Culture and Sociology of the Nacerima Body

Culture and Sociology of the Nacerima

Body Rituals Among the Nacirema," by Horace Miner is an article that offers a social look at the American lifestyle. The author steps outside of the American culture and describes how somebody unfamiliar to the culture might describe it. This manages to open the reader's eyes to the fact that the American culture can be seen as just as strange as unfamiliar foreign cultures. The article is based around the concept that the, "fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease" (Miner). The culture described is based on rituals that attempt to prevent this journey towards debility and disease. The norms, institutions and material goods described are all based on health aspects. Three of these that illustrate this are teeth brushing as a norm, the hospital as an institution, and medicines as a material good.

Brushing of the teeth is presented as one of the norms of the culture. This is closely linked to the emphasis on health. As the author says, "The Nacirema have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the mouth, the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on all social relationships" (Miner). The author takes this to the extreme explaining that, "Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them" (Miner). The most interesting thing about this presentation of teeth brushing is that it is true - the state of one's teeth is something that impacts on how someone is viewed and has social significance attached to it. The author also describes the teeth brushing ritual saying, "It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures" (Miner). This description is quite accurate, alerting the reader to the fact that what they accept as 'normal' can be seen as quite the opposite. The reader is also left to wonder whether the act of teeth brushing does have some underlying social significance, rather than just being a hygiene issue. This teeth brushing could be seen as representing the emphasis society places on appearances. It is true that most Americans brush their teeth first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Perhaps there is some social significance to this act, greater than just oral hygiene. Perhaps this represents a society that is focused primarily on outward appearances or one that is trying to avoid the reality that life eventually ends by preventing any signs of decay from showing.