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In my anthro. class last semester we actually studies FGM.  This class was based on cultural relativism and trying not to compare all other cultures to ours and hold them to our standards.  (This post is not to try and persuade people in support of FGM, but I have mixed feeling on the issue, as you will see.)  We actually started in this class with a reading of a woman who grew up in western society but in her twenties returned to her tribe in Africa with the sole purpose of under going FGM.  This process may seem unnecessary to us however to women in these cultures it is an extremely important practice.  Women gain their power in their community through FGM.  It is their rite of passage.  Women retain their lineage and strength through this process.  This procedure to us seems ridiculous but with out it, these women in these tribes would loose their major rite of passage.  For these women it does seem like simply going to the dentist it is normal for them and a huge part of their culture and their societal position.

I agree and think that as culture evolves more criticism is directed at other cultures and other practices; however it is important to be tolerant to other cultures.  Cultural relativism is based on not comparing culture and not holding them up to the standards of our culture.  It expresses that although we may not agree with other cultures it is important that we realize that certain rituals and traditions are important to them, no matter how strange to us.  Similarly, our traditions and daily processes would seem outrageous to other cultures.  This article by Horace Miner about the Nacirema Tribe make this clear: http://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html.

Once you read it, think if any of these rituals are similar to ours, in fact you may notice what Nacirema spelt backwards is…..  No one gave me the clue so I was really fooled by this article and even took notes on it for my first anthro class! 

 I guess my point is that yes, cultures do evolve however they do not always evolve in the same direction or for the same purpose; we just need to be tolerant of these differences.