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The Ritual Of The Nacirema

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“The focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people.” (Henslin, Chapter 8, P. 88) This quote stood out to me because of how outlandish it first seemed. As I continued reading and Henslin went more in depth about the Nacirema rituals, I was thinking to myself how strange it all seemed. Then it dawned on me that my perception of it was biased because of how I have lived my whole life. The idea of strange is more of an individual belief and relative to the society one comes from. I began to think about the countless hours our society spends in the gym, tanning, shopping, and fussing over our appearance. Whereas some of the rituals of the Nacirema seemed extreme

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