FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A taboo is an activity or topic that is, through social consensus, deemed forbidden and/or offensive to be practiced or even discussed.
Given that the categorization of a taboo is based on societal norms which vary from culture to culture, different countries, communities, groups of people, or even individuals, can sustain different taboos.
No! Some taboos are positive and can, for the most part*, even protect people. For example, cannibalism, which is the act of eating the flesh of one’s own species (i.e. eating human flesh), is regarded as a taboo in most cultures. Upholding this taboo keeps people safe, as it labels this act as negative, and so people are less likely to even consider it. Having said that, *the fact that cannibalism is a taboo can make people who do practice it do so in secret, which can make it more dangerous.
Some taboos are even upheld by law, as is the case with pedophilia, which is the practice of or interest in sexual activity involving minors. To our knowledge, pedophilia is illegal in all countries. (Note, however, that all countries define their own age of consent, and as such, the age that differentiates a child from an adult in terms of sexual activity. This means that in legal terms, pedophilia is defined by each country individually.) Most people would agree that it is not acceptable to engage in sexual activity with children, and there are laws to enforce this boundary.
People who live in the same society, or share the same culture, do not always agree on what is taboo. This is because every person has their own lenses through which they see the world - their age, their race, their gender identity, the sex they were assigned at birth, their level of education, their economic and social status, etc. all shape their experiences and their opinions. People’s perspectives are entirely unique, and it is normal to not to always agree on what is right and wrong... so long as we continue to respect each other.
At TabuTabu, we tackle the taboos we consider negative. We highlight here that “we” is the collective we: our team explores the taboos that cause self-judgment, shame, isolation and even violence in the communities that we work in, with the communities that we work with. That includes you, as part of our international community! Together, we pin-point which taboos are harming us and people in our communities: If upholding them does more harm than good to all people, they need to be dismantled. And then we get to work.
By definition, taboos are upheld by silence. As such, if you want to address a particularly unhealthy taboo in your circles, you can do so by breaking the silence and start conversations rather than avoid them.
In our experience, often the hardest part to dismantling a taboo is the very beginning: initiating the first conversation can be really challenging, because it involves standing up to years, and often generations of silence, shame... and ultimately, fear. But in our experience it can also be very liberating to break that silence, and it can be less lonely than one might expect.
This is why much of our work is focused on providing tools for people to TabuTabu - to start conversations about the topics that have been so unhealthily silenced for so long. Conversations can be had amongst two or more people, and they can also be had internally, with oneself. Our products aim to shift people’s perspectives: they can serve as reminders and reflection prompts for oneself or for others. They don’t necessarily require people to begin by talking to each other, although ultimately, that is what we are working towards: normalizing healthy conversations about sex and sexuality.
Taboos
“Tabu” is the Portuguese and Spanish word for “taboo”... and by doubling up on this word that implies such prohibition, we aim to remind people (including ourselves!) that words and concepts bear only the meaning we give them — if we choose to dismantle a taboo, to make a word or concept less heavy or forbidden, we can do so.
But why Portuguese and Spanish, you might wonder? Our work started in Latin America, acknowledging the impacts of lack of access to sexuality education - and through this, acknowledging the ramifications of upholding the taboos around sex and sexuality (find out more here). We continue to work in communities in Honduras and Brazil to counteract the taboos through sexuality education initiatives - in fact, we invest 30% of our net profits into maintaining our impact efforts!
... So, when you TabuTabu (by purchasing from our store), you not only contribute to the dismantling of sexuality-related taboos in your circles; you are also helping sustain positive social change in communities beyond your own!
Not quite: Unlike NGOs (non-governmental organizations) or non-profits, we operate as a for-profit organization... and we invest 30% of our net profits in our Impact work. This is the way that we have chosen to scale our social impact; we are a for-profit, for-purpose, social business.
Social Businesses are companies that are driven by a social cause, putting social impact before profit to create a sustainable business model for the greater good.
TabuTabu is a social business: we are driven to dismantle unhealthy taboos around sexuality so that people can be more empathetic and accepting of each other. We strive for conscious individuals, connected relationships, and thriving communities.
Since we started operations in 2020, we heavily focus on breaking taboos through accessible sexuality education for communities in Brazil and Honduras who don’t otherwise have access to comprehensive information regarding sexuality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. In fact, we invest 30% of our net profits into sustaining this work. You can find out more about our Impact work here.
The inspiration for our products is rooted in our in-person work in sexuality education.
We work with people of all walks of life, and we prompt, lead, and participate in conversations around sexual health, sexual rights, and sexuality in general across Europe and the Americas. These spaces have become our thermometers in gauging how to dismantle taboos most effectively.
Our design team then works its magic, and soon after, the products are added to our store for you to browse, purchase, and use to tackle the taboos upheld in your spaces!