Breaching Experiment: Wearing Sleepwear in Public

Breaching Experiment by Corpuz, Ignacio, Martinez, Naadat, and Raymundo (SA21-K)

1. What norm did you violate?

The “folkways,” a norm for “routines and casual interaction.” For our breaching experiment, we violated the idea that one has to wear certain clothes in public, and that the clothes that one wears at home or to sleep are unacceptable in the public domain. (In other words, we violated the idea that one cannot wear pambahay in malls).

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

• The group went to two areas (SM Aura and Market! Market!) while wearing pajamas and bedroom slippers.
• We arrived in SM Aura at 12 noon. We did all the typical activities that friends do when they hang out.We went to Forever 21 to look at clothes and then we ate in the food court. We also took pictures and selfies in the garden area.
• After lunch, we walked to Market! Market! in our attire. We roamed around the area and looked at some shops.
• When we were finally satisfied with the results, we went home.

3. What were the different reactions of the people? List all possible reactions you observed.

• The guard at the entrance of SM Aura treated us like any regular customer, but the people on the escalators were already giving us weird glances.
• Most adults in SM Aura would look at us or even do a double take, but would eventually look away after one or two seconds.
• Children in SM Aura would smile or even laugh at our pajamas.
• The guards in Forever 21 followed us around the store. Their walkie talkies were active the entire time.
• The female guards around the mall looked at us and smiled, there was even one who talked to one of the cashiers in the food court and said “Cute noh?”
• There were three Caucasian females who stared at us as we walked passed them. Even after we moved on to the second floor, they were still staring at us.
• While eating, there were a group of elderlies who were dining across our table in the food court. One of them noticed our attire, and the entire group looked towards our direction at the same time.
• We walked around the Sky Garden of SM Aura and a group of old ladies saw us and asked us to take their picture for them. They were so entertained with our outfits that one of them even asked us where we’re from. When she found out that we were from Ateneo, she told us that she was an English teacher. Her name was Ma’am Fernandez. She then asked us why we were wearing our pajamas. When she found out it was for a Breaching experiment, she laughed and decided to take our picture using her iPad and promised us that she would email it to us.
• While Micah was ordering her food at Pepper Lunch, the cashier thought that she was with the couple behind her.
• When we were walking around the Sky Garden, almost everyone literally stopped and stared at us as we passed by, and everyone was quiet.
• Many people looked, pointed, and laughed at us on our walk to Market! Market!
• One girl even shamelessly gave us a once over right beside us and remarked “What the f*ck.”
• An Oriental family (was not able to observe from which Asian country they were from) slowed down and stared at us as we crossed paths.
• As we neared Market! Market!, a teenage boy took his phone out and tried to take a discreet selfie of him with us in the background. But it was not discreet because we noticed.
• The adults in Market! Market! really stared at us from the moment we caught their eye until we were out of sight.
• The children were also noticeably more vocal with their reactions. They would really stop, point, and ask other people to look at us, too.
• On the way back, an old Japanese man said “I like your shoes” with a smiling face
• Some people looked at us from head to toe and it seemed like they were bothered by what we are wearing.

Why did these people react in the ways that they did? 

These reactions were caused by the clear lines there are that separate types of clothing and the occasions one is allowed to wear them-- the way it is inappropriate to wear a long formal gown to a cocktail party or the way it is okay to be scantily clad in a bikini in a beach, but not okay to strut in them in public parks. The idea that we wore clothes meant for the bedroom to commercial areas baffled the people around us. The idea that we were lazy to dress up or that we had poor fashion sense is also tied to our attire. One of our groupmates even suggested that the people might have thought that we were mentally ill for wearing such clothes in malls (especially since we had those fluffy bedroom slippers and stuffed toys with us).

What caused these reactions?

We feel that these reactions were caused by the fact that we were wearing clothes that were out of the ordinary for one to wear to the mall. And it wasn’t even something subtle like just holding a stuffed toy or wearing the slippers. It was the entire outfit, the bedroom slippers, the pajama pants, the baggy shirts, our hair was even tied and up and braided which completed the entire look.

