19 & Pregnant: A Social Experiment
Link to the video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GExXHZI17z307VlM5uMOb5e-3MlbuYSD/view
Norms Violated
Filipinos, typically brought up as Catholics and having had Catholic values instilled in them, respond to religious authority with reverence. This powerful authority enforces Catholic traditions and practices. Ever since the Spanish Colonial Period in the 1500s these values have been introduced, implemented, and still run deep within the roots of the Filipinos. The Filipinos have since then been raised and nurtured to be a conservative people. And despite times moving forward and the approaching modernity, the norms remain the same.
The norms violated were “waiting for marriage” and “having a child only after marriage.” The institution at play is the Church (all of its members and teachings), and these are deeply rooted in the Catholic teachings of (sexual) abstinence outside or before marriage. It is considered taboo for a pregnant teenage girl indicates, in most cases, that she has had sexual contact with a man outside of marriage, and that they have conceived a child outside of marriage. The latter violation entails the mentality of committing a sin because of the woman bearing a child outside marriage. It is also taboo to conceive a child whilst the mother is young, as women are expected to raise children only when they are considered mature and ready; reproductive health becomes another concern for situations like this. The Filipinos are highly religious and they strictly adhere to the Catholic teachings, they therefore follow the advice against the use of contraceptives and the committance of abortion as they believe in the Church’s teachings of love and family. The Church values life, therefore even if it may be seen as a sin to lose one’s virginity before marriage, the expectant mothers should expect support when she raises her child. It is a polarizing issue as it details respect and dignity of human life.
Beyond Catholic norms, there are also norms regarding womanhood. Every woman is expected to be responsible for her actions, especially when it comes to fertility and health. In a patriarchal society, young women who get pregnant may be perceived as “sluts.” Although it may not be explicitly stated, women who get pregnant early are looked down on because of the assumption that all of these women are promiscuous, reckless, and immoral or amoral.
The group decided to experiment with the violation of this particular norm to explore the stigma that surrounds it. Bystanders have also been observed to see their opinions and stand on the issue.
Details of the Experiment
The members of the group divided their tasks, some of which involved entering different floors while stationed inside an elevator. One member was tasked with documentation and was posted on the first floor of the Regis Center elevator. The documentation person was in charge of discreetly capturing the experiment through his phone. The pair of actors entered from the second floor and was composed of a “pregnant” individual and a friend who listened to the concerns of said pregnant individual. The conversation between the pair involved the pregnant girl mentioning her period being late, assuming that she is indeed pregnant, and expressing distress for her issue. The pair then continued the conversation until they had reached their destination, which usually is just a round trip from the second floor up to collect reactions. The pair would then leave the elevator floor as they had arrived at their “destination,” and the documentation person would stay to capture the reactions of the people present in the elevator. The group wanted to see if there was a difference between a pair talking about her pregnancy and a conversation about someone else being pregnant. The same mechanics were used (insinuating pregnancy), except the two actors for this were males talking about a pregnant friend.
The group was also able to test the experiment throughout different parts of the campus. The first run in the School of Management (SOM) Building also incorporated the same working plan to be able to discreetly capture reactions. The group ensured to explain the Breaching Experiment for those who expressed concern. Another place where the experiment was conducted was Matteo Up, except this time it was a male group mate acting as someone who was frantic about getting someone pregnant. The documentation person stayed in a nearby table to capture the reactions. And finally, for the last experiment, a conversation was conducted on the Sec Walk bleachers with one of a pair of members talking about her dilemma of being pregnant. In order to capture the reactions, the documentation person stayed in the bleacher opposite to the pair.
Reactions
The people involved in the breaching experiment from out of campus reacted in a number of ways, none of which were direct interaction. They either hid their shock or dismay until the actor was out of sight, otherwise there was no visible reaction at all. However, the most common reaction was when people did not bother to say anything, or seemed to not care at all. Upon discussion, it was concluded that they reacted this way because culturally or as a norm in the Philippines, Filipinos are not conversational with strangers, and they do not engage with people they do not know. Because the actors were strangers to the people who witnessed the breaching experiment, they most likely felt like they were not in a place to say or do anything. It was likely also out of courteousness that they did not show their reaction so that they do not meddle in business that is not theirs. This was supported by one of the attempts in the elevator of the SOM building where a girl, after one actor walked out of the elevator, said with worry that she wanted to say something to her or help her. This deviant act also reaffirms the existing norm that pregnancies among college students or teenagers is something looked down on or considered tragic.
SA Themes Present
The overarching determinant of the behaviours of those who witnessed the experiment may be attributed to the Marxist ideology of the Superstructure. Karl Marx theorized that the Superstructure encompasses the culture, values, and institutions of the society. In the context of the experiment that was executed, the observers clearly showed the role of education and the Filipino culture in shaping their reactions.
