Apparently women are not allowed to play or even touch a didgeridoo. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/daring-book-for-girls-breaks-didgeridoo-taboo-in-australia-917751.html
I would love to hear Nicole Kidman’s reaction to being informed she is know sterile after saying she is retiring from film to have more children http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/didgeridont-do-it-nicole-1192848.html
Discuss.
Discuss what? Wether it’s true or not?
If you like.
I thought there would be more people upset with the rampant sexism being justified on ‘cultural’ grounds. There seems very little discussion about this in Australia…
Wow, I’m so disillusioned to find out that there’s ignorance in Australia, too.
Seriously, what’s the debate?
This is an example of Western culture just plain being superior. I don’t see the argument. I can’t stand those books, though. They’re full of the kind of things I always hated to do when people tried to encourage me to do them as a little kid.
Valete,
Vox Imperatoris
White women should not play the clarinet because they are bad at it and it will make them hysterical
Guess I’ll be the first to stomp on somebody’s native culture, then:
This is moronic. But if it were true, this would make it totally appropriate to put in a book of things that are daring for girls. 
In other words, people who hold an extreme, backward position are upset that not everybody is sensitive to their feelings and demand the rest of the world cater to them. Film at 11.
In other words, fuck 'em. If the aborigines want to prevent their own women from playing the digeridoo, I guess that’s fine. They’ve got no business saying other women shouldn’t be allowed to play the crappy ones sold in the airport.
Why is it fine?
My gut reaction is very much “Arg! Why should the rest of the world bow to their superstitions?” .
In the interest of fairness, is there a Western equivalent to this?
The publisher was “forced to apolgize”? I would’ve straightened my tie, cleared my throat, looked directly at the yahoo who was offended, raised my middle finger, and said “fuck you.” I think having the balls to do that would be better PR for a company than apologizing for something you didn’t do wrong.
Let’s try to frame this as something fit for this forum:
Harper-Collins publishes a book, The Daring Book for Girls, which includes instructions on how to play a didgeridoo. Aboriginal advocates protest this, as allowing women to play a didgeridoo violates a major cultural taboo for their people. Publisher buckles under, apologizes for their cultural insensitivity, and announces plans for a didgeridoo-less reprint.
Questions for debate: is Harper-Collins doing the right thing by catering to this sexist cultural tradition? Should non-Aborigines appropriating one aspect of Aboriginal culture be expected to follow Aboriginal cultural taboos? Is this a facet of Aboriginal culture that should be maintained, or is it better to let this sort of practice fall by the wayside? Should they Aborigines be criticized for still following this practice? To what extent does the history of European immigrants attempting to suppress or destroy Aboriginal culture be factored into a decision to criticize this facet of said culture?
I say no, no, yes, maybe, and only on Tuesdays, but not necessarily in that order.
I thought the Western equivalent was all the sexism not letting women vote or compete in sports etc in previous centuries.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/13/1078594615938.html?from=storyrhs
Quote - The thought of women wrestlers would make de Coubertin turn in his grave. He feared girls “corrupted” young men, who otherwise would be involved in pure sporting endeavour.
In de Coubertin’s view, women could not physically rival men, therefore they could not push sport “citius, altius, fortius” (faster, higher, stronger), the core precept of the Olympics.
He also failed to see the appeal of women’s events running alongside the men’s at the Games. “In our view, this feminine semi-Olympiad is impractical, uninteresting, ungainly and, I do not hesitate to add, improper.”
If this were true I would have a house full of these things and I would play them 40 times a day.
As it is, this is nothing more than superstitious bullshit with no basis whatsoever in medical fact, and I see no reason to cater to such nonsense just because it is part of some traditional culture. Plenty of ill has been done in this world because of superstition, so I think there’s little wrong with replacing these myths with scientific facts.
I meant something that would currently provoke anger in a large part of our culture if done by the “wrong” gender.
Damn aboriginals, they should be happy their culture has been co-opted by the mainstream (esp. hippies) and have no right to express displeasure with what happens to such things.
(Pardon me while I play a bit of jazz on this cool new shofar I got at a rosh-hasha-na-na sale.)
I’m actually a bit mixed on something like this – I’m a bit steeped in traditional (African) percussion, and cringe at some of the things done out there that tend to erase tradition and show abhorrent disrespect (or ignorance) of the instrument. But then there’s some pretty wild rhythms and sounds that have evolved, and how do you fault a rhythm?
Thanks for your input. I did not realise I had to spell out the debate for SDMB readers.
But how about our Nicole and her barren womb?
My point is that women have changed the world significantly in the last 100 years. This ‘cultural’ crap that the Aboriginal elders come out with sounds very like the same crap spouted by many men 100 years ago.
You mean like getting married?
I wonder how many gay marriage opponents hold the aboriginal’s view in contempt?
She should call womb service.
I know, and I’m appalled that people are still doing this. I want to go find a didgeridoo and play one out of spite, but I feel like that makes me a jerk.