Cortes, Kobe SA 21 - T
Estacio, Alfonso Luis C. May 7, 2019
Lim, Karl Ms. Emily Sarmiento
Peralta, Conor
Reyes, Kal-el
Breaching Experiment:
“FACEBOOK MOAN”
What norm did you violate?
The norm we violated was keeping quiet when using your phone in a public place and not disrupting the atmosphere. More importantly we violated public decency by pretending to visit inappropriate websites, namely those which contain pornographic content. People need to have personal space and along with it need silence, especially if they prefer to be alone. By pretending that we were visiting inappropriate websites, people will also feel offended, especially if there are any children around who may be influenced by us. Women may also be offended, since pornography is seen as an objectification of women as pleasure for men. The type of norm violated is a more, since it has a lot to do with morality and feelings of right and wrong. There is great moral significance revolving pornography and other sexual acts which is the reason for the creation of laws that protect and uphold dignity and sexuality (Macionis 2017), such as the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995. It also violates folkways because the act can be considered crazy and against casual interaction, it goes against routine. Filipinos are known to be very conservative, especially when it comes to sex (Cornelio 2014). It is not a topic that people are very comfortable talking about with their own families, let alone strangers. And despite the Philippines ranking as one of the countries that spend the most time on pornography (Rappler.com), it is not something normally done in public.
Describe the breaching experiment in detail. What was the activity? Where did you do it?
The breaching experiment was done in order to gather reactions from people when there has been a disturbance in the peace and space of other people. What the group did was to play moaning sounds in public places which would entail people to be silent such as study lounges and condominium lobbies and also in an LRT station. The moaning sounds would come from a common prank wherein a video would seem normal but it would eventually play a very loud moaning sound, meant to embarrass the prank victim. The group also conducted the experiment in places where silence is not really required but personal space is to be respected, namely convenience stores and restaurants such as Mini Stop and Ababu to see whether or not people would react in certain ways. Moaning sounds are usually attributed to pornographic websites which involve one watching or looking at materials which are meant to arouse one’s self in a sexual way (Duhaime.org). Although viewing pornographic content, especially here in the Philippines, can be viewed as a taboo practice due to the conservative nature and viewpoint of Filipinos on certain issues and practices such as divorce, the use of contraceptives, and premarital sex (Cornelio 2014), this still does not deter them from actually being one of the most active countries in the world when it comes to visiting pornographic sites. According to a report by Rappler last year, a pornographic site called Pornhub, ranked Filipinos as the people who spend the most time watching porn in the world for five years in a row (Rappler.com). Even though this is the case, it is still not something that Filipinos are particularly open to talk about. In fact, according to a report by the Philippine Star, the Commission on Population (Popcom) states that sex still remains a taboo topic within Philippine households. They say that topics such as sexually transmitted diseases, teenage pregnancy, and premarital sex are taboo topics especially to parents since they most likely grew up in a generation where there is a stigma when it comes to people who have experienced these. This has also resulted in adolescents seeking information about these topics from their friends and from the internet. However, the report also includes statements from National Capital Region director for Popcom wherein he says that the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Health (DOH) that schools should improve their sex education. On the other hand, the Catholic Church says that sex education should still fall primarily on the hands of parents (Jaymalin 2019).
What are the different reactions of the people? List all possible reactions you observed. Why do you think the reacted this way? What caused these reactions? Did the defiant act re - affirm/ reinforced the existing norms based on these reactions?
Using our social experiment video as basis, the reactions that our group gathered are basically very similar to each other. As a matter of fact, our group really wanted to compare the difference between the reactions of male subjects versus the female subjects. However, the reactions that we were able to gather were either the person who heard the moaning sound just took a glance at where the sound was coming from or they just minded their own business and as if they did not hear anything, we can say this because our group made sure that the volume of the recording was loud enough to be heard by the people intended to gather reactions from. Which means that the person’s no reaction, is actually their own form reaction. Based on the discussion stated a while ago, Filipinos are known to be very conservative people. Topics about sex and sex education are not something that Filipinos are comfortable discussing (Jaymalin 2019). Hence, these kinds of reactions were gathered. The people did not bother to talk or reprimand us as to what we were doing, whether it was inappropriate that we are playing those sounds, neither were we told that the volume was too loud. Again, this may be because Filipinos are hesitant when it comes to discussion of things related to sex such as pornographic material. This may be the justification as to why people reacted in those certain ways. Based on their reactions, the people who heard the moaning may have reinforced the norm that topics which are related to sex are things which Filipinos are not really comfortable talking about. Since most of the people did not really react in a distinct kind of way, it just reinforces the notion that people are tolerant of it and choose to ignore it since, again, it is a topic which people are not really open to dialogue for. It is easier for them to ignore and move on rather than have an uncomfortable conversation with a stranger by telling them off.
