Breaking The Norm For many people intentionally breaking a norm is not easy because it is out of line. In our textbook a norm is defined as “shared expectations or rules of behavior” (Culture 7). Norms are an important part to our society, they are a form of social control and they define which behaviors are normal and which behaviors are not normal. If there were no norms, we would live in a world with no rules or guidelines and that would create chaos. If someone were to break a norm they would be judged for breaking it just because it is not something that is seen everyday or it’s simply not normal. Norms are what make society unique because it creates culture, communities, and order. Different cultures or groups of people have different
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I started my experiment on October 29, 2015 in San Bernardino, CA. The norm I broke was wearing my rave outfit at a target in San Bernardino. My outfit was revealing or “provocative” as some would say. I was on my way to a halloween rave and I thought that seeing people react to my rave outfit would be interesting. I got the idea when my mom saw my outfit and her reaction was bad. She made a face and said what I was wearing did not seem right. My mom asked to cover up at least on my way to the car so the neighbors wouldn’t see. She said she did not want the neighbors judging me because of what I was wearing and that for sure they were going to think wrong. My outfit was a mermaid body suit; it was green and purples and it had glitter all around. I have leg straps on and some Vans shoes. I spray painted parts of my hair pink and added glitter spray paint. So I decide for the experiment take place in Target only because I knew that all sorts of people from different cultures would be there. I asked my friend to accompany me just so she could help me observe people’s reactions and …show more content…
If I had known the negative sanctions I was going to receive, I would not have chosen to do this specific experiment to conduct. The way people stared and looked at me made me feel like I was doing something completely wrong, I felt so uncomfortable. The worst part of this experiment for me was when the girl told me that I am giving the wrong impression of who I am and that I should do something better with my life. She told me that as if I was not doing anything good with myself or my life. The way she looked at me and spoke to me seemed like disgust. She judged me by my appearance and she made up a person out of me in her head. I didn’t like that she said “Oh you’re one of those people who supports gay right”, I don’t see what is so wrong with supporting gay rights. They are people and deserve to have rights just like everyone else. I’d like to think that she might have different values or beliefs, and seeing someone violet those beliefs of hers in public might’ve made her want to say something. If it was for that reason I would like to think I would understand why she might have reacted that way. I think for the rest of the people who just stared at me and didn’t say anything to me were just looking because it’s not something people see on a daily basis. From this experiment I learned that you will be judged by your appearance. People can portray what kind of person one is by the way someone
I started my experiment on October 29, 2015 in San Bernardino, CA. The norm I broke was wearing my rave outfit at a target in San Bernardino. My outfit was revealing or “provocative” as some would say. I was on my way to a halloween rave and I thought that seeing people react to my rave outfit would be interesting. I got the idea when my mom saw my outfit and her reaction was bad. She made a face and said what I was wearing did not seem right. My mom asked to cover up at least on my way to the car so the neighbors wouldn’t see. She said she did not want the neighbors judging me because of what I was wearing and that for sure they were going to think wrong. My outfit was a mermaid body suit; it was green and purples and it had glitter all around. I have leg straps on and some Vans shoes. I spray painted parts of my hair pink and added glitter spray paint. So I decide for the experiment take place in Target only because I knew that all sorts of people from different cultures would be there. I asked my friend to accompany me just so she could help me observe people’s reactions and …show more content…
If I had known the negative sanctions I was going to receive, I would not have chosen to do this specific experiment to conduct. The way people stared and looked at me made me feel like I was doing something completely wrong, I felt so uncomfortable. The worst part of this experiment for me was when the girl told me that I am giving the wrong impression of who I am and that I should do something better with my life. She told me that as if I was not doing anything good with myself or my life. The way she looked at me and spoke to me seemed like disgust. She judged me by my appearance and she made up a person out of me in her head. I didn’t like that she said “Oh you’re one of those people who supports gay right”, I don’t see what is so wrong with supporting gay rights. They are people and deserve to have rights just like everyone else. I’d like to think that she might have different values or beliefs, and seeing someone violet those beliefs of hers in public might’ve made her want to say something. If it was for that reason I would like to think I would understand why she might have reacted that way. I think for the rest of the people who just stared at me and didn’t say anything to me were just looking because it’s not something people see on a daily basis. From this experiment I learned that you will be judged by your appearance. People can portray what kind of person one is by the way someone