An 11 year-old African-Caribbean boy was refused entry to a Roman Catholic secondary school in North London in 2009 because he was wearing ‘corn rows’ (braided hair close to the scalp). Two years later, he has won a significant victory in the High Court.
His hair style contravened the school dress code. Boys are obliged to wear their hair in a military-style “short back and sides.”
His hair style might encourage separatism, and possibly a “gang culture,” within the institution.
The judge ruled that the school’s decision was “unlawful” and encouraged “indirect discrimination” by not taking into account an individual’s cultural background and heritage.
“There are a number of Afro-Caribbeans for whom cutting their hair and wearing it in corn rows is a matter of their cultural background,” he said, “and can work against them on the basis of their ethnicity.”
Sewing in the braids. Flickr/Samantha Steele The case is unusual in the U.K., although exceptions have been made in the case of male Sikhs. Because of their religious tradition of wearing turbans, they are exempt from wearing crash helmets while riding motorcycles and scooters.
But the new ruling on corn rows was based on secular customary behaviour — in this instance, family and a wider cultural tradition amongst some African-Caribbeans (and Black Africans).
A spokesperson for St. Gregory’s said that it is “naturally disappointed” (press release PDF) with the ruling and is considering taking the case to the Court of Appeal.
Cultural anthropologists have described and analyzed holidays as windows into local culture as well as indexes of larger global processes. As far as I know, Christmas is the only holiday so far that has generated an entire edited volume. A quick search into published work by cultural anthropologists yielded very little. One insightful article, by a journalism/communications scholar, talks about the creation of Valentine’s Day in Ghana.
Assortment of Valentine's Day chocolates. Credit: ccharmon/Flickr
Valentine’s Day is rapidly globalizing but not without resistance and reformulation, as the links below illustrate. Is it a Hallmark card event? Maybe a card is required but that may not get you very far. Chocolates? Cut flowers? Dinner out? And who pays? What’s the short-term result on Feb 14 and the longer-term effects?
Valentine’s Day in India: the younger generation in India loves the concept of Valentine’s Day, yet there are many political groups who condemn it as an alien concept
Single on Valentine’s Day?: in Malaysia and Russia religious authorities are attempting to crack down on the decadent Western celebration of couples “being gross with each other”
In preparation for Super Bowl Sunday, there is something we should stock up on, along with the nachos and beer: anthropological analysis. Yes, it is a great time to step back and ask ourselves how football reflects American culture. Such an extremely popular sport must resonate with some underlying aspects of our culture. Otherwise, we could be getting ready right now to watch Super Shot-Put Sunday or the Big Badminton Bowl (BBB).
Football action. Photo credit: JSmith, Creative Commons, Flickr
The best way to understand American football is to compare it with basketball. The comparative perspective should induce culture shock and throw football’s essential qualities into relief.
In football, players dress in Superhero outfits.
In basketball, players dress in bathing suits.
In football, it’s so cold you see steam coming out of the players, as if they’re scaling Mt. Everest.
In basketball, it’s so hot you see sweat pouring off players, as if they’re mowing the lawn.
But the ultimate difference lies in spatial orientation.
Football is all about lines: Lining up on lines, measuring lines, crossing lines. The central objective of the game, in fact, is to cross a line: the goal line.
Basketball, on the other hand, is all about circles: putting a rubber circle inside a slightly larger, metal circle (the ball and the hoop). Instead of yard lines, the basketball court is divided up into circles: the center circle (which contains a circle within a circle), the 3-point line (which is a semi-circle), and the foul circle at the top of the key. Not to mention all the players running around in circles, trying to get open for a pass. Lines vs. circles—that’s the key difference.
How, though, do these micro aspects of football and basketball reflect American culture? Warning: I’d rather risk overstating the case than stating the obvious, and I would never say there’s only one reason we love and play these sports, nor that one is better than the other.
Basically, football reflects a hierarchical model of authority. Coaches, quarterbacks, and coordinators control every play. Basketball comes out of a more democratic model based on spontaneous teamwork. The basketball coach cannot even intervene in most plays.
