new dresses, new looks, and so on............ it is supposed to be the most happy and important period of time of year for everybody. And it seems people will be doing everything they have long been yearning to do in last year. However there is something we

Resultingly, there are many taboos for this specal EVENT! Such as we shall never mention words related to “death” lest spoil the hilarious festive atmosphere; we don’t break or damage anything, otherwise superstitiously speaking, doing so would bring misfortunes in the following days; we don’t have our hair cut during the celebrating period, to name a few..........

Pikokola

I'm Indonesian, much of taboo things here

Free sex, wearing a short skirt, sitting under the door, eat/drink standing, sitting in the table, and many more

but... there is some taboo things that haven;t removed and being an ordinary things because of culture asimilation Smile

Oh yeah, Of cours there is so many taboo in every culture (Indonesia is a multi Culture Nation, it have more than 50 clans (or maybe 10 *_*)) and every culture sometimes have a diferent way or maybe kontra with the other culture, but we still follow our slogans "Bhineka Tunggal Ika) - diferent but unity Smile

Tvis

I'm from Holland, but I currently live in Mexico. There are a lot of diferences between these two countries. Holland is very liberal. I cannot think of any taboo. Well, maybe if it has to be a sex related topic. There you can always find taboos, but that is too easy.

In Mexico there are less rules and regulations, but more social control. Therefore living together as a couple without being married is still a taboo. Mostly because the family does not approve. However, slowly this is changing to a modern thought. The younger adults
at this moment are already thinking in living toghether before getting married. But this is still weird for older people.

Living by yourself is as well. You live with your parents until getting married. Moreover homosexuality is still not accepted. In the big cities there are starting scenes for gays but this is still a little bit foggy. Not a lot of people dare to tell they are homosexual.
It's just a few mayor examples.

Soulfire

Well, things that are "off-limits" if you will, are mainly sex and homosexuality. Those are some taboo words that everyone just tries to go around, it makes too many people uncomfortable.

Texas Al

Although sexual issues in the US are controversial, I'm not including them as taboo... because how taboo can homosexuality be if you have TV shows like "Will and Grace" and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"? So it's a controversial issue but with enough numbers on either side of the debate that in most places it's something you can agree to disagree about without getting your life completely and immediately destroyed.

I'll agree that maybe in the 1950's homosexuality was a real taboo in the US.

Non married sex is even less a taboo-- there are plenty of people who are against it, but for the most part, if you're about 17 or older, and you say someone is your boyfriend or girlfriend, people will be more surprised if you tell them you're *not* sleeping with each other.

Actually 17 is probably an overestimate. It was 17 when I was in high school. It's probably way lower by now.

silliman

I am from the United States, one America of many Americas.

One taboo in US society relates to the discomfort or taboo of talking openly and broadly about slavery. Point of fact, slavery has existed since the beginning of time (not just colonial America), and involved nearly every ethnic group (e.g., Chinese, Egyptian, European, Polynesian, Native American, Arabia, Aborigines, whites-on-whites, blacks-on-blacks, etc.); yet, to talk about slavery in non-racist terms is to neuter the political advantages of keeping it about racism. If all races have been enslaved at one time or another, then the argument for “entitlements” and restitution becomes less persuasive.

Slavery, in whatever form, is reprehensible, barbaric and immoral. Ownership to the problem (historical or as it relates to current 21 Century slavery) transcends ethnic boundaries. Until we as global citizens can talk openly about slavery, it will remain “underground” and beyond our reach to stop it.

TabletPCUser

cookienmilo

In a multi-racial country like Malaysia, we get all sort of taboos whether we are chinese, malay, indians, and of one of the dozens of indigenous groups such as ibans, dayaks, kadazans, muruts, dusuns, etc etc. Sometimes and very likely it's impossible to keep track of most of them. However, should we visit any of them especially for any festivities, the hosts of any culture are usually very gracious and more than happy to explain the cultural and traditional practices.

denggi

I'm from Malaysia too and regardless of how much we like to think that we are sooo united, we need to acknowledge that anything that has anything to do with race still is taboo. It's nearly impossible to talk about anything about any particular race without it becoming another racial issue.

Malay dude talks about chinese, the malay dude is just discriminating. The chinese talk bout some indian guy, now it's the chinese guy that's racist. Seems to be that only people of the same race can criticise each other. We can't seem to be able to discuss things like this openly and thats actually the thing we need. Dialogue. So we can actually UNDERSTAND each other. Rather than TOLERATE. You know what tolerate means? To me it's like, disliking....but just standing the sight of it just to accomodate.

The government is doing quite alright, but not good enough. There's too much censorship, the economic policies aren't don't allow equal footing, racial based politics are still dominant in politics. We need to move beyond skin colour. All the races have been in the country for so long and yet the perception of second-class citizens still exist. I do hope Malaysia will improve.

Malaysia Boleh~

bluedragon

I am taboo in my culture. Crying or Very sad

blackheart

I think alot of very basic things have been missed - I mean, everything above is very serious, and very valid in that but...

I would also have to add that taboo should also include actions that would be tabboo... i.e:

Australia:

- Big businesses running smaller ones out of business
- Big Australian companies (i.e. VEGEMITE) selling out to overseas
- Dobbing on your mates
- Bragging
- Sleeping with a mate's "partner"
- At least where I'm from: Going out with a close mate's ex (without asking first)
- Being a poser - ie saying you can surf when you can't - (you wouldn't believe the number of people who hang out at surf beaches and do this. I don't know if even all Australians know just how many of em there are - lol)
- Although there are little racist pockets of Australia here and there - it is considered VERY un-Australian to be racist or discriminatory (in any way) in the vast majority of the country

These are things that people do do... but is VERY greatly frowned upon by the majority. I mean - it's stuff you just don't do.

