Essay On Conform Norms

Whether we know it or not, our day to day lives are heavily influenced by the society we live in. Our families, friends and peers expect us to conform to certain norms, “expectations of ‘right’ behavior “(Henslin, 2011, p. 49). Not all people do conform to the norms that our society has set out for us, and at the same time people violate them without noticing. Working in the food industry, I find myself recognizing more and more of our norms that are being broken that I came to just shrug off before. Two weeks ago a young man and a mother displayed an example of a norm violation while I was working. This young man was not out of his teenage years and appeared to have mental disabilities. His mother, a regular at the restaurant, makes sure to carefully attend to …show more content…
These sneezes were so loud that customers from the other side of the restaurant could clearly hear him. People in line immediately would frown upon his actions as it occurred over and over again. In this same situation, neighboring tables moved to the other side of the restaurant in attempt to avoid witnessing his actions. The mother then had to stop placing her order and clean up after her son. He not only broke a norm by people visually having people witness his saliva and mucus spewed across the table and his body, but also violated peoples personal space throughout the restaurant by sneezing loudly while they enjoyed their meals. The mother on the other hand had to have people behind her wait for her to clean after her son, leaving the line, myself and my coworkers at a standstill. Modern day American society greatly values cleanliness and sanitation in all aspects of life. Attempts to clear air pollution, avoid cross contamination in the food work area and even daily showers are a part of this. To go against this in some circumstances is an example of a more, “norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought essential to core values or the wellbeing of the group”