Anthropology

Hola mi Gente,
It’s been a lonnnnnng two weeks, but thanks to the leadership at my organization, I’m seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

Sculpture: The Raven and the First Men by Bill Reid

When the missionaries first came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land.
 -- Desmond Tutu, South African Bishop

When I attended university, I was in my late 30s, married, and was actually exceedingly well read. I would say, without conceit, that you will probably not meet many people that have read more than I have.

I went to school not so much to learn in the traditional sense, but to become a part of a community of scholars. I didn’t attend school to get a career, or make more money, but because I wanted to engage with like-minded individuals and test what I had learned previously and in that way, learn anew. I learned many things, chief among them that learning in the context of a community is quite different from learning in isolation.

I also discovered that my notions of science, or rather, how knowledge is gathered and accepted (or not accepted) is not as logical as I had thought previously. I quickly wanted to explore the origins of knowledge (epistemology), and how culture impacted our collective concept of knowledge. It has become part of my life’s work, to research the researchers, to focus the light of my curiosity on those who study others.

It led me to a completely new field of work called cultural studies and into the realm of the philosophy of science. It started innocently enough: I was taking a class on counseling and there was a section on cross-cultural issues and I learned that how people describe their ailments have a deep connection to cultural values. I learned Western medical science wasn't so much a science as it was an art, deeply influenced by cultural mores and a body of research conducted mostly by privileged white men.

In addition, much of the research I was coming across regarding Latino/as, for example, seemed to me to be deeply flawed -- not congruent with my own experiences growing up Latino in the US. Then while working as a research assistant, I came across Thomas Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions and I discovered that the history of science wasn’t one that marched in a straight line, with newer innovations replacing older ones as they became known or discovered. Kuhn wrote about paradigm shifts in a way that demonstrated that the history of science is one of fits and starts, rather than a linear evolution.

Then I came across anthropology and in reading earlier anthropological works, I came to see clearly that culture is an inescapable equation when it comes to science. Some of this science history is sad, brutal, and tragic even. As part of a class assignment, I came across the following piece written by a Naïve American poet. See if you get its message:

Anthropology
(excerpt)
Chrystos. (1991). Dream on (1 ed.). Vancouver, BC: Press Gang Publishers.

We have been conducting an extensive footnoted annotated indexed and complicated study of the Caucasian culture hereafter to be referred to as the cauks for ease in translation.

The most important religious ritual, one central to all groups, is the mixing of feces and urine with water. This rite occurs regularly on a daily basis and seems to be a cornerstone of the culture's belief system. The urns for this purpose are commonly porcelain, of various hues, although white is the most frequently used. The very wealthy rulers have receptacles of carved onyx or malachite with gold plated fixtures. We have been unable to determine what prayers are said during this ritual because its solitary nature & the fact that the door to the prayer room is always shut.

The main function of the majority of non-city dwellers is the production of an object called a lawn. Numerous tools for the cultivation of this lawn are sold in the market places. It appears also to have a sacred character, as no activity occurs on it & keeping it short green & square is a constant activity.

The main diet of the culture is available from push-button machines or orange plastic small markets and was found by our researchers to be completely inedible. It is truly amazing what the human animal can subsist on.

Another prominent feature of the cauks is the construction of huge monuments built in clusters in the villages. These are not living quarters but are used about five days a week for a ritual involving papers which appear to be sacred, given the life or death quality with which they are handled. The papers are passed about, often with consternation and eventually cast away when the spell is complete.

The mechanisms for healing disease appear to our eyes to be woefully complex & at the same time, inadequate. People who are seriously ill are quarantined in jails of pale green or white and often used to feed machines which appear to run on human blood.

Children who are born deformed in any way are usually confined to jails built for this purpose. The elderly are also jailed, there being no value system of respect for them. Those passing through transitions are called "crazy" and also jailed. Animals from distant lands again are jailed. In fact, there is some discussion of an alternative theory of central religious belief -- that the actual spiritual purpose of the culture, is to jail as much as possible. Extensive use of fences is the key argument to this theory.

Our data is yet incomplete. We hope by 1992 to have a more comprehensive overview, at which time a traveling exhibition of artifacts (including exhumed bodies to illustrate their burial practices) will tour for the education of all. Their attitude toward all non-cauk peoples is extremely hostile & violent. Many of our researchers have been massacred & yet, in the interests of science, we persevere.

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My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization…

The Friday Sex Blog [Ode to a Woman's Behind]

In Praise of the Female Ass

A woman's behind, that most unorthodox of altars meant to be worshiperd on ones knees.

The female ass, that most unorthodox of altars, to be worshiped on one’s knees.

Indeed, the ancient Greeks revered the buttocks as being an aspect of the divine and portrayed them enthusiastically in exquisitely sculpted marble. With the coming of the centuries-long Christian war on Eros, however, the depiction of the nude figure became a crime, thrown into the shadows (along with anything having to do with evolved human activities) of the repressive Dark Ages.

Then, in the fifteenth century, Renaissance artists once more raised the bottom to loftier heights only to have it once again banished by the prudish Victorians, who found the body so revolting, they considered even bathing immodest.

Today, the bottom has once again been salvaged from the repressive excesses of religiosity with dress designers now decreeing that the ass should once again be the focus of attention, and no dedicated fashionista can afford to neglect the view from the rear -- or this newfound, well-rounded appraisal of it.