I mean, it might be taboo to walk around naked in public, but people streak and we have nude beaches.
So taboo can't be quite as black and white as what people do and do not do.

lyndonray

i am from botswana in southern africa, and the biggest taboo i can think of is being gay. Not only is it taboo, its illegal. Yep, you can find yourself in jail because you play for the other team. Which is really dumb. But apart from that we really don't have many taboos. But it also depends where you are. In some of the rural areas they can make just about anything taboo if they feel like it. But on the whole we are quite tolerant.

Jaderblack

paul_indo

I have been living in Indonesia for quite a few years now and, as Pikokola said, there are many taboos here.

The funniest one I know is this.
Kissing in public. Even your wife.

They nearly made a law against it last year but luckily I don't think it actually happened, as we have heard nothing about it for a few months.

Imagine, you could go to prison for kissing your wife goodbye at the airport.

Kashinilaya

Two of the greatest taboos in my culture (and I believe they also apply to the majority of western cultures, specially the USA) are:

talking or mentioning democracy in a negative way

questioning a technology

karysky

In Canada, the one I hear the most about is violence against ederly people.

There are more and more cases discovered each day dealing with this. It's horrible !

Ultima1080

Being from the USA...I can't think of too many taboos exactly that haven't been listed...though there are a few:

Making a joke that might "offend" someone (people need to learn to laugh at themselves)

VEGEMITE

I list Vegemite because it frankly is vile and wrong and souldn't be produced. Sorry Aussies, but that stuff is so disgusting that it should be banned from the world. Wink

Helios · Last edited by Helios on Thu Feb 02, 2006 7:10 pm; edited 1 time in total

I'm living in Israel.. so, ermm, I guess that we have the the Ten Commandments and we're not eating pork. Laughing

XxGunner

Well my taboos are:

-Throwing rocks at people
-Stepping on someones face
-Jumping on someones stomach
-Biting someones ear off
-Cannabalism
-Racism
-Fags Laughing

lol

Guess thats all.

Enjoy...

Jeslyn

wumingsden · its actually 3-4/10 people

BugBear · its actually 3-4/10 people

SunburnedCactus

silliman

I've gotta add one more far less incendiary, but still relevant, taboo that prevails in the USA.

This taboo relates to the dominate culture’s preference and favor of “extroversion” over “introversion.” This norm is so deeply engrained that most introverts feign being an extrovert because to “act” any other way would be to suggest that the introvert has somehow grown up socially deprived. Extroverts would even go so far as to suggest that introverts have some developmental abnormality. Every effort will be made by introverts to make an introvert jump up on the table, dance, scream at the top of their lungs and make a fool of themselves too – because that’s “normal.”

Earlier comments mentioned that gays in society might number 1 in 10 or even as high as 3 in 10. My intuition tells me that the number of introverts in society might be at least fifty percent or higher, but because the extroverts make more noise and out shout the introverts, they have successfully made it seem that they are the ruling majority.

[slap on the back, with a roaring belly-laugh] let me ask you in a voice 100 decibels above that needed to communicate: WHAT DO YOU THINK, MATE? LOL LOL LOL

Arnie

In my environment (scientifically oriented school) I sense a big taboo on disagreeing with commonly accepted theories. The evolution theory is the big example of course.

essentialmedia

Humping your sister, or your brother for that matter

Humping your pets

Humping your mom

Or humping anything dead

Oh and don't eat babies.

Wink

Arnie

Yeah. eating babies is pretty bad. Thankfully there's still plenty adults available Mr. Green

blackheart

zombi3

what is vegimite? And for that matter what r taboos. Hahaha im stupid.

blackheart

Daniel15

jorgeash

In colombia a taboo is a gay married, and homosexual relationship

jorgeash

we don't eat any animals that have more than four legs, and have dosent have warm blood Idea

Jeslyn

The taboo in my culture, I'm partially middle eastern & of mediterranean blood; in the dominant segment of my heritage, it's a huge taboo to even consider marrying, going out with, etc. a white man.

Every other race is allowed except for the above. I believe this has more to do with my family's preference though.

PerkExpert

I'm from Germany, and basicly anything that has something to do with the holocaust is a taboo, regarding the question of personal guilt or involvement. Revisionism is actually against the law. And we got many museums, exhibitions and other methods of informing ourselves about the war and the crimes that happened there. So we are very aware and informed about it. But if it comes to the point of asking, what your grandfather did in the war, or if someone knew what was happening, then, there's silence and the idea that "somebody else" was it. Basicly then most people say, i didn't know of everything, i wasn't actively participating, even if i would have known sth, i couldn't have done much about it anyhow. The generation of the war is now almost dead, so much personal family history will die with our grandparents and so will maybe some important lessons. All this translates into another taboo: Nationalism.

the_mariska · Last edited by the_mariska on Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:48 pm; edited 1 time in total

sorry, something went wrong with my computer and those post copied itself a few times. Can anyone delete the rest because I can't actually do it? Pleease Wink

the_mariska

wumingsden

OK, way to much spam above or a very big accident Very Happy

The taboo's here, in England, are pedophile Priests (or other Men of the Clothe) as well as Gay Muslims. People know that the above is happening but like to deny it which is why its a taboo

photographerguy

I'm American,

I agree with all of what's been said about it so far. One thing that people don't realize (if you've never been here) is some states are actually like being from different countries. I am from Detroit, MI and unfortunately it is one of the most racially segregated areas in the U.S. So I agree slavery is definitely taboo, and interracial marriage/dating is also. Pedophile Catholic priests (I am Catholic by the way) and gay marriage are also. One weird thing about Michigan is some cities are somewhat gay-tolerant/friendly and some are so far of the opposite, it would seem like a different country. I think this a very interesting thread and hope it continues to be a good read.

