The term "normal" is flawed in most of the situations it is used in. To say something is normal is to diminish what others may deem normal in their own minds. For some, it may be normal to go to bed at 8 at night, while for others it may be normal to go to bed at midnight. In these instances, the term norms should be referred to instead. It can be the norm of the U.S. to sleep later in the evening but the norm for somewhere else to go to sleep earlier. In the case of sexual behaviour, there is no "normal." That is implying that those who do not follow a specific behaviour are abnormal. One of the perfect examples of the differences between cultures is that of the Middle East and of China. Currently, "in Iraq, since the removal of Saddam,
“Western generational models can not be applied broadly to a global workforce.” (Erickson, 2011, p. 1) The events that shaped the generations in the United States did not necessarily happen around the world. Other countries and cultures have had their own monolithic events to shape their beliefs and character. While events such as World War II did happen globally, not every country was involve in that war and did not have the same experience as say people in the United Kingdom and United States might have had. The potential exception to this rule is the proposed Generation Y and Millennials who have globally had access to the same information due to increasing availability of technology. In a recent email report
The USA is a very diverse nation with many different groups of people, and that being said it is a wonder our nation is able to coexist despite many cultures being integrated within our population. Several things that came to mind while researching this topic were; ,“What kind of social norms do other cultures have?”, “ How would I have turned out if I would have been born in that country with a different culture?”, and “ What do people from a different context think about the way I communicate?”. We oftentimes disregard a very crucial entity that is essential to any civilization, and that is the way the populous communicates with each other. Foreigners oftentimes struggle to adapt living in a new country because they have to overcome many endeavors, and have to deal with the initial culture shock. Aside from learning a new language they have to learn certain social cues that were not used in their native countries, and most of the time they will have to learn the social cues on their own. Even if you learn the language prior to your arrival you will still find it difficult to have a conversation with a local. There are two distinct ways to communicate, and it is oftentimes influenced by the culture an individual is born in. There are cultures that are considered to be high context, and their counterparts would be those who grew up in cultures considered to be low context. An individual’s upbringing greatly influences how well they would be able to adapt to communicating
They hold us together as a culture, while separating us as unique individuals at the same time. Folkways, which are based more on custom and etiquette are the most broken of all norms. This can be explained because worst case scenario our only reprimand may be someone staring or talking about us. Mores, while a little more serious than folkways, still don’t have a very serious punishment, just maybe a little more than weird looks, double takes and bad mouthing. Mores are usually based on social morals, which can sometimes make people get a little uneasy, but not much more than that. Laws are the most serious or formal norms, with standard punishment respective to the type of law that is broken. The norm
How do people like to eat ramen? Do they like to eat with sounds or eating quietly? It means that ramen is delicious when people are eating it with sounds in Japan. While in china, eating food with sounds means rudeness. This interesting example shows that there are huge differences among kinds of social norms. In the film Witness, director Peter Weir explores the distinct and huge cultural conflicts between the old Amish society of western Pennsylvania and the modern American world of crime and violence. The main character, Philadelphia police detective John Book, is forced into hiding by a group of corrupt fellow officers looking for a little Amish boy, Samuel. The boy witnesses a merciless killing and identifies that one of the murders is Book’s boss. John Book and his witness hide in the house of the boy's mother Rachel on a farm in the Amish country. Even though Book tries to adopt plain living in the Amish country and helps Rachel and Samuel secure from all of danger, he has to leave them and along his satisfactorily destined path. Based on different social norms, sometimes people are willing to adapt those different social norms when they realize that breaking established rules is wrong. On the contrast, different social norms will burn the fire of fight. On the other hand, different social norms could help people learn about more cultures.
