In my sociology class, we were assigned to deviate from a social norm toward a stranger. For the deviant act which I preformed I went into a public bathroom with numerous stalls. I chose to go into a stall that was beside one that was already occupied by an individual. I then knocked on the divider between us and said “hello,” trying to start a conversation. Before I deviated I felt really nervous and unsure about how the individual would respond because talking to a complete stranger—who you haven’t even seen I might add—while both using the bathroom is typically not socially accepted. Usually when you’re in the bathroom you don’t talk to those you don’t know unless it’s a friendly, “hi” or “how are you?” and even then it’s usually when you’re at the sink washing your hands—not on the toilet. It definitely felt really awkward and I’m sure the girl in the other stall was really confused. Typically, people don’t like to deviate from their norms and when they do they feel uncomfortable and out of place. I felt relieved when it was over because I was able to go back to my norms—to what I was familiar and comfortable with.
When I first tried to start the conversation the girl hesitated before responding. For her, as was for me, she wasn’t use to something like this happening. Her hesitation made me a little more nervous and somewhat embarrassed, discouraging my attempt to converse. But after she responded I felt a little more encouraged to continue on with the conversation. She also laughed, lightening the mood a bit which led me to think she was okay with the fact that I had started a conversation with her. The laughter was another encouragement for the deviant act which I had preformed. After the matter, when we washed our hands we talked and laughed about it and she told me she thought it was so funny. It was a fun, humorous experience and who knows, maybe it’s a new way to make friends?
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