Yeah, I'd noticed that the vast majority of people are framing the debate in terms that assume the belief in the wairua of the taonga and that of women who are menstruating or pregnant is, essentially, false.
I find that hard to accept as an approach to this, because it automatically dismisses the very essence of what makes these things so precious, and imposes the view of the dominant culture. In the process it reduces the dialogue to women's rights vs respect for culture, which in my view completely misses the point and is a sad place to begin the discourse of biculturalism. It's like saying "Sure, you can have your tino rangatiratanga, but you can only talk about it using our definition and on our terms."
I'm a feminist but I see no reasons to get upset about this. Respecting other people culture even if we don't believe in it is, after all, the very base of respect.
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But then again, I've got a pretty piece of expensive-ass paper that certifies me as a cultural anthropologist.
(And then, I do not menstruate thanks to Depo Provera, so it would not affect me.)
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I find that hard to accept as an approach to this, because it automatically dismisses the very essence of what makes these things so precious, and imposes the view of the dominant culture. In the process it reduces the dialogue to women's rights vs respect for culture, which in my view completely misses the point and is a sad place to begin the discourse of biculturalism. It's like saying "Sure, you can have your tino rangatiratanga, but you can only talk about it using our definition and on our terms."
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