Social norms are behaviors that are deemed acceptable by our society. An example of a social norm is when you are at a signal light, you mind your own business and don’t communicate with neighboring cars. For my project I broke this social norm. Every time I was at a signal light, I would wave at neighboring car like a friendly person and see how they would respond. Majority of the participants conformed to my behavior and waved back because there wasn’t a group present, so conformity to the social norm wasn’t prevalent. If there was more pressure from a group of random people who could be judging the person then maybe they wouldn’t have conformed to my behavior. I got variance in people’s reaction even though majority
The traditions and social norms in today’s society are still being challenged in many different ways. Those such as religion and sex. Although these are the same from which we’ve read about in the text, they are both being challenged in different ways than the 1960’s. Instead of religion stating that kings rule from the will of God, the will of God, or anything resembling religion, is being taken out of the political systems and schools. Instead of the role of women in any given household being challenged, we’re challenging the right of any male or female to claim the sexual preference of heterosexuality. The twist is that some people (Christians) go around killing those that don’t conform to their standards of sexuality and justify their actions
There are cultural differences within all the communities that make up the world, we are constantly surrounded and reminded of these other cultures. In this paper cultural differences will be discussed from the film “Why Did I Get Married?” which is an African-American movie about the hardships one goes through in marriage, friendships, and trust. This paper is going to give specific examples of Hall’s perspective of culture on the screen and Hofstede’s five dimensions that are reflected in a particular pattern. Examples of both verbal and non verbal intercultural communication and how they relate to particular intercultural
It is challenging to determine what constitutes normal sexual behavior since different cultures hold diverse views and perceptions. I honestly believe it all depends on the way a person was raised and also what type of background and culture they have. People can have multiple approaches to this question because they will perceive it differently and they will relate to their own experiences. Having knowledge about the impact of culture and individual experience can make it easier to understand and make decisions about our own sexuality. Asian Americans for example, are more conservative when it comes to sexual behaviors which could be ultimately something good. “Available data suggest that the prevalence rate of sexual abuse in Asian American
Social norms are rules of conduct that materialize based on a society’s values. Social norms are not always the same since different societies have different values. Without social norms there would be chaos; social norms make society’s behavior predictable, for the most part. Most of our society likes predictability; it helps to make us feel safe. Each person is taught social norms through contact with other human beings. The family is one of the first avenues by which children begin to form their understanding of social norms. Parents are constantly teaching their children what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. I will never forget the time that my son asked me, very loudly as a woman walked by us with super short hair and
From the weekly reading, I was able to adapt a strong feeling of self-awareness of my own culture. We as people respond to societal issues based off our cultural and religious practices. The reading discusses the importance of cultural awareness, which is a key part of social work practice. The text defines cultural not only as a way to distinguish groups, but as a, “… source of strength and inspiration that helps people cope with daily stressors they face” (Marsiglia & Kulis, 2015). The reading went on to further discuss, how understanding one’s cultural norms help social workers to better assist clients. How can social workers be successful at the job if he or she lack the proper tools to guide them in their daily roles? For example, if
The more countries around the world I had visited, the more people with diverse backgrounds I had met, the more clearly realized that the concept of norm is strongly relative, indefinite, and vague. Being a prisoner of own convictions can sometimes be not only short-sighted but also dangerous. I remember frustration, when I was traveling through the remote isolated Asian villages and people around were pointing fingers and making pictures of me, because they rarely could see women looking and dressed in a western manner. I did not not if should be flattered or offended, when people asked to take a picture with me as with some rara avis. I also can imagine how alien can people feel moving to another country.
If you saw a child dancing in the middle of a hotel lobby you’d probably giggle and think to yourself how cute it is however, if you saw a grown man partaking in the same behavior you’d probably think he’s under the influence or just plain crazy. This man is doing a harrowing thing, doing what he actually wants to do instead of what society and his peers expect him to do. These unwritten laws of society are what we refer to as “social norms”. Social norms are something I’ve been aware of since I hit middle school however, It didn’t hit me how they truly affected us as people until a few months ago while I was sitting at a booth in a pancake house with my friends. When a man that would change my view on society walked in the door. Although American
Problems that arise when a teacher establishes their own culture as the norms in the classroom to followed are? Cultural indifferences, lack of respect to each other and tensions between teacher and students base on culture needs. The cultural norm that should be seen in a classroom with students who are culturally diverse is making students feel comfortable with each other and accepted. Being able to invest you time to learn about the different culture that are in the classroom and teaching about them in your classroom. An example would be explained about the different holidays that are celebrate during Christmas time like: Kwanza, Hanukkah and Christmas. Being able to understand the culture aspects of the cultures in your classroom. An
Throughout various societies, cultures, and different situations, people have their own opinions and ideas on what is normal and abnormal sexual behavior. It
I believe, that people are going to practice what they want to practice regardless of anyone else’s opinion, so it is not up for debate on where to draw the line between their practices as being, either normal or abnormal, they will not care. Since I am faced with this question, I think sexual behaviors become abnormal when there are heinous actions tied to it. According to the free Dictionary, abnormal behavior “includes any activity judged to be outside the normal behavior pattern for animals of that class and age, including the vices, the fixed patterns of abnormality” (Medicine, 2017). With, anything that is out of the ordinary norms of sexuality or behaviors is and will be considered abnormal from societies view. I think that deferring whether something is abnormal, should be judged based upon societal norms and history. When it comes to sexual practices, I feel that society should be involved it is harmful to another.