Location
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Estimated age range
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Gender
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Reaction
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Study lounge
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16-25
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3 males and 2 females
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Quick glance from one male, who then went right back to studying, everyone else ignored the sound
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Lobby
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16-25
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1 male and 1 female
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Male took a quick glance, female stood up and walked away (unsure if because of the sound or by chance)
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Ministop
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20-30
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1 male and 1 female
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Male customer just ate his food, female cashier also ignored the sound
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Ababu
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15-18
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1 female
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She continued using her phone after a small glance
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Ababu
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20-30
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Male and female couple
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Ignored the sound
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LRT station
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18-22
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1 female
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Glanced at origin of the sound then proceeded buying her ticket
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Aside from the norms, what SA 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.).
One theme at play in our deviation experiment is gender or more accurately, biological sex (because we can not ascertain their gender identity or preference). We tried to elicit reactions from both males and females, but most of the reactions we got were the same, quick glances at or ignoring completely the sound. We expected females to react more visibly, meaning having a more bothered reaction, or even confront us due to gender roles such as objectification, however none reacted this way. We also speculate that maybe if we had a female groupmate do the social experiment and play the sound, reactions might have been different. Since females are thought to be gentle and proper, perhaps bystanders would react more visibly. We also expected some people to laugh because they might be familiar with this type of prank, but this did not happen either. Next is religion, the Filipino’s conservatism can be seen as an effect of Catholicism in the country. We were also worried that someone very religious would be offended and that we would have to explain the experiment, since Filipinos are still very traditional when it comes to conversations about sex, gay marriage, abortion etc (Cornelio 2014). There were also no young children around. Since family is the first institution of we are born into, we thought that parents of children who might be present would be exasperated since their children could become curious, however as stated earlier, discussions about sex in the household is still uncomfortable for both parents and their children alike. To add to this, sex education is not being taught in school, which makes it even more important for households to teach it (Jaymalin 2019). We also learned about profiling from the Symbolic Interactionism where we create perceptions of other people and of ourselves based on our words and actions. (Crossman, 2018) People’s perception of us could be based from our outward appearance. In addition, an apology afterwards may have aided in assuring that the sound was not played on purpose. Since it was just a prank, rather than outright watching real pornography, people may have perceived us as someone who was innocently pranked, and not worth making a big deal out of it by confronting us.
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?
As we were conducting the social experiment, it felt very embarrassing and uneasy when trying to gather the different reactions of the people. At the back of our heads, we knew that people would notice and judge us for our actions. Furthermore, we had no idea how the people were going to react to our experiment, whether they’re going to reprimand our actions or even have violent reactions which is why our group actually prepared a disclaimer, that mentioned that all of these were only part of an experiment and that we did not mean to offend or disturb anybody. Deviating from the norm felt really uncomfortable since we ourselves felt that it went against what we believe is normal or not, right or wrong. Although we just pretended to watch pornographic content in public, it still did not feel right for us to conduct the experiment. It made us feel really uneasy since in the back of our minds, we thought that people were really going to go against us, even if their reactions were very subtle, it is inevitable that those people seen in our video have judged us already and probably have their own opinions to voice out. This is why there was some form of hesitation in our part. It is never easy to go out of your comfort zone and do something that may really lead to different, and sometimes unpleasant reactions, most especially from strangers.
Works Cited
Cornelio, Jayeel Serrano. “Filipino Catholics Are Conservative and Liberal.” Rappler, 15 Feb. 2014, www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/50603-filipino-catholics-conservative-and-liberal.
Crossman, Ashley. “What Is Symbolic Interactionism?” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 27 Dec. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/symbolic-interaction-theory-3026633.
Jaymalin, Mayen. “Sex Discussions Still Taboo in Filipino Homes - Popcom.” Philstar.com, The Philippine Star, 1 Apr. 2019, www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/04/01/1906327/sex-discussions-still-taboo-filipino-homes-popcom.
Macionis, John J. Sociology. 16th ed., Pearson, 2017.
Philippines. Republic Act 7877: Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995
“Pornography Definition.” Durhaime.org Learn Law, www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/P/Pornography.aspx.
Rappler.com. “Pornhub Ranks Philippines First in Time Spent on Site for 5th Year Running.” Rappler, 13 Dec. 2018, www.rappler.com/technology/news/218780-philippines-ranking-time-spent-pornhub-2018.
GROUP WORK TASK REPORT
Member
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Tasks Assigned
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Tasks Accomplished
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Other comments
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Kobe Cortes
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Analysis of data (2,3,5)
Editor
Researcher
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Every task assigned
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N/A
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Luis Estacio
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Analysis of data (2,3,5)
Editor
Researcher
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Every task assigned
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N/A
|
Karl Lim
|
Analysis of data (1,4)
Did the social experiment
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Every task assigned
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N/A
|
Conor Peralta
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Analysis of data (1,4,5)
Did the social experiment
|
Every task assigned
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N/A
|
Kal-el Reyes
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Analysis of data (1,4)
Did the social experiment
Posted video in the Blog spot
Video editor
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Every task assigned
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N/A
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