Carupieara

I guess as everywhere incest is a taboo here, while another thing looked down upon is live-in relationships, sex before marriage among others.

rwojick

Amercan Law does not allow for Taboos, at least not formally.

We use "politics" to vote for "lawmakers" who make "laws".

If someone feels a law was broken then they "write up" a complaint and they send one copy to the violater and one copy to the Court.

The "taboo" would be elevated to "law" on the day the law was written. If the law violated the Bill of Rights then it would not be constitutional.

We all respect others "taboos" to some extent, but if we want a legal ruling then "taboo" is out and only "written law" is in.

Great topic, though

tufansaba

CMA

I can't think of any major taboos on my country (Portugal) besides the normal ones found almost everywhere around the world, like incest, pedophilia and many others that are almost "worldwide taboos" (though I'm sure that this isn't true for the entire world).

I can't really think of any particular subject people on my country would feel unconfortable to talk about. Generally everyone is liberal enough to talk about pretty much everything, even the darkest times in our history. We know the crap we made in the past and we have no problems in admitting our mistakes and discussing them.

Texas Al

Texas Al

Texas Al

geyikkutuphanesi

mr.emre

uoturkey

insolent1

vlnjodie

I am from the US and I think a lot of our taboos have to do with children. It is taboo to think a child could be responsible for his/her actions. It is also taboo to be frusturated with your children in public, or sometimes even to use disipline to get a child to listen.

I'm glad someone also brought up the slavery issue here. People are unable to talk about slavery openly, especially when a group is multi-racial.

Takayukiko

Myself being a Japanese grown up in Hong Kong,
let me tell you this....
Japanese aren't feeling sorry for the WWII. (but i am....i apologize for those who suffered from what my country+ancstor did)

They never learnt about them in depth,they'd just use euphemism and they've been told what Korean and Chinese people do to us recently.... especially North Korean abduction.

so they're not taboo at all. You'll just receive a huge list of what Japanese suffered from them, and a kind comment that the crime's been cleared off.

i'm really sorry.....f**k my nation.

Mrs Lycos

I'm form Argentina and big taboos are the militar government doring 1976-1981. and Malvinas war revisionism.
They say that a lot of people "dissapeared" during this government, that were killed or thrown into the middle of the ocean from militar planes. The thing is that over time the amount of missing people has increased, first there were 10 thousand, and now they are more than 30 thousand. How come is that? and when you ask, nobody even think people could belying about that. And it's those numbers that new generations are learning. I'm not saying that people did not dissapear. I'm talking about partial numbers. At the same time, militars are depicted as criminals, but militars were killed in likewise manners by the communist guerrilla. Militar officers' families were cold-bloodedly killed, tortured and that's something nobody talks about because militars were always the "bad guys", specially after they lost the Mavinas war. What if they had won it? At the time of the war, all agree with the decision of re taking the islands. They all applauded and sent help and everything. But now nobody talks about those times, except from war veterans, who were very proud to fight for their country and now are almost rejected by society because they remind them of what really happened.

Jori

I dont really know Very Happy

jaycoo

Vegemite is gods gift to mankind. Its certainly an aquired taste but once your hooked.... basically it is a yeast spread that you would usually put on toast or sandwiches (sanga's). Black in colour and with a consistency of axle grease it could be mistaken in any workshop throughout the none world as some sort of mechanical lubricant....
But still I love it.. Go the WALLABIES!!!

Tasukii

Taboos in France...I don't really know...official taboos?
Maybe homosexuality, pedophalia....but there ain't so taboos.
And the fact we loose the 2nd war is not a taboos. French can esaily laught of that. The first war is more taboo than the second, it was a real massacre...

mu4eva

Chinese Taboos....

Let me see... Rolling Eyes

Ok, first there's this thing about chinese hating the number four (4) but they love number eight ( Cool

Then, there's always wear black and not red in a funeral

No sweeping the floor on the first day of Chinese New Year

Fireworks graced the New Year

That's about what I can think of now

Lorre

I think the only taboo in Belgium is making fun of royalty, or foreigners who live in Belgium.
Big no-no.

adwya

dacode

Hi all,

I'd say that here in France the biggest taboo of all is politics.
I mean : everybody talk about it, every single politician say that the nation must look forward while learning lessons from the past, and still nothing's done.

We had so many counter-examples (do what I say, not what I do) in the recent years that all it has produced is nonsense.

Our President Chirac should have been judged for "affairs", but the case never "started". While we watch Michael Moore's movies, we have the same here, and our "michael moore" ("Les guignols de l'info" on CANAL +) is part of the establishment for so long that it makes people smile and laugh but with no other reaction.

So politics are a kind of taboo imho here in France.
The other one is religion : same song : everybody talks, but no one listen, and moreover no one acts to try to counterbalance the fact that less and less people try to understand and help his neighboor, regardless of religion, color of skin, sexual orientations, etc

KRONIC

well i from trinidad, i not really familiar with this taboo thing, but so far what i think taboo means is a topic or subject that a culture or nation detains from discussing or mentioning. am i right?

well in trinidad the most important taboo subject i feel is racism and gayness..lol it may sound funny but nobody in trini i feel doesnt want to even start to discuss racism or gayness!!

if i am wrong about the concept of a taboo subject please let me know!!..thanks Cool

svecia

Driving druk is taboo or at lest it used to be.
Now theres mostley a problem if Your a celberty and get
cautgh by the law , Then the tabloids start writing about it

cloudi83

There was some interesting things mentioned here from all over the world. To add to the discussion I'm Cambodian and have just come back to Australia from a trip there.

