A taboo is a strong social prohibition (or ban) relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment,religious beliefs and or scientific consensus.Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society.The term comes from the Tongan word tabu,meaning set apart or forbidden,and appears in many Polynesian cultures.
On a universal scale in almost all cultures,taboos can include sex,death,dietary restrictions (halal and kosher diets,religious vegetarianism,and the prohibition of cannibalism),restrictions on sexual activities and relationships (sex outside of marriage,adultery,intermarriage,miscegenation,incest,animal-human sex,adult-child sex,sex with the dead),sexual fetishes,restrictions of bodily functions (burping,flatulence,defecation and urination),restrictions on the use of psychoactive drugs,restrictions on state of genitalia such as (transsexual gender identity,circumcision or sex reassignment),exposure of body parts (ankles in the Victorian British Empire,women's hair in parts of the Middle East,nudity in the US),and restrictions on the use of offensive language.
\x09Practices considered acceptable in one culture may be considered taboo in other cultures.For example,Foot Binding,practiced in ancient China,would be considered taboo in the context of modern cultural morals.Exposure of intimate parts is generally taboo in (most) modern developed countries.Other subjects perceived to be taboo involve burning money; some countries or nations (most notably post-WWII Europe whose governments often object going to war except for reasons of self-defense) and moral-philosophical debates on whether or not humanity should (or not) exist.
\x09When presented in the shape of parody or comedy as performed by comedians,taboo topics and subject matter can induce comical reaction by the general public,without causing disgust or offense as to what was said or mentioned about an emotionally charged issue described as mainly taboo in a given society.
