Essay On How To Break A Social Norm

Words: 711
Pages: 3

Blue striped body suit and painted face, black dread-headed wig, and a long tail in the back; this doesn’t only describe an avatar, it describes the way I looked in front of hundreds of people. A social norm is described by those very words, social norm. It is the expected norm that conforms to certain social classes in a society. The presence of others and how they act set up the expectations of how we are to act ourselves. Each situation has its own set of expectations about the “proper” way to behave and these expectations can vary from group to group and with each social role you assume, your behavior changes to fit the expectations you and other people have of that social group. Social norms provide order in society and without them we wouldn’t be able to easily predict behavior in social relationships or make …show more content…
To break a social norm is to simply be unique in your own actions. Breaking a social norm may sound “simple,” but it never is. Everyone is so accustomed to the norm that they don’t even realize they are taking part in it, but when someone looks or acts different they are automatically judged. I decided to look up certain ways to break a social norm and quickly realized that I have already broken the norm a few times in my life. My senior year in high school during spirit week I decided to play along and dress up to the fullest. The seniors theme was Sci-Fi and we chose an Avatar theme for our parade float. I remember getting dressed the morning of the homecoming parade and thinking about how embarrassed I will be walking around in this costume all day at school. Thinking about it was only the beginning though. Once I got to school I definitely felt the embarrassment. I felt like all eyes were on me and only me. Everyone I passed in the hall stared at me from head to toe. I know I looked ridiculous, but at least the paint and wig hid my inner embarrassment. A few other seniors were supposed to dress up just like me,