Talking about taboos..yeah well Cambodia has some issues they might want to reslove. These being :

* Old guys marrying girls more than half their junior.
* Government wake's up and stop corruption in their ranks
* Men are given more status than girls ( not much equality )
and yeah there is a whole heap more...I feel sad for my country of birth...sigh.

Glad my parents came to Australia all those years ago...it is truly a lucky country.

NoahDesclian

Just a few from japan, as I'm living there now...or here...

You can't stick your chopsticks into your bowl of rice, because it is what is done at funerals.

Don't point with your chopsticks.

Don't, while talking to a superior, refer to them with "you."

Lennon

When everything has to be done through your parents, your boss, your supervisor et. There's such a taboo against doing your own thing sometimes.

jogjafotografi

taboo is when people think they have moral, but they don't really know

Lacerate-

Well I live in America and most everything has already be posted but around where I live their is so much racial descrmination its not funny. I have seen many people qualified for jobs and haven't got the job not because of their resume nor interview just because they are infact different. If you are different here you will be an outkast and there is nothing you can really do about it except deal with it. Even though the laws say we aren't suppose to it happens here anyway and getting worse everyday. Crying or Very sad

fragment

The taboo in my culture is mortification of freedom of speech. The big guys wont even say sorry! Damn these!

Dustin

Canada
- see america

ralphbefree

it is taboo among my peers to go into a concert with a spare ticket. sometimes the concert will be starting and I will have an extra ticket, from my friend that couldn't make it or something. I would have to give the ticket away before going into the show with the ticket. that's just how it is.

lockbox

Culture A

customary greeting: firm two shake handshake, arm's length away
taboo: do NOT hug
name: formal by last name, with honorific, mrs. , sir, mr. ms, etc
gifts: accept, open right away and comment on
business cards: accept, put away in pocket

Culture B

customary greeting: long lasting handshake (likes to shake and talk), likes shoulders touching
taboo: do NOT open gifts in front of
name: formal last name only, but when comfortable first name okay
gifts: accept, don't open
business cards: accept, draw picture on

Culture C

customary greeting: patting someone on the head
taboo: do NOT draw on business card
name: informal, nicknames only
gifts: accept, give away to closest friend in front of gift giver
business cards: accept, keep holding and referring to during conversation

Culture D

customary greeting: head nod side to side,
taboo: men and women do not greet each other, walk away if opposite greets
name: names are taboo with strangers
gifts: refuse until offered 4 times then accept
business cards: accept, but only if presented with two hands, otherwise decline

Culture E

customary greeting: big hug
taboo: do NOT pat on the head
name: first names only
gifts: accept, do not open in public
business cards: accept, throw in the air if lands name side up, become friends, if lands name side down walk away in a huff. This is considered bad karma, no relationship will occur.

cnotation

I feel like everyone knows America's culture already. But me being American I have trouble identifying the small things that make people American. Everyone things we are ethnocentric and only enjoy eating hamburgers. Perhaps that is true but we are the great inventors of the world as well. Most of the unique inventions come from America. If anyone can succeed in business here, they can be successful anywhere else in the world. Competition here is high, but the reward is very sweet. What more interesting for me is going to visit other countries. I would like to thank everyone for providing intimate details of their culture to the board. Dollar willing I would like to visit all around the world.

mxmbt2

Yeah I'd have to agree that humping your sister is a definite no-no pretty much everywhere. Actaully it is very rare that you meet anyone who openly declares they are incestuous. But maybe as our societies get more and more liberal... and more and more things become acceptable, it may not be such an issue in 50 years time. A bit of a freak out actually. But if you break everything down to basics in terms of science, in a physical sense ie atoms reacting with atoms, a back massage is really no different to sex, and likewise, in scientific sense there would be no difference between having sex with a non-relative rather than a relative. It really is just a human built concept... I'm sure that animals don't put much thought into humping your sister... But maybe I'm too conditioned to be so open minded.

blcklude97

i just don't agree with drugs of any sort. I have lost many family members to addiction. I HATE george buch with a passion i hope dies 2morrow of some random flu. I'm all for equal rights for everyone because we are all people and need to be treated equal. I don't believe that child rapists should get released from prison ever they should get the death penlty and die in jail after i watched a dateline special i just got completely sick of those bastards plus my old city i lived in spokane, wa was paid 36k per sexual offender they house in city limits. spokane is gay don't move there guys its a waste of space. anywho thats what i believe in and i'm i able to have my site now?

Agnostic

It is a taboo in some places to stare at another person. Especially in crammed public places, like buses and elevators. And especially to stare at a person of opposite sex. Except little kids. It's usually more tolerated when little kids stare at people. (I wonder why they do that?)

Tom Davidson

I've seen a lot of taboos on this web site, however in the United States as in most of the world the big taboo his cannibalism.
And quite frankly I don't understand that with so much of the world starving from thef lack of protein, and we put the protein right in the ground.
Now don't get me wrong I understand nobody wishes to eat their loved one at least as a meal, but with living human beings dropping like flies in Third World countries it seems to me it should at least be an option.

LukeakaDanish

Denmark (at the moment)

Saying that you think anyone in this whole affair should have said sorry
Saying that the pictures shouldnt have been printed.
Saying that the priminister could have prevented all the bullshit by being actively against the pictures from day one

Denmark (always)

Expressing communist thoughts
Being teenager (some people (?most people?) think your violent, drunk and drug addict because your around 16 years old.

HAha

ok...maybe thats excesive... Very Happy

Just some thoughts anyway...

