This post highlights the work required of my SA 201: Introduction to Sociology students. Students were tasked with learning about culture, cultural norms, and cultural values by violating a folkway. Eligible students were given the opportunity to have their exemplary work featured on the blog, and the students who provided permission have their work featured here in this and the following blog posts. Please show your appreciation for their work through the comments.
Weird Al Yankovic's video "Tacky" covers various folkway violations.
By: Emily Velazquez
Imagine you work at a state office. One day you wake up late and you throw on whatever because the only thing you are worried about is making it out of the house and to your job. In this case it is a pair of sweatpants and the first t-shirt you can find. You walk in and not much time goes by before your supervisor calls you into the office and asks you if everything is alright. State office jobs have certain dress codes that you would have to meet every day of working. You would not be able to show up wearing pajamas or lounge wear attire. If you did, you most likely would not get the best of looks. Just like that a folkway is broken. In this essay I will be explaining what a folk- way is, how they are a part of our everyday lives, and giving an example of how I broke a folkway.
A folkway is defined as a mode of thinking, feeling, or acting common to a given group of people especially when it comes to a traditional social custom. (Merriam- Webster, 1828). Some other examples of folkways would be walking into an elevator and staring at the people instead of the door, not covering your mouth when you sneeze or cough, passing gas in public, etc. Think of how people might react in these situations. Would they react nonchalant because this is a normal thing that everybody does, or would they be concerned because it is not the normal thing for someone to do.
Last Friday I went on a date with a guy. We went out to eat and he offered to pay for the whole meal. I broke a folkway by not only paying for my meal but paying for the whole meal overall. It has become “normal” in society to have the men pay for every- thing, especially on the first date. A few decades ago this might have been looked at differently, like the man should be the main provider, but as the years go by we see that this has definitely changed. Women have become way more empowered and independent and that is definitely looked up to now. I, on the other hand, have never liked people paying for me. I have always been the type to pay for everything that is mine because I feel like then I do not owe anyone anything in return or they cannot hold any- thing against me. I at least made a deal with him that I would pay for the meal and he could leave the tip. I felt like if I paid I did not have to give him any more of my time in return, and we could just end things there. His reaction at first was surprised, and he made sure to ask me several times if I was sure. I made it known to him several of times that it was okay and I just felt more comfortable this way.
I personally do not find that there is any importance in this specific folkway in society; in fact, it should be seen as something normal. I know that it is nice for other individuals to buy you stuff because, of course, it makes you feel important and loved. I also think it is important for other people to know that you do not need to depend on anybody but yourself to get stuff. I encourage all women to pay for themselves on the first date because first impressions are important. This may start the relationship off different, whether it be a friendship or loving relationship. They may take that first impression and base it on what your future relationship may look like and could treat you differently because of that.
In conclusion I do think that folkways are important to have in society, although they can change or lose importance over the years folkways help us communicate and better understand one another. It is important to know how folkways can vary through- out different cultures and with different people. If they are broken, it may come off as rude to others or may have certain consequences in your personal life.
Works Cited
“Folkway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/folkway. Accessed 24 Sep. 2020.
By: Maddie Welker
A folkway can help a person navigate through their own society. Folkways help people know what a respectful action in everyday life is. Every culture has their own set of folkways or social norms (Bry et al. 59). One folkway might be normal in one country’s society but completely rude in another. Folkways “are norms without any moral upbringings” (Bry et al. 59). In other words when someone breaks a folkway, they are breaking an appropriate norm in society. Norms in society are actions based off of what society perceives as normal (Bry et al. 58). When a folkway is broken people in society think that the person who broke it is rude or acts inappropriately. Folkways are important to society because they help people know what it normalized in society.
The folkway that I decided to break is to chew with my mouth open at the dinner table. One night during dinner with my roommate, I decided to violate this folkway with the fettuccine alfredo that we had made. While eating the food I made sure to smack my lips together and chew very loudly. This is breaking a folkway because in American culture, it is very rude to chew with your mouth open. Our social norm is to maintain politeness as described in America, which is to not make excessive noise while you eat. When someone eats with their mouth open people, others may view that person as disgusting and nasty. Eating with your mouth open could also be seen as a choking hazard, which also makes it inappropriate to do at the table. Children at a young age are taught table manners, and this includes chewing food with your mouth closed. Breaking a folkway can cause different reactions based on where a person is from.
