Definition
Taboo refers to something that is prohibited or forbidden by social or cultural customs or beliefs.
Pronunciation
US English
UK English
See Synonyms, Antonyms and Usage
Excerpts from News Articles
He added that he’d welcome diverse, real penises because they’d make people “a little bit more comfortable with sexuality” and combat the “ taboo ” of showing the penis.
Often perceived as a taboo subject, it really needn’t be. The legislation of medical cannabis changed in the UK in 2018 and since then Lyphe Clinic, a specialist group, has supported patients and worked to destigmatise the use of cannabis as a treatment for medical conditions.
"And that's making sure that you understand that bleeding is not taboo , that you can still be sexy when you're on your period, that bleeding looks different for different people, that not all menstruators are the same."
It might be difficult to think about, but breaking that taboo ensures you are protected, today and in the future Rose St Louis, Scottish Widows
If an anatomical description of the clitoris only appeared in some French school text books as recently as 2017, that’s because the seat of female pleasure, known by this name since at least 1559, was deeply taboo for so long.
“Dialogues about security or defense cooperation in the region are relatively taboo , threatening, even. They are associated with conflict and war, which are not things ASEAN is necessarily comfortable with,” I Made Andi Arsana, an expert on the South China Sea dispute at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), told The Jakarta Post.
“It’s for the wrong reasons, because we haven’t got enough of it, but it is starting to break the taboo about talking about money.”
Considering the effect of financial stress on our wellbeing, it is clear we need to overcome the financial stigma that prevents us from getting help. We also owe it to our kids to break the taboo around money by communicating our worries and educating them on how to manage finances better.
Biden, in a 1987 speech to college students, argued that the Social Security program would face a solvency crisis for the baby boomers and later generations saying, “I realize it’s taboo for a Democrat to even discuss the Social Security system in any terms other than to say, ‘don’t touch anything.’”
“Today, more than one percent of all children born in Denmark are born with donor sperm. That is the highest percentage of any European country. The fact that so many children in Denmark have been born out of donation really took away the taboo in our country," she told Euronews.
One of their most well-known works from this period is "The Dirty Words Pictures" (1977), a series of large-scale photo collages featuring words and phrases considered taboo or offensive by many. These works sparked controversy and outrage among some critics and audiences, but also cemented Gilbert & George's reputation as fearless provocateurs who were unafraid to push the boundaries of acceptability.
It’s even worse outside the classroom. Expressing nuance about certain matters — whether on Israel or policing — is essentially taboo for anyone who doesn’t want to invite social ostracizing.
Guillaume Daudin, a French journalist, co-authored a graphic novel (“Les Contraceptés”) on the men breaking the “ taboo ” of male contraception in the country.
A philosopher friend of mine said ... "The best thing about your book is that you domesticated suicide." .... That this is no more a taboo subject than sex is a taboo subject or death is a taboo subject or grief is a taboo subject. All of these things, not only are we allowed to talk about them, but we need to talk about them because we're all feeling them. And once you lift that shame, you lift a lot of the burden of feeling that way.
Sally, Cecily, Jack, and Gilbert all have unique voices and their stories are treated with equal care and attention, which speaks volumes not only about Beanland research skills but also the empathy she has for the people she writes about. This novel is a fictionalized slice of history, but in a time when so many treat teaching history as a taboo , it is also a stark reminder of how privilege, sexism, and racism have been in this country's DNA since its inception, and that makes it necessary reading.
The film makes perceptive use of space: Sexuality and desire are acceptable in the public theater, while Haider's multigenerational family home offers no privacy and intimacy is borderline taboo . The director stressed he does not judge his characters, but "wanted to explore those dualities and the human cost of the morals they place on themselves."
Homosexuality was partly decriminalised in 1967. Outside of a few big cities it made little difference to most young queers. No “out” politicians, sports people, entertainers. No visibly queer teachers, neighbours, family members. Queer existence remained stubbornly and, it seemed, eternally taboo .
War on the continent catalysed further changes. The EU responded to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by orchestrating ten rounds of sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime, and has delivered some €38bn in financial assistance. It has even, in a radical departure, paid for some €3.6bn-worth of arms, once very much a taboo . Domestically, an energy crisis that once looked to send the EU economy into recession has somewhat abated.