Football is about masterful strategies, specialized roles (punter, receiver, linebacker, etc.), and strict lines of authority (have you ever heard anyone call it “circles of authority”?). Basketball is about role flexibility (every player shoots, passes, plays defense) and fast-paced improvisation.
Football comes out of America’s hierarchical, industrial economy and military strategizing, whereas basketball emerges from the more recent knowledge economy. Lines and circles.
It’s not just about political economy, however. Basketball, with its sweaty players in bathing suits, matches the growing informality and bare-all impulses of post-1960’s, mass media culture (casual Fridays, confessional memoirs, reality TV, Facebook, etc.). An ethos of social openness also plays a role. Circles are more associated than lines in American culture with equality and togetherness. Not coincidentally, basketball, the Circle Game, has skyrocketed in popularity at the same time that there’s been a push toward greater multiculturalism and gender equality. Circles and lines.
No matter what, though, much of the country comes together to watch the Super Bowl. Maybe that is because football does more than just reflect contemporary American culture, including longings and ambivalence. It also exquisitely embodies The Thrill of The Chase. The heart of football is The Chase: players frantically trying to get a few steps ahead of their pursuers. As anthropologists can tell you, that’s how homo sapiens and our hominid ancestors spent much of their time: chasing and being chased. So let the beer flow and The Great Chase begin.
Arens, W. “Professional Football: An American Symbol and Ritual.” In The American Dimension, Arens and Montague, eds., Alfred Publishing, 1976. A wonderful, early anthropological essay on football, with insight into things like football’s resonance with labor specialization in postwar America.
Cultural anthropologist Magnus Fiskesjö of Cornell University recently published an update in Anthropology Today to his masterful essay about the political symbolism of the Thanksgiving turkey pardon. As in his pamphlet (available for free on the Internet), he masterfully carves up savory morsels of insight.
In President Obama’s first turkey pardon in 2009, he narrated the obligatory account of the English settlers and invoked their divine protection. Obama diverted, however, from the usual script by mentioning American Indians as contributors to the nation. A slight nod to “inclusiveness,” but Fiskesjö opines that faint recognition is better than none at all.
Sarah Palin with decapitated turkey in background; Photo Credit: AP/KARE-TV
The tradition of the turkey pardoning began in 1980 as a national ritual. Very few state governors pardon turkeys, though it has been regularly done in Alabama since the 1940s where it originated as a governor’s ritual. So Sarah Palin’s 2008 turkey pardon was particularly noteworthy. And all the more so, since she made the mistake of performing the pardoning ritual at a turkey farm in Alaska surrounded by hundreds of slaughtered turkeys and others awaiting their death. Clips of the event, with the backdrop of turkey carcasses, went viral on the Internet.
The fate of the pardoned turkey(s) has been transformed since the national pardoning ritual began. From the 1980s to 2004, the turkeys were taken to a petting zoo in Virginia near Washington, DC, called, ironically, the Frying Pan. After a period of time on display, they were killed. Starting in 2005, President George W. Bush had the birds flown to Disneyland, Florida, where the National Turkey rode on a special float in a procession. In 2006, the turkeys were flown to Disneyland, California, to demonstrate regional impartiality. Whether they go to Florida or California, after their display as the “happiest turkey on earth,” they are retired to a Disney animal ranch and later killed.
Domesticated turkeys are bred to have massive bodies such that their legs can barely support their weight; Photo Credit: Lee Ann L., Creative Commons Licensed on Flickr
Fiskesjö packs many more fascinating insights into his brief article in Anthropology Today including why pardoning pigs doesn’t work and the complications of birds as US national symbolism—notably, turkeys, eagles, and hawks. While the article is not open access, the pamphlet is, and it is highly recommended reading either before, during, or after an upcoming feast.
Blogger’s update: this year, the White House has decided to cancel the trip to Disneyland. After a brief stay at the posh Willard Hotel, the turkeys will be taken in a horse-drawn carriage to George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia.
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