Quote:
Originally Posted by Penn
The good Professors reply to this question :Professor, I hope this finds you well and enjoying another semester at I am hoping you can render an opinion on the attached article...as to its cultural truth.
His answer:It is kind of like the ancient Greek phenomenon. Yes, the Kandahar region is the source of a lot of jokes on this general theme, though it's (a) a practice that occurs in other areas and (b) not as universal (or universally approved) as it is made out to appear here. It's a power and status game more than anything else, and not really a 'sexual identity crisis' - it really has little to do with sexual orientation.
Which tells me he is very political with regards to this question.
That such a defining intrinsic cultural behavior/ subject matter never surface during that exploration, not only confuses me, but leads me to question the possibility of a prejudicial viewpoint, or bias on the part of the good professor..
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Perhaps the good professor just cannot wrap his brain around such a culture, due to western bias? This professor is a cultural anthropologist?
If I were to continue along some of the lines I highlighted and reaching back to when dirt was new and I was in college the first time.. my minor was anthropology. (as it related to clothing in culture) The Greeks, depending on the city-states culture accepted homosexuality while serving compulsory military service. However post service it was not accepted and men were expected to marry and rear a family.
The green highlight mentions "power and status". If I take that line out of context, and consider what I read and saw in both the book/movie Kite Runner.
It is not about sex, rape never is about sex, it is about power. Dominance over those less powerful. I would assume (emphasis on assume) That in that particular culture, the way it has evolved This is an acceptable means of establishing dominance. To my western trained mind, it is a pretty disturbed society. However, taken into context, it apparently works for them. I think that someone has interpreted the Quran in a rather odd way to think that this thing is okay, however, it seems that one can take any religious text and twist it to suit ones goals and purposes.
Less evolved cutures, I have noticed, tend to go in one of two directions with regards to women. They will either put women on a pedestal as the 'givers of life' and it goes into a matriarchal society. OR... The opposite direction, where that fact that we are the givers of life, we are just to scary to deal with and anything associated with women becomes 'unclean.'. The diretion taken, is directly attributable the base religion.
With all that said, I find a lot about Islam and the things acceptable beyond distasteful on so many levels that it makes me throw up in my mouth.
AM