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HelpWhat actions are considered “making arbitrary judgments names without considering cultural context”?
I'm one of the few non-European users on this site and a fan of names that would have been given to a North American baby or teenager from the 1980s to 2000s. So I'm curious what exactly "making arbitrary judgments names without considering cultural context" means. I was wondering if I had done something that corresponded to that.
This message was edited 4/30/2024, 10:26 AM
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I don't know if that is what you mean, but I can give you a personal experience that I felt was a judgement made by someone, that did NOT consider the cultural context.
I'm part of a Facebook group for name nerds (a bit like here). Someone shared on the group the names of the 2024 NFL Draft, especially mentionning the names that they felt were awful or bad. I went on the NFL Draft site, and like I suspected a lot of the ''bad'' names (what the OP considered bad) were names of African American players.
Like Devontez, Tyrice, Ja'Tavion, Ja'Quan, LaDarius, DeWayne, etc.
Maybe these names seem uncommon, and thus different or strange for people outside the African American community, but I would bet it is considered pretty normal inside that cultural context. To me, the post lacked tack and awareness. I feel it's not our place to say if a cultural name is bad or not, if one is not part of that cultural group. ESPECIALLY cultural group that have long been victims of discrimination.
So to come back to the point, this is an example of what I would consider a judgement made without considering the cultural context.
I'm part of a Facebook group for name nerds (a bit like here). Someone shared on the group the names of the 2024 NFL Draft, especially mentionning the names that they felt were awful or bad. I went on the NFL Draft site, and like I suspected a lot of the ''bad'' names (what the OP considered bad) were names of African American players.
Like Devontez, Tyrice, Ja'Tavion, Ja'Quan, LaDarius, DeWayne, etc.
Maybe these names seem uncommon, and thus different or strange for people outside the African American community, but I would bet it is considered pretty normal inside that cultural context. To me, the post lacked tack and awareness. I feel it's not our place to say if a cultural name is bad or not, if one is not part of that cultural group. ESPECIALLY cultural group that have long been victims of discrimination.
So to come back to the point, this is an example of what I would consider a judgement made without considering the cultural context.
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What's the context behind that statement?
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The question is what behavior is considered "making arbitrary judgments names without considering cultural context"
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It would mean criticising names based on one’s own cultural bias.
For example, the name Rachel means “ewe”.
Someone encountering that name might say “ugh who would name their kid after a sheep?”.
That would be judging a name without considering the cultural context.
For example, the name Rachel means “ewe”.
Someone encountering that name might say “ugh who would name their kid after a sheep?”.
That would be judging a name without considering the cultural context.
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All opinions on names are subjective, and an arbitrary judgment would be one that's random or inconsistent.
An example of that quote, as I would interpret it, would be like...if I said I hate trendy pop culture names, but then I only applied that to names popular in my own country - maybe I say I like Ludivine and lack awareness that it was popular in France because of a miniseries. I would not say you are doing that, unless maybe you dislike common names from the 1980s-2000s in your own culture.
It's useful to at least be aware of cultural context, but it wouldn't necessarily matter if you were making arbitrary judgments. It's normal to perceive things differently cross culturally.
An example of that quote, as I would interpret it, would be like...if I said I hate trendy pop culture names, but then I only applied that to names popular in my own country - maybe I say I like Ludivine and lack awareness that it was popular in France because of a miniseries. I would not say you are doing that, unless maybe you dislike common names from the 1980s-2000s in your own culture.
It's useful to at least be aware of cultural context, but it wouldn't necessarily matter if you were making arbitrary judgments. It's normal to perceive things differently cross culturally.
This message was edited 4/30/2024, 3:02 PM
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probably focusing criticism on names that sound "ugly" to western ears.
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