Dela Cruz, Alyssa Nadine
Gloria, Gabrielle Angela
Nacnac, Denise Joshua
Sy, Kimiko Catherine
Tiu, Katrina NoelleFebruary 24, 205
SA21-K
BREACHING EXPERIMENT: Too Much Information
What norm did you violate?
We violated the norm that people (generally women) are not supposed to talk about personal hygiene such as their menstrual period and their private body parts. The term “too much information” or TMI was created for people to say when a topic is uncomfortable to talk about in regular conversation. It is usually a taboo to talk about sexuality and things relating to female bodily functions (e.g. menstruation) in regular conversation, much less in a casual dialogue.
Describe the breaching experiment in detail. What was the activity? Where did you do it?
One of our group members went up to random strangers of different social classes at the study halls of the University of the Philippines and Regis and told them things that are usually considered as “too much information.” Only one group member approached the people for the sake of consistency of results, while the other members recorded and observed the interactions.
Kimiko, the group member who approached the strangers, first told them that she had her period, and asked them where she could buy sanitary napkins. She then proceeded to make bold statements such as “Ang bigat ng boobs ko,” “Nahuhulog na ang bra ko,” “Ang heavy ng flow,” and “Baka tumulo na, paki-check.” We conducted the experiment in different places and approached people of different social classes. We approached two students, a sweeper, a security guard, a photocopy operator, and a presumably middle to upper class woman (she had an iPhone 6 Plus and designer bag).
What were the different reactions of people? List all possible reactions you observed. Why do you think they reacted this way? What caused these reactions? Did the deviant act reinforce/reaffirm the existing norms based on these reactions?
The table below lists all of the reactions that we observed from the people we approached.
Social Class
|
Gender + Occupation
|
Reaction
|
Lower Class
|
Male (Security Guard)
|
Did not want to look at Kimiko; Looked embarrassed, and directed her to the (female) photocopy operator nearby
|
Female (Photocopier)
|
Looked concerned; Went and bought a napkin and even wrapped it in paper before giving it
| |
Middle Class
|
Male (Student)
|
Tried not to look directly at Kimiko; gave directions
|
Female (Student)
|
Avoided Kimiko’s gaze but gave directions about where she could buy a napkin
| |
Upper Class
|
Male
|
No reaction
|
Female
|
Tried to ignore Kimiko; held on to her bag, which was on the table directly in front of her
|
The initial reactions we received were of confusion and embarrassment. All of the people Kimiko approached seemed to be uncomfortable with the subject of menstruation and female body parts, probably because it is sort of an unwritten rule for women to talk so openly about those things. Topics about the private parts should be discussed in private. Because they were also strangers, most of them could not even look at her face while she was talking. All of their reactions showed us that the act really was deviant from the norm.
Aside from the norms, what sociological themes are at play for people to react a certain way? Is it a function of gender (gender norms, roles), social class, values/beliefs of institutions?
Social class and gender functions also played a heavy part in the experiment. We noticed that the people we approached from the lower class seemed to express more concern towards Kimiko and her “situation.” Females were also more sympathetic - the lady photocopier even took a sanitary napkin, and wrapped it in paper before handing it to Kimiko; the lady sweeper seemed used to dealing with similar situations like Kimiko’s. The people from the upper class seemed to think that the experiment was a modus operandi of a criminal group, and shifted in a way that showed that they were trying to secure their belongings.
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?
Kimiko: I felt really nervous at first. It is really not something people normally do because it is accepted to not talk about those kind of things in public, even more so with strangers. Even within friends, it is awkward to be heard asking for a napkin or asking about your period. It would be usually done in whispers or even in codes. It felt liberating to deviate from the norms because it gave me so much courage to go against the flow (both literally and figuratively).
Other observations and analysis
The function of age may have also cause certain reactions. We noticed that some of the older people we approached showed more concern as well, compared to the students who were a bit embarrassed to deal with Kimiko. They just gave directions and maybe expected Kimiko to do it on her own. Level of maturity can be one of the factors that drew these kinds of reactions. For most young adults, they have yet to break the shame of public discussions about sexuality.
video:
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