A "social norm" is a rule that is socially enforced. What kinds of social norms are you subject to in your life?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
this is *your* space to discuss humanities, eb, senior year, and whatever else is on your mind.
Important Links
Dates to Remember
June 15 & 16
Films In-Class
June 18 - 23
Final Exams
June 24
Film Festival
Films In-Class
June 18 - 23
Final Exams
June 24
Film Festival
Want to post?
E-mail us for an invite:
Mr. Reck (arecktenwald@ebnet.org)
Mrs. Deerson (adeerson@ebnet.org)
Mr. Langdon (rlangdon@ebnet.org)
Mr. Reck (arecktenwald@ebnet.org)
Mrs. Deerson (adeerson@ebnet.org)
Mr. Langdon (rlangdon@ebnet.org)
east brunswick high school > 380 cranbury road > east brunswick, nj 08816
14 comments:
I think that people today are subjected to all types of social norms; some are more subtle than others. One that stands out in my life is my family and how we practice our religion. Almost everyday, everyone is expected to gather together and pray. You are expected to go to church every week. Anything that interferes with or can interfere with that is considered wrong or unnecessary.
I am religious by choice, but it is expected in my church that if you can't donate money, you donate your time. Sometimes I feel that it's just a little bit too much on my plate, but then I see how it's made me a better person and I can't deny others my time.
Otherwise, I think a lot of norms are imposed on us in school. We're all (or at least most of us) are expected to get good grades, pay attention, focus on our education, and just in general LEARN! No fun involved. And that's just high schools in general. Each seperate cliche or individual high school has different societal norms.
In East Brunswick, I feel that some of us are supposed to be good at certain sports. Not to dis anyone on any team, but EB does have a reputation for being good at specific sports like soccer and tennis. Not that all of us have to be good at those sports, but people on those teams are supposed to be very serious, dedicated, etc. and very, very talented.
Honors students, on the other hand, are expected to always get good grades. Forget having a social life, we're expected to study 24/7. And when I wanted to apply to Rutgers and ONLY Rutgers, I got a few shocked expressions. It's like if you're an honors student and you have a great GPA, you HAVE to apply to Ivy League schools. And you always have to worry about your transcripts. Choosing courses, after school activities, community service projects, etc. ALL revolve around how it'll look to colleges.
But there are other groups that have different societal norms placed on them. Like thespians, rockers, etc.
I dance outside of school and I just do it for fun, but a lot of serious dancers feel that they have to be thin to dance professionally. Realistically, this makes sense when you're a ballet dancer since you have to support yourself on a two-inch block of glued materials which you have to stuff your toes into as well. It's really uncomfortable if you have to spend several hours dancing like that and you weigh over 100 pounds. But still, it becomes a societal norm for a lot of dancers in general.
Suburbia has quite a lot of societal norms as well. Like how we have to be at least middle class citizens, relatively conservative, etc. And so, a lot of teens rebel in classic suburban fashion because we don't like to be dictated. In my English class, there's a group of students who were reading a really crazy, but interesting play on a group of students living in suburbia and even though it was totally exaggerated, there was some truth to it.
I think that we are all subjected to social norms, which vary from gender to gender, race to race, etc. And here are some norms I've picked up on.
Guys:
Society has imposed the "rule" that guys have to like the color blue and should like the color green and black. Society imposes this rule even in baby attire and toys. It is frowned upon by society if guys like any color other than those listed above, especially if they like pink or purple.
Another societal norm, which depends on the race, is that guys have to wear pants, never skirts although in Scotland, they guys flaunt their legs. And in today’s society, guys have to wear their pants half way down their butts.
Another male societal norm is that they have to be athletic or if they aren't, then they have to like sports. And specifically, they have to like basketball or football. It seems like guys have to know every team from every state by heart and every player and their ranks and records. But what happens if they truly don't care for sports? They're looked at as weird.
