Overall Social Norms

For the longest time, women’s role in society was very narrow and set in stone. Women weren’t given the chance to decide life for their own, and there was a very sharp distinction of gender roles. Women were viewed as inferior, weak, and dependant. They were expected to be responsible for the family and maintainance of the house. But as the 19th century began, so did a drastic change in society. Women started voicing their opinions and seeking change. Trying to break away from this ideology called “cult of domesticity” was a lengthy, burdensome, and demanding struggle.

The five social norms that I am glad exist are the standards of personal space, the expected standard for personal hygiene, the expected standard for manners in public i.e. avoiding belching or flatulating in public areas, the norm of individual choices, and the social norm of education being a standard.

Following the customs and fashion of a social group is a key part of social interaction. For example, stated in Kivisto, “To follow custom is to be accepted by your group” (101). When a person is involved in a group, it is easy to be accepted when you follow the customary behavior and fashions of that group. This customary behavior provides security of knowing what is right within a group without the social risk associated with individual choice (101). In many instances, it is often easier to follow the group norms instead of taking the risk of making an individual decision. Simmel had many thoughts about fashion and customs. Stated in the text, “Simmel thought that, in his time, fashion was escaping the bounds of mere personal accouterments

A norm is a behavior or unspoken rule that society has deemed as normal or acceptable. Those who do not follow the norms of a group may be shunned or looked at as different. The norm I will be violating for my project is asking people that I am unfamiliar with to do something simple for me. It is not common for a stranger to ask another stranger to do something that they are seemingly able to do. This norm acts as a mechanism of social control by keeping people from talking to those who are unfamiliar. It also puts forward the idea that we should be able to do all simple tasks ourselves. To break this norm, I am going to wear tennis shoes with one of the laces untied and ask strangers passing by to tie my shoe for me.

Misfit. Rebel. Troublemaker. These are all names that may be given to people who go against the social norm. According to Andersen, Taylor, and Logio, the authors of Sociology: The Essentials, norms are defined as the specific cultural expectations for how to act in a given situation (2016). When someone disrupts the expectations, they commit a norm violation and may display deviant behavior. Since norms are so automatically built into our everyday lives, the rules of social interaction can be subtle and may be imperceptible to the people who participate in them. Therefore, sociologists often purposefully commit a norm violation in order to study what the rules or norms are. This approach, known as ethnomethodology, interprets society as being

Women have been a vital key to the shaping and progression of our society. Throughout time, women’s roles and opportunities in the family, workplace, and society have greatly evolved. They started from being housewives that don’t have many rights, even in the household, to being valued citizens in our

A social norm is defined as the rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in society. Throughout American history, the rules regarding what is considered acceptable behavior has changed tremendously. These behaviors haven’t changed just once or twice, but many times over the span of many years. Social norms can change quite often. There is a tremendous amount of behaviors we do in modern America that would have never been considered acceptable years ago. American society has changed significantly in consideration to social norms. Social norms that have changed excessively throughout American history are being affiliated with the LGBT community, dating, relationships, and premarital sex. So, how have social norms changed in American society?

In the national General Social Survey (GSS), more than one-third of the public agree with this statement: “It is much better for everyone involved if the man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family.” Thus, the cultural belief of Woman’s Rights is (and is still) being used today. Though with it’s positive actions also comes with its strained bias and social issues. Women are often treated by men as “pure” and should be “protected”

“Children are natural born explorers” (Paredes, 2014). They question everything and seek answers to feed their never ending curiosity. As a child, I remember asking my parents what the purpose of school was. I would ask them questions such as Why do I go to school? What happens if I don’t go? and Why was school created? In response, my parents would tell me that school is important because it provides an environment where I can learn, and they would say that without an education, I had no future. They would also say that since all little children go to school, I have to go as well. I never really understood the purpose behind education when I was younger, but nonetheless I continued to go to school and learn and grow simply because going to school, in itself, is considered to be a social norm. Now that I am older, I am able to decipher what the purpose of education is. In fact, education serves multiple purposes. Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons both argued that “education is meant to bind members of society together- it creates social unity and solidarity” (Thompson, 2008). While Emile Durkheim proposed this theory, Parsons was able to develop it; he

Dr. V. Chandra-Mouli, a leading World Health Organization (W.H.O) expert and representative, in a video posted on You Tube (2015) explained the numerous challenges towards educating the youth on how to achieve a happy sexual and reproductive life. Martinez, (2009) was of a similar opinion as Dr. V. Chandra-Mouli that the teenage sexual life needs to be enjoyed; however as it is, too much focus is paid on how to educate the youths about reproduction, sex or how to avoid problems. Schalet et al. (2014) identified that societal norms and values were to blame for not creating a platform for the youth to be educated on how to enjoy their sexual life.

Traditional views of women have existed since the first known civilizations. Typical gender roles would include women taking care of the children, cleaning the house, preparing meals, and taking care of her husband; all while the husband works and supplies his family with what they need. Although there is nothing wrong with these traditional gender roles, times have changed and a lot of women are expanding against societal norms and doing more with their life than just the housekeeper. Women are achieving higher education, obtaining stable careers and financial stability for themselves. They are also choosing to not have children, or they will still return to work after their maternity leave. This era of revolution for women is taking the world

Sociologists study human's social lives, interactions, processes, and organizations within their daily contact with social, political, and economic influences. Through numerous amount of theories they observe how social influences affect particular groups or individuals. This can and has created public controversy called a social problem. This is a condition that undermines the well-being of some or all members of society. Usually, these problems are a result of social norms that assume a standard behavior and quota for 7.4 billion people to acknowledge and abide by. For example, the source of deviance is found within the social structure. Society plays a major role in creating and sustaining deviance by labeling those viewed as abnormal.

Crime as Functional, Inevitable and Normal Crime can be functional in bringing about social change - when social norms are unsuited with the conditions of life. A high crime rate is an indication of a social system that has failed to adapt to change. Deviance, acts as a warning device, indicating that an aspect of society is malfunctioning. Deviance may also act as a safety valve - a relatively harmless expression of discontent.

Entering the home of a traditional family, the youngest children are in the living room watching television, arguing over the channel, as the oldest sibling is their room because they recently got suspended from school, and the dog is drinking out of the toilet bowl. In the meantime, the mother is the kitchen preparing dinner and setting up the dinner table. As she listens to the children arguing, the laundry timer goes off, and then her husband walks in from work. Now, not every home is as chaotic as this one, but even so, the woman was expected to handle each of these situations within the home and have everything prepared for her husband. Motherhood and housework were the most significant roles and positions of women in society. Rarely, would women have any type of education compared to the men. Overtime, women have conquered much of the challenges faced by the oppression in society, but not all. Gaining the rights to vote, receiving an education, working under for any occupation they chose to, etc. Although, there is still some sort of dominance and power that men have over women within every aspect of society; issues like gender and wage gap, gendered division of labor, second shift, glass ceiling, and many more are still prominent in society. Sheryl Sandberg, in her book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, and in a Ted talk argues about all the issues women face and how women do not insist on their fair share in the home or working community.

During the 1800’s, women were considered the center of the household and were confined to the traditional roles of housewife and mother. However, as time progressed women began to enter the work force, seek higher education, and demand independence. Today, there are many who would argue on both sides of this issue. There are those who strongly believe that families can flourish within a home where the mother works. On the other hand, there are women who cherish their God-given role as nurturer of a future generation. Although women are never going to return to the lifestyles of the 1800’s, there is evidence that this independence has had an adverse effect on the family, society, as well as the women themselves.