Essay On Breaking Social Norms

A society is comprised of individuals that constitute a set of normative rules that serve as a decree to accept some individuals, while rejecting others as part of that same society. Breaking a social norm is almost as if one is rebelling and/or refuting against the rules set by the members of the society (Becker 1982). Or in some instance, unfortunately more common than it may appear, individuals, like international immigrants or residents of a different community, simply lack the knowledge of the social norms that are accepted in the particular society, like abstaining from wearing certain clothes, making direct eye contact with the person one is conversing with, maintaining an appropriate distance with one when in an elevator, or even as simply as saying “please” when one commits a virtuous deed. …show more content…
I went swimming at the Athletic Student Fitness Center with a few close friends; these are the friends I consider my “significant others” (Johnson 2010) with respect to their influence on my everyday life. In the society we live in today, a girl is habitually expected to shave her legs, especially in a college-like atmosphere, where peer relations are dominating (Adler and Adler 1998). This is regardless of her relationship status, cultural and socio-economic background, the amount of close connections she has, her height, her weight, etc.; a wildly accepted notion that if she acquires a female body, her legs must be smooth at all times. If she does not abide by these rules, she is jeopardizing the image that she retains of her “self”, and the image that others retain of