Breaking Social Norms Essay

Social norms are considered the acceptable behaviour exhibited by a society, different cultures have different social norms. Some norms can be more about religion, formal encounters vs. meeting friends or family or just a dress code for an organization, they’re shaped by cultural beliefs, your ethnic background, and other factors. Some social norms are universal, does not matter what country. An example would be, holding the door for someone, as that is always appreciated by everyone. Some other examples of social norms that are more cultural or country bound is driving on the right side of the road on a two lane highway, for areas like North America.
Breaking some social norms can cause harm. Cultures such as Saudi Arabia or
Iraq, have strict
norms on how women dress. Foreigners, mainly of women who come to those countries, must respect those norms or can be in danger. In countries like Canada, just shaking hands is polite etiquette, however in other parts of the world like Japan, a more proper way to meeting people is to bow, and shaking hands could discourage others, such as more royal individuals.
These are considered social norms because if someone were to bow to an individual when first meeting them in Canada, it would be against the acceptable behavior of just shaking hands.

Social norms are not the law, people don’t have to obey them, however it can be unacceptable and hated or disliked by others. Breaking a social norm is not easy and often leads people to feeling uncomfortable, however sometimes breaking a social norm can progress culture. Racism has spread across all cultures and has been of discussion for ages, it was and still is a social norm in certain areas, such as situations with Israel and
Palestine. Around the mid-1900s, a individual named Martin Luther King stood up against the social norms of racism, where he succeeded, but was sadly assassinated. Even though he was killed, his story was and is still used as a strong enforcer against racism. With the likes of people like Martin Luther
King, Ghandi, and many others, who stood up against the social norms around their cultures and ethical backgrounds, it has changed the world from what it was back then.

One social norm that has made its presence for a long
time is personal space. In our society and many others, it is known to give someone space when waiting in an empty elevator or going on an empty bus, not to just sit beside them. This is the social norm that I had chosen to break. I had attempted to break the personal “bubble” with three people, my sister and 2 friends, one male and one female. I chose these three types of individuals because I believed I would get 3 different reactions, as well as how I would feel leading up to breaking the personal “bubble.” I didn’t pick a stranger because I know that trying to invade a strangers personal space is a lot more unexpected and could be dangerous if they got defensive since neither of you don’t know each other. When I tried to break the social norm with my sister, I felt uncomfortable throughout the experience, I’ve known her my entire life, but everything changes when you try to invade their personal space, the conversation didn’t last long until she had stepped back. She had a confused look on her face and had asked “what are you doing?” Here body language also had a confused feel to it, as it looked like she wasn’t sure what to do. I assumed this would be a typical response for almost anyone that you didn’t know personally. However, others do have a different response such as my male friend. I had also known this friend for almost my entire life as we had grown up in the same town and class as each other. Leading up to the moment I had again felt uncomfortable, because it doesn’t feel right to get that close to someone, but in this situation I wasn’t able to get close as he would keep backing up.
After 2 or 3 he eventually got angry. Telling me “Man, why are you trying to get so close to me?” He defiantly wasn’t too happy about me invading his space. The final attempt I did was with my female friend who I have only known for 3 years. I didn’t feel as uncomfortable leading to, during, and after the conversation, as I did with the other 2 people. I expected that she would get discouraged and back away quickly, but she was the only one to maintain an entire conversation with me as I was invading her personal “bubble.” She didn’t seem to concern with how close I was with her. That being said everyone has a different idea on were their personal space is. Some are a bit more lenient and others have a big personal space. I think that personal space can also depend on that relationship with those individuals, even though I’ve known my sister and male friend my entire life, I still felt uncomfortable with the idea of breaking their “bubble.” I also believe that there is also another little social norm when it comes to personal space and that is the gender of the individual. I felt more comfortable having a conversation with my female friend than my male friend, even though I knew him
longer.

The social norm that I had attempted to break was invading someone’s personal space. Even though I had only attempted on 3 people I believe that the most common response for having their personal space invaded for most people is a confused look and a “what are you doing.” I believe there are other factors that come in to play when it comes to invading their space, such as gender and that relationship you have with that individual.