Onlookers may not have realized, but Gupta was creating a subtly subversive image in what he has described as the "repressive atmosphere" of 1980s India . At a time when homosexuality was more taboo in the country than it is today — and with consensual gay sex then criminalized as an "unnatural offense" — the photographer had found his subjects via the informal networks constituting Delhi's gay scene. The pair in question had chosen the war monument's gardens for their photo shoot due to its reputation as a cruising spot.
They wave away suggestions that growing awareness of gender issues in Chile has made the coffee shops taboo .
In the past, Saudi Arabia and others have stripped out this language. This an important shift, finally acknowledging that use of coal and other fossil fuels need to be rapidly reduced to tackle the climate emergency. The taboo of talking about the end of fossil fuels has been finally broken.
Kennedy's election was a breakthrough. Biden, on the other hand, is free to wear his heritage on his sleeve, O'Leary said, since electing an Irish Catholic to the highest office in the land is no longer a taboo .
Being a journalist in Somalia is a dangerous business, especially if you are a woman. More so if you want to cover taboo topics. But that is not going to stop me or any of my colleagues at Bilan, the country’s only all-female media house, which celebrates its first birthday on Tuesday. After all, Bilan is a Somali word that means “shining a light”.
This is a bracing, discomfiting and complicated read partly because it breaks a taboo .
Our research highlights areas for further work, particularly around adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive health rights. This remains a taboo issue among some communities where it’s believed that access to modern contraception will promote promiscuity. Our study found no evidence that household visits from health extension workers had addressed common misconceptions among adolescent girls around fertility and preventing sexually transmitted infections.
“The topics are dark. The topics are taboo . But what he’s doing is shining light on them. He’s bringing awareness to them and saying this is a real issue that people need to deal with.”
By tradition, there is no taboo against spying on friendly nations. Some nations, such as the Five Eyes alliance of Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, have essentially agreed not to spy on each other. However, overall there is no codified international agreement on the issue and few norms.
Human-like chatbots like ChatGPT, which is restricted in China, scrap millions of data points from across the internet, including on topics deemed taboo by Beijing, such as Taiwan’s disputed political status and the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Meanwhile, there is considerable evidence to suggest, but not to prove conclusively, that Jefferson initiated a sexual liaison with his attractive young mulatto slave Sally Hemings in 1788, about the time his torrid affair with Cosway cooled down—this despite his public statements denouncing blacks as biologically inferior and sexual relations between the races as taboo .
At a time when no one was chronicling the monumental minutiae occupying a young person’s brain—body shame, bullying, grief—there was no subject that Judy wasn’t up for exploring in her books. Even the most taboo subjects of the time—menstruation and masturbation—were examined, helping millions of young women to enter young adulthood a lot more informed and a little less afraid. Her books have been banned many times in various places over the years, since there are always people for whom the thought of an empowered young woman’s autonomy over her mind and body is objectionable.
In Macmillan’s day, homosexuality was illegal, but through a process of official reports, campaigning efforts, cross-party efforts in parliament and a more open debate about what was a taboo , changes in the law and gradual evolution in social attitudes meant that real, sustainable progress was achieved – albeit too slowly and haltingly – through partial legalisation all the way to equal marriage and Pride.
“We’ve finally broken through the taboo and allowed ourselves to question why we’re doing what we’re doing if it’s not working,” he said. Boys, just like girls and nonbinary children, need care, compassion and validation.
The polling company that carried out the survey headlined their findings ‘The Great Taboo (on the left)’. The refusal of left-wing politicians in France to heed their voters’ anxieties about mass immigration is mirrored across western Europe, except in Denmark, where the left has listened and as a result is in power.
Despite being relatively widespread—though some scholars believe that many reports of cannibalism are untrue—the practice eventually became taboo . However, there are some instances when it was accepted—or at least tolerated—and these cases typically involved survival.
I grew up in the early 1980s, the child of Indian immigrant doctors, sheltered from all of this crucial information and yet unsure of whether to believe the rumors being spread at the schoolyard. Blume’s relatable and truthful stories were so important to my personal development because they normalized topics being speculated about by kids everywhere while being considered taboo by many adults, including my parents. The success of her books demonstrated that kids want and deserve the truth when it comes to understanding themselves and their bodies.