Society also has imposed the trend that guys have to be the “strong ones.” They can’t show their emotions or their considered weak. They have to be the ones to make the first move in a relationship and they have to pay for the dates. If they don’t, they have shamed manhood.
For girls:
A societal norm for girls is that they have to like the color pink and bright colors. If they wear the color black they’re considered emo. And if they wear blue or green, they’re considered a bit tomboyish.
A societal norm is that girls have to care about their appearance and have to be flawless. Unlike with guys, who are “supposed” to be rugged and not care about appearance, girls have to. That’s why it’s the norm that girls have at least 5 skin care products to have absolutely no blemishes, should wear makeup and have straight hair and if not, flawless curls.
In society, it’s the norm for girls to have many emotions and to always be talkative. If they aren’t, they’re considered unfriendly, loners, isolated.
Girls are also normally considered to be emotionally weaker than males, although I’m not saying that it’s true. I mean how many times have you seen in movies or TV that the guy was in distress and the girl was the hero? Not often.
I think that social norms are not enforced in a society but are expected. In your family, at school and in your life there are different norms you must follow. In school a norm is not only to follow the rules but to also stay with your "group of friends", dress a certain way and sometimes even think a certain way. With your family different things that are appropriate with them can vary. You always need to do the right thing and always listen to them. The social norm also varies for different people. What is normal for one person is different for others. If a person goes out of their norm then they are considered "different". I think that mostly a social norm is controlled by you. You can pick what to wear, or how to act.
People who live in a society must deal with lots of norms that vary in extremity.
There are casual norms - things that are not strictly enforced but accepted by society.
Ex. covering your mouth when you yawn, taking your hat off for the national anthem, saying "please" and "thank you", being properly clothed in public (no shoes, no service)
Then there are some that are more official. They are written down and strictly enforced.
Ex. Cutting school, laws against murder, arson, robbery
Then there is behavior that are strictly prohibited - taboos
Ex. cannibalism, incest, necrophilia
There are some norms that develop just as a reaction to usual behavior. For instance, I am a very cheerful person (hence my humanities nickname is Sunshine). Sometimes if I come into school and I am tired and quiet, many people will ask me if I am okay. Usually, when I say "Yes, I'm just tired", they respond with "Are you sure?". My friends are so used to seeing me being peppy that they are thrown off when my behavior changes to the point that they are seriously concerned for my welfare.
- Dana aka "Sunshine"
Societal norms have never been more evident to me than right now, as a senior.Our society expects that after high school graduation we will continue on to college. Not attending college is frowned upon. Once a person decides to go to college, more societal norms are pressed upon us. Colleges need 'well rounded people' and we need to meet their standard. It is assumed that we will have great grades, plenty of extra curricular activities, and score high on the SATs. If a perspective student lacks in any of these areas, the results can be devastating. The pressure from all these standards can really get to a person.
'Hershey's chocolate' has given many examples to our society's expectation of boys and those of girls and how they are extremely different including their activities, motivations etc. However, I believe that in today's society those 'norms' have been less obvious. You no longer see every women who has a child staying home and not working to take care of their baby. That use to be a social norm but that's changed. Now I realize the question was what kinds are there now....Ok.
College is a HUGE social norm for students graduating high school. It is expected that the year right after they graduate, they should be off to college, and maybe after that, grad school.
On a smaller level, it is a norm for teenagers to have a facebook(or myspace). I have one, but I do believe it is kind of pathetic that we have to depend on these networking sites to communicate with everyone. And now it has become surprisingly, odd, if someone our age does not have one. So, having one of those is now considered a norm.
There are many social norms in our society however i don't think they are enforced. They are "highly reccommended" and for the most part necessary. For us seniors i think the biggest societal norm is college. In east Brunwick it is the norm that after high school almost every student goes to college. To get into college every student takes the SAT, does community service and clubs in and out of school, it has become the norm to get into college.
