Conformity is improsed by social structure is is inborn, your opinion?

Question: Conformity is improsed by social structure is is inborn, your opinion!?

i was arguing with my friend saying that conformity is imposed upon us by society, telilng us we must be heterosexual, gender role obeying, professionally/suitably dressed, polite, thin not fat, speak the dominant langauge, etc!. if you do any of these thigns wrong, you are shunned by mainstream society, esp america!. i say that society has been created to valorize soley the point of viwe of the dominant people in society, and that this is a terrible injustice to people everywhere!. my friend says taht he's all right with conformity because peopel have to obey laws and stuff!. i say its nto about obeyign laws!. its about peoel telling you hwo to act and how to dress, whom to sleep with, waht to eat, drink, watchign yoru every behavior and telling you its wrong if its not " normal" !. he says thats normal taht peopel conform to standard, i say its not and we are oppressed!. waht do you think!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I'll have to agree with you!. He thinks conformity is about law!?!? I think he's thinking about Authoritarianism and trying to call it a different name!. But can your friend seriously define normal now a days!? I do believe that conformity is forced upon us by the media and society!. Look at every fashion magazine!. Their definition of normal is Caucasian , blue eyed, skinny girls and blue eyes muscular boys!. And in reality we are not like that!. If that's the case I'm not normal because I'm black and got some meat on my bones!. Yes it does create injustice when your are outside this "norm" but at the same time you have people like me that try to fight it!. To think outside the box!. Why would I want to be "normal"!. Normal is boring!. I find it crazy that your find thinks conformity is about obeying laws!. In a crazed sense it is!. Some people who are different suffer ridicule!. So you could say that is the price for not following the norm!. But not in the same sense as actual laws!. But I still have to respect your friends crazed sense of view!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

We need each other for love, understanding, a band-aid, a hug!.
We tend to find people who believe as we do and form a family, group, cult or study club so we can relate to each other!
We form rules necessary to live in peace with other!.
We are a moral country, a generous country with rules for our safety!
If you want a job, raise a family, live in peace with your neighbors, you had better conform to the group!!!!!!!!!!!Www@QuestionHome@Com

People also have nature, which shows us what road we're on!. Society would rather you be mixed up!. Fooled by money making scams and propaganda!. I agree with you that societies views designs us!.!.!. and we spend most of our lives trying to redsign ourselves in a way that makes us feel good and independent, from societies views of us!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

"Conformity," no matter what you think of it socially, cannot be both "social structure" AND "inborn!."

If it is inborn, it is "a priori!." If it is social structure, it is "a posteriori!."Www@QuestionHome@Com

I say all our concepts of "acceptability", that feeds the desire to fit into a social strata on any level, or to climb it is fed by both unconscious programming, that of the nature of the ego, battling the unconscious desire to feed our inner darkness, the id, and the control, that which decides which shall be victor, and when, that would be the superego!.

The artificial component in this equation would be the environment!. It acts toward providing stimuli to feed both id and ego, eventually one topples the other, and we "fit" into a form which we are most comfortable with!.

Which is why we see so many differences in people, even as we argue the case for mass homogenity, we see individualism apparent!.

So, in my opinion, we have reached a kind of equilibrium, between desire to fit in, internally, and the need to follow order externally, with both cases serving to oppose id, or the inner animal, the constant consumer, i!.e!. that side of human thought that sees "chaos"!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i think you are being lost there honey!.!.!.!.nobody will be happy if life is what you are thinking!.!.!.!. it is not conformity!.!.!.!. where is freedom in what you are saying!.!.!. you truly not understand the word itself!. honey we are born with choices!.!.!. and this choices conform on what we believe!.!.!. of what you are and not pushed by any other matter!.!.!.!.
what you are thinking and what you want to be conforms on what you believe!.!.!.!. and what you believe is what you are in person!.!.!. society had only effect on us through our perception!.!.!. Understanding of what we are and what they are to us!.!.!. make up of how we are!.!.!. and what we believe!.!.!.
Nobody tells you when to close your eyes!.!.!. nor when to breathe nor when to yawn!.!.!.Your body is working through conformity!.!.!.!.!.you are not complaining how your blood is moving in your vain!.!.!. its natural!.!.!.so us being conformed!.!.!. its natural!.!.!. it is not about law of people!.!.!. it is about natural law!.!.so everyone does conformed without knowing it!.
do you understand!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

You are lumping a bunch of bananas in one hammock!

Sexual orientation and gender roles are largely genetic!.

Dress, body image, and enculturalization are social, but very deep!. Babies raised in Spanish speaking households move rhythmically different than in English speaking ones in the first 6 week of life, and when switched, change rhythms in days! How open or narrow a culture is varies widely from place to place, and in America (where all the complaining is going on,) diversity is pretty much more widely tolerated than anywhere else!. By "Valorize" I think means create values, and yes there is a connection between a narrow culture and obedience to laws and authority!. That was not such a good thing in Hitler's Germany!. But it isn't something I would dismiss out of hand as useless!. I like not being shot in my sleep!.