Did the deviant act re-affirm/reinforce the existing norms based on these reactions?

Yes it did, because the negative reactions around us would ingrain the thought that these kinds of clothing, when worn in malls, would elicit judgment from the public. The passersby who were neutral about our outfits would see that if they did the same, they would be stared at, pointed at, and laughed at. Therefore, those in the scene would think that in order to avoid this kind of treatment from strangers, they must not violate the norm of wearing casual clothes instead of pajamas in malls.

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 and poor), values/beliefs of institutions (religion, family, peer group, etc.) [You could compare reactions according to gender, social class, etc. That would be more interesting - and might obtain a better grade!]

A. Social Class

1. Upper Class/ Middle Class (SM Aura)

• The people were more discreet when they look at us. When we saw them staring, they immediately looked away. They also tried to avoid eye contact. It gave us the impression that although our outfits were unfit for the place, the people did not want to draw any unwanted attention to us. However, it is hard to tell whether they looked at us because of our outfits or because we were in their way, and it was inevitable they would see us. And just because they saw us, it does not mean that they looked at us. In summary, the crowd of SM Aura (with the exception of a few) generally did not pay us any attention.

2. Lower Middle Class/ Lower Class (Market! Market!)

• People in Market! Market! were more expressive about their opinions on our choice of attire. They stared at us and gave us “once overs” when we walked past them. They would also make eye contact and had a judgmental look on their face when they saw us. Some people were even pointing and laughing.

B. Gender

1. Females

• The females were more verbal and blatant than the males. Their gaze followed us while we were walking, and they even urged their friends to look at us. 

 

b. Males

• Males did not pay much attention to what we were wearing. But when they did, they looked at us from head to toe.

C. Age

a. Babies and Children

• This age group were amused and entertained with our outfits. They were also cute about their judgment when they saw us. They would point at our stuffed toys and slippers and would smile/laugh at what we were wearing. 

b.  Teenagers

• They kept quiet, but they would still look at us.
• Some would tell their friends about what we’re wearing and they’ll talk about us behind our backs (after we pass by them).

 

c.   Adults

• Same as the teenagers. However, the parents would either point at us so that their kids would notice our group or would be forced by their kids to look at us.

d.   Senior Citizens

• They were more judgmental about how we looked. They would stare at us longer than the appropriate time. Some would even have an expression of disgust. There was even a group of elderly females who approached us and pried into the reason for our outfits.  

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?

When we did this experiment, we felt judged, especially by the people who were giving us once-overs. But, we also felt comfortable because we were wearing clothes for sleeping and shoes that are meant to be used inside the bedroom. Most of us agreed that we would wear sleeping clothes and bedroom shoes in public if people wouldn’t judge us. Moreover, deviating from the norms felt enthralling because we never thought that we would do such a thing. We were excited, but at the same time a little scared, because we didn’t know how people would react. When we got dressed and we were about to enter SM Aura, we were a bit hesitant to do the activity because we didn’t know if the guard would let us enter or not. Once we were able to enter, we started feeling comfortable because no one was really giving us the attention that we expected we would get (most of the people were just subtly looking, somewhat laughing, and pointing). However, when we went to Market! Market!, that’s where we felt extreme judgment because the looks that people were giving us were exceptionally harsh. But after a while, we got used to the reactions of people so we were still able to finish the breaching experiment.

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

Deviance is defined as a “recognized violation of a norm.” Generally, people from different social classes have varied reactions to the breaching experiment. However, none of them openly asked us as to why were dressed in such a way (except for the lola who asked us to take a picture of her and her friends). Security personnel also followed us around perhaps because, we didn’t look like “normal shoppers.” Despite violating a certain norm, none of the observers confronted us because people almost always avoid conflict. Thus, deviance, based on our breaching experiment, generates certain reactions from people, but not to the point that they will initiate an argument or create a scene in public.