O Taboo it is a concept used in philosophy, anthropology and sociology and which is related to the prohibition, censorship, danger and impurity of certain social activities.
Taboo sustains discussions with controversial themes, generally discriminated by society, from customs, religions, sexual options, lifestyle, among others.
Note that this can change over time, being related to time and generations. For example, something that could be taboo for your grandmother, for you, nowadays, it's normal.
The taboo term (tapu) comes from the Polynesian language, which means something sacred, special, forbidden, dangerous or unclean.
Taboos are created by society through imposed moral standards and social conventions and, therefore, may differ from one culture to another.
Thus, while in Judaism eating pork is prohibited, a taboo, in other cultures this is extremely normal.
In other words, a topic that is taboo for some may not be for others, however, it deals with subjects that are avoided by the general population. Note that the expression “break taboo” refers to just when a rule is broken.
Taboo Examples
From the most controversial topics of the taboo we can highlight some, namely:
- Incest
- Virginity
- Abortion
- Death
- drugs
- Cannibalism
- Sexuality female
- Homosexuality
- bisexuality
- transsexuality
- Tattoos and Piercings
- Body Modifications
- Prostitution
- food taboos
- linguistic taboos
- Zoophilia
Movie Tip
"breaking the taboo" is a documentary directed by Fernando Grostein Andrade that addresses the topic of drugs in Brazil.
It features former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and other important personalities: Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Drauzio Varella and Paulo Coelho.
