Definition Of Folkways

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The term “normal” raises different definitions between varieties of people; what may seem normal to one individual may seem weird or stupid in another. The concept of being normal is defined as being in line with mainstream’s perceptions, so if a person decides to express their indifference to an audience, they are seen as extraterrestrial or nuts. Take for example the “No pants day”, the meaning is in the title. Beginning from what was thought to be either funny or stupid is now a trending event throughout many countries. Someone foreign to this annual event will see these people with a raised eyebrow and an expression saying “What the f***?” There are many influences that determine what society can define as normal; anything from music, media,…show more content…
These unconscious behaviors define what we see as folkways. To better put in an example, let’s place an audience with a similar interest in Christian rock. The audience come to a local concert with featured Christian rock bands; and then we see how the audience act when the concert starts. The way they act, express, and use themselves are examples of folkways because they bounce around and scream for a cultural purpose; in simple terms, people act a certain way in certain cases because of what their elder generations were interested in. “The folkways are not creations of human purpose and wit. They are like products of natural forces which men unconsciously set in operation…which are handed down by tradition and admit of no exception or variation…”(Sumner, William Graham. Pg. 3). I recently went on a trip to El Salvador, my home country. While I was there, a parade was taking place one day for the purpose of celebrating our countries’ togetherness. The people involved dressed up as the opposite sex, performed in school bands, threw candy, and preached love. This specific parade is a tradition in my country that happens annually without preparation, so people just jump in and get involved. Folkways don’t always being people together, they can fulfill a wide audience with satisfaction that arrived for similar interests. Folkways…show more content…
The biggest example of mores are religious doctrines; someone closely bonded with God and follows the bible would offend his own religion and religious peers if he is found sinning. I observed one particular more violation that may fall into this category; through media, the topic of gay marriage conflicts with a lot of religious guidelines. It would be worse to discover a man who is homosexual and Christian; his way of living is a more violation to his religious peers and they would not accept him because of that. (But since we are moving on to more of an accepting society, we don’t see gay marriage or activity as bad as it was a while ago). Two other social concepts can be found and used together; these concepts can define a person internally and externally from someone else’s

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