Breaking Cultural Norms Research Paper

Meghan Largo
SOC1100­01
February 4th, 2015
Breaking Cultural Norms Paper
Cultural norms are established standards of behavior maintained by society. For a norm to be significant it must be widely shared and understood. Such behaviors are learned from parents, elders, teachers, and many others whose values are in the context of a specific culture.
When faced with others expectations regarding our own behavior, we have a tendency to typically do what is expected. I decided to do the unexpected and break a cultural norm.
The cultural norm I chose to break was to not flush or wash my hands after using the bathroom. I decided to choose this norm because I witness this revolting act almost every day at college. The concept of flushing and washing after using the toilet was something everyone
should have learned at a very young age. I decided to break this norm because ever since I have been in college, students seem to forget simple manners and common courtesy towards others. I never notice reactions from other people, only my own, so I decided to break this norm myself and observe.
The purpose or function of this norm is to keep myself and everyone around me clean.
Flushing the toilet is not an option, it should be performed every time after use so others do not have to be exposed to bodily fluids. Washing is required after using the toilet so germs do not spread around. Both are cleanly actions that should be completed every time after using the toilet, whether it is at home or in a public bathroom.

Breaking a cultural norm will cause others to judge because it may not be socially acceptable to most of society. When I broke the norm, I expected many women to give me a look of disgust, to suggest I go back and carry out the norm, to say something rude about my action, or to even talk about me as I left the bathroom.
I decided to break this cultural norm of not flushing and washing my hands around the busiest time of the day. I performed this task in between morning classes, which is a time when a lot of women use the public restroom outside the eating area on campus. Around 10:40 in the morning, I walked into the public restroom and every stall was taken. There were two women waiting for a toilet when I walked in and another doing her makeup in front of the mirror. After I used the toilet, I opened the stall door and walked out of the bathroom in a normal manner, acting as if nothing ever happened.
When I opened the stall door, I noticed there were three women washing their hands, and the same woman doing her makeup. With a slight peek in the mirror, I noticed all three of the women gave me a snobby look. When I walked out, I could not help but put my ear against the door in hopes of one of the women saying something about my actions. Just as I hoped, one of the women expressed her disgust by calling my actions
“unsanitary” and “inconsiderate of others”. I was able to hear the other ladies agree and say what
I had done was disgusting.
When I broke this cultural norm I felt unclean and alarmed, almost like I needed to go back and flush the toilet and wash my hands right away. To me, this norm is an everyday action that should be second nature to everyone, not a once in a while process. I was pleasantly surprised to see and hear the ladies reactions because I felt as if I was the only one who was bothered by this. I witness many people breaking this cultural norm on a daily basis, but I never

seem to catch others reactions, so it was reassuring to know there are people who are concerned.
I am very focused on my health and consider myself to be a germaphobe, so breaking this cultural norm made me
squirm.
Cultural values are collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper­or bad, undesirable, or improper­in culture (Ferris and Stein 2014:84). In America, our society believes that cleanliness is good, desirable, and proper. Simple, everyday norms, like flushing the toilet and washing hands, are what makes socialization possible. Socialization is the process by which individuals internalize the values and norms of a given society to function as a member of that society (Ferris and Stein 2014:101). This is important when thinking about the greater picture. Washing hands, flushing toilets, giving the right amount of space when talking, or even wearing the right clothes are all simple tasks that consume American culture. Society has a tendency to expect people to play out those behaviors in mutually shared ways. Not only does this maintain order, it allows people to develop a comfort zone where they are able to expect and anticipate the behavior that is to occur.
Depending on the cultural norm, breaking a norm is sometimes a hard thing to do. Before
I broke the norm, I was concerned about what some people would think of me. I was worried people would think of me as unclean and unsanitary. When others perform an activity or take action on something one does not agree on, their opinion on that specific person may change.
Irregular acts tend to stick more than normal acts, so I was scared of people always remembering the irregular act and considering me to be odd because of my uncleanliness action. This assignment was a great way to show how robotic our society may be, so when a normal everyday action is done differently or not done at all, society panics and responds differently.

Works Cited
Ferris, Kerry and Jill Stein. 2014.
The Real World an Introduction to Sociology.
New York: W.W Norton & Company, Inc.