So I concluded my reading of WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird and there is a concept that infuriated me so much that I literally can't get it out of my mind.
Chapter four discusses Gypsy superstitions, specifically the concept of marime or being "spiritually soiled"
To be blunt, it is the most sexist thing I have heard in my entire life. It's as if being a woman is in and of itself "spiritually soiled".
In their culture, once a girl hits puberty, below her stomach is considered marime, a pollutant and even her skirt cannot touch a man without polluting him. Excuse my french, but what kind of horseshit is this? If she does not wear an apron whilst cooking, she is polluting the food. If it is her time of the month, she is not allowed to prepare food and she must eat alone. Laundry must be separated by gender so as to not pollute the men's clothing. A man cannot be seated next to a standing woman because he could be polluted. A man cannot even touch a women's clothesline without being polluted. While engaging in sexual activity, she is not allowed to face him as she undresses because doing so would pollute him.
What's crazy is that all this is stated matter-of-fact and the point of the whole chapter wasn't even about marime, it was about the lack of government in Gypsy communities, which led to the illegal practices they follow, such as child marriages.
I don't know what to even say about this, it's just such a mind-boggling and irritating chapter.
You mean sexist, right, not "sexiest thing"? The very opposite of sexy, the most vile form of misogyny. And sadly not exclusive to Romani culture.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, what a horrible autocorrect. Yes, I meant sexist.
DeleteI find this so ridiculous. I understand that we need to respect others culture, but damn this is so extreme that I cannot respect this misogyny.
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely horrible. Unfortunately, many similar beliefs about women have been commonplace in various cultures all throughout human history. It is so hard to imagine how someone could possibly believe these things. Upon reflection, I guess it is just another reason that I am happy to be living in a place and time that values scientific research over superstition.
ReplyDeleteI wholehearted agree. By these standards, even kneeling down to propose would be considered marime. Absolutely appalling
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