SA 21 - G
Dela Cuesta, Sofia
Gonzales, Renzo
Quien, Janell
Sugay, Luis
Inquiring about condoms in a public place
1) What norm did you violate?
It is understood or given that a person is not to divulge private information in public. Private matters being brought up in public could make some people uneasy. A declaration of private information such as one’s wealth and in some scenarios, engagement in sexual activities is “not for the public to know about”.
If a couple were to let’s say engage in sexual activities for the first time, more or less they would be wise enough to use protection by buying condoms. However, they are faced with a lot of questions if they are to purchase condoms. Such questions would be: where is the best place and best time to buy a condom, what brand to choose, what size and more importantly, how to use a condom. Due to the high demand for such protection [as AIDS cases grow], they are also sold in convenience stores. People who go to convenience stores to buy condoms are embarrassed or shy to ask the attendants or the cashiers for condoms, which are usually located behind the cashier, as well as information regarding condoms.
As such, the group decided to deviate from the norm of “not asking questions regarding condoms in general”: that is by asking “embarrassing” questions about buying condoms. It is of the norm or somewhat an “informal rule” that people do not ask cashiers, attendants, more so strangers, on how to use a condom.
2) Describe the breaching experiment in detail. What was the activity? Where did you do it?
For our experiment, the group has decided to hold such activity in different convenience stores along Katipunan. As stated earlier, the group asked the cashier “embarrassing” questions such as “Do we still have condoms? We can buy if we don’t have stock anymore”, “Which condoms do customers usually buy?”, or “How do we even use a condom in the first place?”(spoken in with a loud voice so that most people could hear) and how people would react to the questions.
With those questions in mind, the group started conducting the experiment at the convenience store in My Place Residences. The group started asking the attendant advice on how to use a condom, in which she replies, “I don’t know”. The group then transferred to the convenience store located in Burgundy Plaza. It was in this store where the attendant was confused when she was asked how to use the condom. The group went to the 7/11 convenience store near Mcdonald’s Katipunan next. The employee was confused, flustered due to the questions being thrown at him. He was embarrassed and had his back facing us (he was not looking at the ones conducting the experiment). Lastly, we went to Blue Residences and asked almost the same questions.
3) What were the different reactions of the people? List all possible reactions you observed. Why do you think they reacted in a certain way? What caused these reactions? Did the deviant act reaffirm /reinforce the existing norms based on these reactions?
We observed that most of the attendants/cashiers were embarrassed and confused when confronted with questions like these. The attendant in My Place for example was embarrassed to answer the question, but in the end, she laughed at the situation. The attendant in Burgundy Plaza, like the My Place attendant, was also confused (she was asked how to use the condom). However, she got annoyed and started rolling her eyes [an example of poor customer service]. The male attendant, in addition to his embarrassment, was also opening and closing the microwave even if there was evidently nothing inside it. The lady inside SM Residences showed good customer service as she even suggested what condom we should buy, stating that this is what other customers buy. Last but not the least, the other customers who were present in the store, could be seen looking down on the floors, as if trying to dodge or not listen to the topic.
In the end, we believe that the attendants were not used to being interrogated or questioned on condoms, thus, their actions. Usually people do not introduce topics concerning private matters, most especially in a public place such as a convenience store. It is not of the norm to even ask what condom is best to use, more so to use it. The experiment then proves that people do get uneasy when private matters are being put to light.
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 the poor), values/beliefs of institutions (religion, family, peer group, etc.).
If this is the case, people do get uncomfortable when asked questions on sensitive topics, such as condoms. We saw the differences on how a woman and a man react to the topic of condoms. In this case, we can say that gender plays a big part in determining how a certain individual shall react. Based on our observations, we can sense that the women are less embarrassed when confronted with the questions as opposed to the man, where his manager, who was standing next to him, only glanced at us. Some people say that men are more embarrassed to buy condoms because it somehow entails that he might be engaging in sex soon.
As a dominantly Catholic nation, religion plays a big role on how people react to the usage of condoms. We are told to value our bodies and not to engage in premarital sex. We are told to use condoms in order to protect ourselves. In our context, it is good that we are “supposedly using condoms”. However, due to our ages, people tend to ask us if we are of legal age to even undergo such sexual activities. Because we are also students, we carry the name of the school we are attending. As it is evident that we are students of Ateneo, other customers, may also, judge us in the process. In order to maintain order, members agree on what is right or what is wrong, such that their decisions influence the actions of society.Individuals then share a common set of goals, values and beliefs as they are influenced by society. If a person believes that asking information regarding condoms is a bad idea, let him cling to that idea.
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?
After this experiment, we told ourselves that we were never to do the experiment again as we also felt embarrassed in asking those questions as well as felt sorry for the attendants as things became awkward after asking them about condoms. We were also laughing at the situation at hand because we know that other people are going to judge, even criticize us, for what we have done. We also felt that the other attendants could have handled the situation better. There came a point where the cashier was already annoyed and angry at us. On the other hand, the male attendant was bewildered and it showed because he was not even making eye contact with us. It even came to a point where he tried his best to appear busy, opening and closing the microwave multiple times, in order not to stay in contact with us. Although the lady in SM Blue Residences was at first confused, she welcomed our questions and even recommended a condom brand. It does feel liberating in the sense to attempt asking supposedly “embarrassing” questions to strangers as we do not get to do this often.
6) Other observations and analysis that you may have on the activity and on deviance in general.
As a whole, we believe that the activity challenged the norms. There might be some people who believe that buying condoms in a public place is alright as it implies their high regard protection and safety. On the other hand, there are also people who believe that buying condoms connotes pleasure, penchant for sexual activities and sexual advances towards another. Because society thinks that it is “wrong” to ask questions regarding condoms and its usage, people regard it as deviant, because it is something that people normally would not do, given their social location. People may also regard it as deviant because of our beliefs, traditions and culture. People regard it as deviant in some instances and the others not because they just follow what other individuals are doing.
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