I think your friend is basically right, that even in "alternative cultures" there are rules of behavior that can be just as onerous as "mainstream culture" because societies suppress individuals!. It is the price we pay for not living on an island, alone!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i think for a large number of human beings it is inborn, to conform, because it is inborn to look negatively as those that are different!. I remember children picking on on other children because they look different, i don't think this is learned!. it is maybe part of human beings naturally lacking a bit of self esteem, and making you look like others by single out the different people helps with self esteem!.

i think even many adults that are not this way have learned not to be rather than been born not being this way!.

but certainly i agree with you!. i think this is a negative thing, and we should celebrate our differences and love each other for our differences, and think of all of us as equal, though certianly all different!. i think the world would be a happier place this way, and people would be more willing to help each other if they thought this, like humanity as us, and no them, instead of us vs them!.

imagine how boring life would be if we were all the same!. i think it is as they say!. variety is the spice of life!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

We are social animals biologically, which contributes to our need to "fit in," to seek the company of others!. What we call loneliness is the same anxiety a canine (or other pack/social animal) feels when separated from its group!. It's why your dog goes nuts when you leave it alone, right!? It's a survival instinct!.

However, you're also right about cultural conformity!. You can tell that the things you list have little or nothing to do with our biology since the trends themselves change every ten or so years!. Check out Freud's book _Civilization and Its Discontents_!. He wrote about how frustrating it is to have to suppress so many of our self-pleasing drives in order to function in "civilized" society!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

You're both right to a certain extent!. There is a natural urge to conform to one's social group, first emulating the parents, and then following the customs of the peer group!. Beyond that, there is the desire for order in a peaceful society, so we agree to abide by customs and laws!. Much of this is inborn, owing to our nature as social animals!. Aside from that, there is a desire in individuals to explore their own potential and follow their aspirations; i!.e!., expressing their individuality!. This is greatly valued in the USA, with its emphasis on individuality and freedom of expression, and in fact there are laws protecting one's freedom to do so if not interfering with the rights of others!. This desire for individuality is felt most strongly during the teen years, when one is motivated to form one's own personal outlook, independent of the ideals and aspirations of one's parents!. Often teenagers go through a "rebellious" phase, adopting fashions and behaviors at wide variance with the parents, just to prove to themselves that they are free to do so!. Usually they end up being quite similar to their parents, once they have proved to themselves that it is their choice!.
Society at large has a tendency to punish those who stray from the beaten path!. Those of us who follow a different drummer have to stand fast and resist the forces of conformity in order to express our own special gifts!. It is a challenge, but the rewards are great!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Come now lets face it, conformity and obeying laws and standards are two different things!. conformity is the acceptance to live up to the laws and some standards of individuals in society!. Society and government expect you to conform to it's laws but not the standards set by individuals with a lousy attitudes and a bone to pick!.

If you don't conform to law you it's your bad and you will pay for your actions sooner or later!. If you don't conform to people's expectations it's their bad!.

We live in a free country if you feel oppressed it's cause you might feel what all non-conformist feel , the stifling feeling of a rebellious spirit!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Look at the very word "normal!." The definition is "conforming to the standard or the common type!." http://dictionary!.reference!.com/browse/n!.!.!.

Your friend is certainly right in the sense that "normal" people conform!. That is true just by going on the definitions!.

In fact, conformity is one of the human universals which you find in all cultures!. The exact "norms" which are imposed by social pressure can vary in how good they are (for example racist norms are bad, norms encouraging charitable giving are usually good!.) In fact, it would, I think, be psychologically impossible to have human society (and so humans) without norms!.

American society is somewhat paradoxical in that one of the norms strongly asserted here is that of unique individualism!. So much emphasis in popular culture is placed on "being yourself," being "unique," and so on, that these practices are effectively norms for us!. I think this probably helps explain why so many teenagers who try to express themselves through their dress or actions end up all looking the same or doing the same thing!. Even norms of individuality are still norms, and I do not think the vision you have (likely a society without conformist pressures) is at all possible!.

I think these pressures go beyond overtly telling people something is "wrong!." The strongest pressures are those we internalize and impose on ourselves!. Most of the time the person most critical of somebody is themselves!.

Even though having a society without conformity is not possible, I do not think this means all social values and norms are equal!. I agree with you that many of the values taken for granted in America (thinness, heterosexism, etc!.)are not at all good and should be challenged!. But even if we replace these norms with better ones, we still have norms and pressure to conform to them!. I think something similar happened with racism, where we moved from an overtly racist society to one in which accusations of racism are taken extremely seriously!. But social condemnation of racism is a good thing, right!?

Simply being subjected to social pressures is not oppression; what is oppressive is when the values those pressures reinforce are harmful!.Www@QuestionHome@Com