Breaking Cultural Norms

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Following cultural norms is a part of our human nature. We diminish any ideas regarding breaking these norms because going against them would be socially and culturally unacceptable. By choosing the freedom our country has offered us we also accept the rules and regulations that come along with it. Including all unspoken and untaught cultural norms of our society. Going into the cultural norm project I wanted to break a cultural norm that was a contradiction within itself. People converse with each other daily but have found it culturally inappropriate to talk while using the restroom. No one ever taught us to not talk to the person in the bathroom stall next to us we have just come to understand that it is socially unacceptable. I decided …show more content…

We refuse to break these so said rules set by cultural norms so we do not appear as “weird” and/or are labeled socially inappropriate. We have never taken the time to examine what it is exactly that causes us to perform these actions that make us fit in. Part of it, is simply the fact of blending in and not being considered “uncultured”. In doing so, we give away a small portion of our free will. Following cultural norms helps us filter our decisions about actions that we perform every day. Our daily routines would look very different if we paid no attention to the rules and set structures of cultural norms. Some of them have been set in place to keep us safe and from making illegal and dangerous life decisions. While others have been followed by example. For example, why do we face the doors when riding an elevator? The answer seems simple enough, because they open to let us on and off. However, if everyone faced the back we would not question the action and followed suit because it would be considered the cultural norm. So, what makes talking to someone in a bathroom stall any different than conversing with someone elsewhere? We have defined going to the bathroom as a private procedure. This would indicate that bathroom stalls in our minds are private places in which others should respect our privacy and not try to interact. So then, why is a public restroom considered public if going to the bathroom is a

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