Buttocks date from time immemorial. They appeared when humankind conceived the idea of standing up on their hind legs and remaining there -- one of the most crucial moments in our evolution since the buttock muscles then underwent considerable development. More importantly, this act resulted in the freeing of our ancestor’s hands and the engagement of the skull on the spinal column was modified, which in turn allowed the brain (specifically the prefrontal cortex) to develop. Therefore, it would not be wrong to point out that our buttocks were at least partially responsible for the early emergence of the brain and certainly influenced its evolution. Our asses, it follows, freed our minds.

Of all the existing primates only the human species possesses hemispherical buttocks which project prominently from the body. Other primates have been described as “apes with flat buttocks.” Which is to make a mockery of the ass. Therefore, the emergence of the buttocks coincides with the erect stance and walking on two legs which, according to anthropologists, goes back three or four million years.

The fact remains, of course, that our ancestor’s buttocks did not resemble ours simply because they stood upright. Much time and evolution would have to transpire before hairy and not so noticeable buttocks would’ve evolved into the naked, smooth, and soft buttocks that we love so much today.

When a female ape wanted to send a “sexual signal” to a mate, she showed him her hind quarters. This is an interesting note for many of the female of the species of ape possess bottoms which light up, becoming bright red and swollen as the time of ovulation approaches. And rutting generally occurs when the females display their organs in the state of maximum dilation. With the human female it is quite different. Her bottom does not swell with the menstrual cycle: it remains permanently protuberant (swollen). And therein lies just one of the many beauties of the female behind: she is always ready for the male and can mate even when she cannot concieve. This last fact has been a thorn in the side of Christians for a very long time.

From an aesthetic perspective, there is probably no more pleasing architecture than a woman’s behind in all its glory. The convex/ concave contrast between the subtle flaring of an impossibly slim waist flaring into the well-rounded twin orbs of female posterior flesh cannot be found elsewhere. Then there is the cleft -- mysterious, dark, the gateway to sin itself. And if one were to explore more closely, one could grasp a glimpse of the fleshy lips of a moist and receptive vagina. It is no wonder why a woman’s ass -- thrown upwards into the air, naked and vulnerable -- is one of the most erotic and subversive of human acts.

My name is Eddie and I'm in recovery from civilization...

The TGIF Sex Blog [In Praise of the Ass]

¡Hola! Everybody...
As I have noted previously, I haven’t been writing too much fresh content lately. The reason for that is I will be playing catch up on all my paperwork for the rest of the year. I hate paperwork!

This one is short, but new! LOL

* * *

-=[ In Praise of Women’s Behinds ]=-

Free yo ass, your mind will follow...

The female ass, that most unorthodox of altars, to be worshiped on one’s knees.

Indeed, the ancient Greeks revered the buttocks as being an aspect of the divine and portrayed them enthusiastically in exquisitely sculpted marble. With the coming of the centuries long Christian war on Eros, however, the depiction of the nude figure became a crime, thrown into the shadows (along with anything having to do with evolved human activities) of the repressive Dark Ages.

Then, in the fifteenth century, Renaissance artists once more raised the bottom to loftier heights only to have it once again banished by the prudish Victorians, who found the body so revolting, they considered even bathing immodest.

Today, the bottom has once again been salvaged from the repressive excesses of religiosity with dress designers now decreeing that the ass should once again be the focus of attention, and no dedicated fashionista can afford to neglect the view from the rear -- or this newfound, well-rounded appraisal of it.

Buttocks date from time immemorial. They appeared when humankind conceived the idea of standing up on their hind legs and remaining there -- one of the most crucial moments in our evolution since the buttock muscles then underwent considerable development. More importantly, this act resulted in the freeing of our ancestor’s hands and the engagement of the skull on the spinal column was modified, which in turn allowed the brain (specifically the prefrontal cortex) to develop. Therefore, it would not be wrong to point out that our buttocks were at least partially responsible for the early emergence of the brain and certainly influenced its evolution. Our asses, it follows, freed our minds.

Of all the existing primates only the human species possesses hemispherical buttocks which project prominently from the body. Other primates have been described as “apes with flat buttocks.” Which is to make a mockery of the ass. Therefore, the emergence of the buttocks coincides with the erect stance and walking on two legs which, according to anthropologists, goes back three or four million years.

The fact remains, of course, that our ancestor’s buttocks did not resemble ours simply because they stood upright. Much time and evolution would have to transpire before hairy and not so noticeable buttocks would’ve evolved into the naked, smooth, and soft buttocks that we love so much today.

When a female ape wanted to send a “sexual signal” to a mate, she showed him her hind quarters. This is an interesting note for many of the female of the species of ape possess bottoms which light up, becoming bright red and swollen as the time of ovulation approaches. And rutting generally occurs when the females display their organs in the state of maximum dilation. With the human female it is quite different. Her bottom does not swell with the menstrual cycle: it remains permanently protuberant (swollen). And therein lies just one of the many beauties of the female behind: she is always ready for the male and can mate even when she cannot concieve. This last fact has been a thorn in the side of Christians for a very long time.

From an aesthetic perspective, there is probably no more pleasing architecture than a woman’s behind in all its glory. The convex/ concave contrast between the subtle flaring of an impossibly slim waist flaring into the well-rounded twin orbs of female posterior flesh cannot be found elsewhere. Then there is the cleft -- mysterious, dark, the gateway to sin itself. And if one were to explore more closely, one could grasp a glimpse of the fleshy lips of a moist and receptive vagina. It is no wonder why a woman’s ass -- thrown upwards into the air, naked and vulnerable -- is one of the most erotic and subversive of human acts.

Love,

Eddie