PREGNANCY SCARE 

A Breaching Experiment

Abaya, Dunque, Rojo, Sanchez, Young

SA 21- K

1.     What norm did you violate?

Discussing or even implying sex is usually considered a taboo in our culture. This is the norm that our group is trying to violate by purchasing a pregnancy test kit and by approaching strangers and asking them regarding how to use it and how it works. By asking random strangers about it, we deviated from the norm that committing a socially undesirable act (getting pregnant at a young age) should be private and be known only by the people involved or perhaps close friends and relatives.

This breaching activity also tries to explore the social stigma most commonly experienced by teenagers getting impregnated through pre-marital sex. Moreover, this issue also implicates the social problems of the welfare and health of the child and also the morality of teen parenthood.

2.     Describe the breaching experiment in detail. What was the activity? Where did you do it? Where did you do it?

Pretending to be either college or high school students, we asked for advice from strangers regarding our situation (a girl from our group is “pregnant”). We decided to do the experiment at Ever Gotesco mall in Commonwealth Avenue, since it was no high end mall and most of the people who go there were those part of the “masa”. We first purchased a pregnancy test kit in a busy pharmacy and observed the reactions of the people around. Then, each of the girls asked female strangers of seemingly different ages, about the proper way of using the pregnancy test kit. To interview male respondents, we decided to go in pairs to assure the safety of our female groupmate. We also observed the reactions of the people around.

3.     What were the different reactions of the people? List all possible reactions you observed. Why do you think they reacted this way? What caused these reactions? Did the deviant act re-affirm/reinforce the existing norms based on these reactions?

We encounter our first respondent, Jesusa (aged approximately 40-50), in  the drugstore. When asked about the pregnancy test kit, she tried to respond in a serious manner but was noticeably suppressing her laughter and was acting a little awkward as we asked on.

●      “Mahal ka ba naman ng boyfriend mo?” was the first question of a group of three girls when approached about the pregnancy test kit. Although, they were quite understanding and accommodating as compared to the other respondents, their laughters and glances showed signs of reluctance and doubt in discussing the topic. Their question also shows how our culture constructed the people to associate sex with “love”.

●      “Okay lang iha, maganda ka naman, baka papanagutan ka” - This is still part of a response of the three girls, showing how their way of thinking is possibly “romanticized” by the popular culture. Although, this can be just their way of comforting the “researcher”, this also portrays the kind of thinking that beauty affects the outcome of a relationship.

●      “Alam ba ng parents mo?” says Rose, a uniformed lady who seemed to be on her 20s. This line of questioning affirms the strong family ties that is suggestive of the Filipino culture. The way it was said also connoted a sense of urgency and anxiety which furthermore stresses this familial connection.

●      “Isipin mo na lang, blessing yan” replied Rose following an aghast expression after the word abortion was mentioned. This response is highly reminiscent of the strong conservative and/or religious beliefs in the country. Even so, Rose provided an open and comforting reactions. Compared to the awkwardness, reluctance, and even a bit of judgmental air shown by previous respondents, Rose’s reactions showed more of concern. This was heightened too when it was revealed somehow that both our groupmate and her are Bisaya. This revelation then became another factor as this suggests how Filipinos relate to each other when a sense of familiarity, no matter if between strangers, be known.

●      We approached a security guard, Kuya Levie, who looked like he is on his early 40s. He looked shocked upon seeing the pregnancy test kit but entertained us by  explaining technical procedures. He even gave us a tip- go buy a drink so we can use the cup and told us about the private comfort room on the second floor of the mall for us to enjoy privacy. Seeing us worried, he then told us, “Kapag nag-positive yan,huwag kayong mag-iisip ng kahit anong negative. ‘Yung iba nga gustong magka-anak pero hindi sila binibigyan. Eh kayo binigyan na.” He also giggled a lot and looked a bit awkward but was trying to be accommodating of our inquiries.

●      When we approached an old woman regarding the pregnancy test, she was very dismissive and tried to evade the questions. A usual thing she would say was to just read the instructions and tried to shrug it off. Although at first she seemed welcoming, she started to try to leave once the first question was asked.

●      We approached a young man who was concentrating on his phone. He was not too cooperative and just tried to evade our questions saying things like "Okay lang, kaya niyo yan" or "Nandiyan lang yan sa instructions". We soon found out that he was not alone and was actually with a partner. Compared to him, the young lady was very open and was comfortable talking about the topic. Although, she nagged us a bit and even said “Kami nung ginawa namin yan may trabaho na kami, kayo…”. Despite this, she still willingly helped us and answered our questions.

4.     Aside from the norms, what sociological themes are at play for people to react in a certain way? Is it a function of gender (gender norms, roles), social class (norms of the rich & the poor), values/ beliefs of institutions (religion, family, peer group, etc.)

 Respondents seemed to be overwhelmed upon knowing that they were just in a social experiment. Thus, we decided to not ask further details like  their jobs and religious beliefs as a form of respect. Nonetheless, there was one recurring observation from all the respondents--they are all pro-life. No one encouraged any of us to abort the“baby”. Hypothetically, the fact that the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country (80% are Catholics) provides a big factor in explaining the respondents’ reactions. The Catholic church maintains a significant recognition and importance to the life and humanity of each individual. Moreover, supposing that they belong to other religions, religion as a guiding principle,  teach believers the importance of life still.

In terms of gender norms, most men gave technical answers while the women tended to be more emotional regarding their answers.

Having only approached respondents who, more or less, are within the same social class, we have input for comparison. Thus, we cannot explore on social class as a theme. 

5. How did you feel when you did this experiment? How does it feel to deviate from the norms? Were you hesitant to do the activity?

           

We were hesitant at first because we will experience social stigma without actually doing a socially undesirable act (being pregnant and impregnating someone at a young age). But once we tried it for the first time, it became fascinating to observe the reactions of people. The feeling of deviation was a mix of thrill and nervousness in a sense that it was exciting to do something that wasn’t considered normal and nervous because of the possible judgements from the people around us or maybe that what we were doing might make people uncomfortable, suspicious, and weird.

6. Other observations and analysis that you may have on the activity and on deviance in general.

An observation we made during the experiment was how one deviant act could bring out certain reactions from people and how these simple reactions could indicate multiple insights about a certain person and their beliefs. This activity also showcased the diversity of people’s responses based on their age, gender, beliefs etc. yet at the same time there is also a present common trend among them. This seems to be an example of how within a certain culture there also exists subcultures.