LukeakaDanish

Shake

On a previous post: Who buys the newspaper? Who pays for that wad of nasty trash?

In other news: Ok...look: taboos are what gives a culture its culture. If everyone is the same, nobody would know when they're in another country like ... Canada. Its the people who want to fit in that are protesting about taboos. People who are afraid to go outside on a bright and sunny day. Be unique, and stand out from the crowd. Don't spend your leisure time worrying about taboos on FriHost forums. Razz

wilma

Im from India and over here there are a lot of taboos when it comes to sexuality
- Homosexuality is frowned upon severely
- Public Display of Affection
- Having a Live - In relationship
- Having a child outside wedlock
- Single Parenthood

This is all so ridiculous... but true

Lied

In greece where i live in it should be Civil War,both times in our history.Homosexuality on the other hand tends to be judged by only older generations.The more openminded(the majority of ppl under 50 years old) tend to be humurus about homosexuality.

The examples am going to give below i dont know if they are taboos or luck of information.

-Dicline of the Kioto Agreement by the US (Even in 2005 when the tornadoes hit vastly the US nobody talked about the enviromental damage even when the majority of the scientist community said that this must be one of the major reasons this happend)
-Turky Genoside of Armenians( some tens of thousand killed turks cannot justify the 3 million killed Arenians)

Magicoman

In New Zealand the main Taboos seem to be:
1: ANYTHING nuclear
2: ANYTHING genetically modified

Although the GE issue is a hot debate topic ALWAYS!!

fckarlsberg

Taboos regulate our sexual conduct, race relations, political institutions, and economic mechanisms - virtually every realm of our life. According to the 2002 edition of the "Encyclopedia Britannica", taboos are "the prohibition of an action or the use of an object based on ritualistic distinctions of them either as being sacred and consecrated or as being dangerous, unclean, and accursed".

Jews are instructed to ritually cleanse themselves after having been in contact with a Torah scroll - or a corpse. This association of the sacred with the accursed and the holy with the depraved is the key to the guilt and sense of danger which accompany the violation of a taboo.

In Polynesia, where the term originated, says the Britannica, "taboos could include prohibitions on fishing or picking fruit at certain seasons; food taboos that restrict the diet of pregnant women; prohibitions on talking to or touching chiefs or members of other high social classes; taboos on walking or traveling in certain areas, such as forests; and various taboos that function during important life events such as birth, marriage, and death".

Political correctness in all its manifestations – in academe, the media, and in politics - is a particularly pernicious kind of taboo enforcement. It entails an all-pervasive self-censorship coupled with social sanctions. Consider the treatment of the right to life, incest, suicide, and race.

Meanwhile, these muhammed issue are taking place-that´s a taboo in itself-whereby Iran and the danish paper agreed on a holocaust cartoon. That my friend-is freedom.

grimcss

i dont have a clue what aboo are but i will search up and see what it is in the uk weird i have never heard of the word before this sounds a bit gay :S anyway on with the search haha

desertwind

India.

Dowry. Oh I'm so ashamed of this taboo. How can a MAN ask for money/gold for marrying a girl. Isn't that selling themselves.

Well have a look at the following picture. No comments, it speaks by itself.

Mishona

I have seen that several cultures have taboos related to former dictatorships, etc... We in Spain do not have any problem to talk about our dictatorship, or about our civil war. But strangely, almost no one will recognize in public that they had supported dictatorship. It is the same with the political affiliations, in many groups of people, specially in my area (Catalunya), it is a taboo to recognize that you support the right-wing, it is like a kind of fashion to be left-wing. I have a friend who votes right-wing and he only told me after being friends for 3 years

Apart from these strange taboos, other taboos are related to monarchy, you cannot make some kind of jokes out of the king or his family. Anyway, this has improved a lot in the last years, some years ago a TV program was closed because they made jokes all time about the king's daughter. Now you can even see some people imitating the royal family. Joking about the Pope or religion in general is not very well seen either.

Dragonfly

geyikkutuphanesi

dragonduke

CONCERNING "VEGIMITE"

ITS CORRECT SPELLING IS VEGEMITE

http://www.vegemite.com.au/ is the main site for vegemite.

Its baically a black, tar like paste that is usually spread on toast. Most foreigners make the mistake of applying it like peanut butter, then having a very salty aftertaste left in their mouthes. Applying a very thin layer of vegemite over toast is ideal, and its a matter of taste whether its "disgusting" or "delicious". I personally dont mind it, but dont sing about it either.

Some people will argue its one of those "HATE OR LOVE" issues, but i dont agree. As far as im concerned, its simply another breakfast spread. ITs easy to find in AUS, but foreigners REALLY curious could probably import some. I personally dont think VEGEMITE is something special.

toronja

some taboo are ok, becaouse are social filters for dangerous things or that can deliver to unhappyness.
Those taboos are some backed with wisdom, but that inmature of us, we can't undertand until es too late.

Arnie

I agree with that, you don't have to keep talking about everything. It reminds me of this strange group in Holland that wants to legalize sexual relationships between adults and children. Thankfully they're not getting too much attention as well. It's a good argument against the "everything must be discussable" theory.

Karo

Hello!
I'm new here and as I was introducing myself ("sort of" in another forum) I realized that al least in Argentina, women are a bit concerned about telling their age... (I'm no exception now!)
To be honest, this wasn't so all my life. I lived in many countries before coming here (Patagonia to be more precise...). The U.S., U.K., Venezuela and several provinces in Argentina... I never minded telling my age but grew a bit tired of people telling me I shouldn't do so (besides, now they have started saying "Oh, really??? - you don't seem to be XX years old"... and it makes me feels as if "XX years old" were a lot!). I guess they mean it as a compliment (rather common I must add) but it works the other way round for me... Embarassed

r.b.ink

I'd say cannibalism and incest must be the top two that come to mind. These seem to be universal.