In terms of social context and location, the witnesses may be generalized and divided into two categories. First, those within Ateneo’s vicinity can be described as educated, and elite Filipino adolescents. The second sector may be attributed as adults in class B and C, comprised of both male and female. These characteristics were deduced from the experiments’ locations and the physical qualities of the bystanders. For the first group, the institution that was reflected is education. The students appeared apathetic of the conversations they overheard, probably because the school taught them how to properly act in the midst of such situation. The concept of teenage pregnancy and sex are more frequently discussed in the classroom, which may explain why they were not taken aback. Their families, who are mostly composed of the ruling class, may have raised them to not meddle with other people’s affairs, as an impression of the privacy they uphold in everyday life.
The second group, although part of a different social location, reacted the same way. Perhaps, the component of the superstructure that they mirrored was the Filipino value of discretion. It is often a symbol of politeness. For example, Filipinos are not fond of voicing out complaints because of delicadeza. In the same way, those who rode the Regis elevator did not show any sign of discomfort or shock during the experiment because they must have felt that it would be disrespectful to do so.
Another variable that was tested was that of gender. The experiment had been executed by a male and a female. However, there had no sign of gender discrimination because the reactions of the witnesses overlapped in the sense that their reactions were mostly, if not only, dependent on the words that had been uttered by the members of the group. A reason for this being teen pregnancy being a deviance that requires a male and a female to be involved in the process for this event to be deemed valid. There are no preconceived notions on the topic for a specific sex because they are both given an even amount of recognition. This can be validated by the common reaction that people saying that they are pregnant or have a child received. The usual reaction or response would be confirming who the other parent of the child is.
The reactions would have varied differently if the experiment were taken in a demographically diverse area and/or if it were taken during a more stress-free time (i.e. summer, semestral breaks, weekends). This would result in a different set of reactions because this would put the witnesses in the disposition to be caught off-guard. In the instance of the experiment, there had been moments wherein the witnesses had not flinched once they heard the controversial statements that had been made. To flesh out a more natural and organic set of reactions, it is necessary to put the desired witnesses in a neutral environment, this does not only pertain to the venue but the time in which this experiment is carried out as well.
Personal Thoughts and Feelings towards the experiment
When the researchers proceeded with the experiment, there was a general feeling of hesitancy to pursue the task. When it came to the issue of teen pregnancy, there was a more common notion of it being a taboo or immoral topic since teenagers are not associated with going through the motions of motherhood at their early age. Engaging in two locations also helped in understanding emotions felt towards deviating from the norms. When the researchers executed the task in school grounds, there was greater uncertainty. Taking into consideration how other people would behave towards the action amplified the stress towards judgement due to attachment. The researchers are currently students in Ateneo, and the chance that the breaching experiment would be effective in causing a surprised reaction could associate the labels or judgements made on the researchers themselves. To be so close to the environment that the researchers frequent on the daily daunts the pursuance of action. The breaching experiment proved to be easier when it was established in Regis, as less people who knew the group could find them there, and generally there is less attachment to the crowds or strangers that the group had encountered. Majority of the participating members expressed that the act of deviance was hard to do because of societal pressures and possible scrutiny.
Other observations and analysis
Apart from what was already mentioned, the researchers had also observed how the time of day affected the people that were involved in this experiment. When it was conducted within the grounds of Ateneo, it was done around lunch time, between 12:30PM to 2:00PM. While there were students in class during these hours, those who roamed the campus and rode the elevators, which served as the testing grounds, were still considerably plenty in amount. For comparison, if the experiment were to be conducted at a later, or perhaps even an earlier time (times such as 5:00PM to 6:30PM/8:00AM to 9:30AM), there would be less witnesses for the experiment. This comparison of time can also be observed when the actors did the activity in the Regis Center elevators. It was during middle of the afternoon, some time between 3:30PM to 4:30PM to be specific, when the experiment was conducted in that establishment. Besides the number of people in both testing grounds, the different “types” (social locations) of people that appear in either location can also be observed. Students on campus and office workers in Regis Center alike were all on their free time to go about their business.
The social control that was predominantly present amongst the experimenters and observable in the whole situation was the concept of of internalization. For the researchers, literally all of them have some regard that being pregnant at their age is something they would not want to experience - yet this is also coupled by their stand that premarital sex is not necessarily “sinful” or morally wrong when done consensually and safely. They’ve adopted the norm that being pregnant, and not necessarily “doing the deed”, at their age is “wrong”. Wanting to conform to this norm, it was initially a struggle to conduct the experiment, exclaiming to bystanders that they are carrying a child. As stated beforehand, the prejudice with being a teenage mother shrouds this situation.
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