- What norm did you violate?
We violated the norm that people must use cubicle stalls in public restrooms alone. In this experiment, we compare the reactions of both men and women seeing two people enter a cubicle at the same time. Whereas it is not unheard of for women to share cubicle stalls at times, this is considered especially strange for men. Through this experiment, we aim to prove this notion.
- Describe the breaching experiment in detail. What was the activity? Where did you do it?
We documented the reactions of both men and women seeing two people enter a cubicle stall together in their respective public restrooms. The male members of the group also shared a urinal together as this was more public and in theory would garner more reactions. We conducted the research strictly inside the Ateneo for safety purposes and for the privacy of those who will be the subjects of the experiment. The experiment was documented in multiple restrooms found inside the campus, particularly in high traffic places like the restrooms found beside Gonzaga, at the MVP basement, at Sec A, at Leong Hall and Leong Roofdeck. The experiment was mostly conducted within the 10-minute intervals of classes to get the maximum number of people in one restroom. The experiment was also conducted after a NSTP session held in Leong.
To provide contrast to the experiments conducted on campus and ensure a random sample, the group also conducted it at Regis Center along Katipunan avenue. This way, we can also compare the different crowds and how they react.
The group has been divided between the 5 female members and 2 male members. For the female members, two groups with three alternating members would document the experiment for the different women’s restrooms chosen by the group. For the 2 male members, the same process is undergone in male restrooms. However, because there was one male missing to conduct the experiment, we enlisted the help of another male outside of the group for documentation.
- What were the different reactions of the people? List all the possible reactions you observed. Why do you think they reacted this way? What caused these reactions? Did the deviant act reaffirm/reinforce the existing norms based on these reactions?
For the females, there were not any disgusted or violent reactions. At most, they would just glance at what we were doing and then go back to their own business. There were some situations that stood out. One girl stared at us in a judging manner when we came out of the cubicle. Another girl looked confused as to why we were going into the same cubicle when there was one open cubicle right next to it. Aside from that, everyone else did not seem to care, proving that it is no big deal for females to see two females in one cubicle.
The judging girl most probably looked at us that way because it seemed strange or new to her for two people to share one cubicle. Some may see it as disgusting for people to share a cubicle. For most women, though, this does not come as something strange. This may come from the idea that women are very open to each other. Sharing a cubicle does not seem like such a big deal to them. Since the lines in women’s restrooms are longer, women sometimes share the same cubicle.
This is not so for male restrooms, however; for the males in the group. Initially, it took more than one attempt to get reactions from people as the two boys entered the cubicle together. In an attempt to make our experiment more public, we shifted to sharing a urinal as well while there were people in the bathroom. Even then, however, save for other bathroom patrons exhibiting signs of being uncomfortable (rigid body movement, etc.) we didn’t get any pronounced reactions immediately. It got to a point where we resorted to almost baiting people for reactions; in the video, the two male members of the group went as far as making fake comments about their genitals so people would hear. We surmised that this was because they knew we were attempting an experiment, as the same people later saw our friends manning the cameras. Eventually, though, after a few tries, we did capture footage of other restroom-goers making faces. One student next to me mouthed profanity to his friend who was washing his hands on the faucet across from us.
However, once we conducted the experiments off-campus at the Regis Center restrooms, we came to realize that the responses we get on campus were still very much tame, since there was still effort put into hiding their reactions. Because of the environment that Ateneo provided (with everyone of more or less the same age bracket), the general population was generally more accepting of behavior that would be considered deviant; a few of them probably sensed that were up to something as well. For both the male and female test groups, though, reactions we got outside of campus were much more pronounced. For the boys, we didn't have much trouble getting immediate reactions out of people compared to doing it in school. It came to a point where we had to tone down the level of our deviant actions as it was likely we would get caught by the center’s security personnel. Because of the nature of our experiment, we tried as much as possible to conduct the experiment in front of employees of the building and not service staff so as not to break any building rules.
In both cases though, the collective reactions we got led us to believe that the existing norm was indeed reaffirmed. Although none of the reactions were established and made explicit, the general consensus based on the looks we got was that the act of sharing cubicles is still largely one that most people would consider unusual at best and disgusting at worst.
- Aside from the norms, what sociological themes are at play for people to react in a certain way? Is it a function of gender? Social class? Values/Beliefs of institutions? *You could compare these reactions according to gender, social class*
Based on our findings, we believe that aside from deviating from the norms, the function of gender also comes into play to explain why the men and women reacted very differently and why they reacted in that certain manner during the experiment. From our documentation, it is evident that females seem to be more accepting of two girls sharing the same cubicle compared to men because of their comfortability around other women. Furthermore, men, unlike women, have issues with the “intimacy” of bodily functions, such as staring at someone else who is using a urinal and men sharing the same urinal or cubicle. This is likely because of the fragile male definition of what constitutes masculinity; men tend to be more reserved physically than girls and would rather do their business in restrooms privately.
- 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?
From the female perspective, the experiment did not feel embarrassing to do. We were not hesitant to do it because we have all experienced doing it before either with friends or siblings, or most of us being from high schools exclusive to girls. We also knew that other girls would not mind us going into a stall together. Though it was deviating from the norm, it did not create any violent reactions from other people so we were comfortable doing it.
From the male perspective, the experiment was a little bit discomforting and awkward because based from our personal experience, men do not usually share the same cubicle together. It is understood and established among men that usage of cubicles and urinals for men is strictly done alone, especially that their privacy is clearly made visible when in one cubicle and the divider in between urinals. At most, men are more open to changing clothes together openly in the bathroom but not sharing a private cubicle together. Furthermore, it was also in a way nerve-wracking because of our fear of being judged by other guys and the fear of being labeled with our deviant behavior because of the rarity of men sharing one cubicle or urinal. Although there was a little awkwardness while conducting this experiment, we did not hesitate with pushing through with it because of the level of comfortability we have with each other, given we are friends. However, we would have been a little more hesitant if we only knew each other for our Sociology class.
- Other observations and analysis that you may have on the activity and on deviance in general.
Through this activity, we can see that any form of deviance or behavior that is not conformed to the conventional norms established in and by society is bound to warrant a reaction if expressed openly and publicly. A degree of judgement will always tend to accompany this reaction depending on the relative distance of the act in question from the norm being perceived to be violated, although this entire process is wholly subjective.
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