The social norm is assimilating to everyday life and being like everybody else so you do not feel out of place. Wearing jeans and a simple t shirt everyday so you are like everybody else and fitting in. Living in East Brunswick it is pretty much assumed after high school you will go on to college, which is the normal thing to do. That is what most people will do once they graduate. It is normal for you to eat your meals starting with your soup and appetizers, then the main course, followed by dessert. Not normally will you eat ice cream first, have a bowl of chicken soup, eat your chicken parm and then finally finish with a caesar salad, it is just not socially acceptable.
In a relationship it is the social norm for the man to always drive, pay, and “wear the pants” in a relationship. Why does the guy have to always drive and pay for things? At our age in high school when students do not have a great income it is fair for the girls to pay sometimes too. As for driving, I have a late birthday and my girlfriend drove me around for a while. It was nice to be honest to be the passenger and just sit back and relax (guys try it sometimes, you even get to choose the radio station). As for wearing the pants in the relationship, maybe guys are better off wearing them. Girls are very indecisive what they want to eat for dinner. Make a short list of choices and let your girlfriend pick from there, it makes things easier. For that matter guys often have trouble choosing also. Aside from Taco Bell guys do not know from many other restaurants. Work together and everything will work out. Do not worry about social norms, if you change things up and it is for the better soon everybody else will pick up on them and you will be the creator of new norms.
The social norm is assimilating to everyday life and being like everybody else so you do not feel out of place. Wearing jeans and a simple t shirt everyday so you are like everybody else and fitting in. Living in East Brunswick it is pretty much assumed after high school you will go on to college, which is the normal thing to do. That is what most people will do once they graduate. It is normal for you to eat your meals starting with your soup and appetizers, then the main course, followed by dessert. Not normally will you eat ice cream first, have a bowl of chicken soup, eat your chicken parm and then finally finish with a caesar salad, it is just not socially acceptable.
In a relationship it is the social norm for the man to always drive, pay, and “wear the pants” in a relationship. Why does the guy have to always drive and pay for things? At our age in high school when students do not have a great income it is fair for the girls to pay sometimes too. As for driving, I have a late birthday and my girlfriend drove me around for a while. It was nice to be honest to be the passenger and just sit back and relax (guys try it sometimes, you even get to choose the radio station). As for wearing the pants in the relationship, maybe guys are better off wearing them. Girls are very indecisive what they want to eat for dinner. Make a short list of choices and let your girlfriend pick from there, it makes things easier. For that matter guys often have trouble choosing also. Aside from Taco Bell guys do not know from many other restaurants. Work together and everything will work out. Do not worry about social norms, if you change things up and it is for the better soon everybody else will pick up on them and you will be the creator of new norms.
There are many social norms in our society however i don't think they are enforced. They are "highly reccommended" and for the most part necessary. For us seniors i think the biggest societal norm is college. In east Brunwick it is the norm that after high school almost every student goes to college. To get into college every student takes the SAT, does community service and clubs in and out of school, it has become the norm to get into college.
I've taken sociology two years a go and I remember that there are three types of norms, ones that are casual ones that are strictly enforced and ones that are considered taboos. A norm is a standard model or pattern. I think that people are subjected to all types of social norms which vary. I go to church only four days a year (I'm supposed to go the whole year) for Christmas, Easter, Palm Sunday and Ash Wednesday. In school, a norm that you would normally follow would be your group of friends and the clothes that you wear. I also think that social norms are controlled by you and no one else, you choose to be whoever you want to be.
a social norm in our society is to be beautiful for both women and men. working at a gym, i see many people coming in saying they want to loose weight or become more muscular so they can look diffrent and feel better about themselves. today i watched a new show called true beauty. in this show they were not only being judged on outer beauty, but inner beauty as well. i really thought this was a good idea because it shows that outer beauty is not the only thing that is important. i think more people in our society should care more about being beautiful on the inside- unfortunatly a gym cant fix that.
I dress in "normal" clothing. but in this day in age what exactly is normal. I have no clue any longer. I sometimes ask my brother why he does not act normal but then I think again what is normal?
Post a Comment