Althogh around here...the bible belt...teaching creationism in science classes is the big debate...so teaching purely evolution would seem taboo to some. Gotta love livin in the sticks Smile

insolent1

benwhite

I'm pretty sure most of the world views Armenia genocide as a genocide. Even Bush called it a "tragedy." The turks themselves are the only people I've ever heard of disputing how awful what happened really was.

In fact, there's a court case right now of some Turkish professors suing the state government over using a history textbook that refers to the genocide, saying that it wasn't giving both sides of the debate. So the issue is not dead.

Arnie

StyledeTos

In my culture there are no taboos (portuguese )

Pavlosco

ik zou ook de frihost hosts willen bedanken omda ik deze topic gewoon gezien had en ik dacht ik ga hier ne keer nene hgele lange post zetten zoda ik goe veel punte krijg want ik moe 5 posts emme en 10 punte en dees is mn derde post ma ik em ng ma 0.5 punte en ik dnek da het aantal punte afhankelijk is van de groote van uwe post dsu da zal ik nu ma ne keer uitteste door nen hele lange psot hier te posten e, ja zo zimpel is het , ik zal dan ma beginne e, waarom ik dus bij dees ding ben gelome e, wel ja ik moe webspace emme om video'kes enzo up te loade zoda mn vrinde enzo die ook kunne zien en de video was eerst 2.2GB ma da kon ik nerges uplaode en dan em ik het formaat veranderd en een beetje verkleind en zo is de groote tog al sterk an benede gegaan en is nu 241MB en dees is daar ideaal vo om da op interne te zette e?
alle jo ik hoop da deze post lang genoeg wasik zou ook de frihost hosts willen bedanken omda ik deze topic gewoon gezien had en ik dacht ik ga hier ne keer nene hgele lange post zetten zoda ik goe veel punte krijg want ik moe 5 posts emme en 10 punte en dees is mn derde post ma ik em ng ma 0.5 punte en ik dnek da het aantal punte afhankelijk is van de groote van uwe post dsu da zal ik nu ma ne keer uitteste door nen hele lange psot hier te posten e, ja zo zimpel is het , ik zal dan ma beginne e, waarom ik dus bij dees ding ben gelome e, wel ja ik moe webspace emme om video'kes enzo up te loade zoda mn vrinde enzo die ook kunne zien en de video was eerst 2.2GB ma da kon ik nerges uplaode en dan em ik het formaat veranderd en een beetje verkleind en zo is de groote tog al sterk an benede gegaan en is nu 241MB en dees is daar ideaal vo om da op interne te zette e?
alle jo ik hoop da deze post lang genoeg wasik zou ook de frihost hosts willen bedanken omda ik deze topic gewoon gezien had en ik dacht ik ga hier ne keer nene hgele lange post zetten zoda ik goe veel punte krijg want ik moe 5 posts emme en 10 punte en dees is mn derde post ma ik em ng ma 0.5 punte en ik dnek da het aantal punte afhankelijk is van de groote van uwe post dsu da zal ik nu ma ne keer uitteste door nen hele lange psot hier te posten e, ja zo zimpel is het , ik zal dan ma beginne e, waarom ik dus bij dees ding ben gelome e, wel ja ik moe webspace emme om video'kes enzo up te loade zoda mn vrinde enzo die ook kunne zien en de video was eerst 2.2GB ma da kon ik nerges uplaode en dan em ik het formaat veranderd en een beetje verkleind en zo is de groote tog al sterk an benede gegaan en is nu 241MB en dees is daar ideaal vo om da op interne te zette e?
alle jo ik hoop da deze post lang genoeg was

insolent1

Ms.Pseudo

I'm from Finland, and there's not so many taboos in generally, but maybe the World War II is one of them, but only by some perspectives or some of the events.

Things, that have almost never really spoked about

Finland was ally of Nazi-Germany
Finland lost part of its territory to Soviet Union. This is ok to discuss, but what is taboo, is restitution of those areas. Russian is still too big and dreadful neighbour, that we could even talk about that.

olafsson

Whoa! The advertisement to the right of this textfield... its an advertisement of a Canon 350D camera. Exactly the one I bought last summer. I think I should delete my cookies or something. Or just shoot the computer. Now I just need a gun.

As an Icelander living in Germany, whalehunting seems to be a tabu. Nobody ever asks my opinion to the matter or discusses it.
In general the germans are against it and in general the icelanders are for it.

hyperviktor

Taboo is sometinh you don't sepak about...
In my country there a few taboos i think...
For example holocaust is an interesting theme to speak about...it's a part of history...

hyperviktor

Why should World War II be a taboo ? You learn about it at the school... I mean it's history, and really interesting! There are many films on the TV about World War II ! And it's really exciting!

