International Faux Pas in Islamic and Other Cultures Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Faux pas is a social behavior or conduct that breaches a given cultural etiquette. Owing to the diversity of cultures, faux pas vary from one culture to another because of the differences in norms and traditions. What a culture considers as offensive conduct may be a good conduct in another culture.

The existence of such faux pas makes it difficult for people from different cultural backgrounds to communicate because people fear breaching etiquette. A violation of cultural etiquette invites dire punishment or attracts the wrath of a given cultural members. Thus, this essay examines international faux pas in other cultures and Islamic culture.

Common faux pas that people consider offensive exists in various cultures across the world. For example, the beckoning hand gesture of ‘come here’ is very offensive among Japanese because it is an obscene gesture that signifies romantic solicitation (Martin & Chaney, 2009). The hand gesture is offensive among Japanese but not offensive in other cultures across the world, including Islamic culture. Hence, one needs to be careful in using hand gestures when communicating with Japanese because of the faux pas.

In this view, I consider that Japanese culture is the most difficult culture to live in because of the faux pas associated with the hand gestures. Moreover, the use of ‘thumbs up” gesture, which conventionally means okay, is a vulgar and an offensive sign among Brazilians (Martin, 2012). Across the world, Brazilian culture is the culture that views the ‘thumbs up’ gesture as an offensive sign, while other cultures regard it as an okay sign.

The Chinese have a faux pas that they associate with the use of chopsticks. According to Martin (2012), sticking chopsticks to stand in a plate of rice signifies death. Thus, the Chinese find it offensive when one serves them with a plate of rice that has chopsticks stuck on it.

Such an act is only offensive among Chinese, but acceptable among other cultures that do not use chopsticks. Mixing of drinks is another faux pas that relate with eating manners. French culture considers it a taboo to take red wine followed by the white wine (Martin & Chaney, 2009). In contrast, American culture finds it acceptable for someone to mix drinks.

In my culture, the Islamic culture, Muslims consider it offensive for people to display affection in public. Acts of displaying affection such as hugging and hand holding by married couple in the public are offensive because Muslims perceive affection as a private issue that should not happen in the public.

If couples hold hands, the public can beat them in my cultural setting. Additionally, when offering gifts to Muslims, one should wrap them using green color, a sacred color of Islamic religion (Martin, 2012). Wrapping of gifts using as red color is offensive as it symbolizes blood. Comparatively, other cultures in Asia perceive red color as a sign of happiness and wealth. Thus, the display of affection in public and the use of red color are some of the faux pas that a non-Muslim, a person outside my culture, can do.

References

Martin, H. (2012). . Web.

Martin, J., & Chaney, L. (2009). Communication skills needed for successful interactions with America’s largest trading partners. Web.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2019, January 17). International Faux Pas in Islamic and Other Cultures. https://ivypanda.com/essays/faux-pas/

Work Cited

"International Faux Pas in Islamic and Other Cultures." IvyPanda, 17 Jan. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/faux-pas/.

References

IvyPanda. (2019) 'International Faux Pas in Islamic and Other Cultures'. 17 January.

References

IvyPanda. 2019. "International Faux Pas in Islamic and Other Cultures." January 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/faux-pas/.

1. IvyPanda. "International Faux Pas in Islamic and Other Cultures." January 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/faux-pas/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "International Faux Pas in Islamic and Other Cultures." January 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/faux-pas/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1