The cultural norm I chose to break was to not flush or wash my hands after us inning the bathroom. I decided to choose this norm because I witness this revolting act a Most every day at college. The concept of flushing and washing after using the toilet was some hint everyone should have learned at a very young age. Decided to break this norm because e ever since I have been in college, students seem to forget simple manners and common courts sys 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. Fl gushing the toilet is not an option, it should be performed every time after us 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 Soc ally acceptable to most of society.
When I broke the norm, I expected many women n 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. Ecocide to break this cultural norm of not flushing and washing my hands AR mound the busiest time of the day. I performed this task in between morning classes, hi chi is a time when a lot of women use the public restroom outside the eating area on campus. Are undo 10:40 in the morning I walked into the public restroom and every stall was taken.
There w ere 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 n armor manner, acting as if nothing ever happened. When I opened the stall door, I noticed the ere 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 d out, could not help but put my ear against the door in hopes Of one of the women saying so meeting about my actions.
Just as I hoped, one of the women expressed her disgust by calling m y actions “unsanitary/’ and “inconsiderate of others”. I was able to hear the other ladies agree and say what had done was disgusting. When broke this cultural norm I felt unclean and alarmed, almost like I need d to go back and flush the toilet and wash my hands right away. To me, this norm is a n everyday action that should be second nature to everyone, not a once in a while process. I WA s pleasantly surprised to see and hear the ladies reactions because felt as if was the only y one who was bothered by this.
I witness many people breaking this cultural norm on a daily basis, butt never seem to catch others reactions, so it was reassuring to know there are people e who are concerned. Am very focused on my health and consider myself to be a geographer, so breaking this cultural norm made me squirm. Cultural values are collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable e, and proper bad, undesirable, or improper culture (Ferris and Stein 2014:84). N America, our society believes that cleanliness is good, desirable, and proper.
Simple, every ay norms, like flushing the toilet and washing hands, are what makes colonization possible. Colonization is the process by which individuals internalize the values and norms of a given socio TTY to function as a member of that society (Ferris and Stein 2014: 101). This is important when HTH inking about the greater picture. Washing hands, flushing toilets, giving the right amount of SP CE 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 w says.
Not only does this maintain order, it allows people to develop a comfort zone where they AR e able to expect and anticipate the behavior that is to occur. Depending on the cultural norm, breaking a norm is sometimes a hard thing t o do. Before broke the norm, I was concerned about what some people would think Of m e. I was worried people would think of me as unclean and unsanitary. When others perform a activity or take action on something one does not agree on, their opinion on that specific per son may change.