hyperviktor

alle jo ik hoop da deze post lang genoeg wasik zou ook de frihost hosts willen bedanken omda ik deze topic gewoon gezien had en ik dacht ik ga hier ne keer nene hgele lange post zetten zoda ik goe veel punte krijg want ik moe 5 posts emme en 10 punte en dees is mn derde post ma ik em ng ma 0.5 punte en ik dnek da het aantal punte afhankelijk is van de groote van uwe post dsu da zal ik nu ma ne keer uitteste door nen hele lange psot hier te posten e, ja zo zimpel is het , ik zal dan ma beginne e, waarom ik dus bij dees ding ben gelome e, wel ja ik moe webspace emme om video'kes enzo up te loade zoda mn vrinde enzo die ook kunne zien en de video was eerst 2.2GB ma da kon ik nerges uplaode en dan em ik het formaat veranderd en een beetje verkleind en zo is de groote tog al sterk an benede gegaan en is nu 241MB en dees is daar ideaal vo om da op interne te zette e?
alle jo ik hoop da deze post lang genoeg wasik zou ook de frihost hosts willen bedanken omda ik deze topic gewoon gezien had en ik dacht ik ga hier ne keer nene hgele lange post zetten zoda ik goe veel punte krijg want ik moe 5 posts emme en 10 punte en dees is mn derde post ma ik em ng ma 0.5 punte en ik dnek da het aantal punte afhankelijk is van de groote van uwe post dsu da zal ik nu ma ne keer uitteste door nen hele lange psot hier te posten e, ja zo zimpel is het , ik zal dan ma beginne e, waarom ik dus bij dees ding ben gelome e, wel ja ik moe webspace emme om video'kes enzo up te loade zoda mn vrinde enzo die ook kunne zien en de video was eerst 2.2GB ma da kon ik nerges uplaode en dan em ik het formaat veranderd en een beetje verkleind en zo is de groote tog al sterk an benede gegaan en is nu 241MB en dees is daar ideaal vo om da op interne te zette e?

ik zou ook de frihost hosts willen bedanken omda ik deze topic gewoon gezien had en ik dacht ik ga hier ne keer nene hgele lange post zetten zoda ik goe veel punte krijg want ik moe 5 posts emme en 10 punte en dees is mn derde post ma ik em ng ma 0.5 punte en ik dnek da het aantal punte afhankelijk is van de groote van uwe post dsu da zal ik nu ma ne keer uitteste door nen hele lange psot hier te posten e, ja zo zimpel is het , ik zal dan ma beginne e, waarom ik dus bij dees ding ben gelome e, wel ja ik moe webspace emme om video'kes enzo up te loade zoda mn vrinde enzo die ook kunne zien en de video was eerst 2.2GB ma da kon ik nerges uplaode en dan em ik het formaat veranderd en een beetje verkleind en zo is de groote tog al sterk an benede gegaan en is nu 241MB en dees is daar ideaal vo om da op interne te zette e?

Morten

In Norway (and maybe in many other western countries as well..??) it is ok to talk about overweight and obese people. But it is kind of a taboo to tell someone they are fat. But telling people they are thin/lean/skinny, is ok. Kind of strange actually considering that skinny people might have problems with gaining weight like many fat people have problem loosing weight.
And often the feelings they have when someone tell them off because of their weight, they might share the same feelings about it. Fat or skinny.

M.

rocky

i'm romanian ... i dont think we have many taboo's but most important i think are the gipsy's (small comunity with romanian citizenship whitch where ever they've gone in Europe they made us look bad cause of begging/stiling and so on) and on the other half are the politicians who have the only intrest to avoid the law and get more richer then they are

tony

smalls

I'm in the US. I think it's very taboo here to point out the failings of our public school system. Americans are very proud of being THE major superpower, and many point to our public education system as the reason. I always get chastised when I point out that we are incredibly successful IN SPITE of our education system.
To all the Canadians out there. I've been bashed pretty hard for insulting the Canadian socialized medical system, so I'm sure that's a pretty big taboo up north.

Side note....I just found frihost, and I'm already a big fan.

smalls

I think driving drunk is pretty taboo here in the US also. Unfortunately, although everyone seems to agree it's insane to do, I see lots of people stumble out of bars and head straight for the parking lot. Maybe some things just aren't taboo enough.

Bengt

Belgium:
not too many, but Holocaust is one, death too,...

calva

hmm, an interesting note... death is taboo in many modern societies, I think.. maybe, modern people don't face death so closely (in many aspects of life) as before, so often it is simply kept taboo.. but probably most people go through various events when they realise that it is a part of human life, actually. Nice day to all of you

Lied

~tang~

madamex-7

I'm in Miami, one of the most liberal and simultaneously conservative cities in the US.
When I think of taboos, i think...
-socks with sandals
-bigotry (which is a double-edged sword, because the conservative local government here is full of them, yet many of the people are open-minded in every sense of the word)
-intolerance
-obnoxious PDA
-fake boobs

tolgaist

I am from Turkey and will tell some taboos or non taboos:

First of all as an outsider you are RIGHT to see armenian suicide is a taboo for Turkey because WE don't have enough PUBLICITY for publishing truths. All the europe and other countries still think that we killed those armenian just for fun. We didn't killed them of course. they were living for decades in peace but outsourced incitements provoked them to mix up all the country and our commander had to send them away. AND NOBODY KNOWS HOW MANY TURKS KILLED BY THOSE ANGEL ARMENIANS!? Just seek for armenian cases on the net to find truth. Look for Turkish sites also to see the "reality" pls.

The real taboo in turkey is scarf crises that is currently have a wide arguements on it. Unfortunately it's forbidden to wear scarf(that god orders muslim womans to have wrapped their head) even within HOSPITALS sometime. In my opion this is the foremost handicap on her way to EU.

Another taboo is collapse of moral in people. Day by day our culture is being eliminated by other countries and we are as citizen can't do anything just to cross our finger and wait for better days.

This is what reality goes in Turkey.

rasputinrockband

I am a Minority everywhere I go except, disease ridden government concentration camps called Indian Reservations. Reservations that have a poverty perpetuating imprisonment effect, not to mention contain contaminated water, are dog infested, and lay upon unwanted infertile lands.

I was born in 1984 yet, I was alive during the era of Indian oppression as the last federally run residential school closed in 1996. As many as 50,000 aboriginal children lost their lives at these schools, and many of the individuals who attended these schools and felt their traumatizing effects are alive today, including my Mother and Grandmother.