When I sat at the dinner table and chewed with my mouth open, my roommate had a mix of emotions. She started to stare at me with a confusing look on her face. When I proceeded to continue the inappropriate act, I could tell she grew more and more annoyed. After five minutes of me chewing with my mouth open, my roommate would not make eye contact with me. Then, she started to roll her eyes and type on her phone. Usually when we eat dinner together, we always talk about our day or softball. During this particular dinner she did not say a word to me and there was constant awkward silence. I could tell she kept growing more and more frustrated as the dinner continued, but I continued to be obnoxious while chewing. It was very hard for me not to start laughing during the dinner or to keep a straight face. Finally, at the end of dinner I had to explain to her that this was an assignment and she started to laugh. She then explained that throughout the entire dinner it was taking all of her control to not yell at me. Once she knew that I was acting like this for an assignment, she thought it was funny.
The folkway that I broke is important because having table manners in America is very important. When a person goes to eat any meal with people, they should always have appropriate table manners because if they do not then, they will be perceived as rude. Breaking a folkway for this assignment has made me realize how seriously people take polite manners, due to my roommate’s reaction.
Folkways are important to society because they create norms that most people will follow. Without folkways, people within a society would not know the polite way to act or how to communicate with others. Learning and understanding other cultures’ folkways can also help people understand other people’s background history and where they came from. Breaking a folkway on purpose made me feel very uncomfortable and awkward, especially since I knew that it was bothering my roommate. Growing up, I was always taught to have great table manners and to always chew with my mouth closed. Participating in this assignment helped me realize how important a folkway is and how much others value folkways. Folkways are a great thing to have in society and will always hold people accountable for their actions.
Works Cited
Bry, Jeff, et al. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX. OpenStax, 2017. pp 58-59
10 comments:
I never knew what folkway meant, but you can see it everyday. Most of the time I see folkway is when we in a big area and people are passing thru and not saying excuse me or not use any manners.
Chamaje Barideaux
after careful analyzation of your passage above I've realized that the spotlighted word folkway has many similarities to another, when talking about breaking the norm wouldn't that be the same is stereotypes and how in the times we are living most are overrated.
Damia
I would honestly say I didn’t understand folkways and how the means upholds because coming from the Caribbean saying excuse me is something normal unlike another Caribbean island which is Jamaica they will just push they way through which is also normal to them but I thought it was rude and disrespectful but by reading this blog I’ve noticed the significance
Shemar Fletcher
I did not even realize what a folkway was until I read this post! To me it feels like it is basically a common curtesy, or a social standard. I loved how you included the example about breaking a folkway by paying for the first date. While I do not always think it is bad to break folkways, I do think when you do not follow them it is considered strange or even sometimes rude.
- Alexa Holzschuh
What I am getting from this blog is that folkway is another form or code switching. I say this because it says in the second paragraph it said that your mode will switch based on your surrounding. - Charles Ransom
Yes and no, Charles. Code switching addresses language use and changing the way one speaks based on the situation. This could be cultural or situational (e.g. formal versus informal language use). Folkways are about appropriate modes of behavior in a culture/society which affect everyone, often times regardless of other identity factors. For example, a child and an adult are expected to be quiet during religious services in some services, but a child may be able to get away with being loud more so than an adult. Make sense?
The first post about folkway gave a very clear understanding, I enjoyed the example that lead into the blog post. I liked that she gave a real world example and wrote about how she broke folkway. I do agree that women are more independent and we do not go on with the norm which nothing is wrong with that, but at the same time I feel like some stuff should be left how it is but I know as time moves on things will continue to change and social norms would be changed as well.
I also enjoyed reading the second blog post because some wouldn't look at chewing with your mouth open as breaking a folkway because it is normal in some families. I would have been very irritated like her roommate but you can understand someone's frustration especially if it was out of the norm.
-Alfreda Womack
Emily I love how you broke a folkway, and breaking societal norms. Before I read this blog post I never knew what folkway was but know I know A folkway is defined as a mode of thinking, feeling common to a given group of people especially when it comes to a traditional social custom. At times though I feel that they need to be broken, though its a norm.
- kennedy thompson
I really enjoyed this blog. It taught me a lot. I learned Every culture has their own set of folkways or social norms I also enjoyed the part where they talked about how olkways are important to society because they create norms that most people will follow. Without folkways, people within a society would not know the polite way to act or how to communicate with others. Learning and understanding other cultures’ folkways.
-josh.w
I never knew what Folkway meant nor have I even heard of it but this blog help me understand that FolkWay are important to how we live because they create everything that we go by today.
-Jasmine Hill
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