I am a Full Status Indian under the Indian Act, yet I pay full taxes, am tolled fully by income tax, am currently paying my own way through college, and have never received a job because of employment equity.

I am not in the least concerned about the percentage of “Indian Blood” contained by your great, great, great, great, Grandmother who was a Cherokee princess.

I am overjoyed to constantly inform ‘Canadians’ who seem to be experts on aboriginal culture and history, dating back to the 1800’s, that there are not, nor have there ever been narcotics in a Peace Pipe Ceremony.

I am continually surprised by the malice the White Canadian immigrants bestow upon the new immigrant community that is balancing the countries shrinking population, in turn rescuing the economy.

I am dismayed by the fact that people just might protest me building a golf course on the graves of Pierre Elliot Trudeau or Terry Fox, but are completely content with building one on the graves of my hero’s and ancestors at Oka.

I am aware of the large amount of government monetary funds allegedly provided for the betterment of the aboriginal community, but am also not impressed by the waste of these funds in government red tape systems, that cannot even manage to provide clean drinking water, or fight third world diseases like shigelloses on Canadian Indian Reservations.

empower

Hi,

I am a Chinese too ...
However where I live, there is no holidays for Chinese New Year.
Nonetheless it was great. Great food and great fellowship and collecting of red packets.

We had a family reunion as usual. This year we went had a beach retreat.
That's not part of the taboo ...

Back to the taboo. Food Lots of Food.
The taboo is that you must have more than enough food during the celebration so that you will have more than enough through the year.
Next there are specific foods you should have.
- This fungi that looks like hair called Fa Cai which soons like being prospoerous
- Fish - which chinese sounds like good things
- Yu San - which is a dish of raw vegetables and salmon that you toss and utter good wishes

There are also several don'ts during Chinese New Year:
Don't break anything
If you don't sweep it away. Definitely no sweeping or vacuming.
Don't wash your hair on the New Year's day
(Somehow if you do, it washes away or sweeps away your wealth).

I actually don't follow these taboos because I am not superstitious but I enjoy the food. Laughing

Jack_Hammer

English Culture, (Victorian), the same kinda culture we spread across the world...

Indyan

I dont think that there is much Hindu Muslim dischord in India.Infact India's president is a Muslim.So I definitely disagree with the topic creator.

However a big taboo in India is romantisizing in public.Acts like kissing in public is a big taboo.

Sizzle

Do we have Taboos in the USA? I think so. Remember the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction"? Censorship has reached all time records here in the USA. You have to remember the culture here though- we are decendants of religous groups that were SO uptight that they basically left Europe before they were kicked out.

When I was in Italy in 1992, they had full frontal nudity on TV (and actually showing intercourse) during dinner (on a regular channel). It was funny- I was embarassed at the time too because I was sitting at the dinner table with a girlfriend, her mother and her grandmother. When I looked up at the TV and saw uglies bumping, her grandmother just waved it off like it was no big deal. At night on cable you can find more than 10 live nude girls stripping on TV.

* DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT ADVOCATING DOING ANYTHING ILLEGAL NOR CAN I COMMENT ON SUCH ACTIVITIES *

MalvagioAddict

Taboos at certain part of a world might have been considered taboo at one form or another during the earlier period, but what we used to consider as taboo is not as unpleasant as it was before.

for example, kissing on public places would be frowned upon when you see it about 10 years, and now its not something that you raise an eyebrow, couples do it and its the norm.

haha...maybe someday nothing would be taboo anymore.

placebogirl

I'm from NZ. People here would probably tell you don't have a lot of taboos, and compared to some places they would be right. It's a complete nonsense to say we have none though; and the two major ones I can think of are:

navadey

In Israel, and i guess for Jews all over - holocaust is of course the biggest taboo.
although i love black holocause humor.\i don't think it shows disrespect but on the contrary, a little humanity.

Embarassed

SkullPizza

muzz

Hey guys, I'm from Australia and we don't have many taboos but there a few to mention:

Australia is currently in a draught at the moment, and have been for several years now. Water has become a very precious thing and the government are spending large amounts of money to cover for the large projects so that we can save water. Now, if someone is seen watering their driveway or using excessive amounts of water for no good reason, then they are frowned upon in the neighbourhood.

Another taboo is racism; especially when it's against the Aborigines. Not long ago thre was controversy on the beach for a protest angainst Lebanese people in Australia. Though its very controversal...

gentine

Sinning, me being a christain and all, also anal sex.

aciminsk

Well, not exactly taboo, better say things to avoid.
Do not shake hands in gloves.
Do not shake hands across a doorway.
Do not whistle inside a building.
Do not ask somebody to come to you by this gesture of the forefinger.
Do not make jokes regarding WWII.

ibay

Hi, I am from Pakistan, there are many taboos in Pakistan.
But it is wrong to say that Kashmir is the biggest taboo.
In my opinion religion is the biggest taboo in Pakistan. You cannot express your own religious ideas. Other than that, any physical relationship between a man and a woman is a big taboo. Drinking Alcohol is also a taboo. Incest is also common and is a taboo.

shadedflame

Yah humping dead things is a taboo, and porn...yeah I bet if you go to the top of the sears tower with a megaphone and yell porn at the top of your lungs, ithout dying from lack of oxygen, you'll get wierd looks...

shadedflame

schizolo

But why the anal must be a taboo ??
Its a XXI century and sex its a normal thing in almost all cultures and when someone speaks of it its nothing Unnormal...

That is my point of look .... Wink

Mgccl

there a a lot taboo in China. but none of them is bigger than anti-chinese goverment