¶ … it governs virtually everything important I do. If I spend time with friends, it is because I know them from school or school-related activities. If I have a part-time job, it has to conform to my school schedule. The truth is that I have never seriously questioned whether I want to be a student or not, so I must define being a student as conforming behavior. Society puts a high value on student behavior, and I must define myself as a conformist for accepting that societal value for myself without question.
For the most part I have been blind to this conformity. Perhaps that is the nature of conformity, that it requires that people do not make active choices. As I look at pictures of family members, I can see that all the young women in the 1970's had long straight hair, but all the young women in the early 1960's had bubble hairdos. I look at the young women around me today, and I don't see such a pattern. Some have long hair; some have short. Some have medium length hair, but it's blue. They are not conforming when it comes to hairstyle, but they're all students.
" In the instance of America's shameful racial history, the self-interest of southern whites combined with the violent coercion of black slavery would produce a highly objectionable variance on the 'social contract.' It is therefore a decidedly important reality that certain individuals refused this contract, One is especially inclined in such instances to recognize the importance of non-conformity in helping to drive improvements in human rights, equality and other dimensions of
Social conformity inhibits the individuals' referentiality that was an intrinsic governance of the self. Although neither Durkheim nor Giddens arguments are without merit, it would seem, therefore, as Elias argued, neither society nor the individual can exist in total isolation from the other. In many ways they are defined by each other and the actions of the collective. Society can serve as the barometer by which individual identity is
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Role of School Uniforms in Shaping Student Identity: A Double-Edged Sword ����This essay explores the dichotomy of school uniforms as tools for promoting equality and reducing distractions, while simultaneously suppressing students' ability to express their individuality and unique identities through fashion and personal style. 2. The Impact of School Uniforms on Creative Expression: Beyond the Fabric ����This topic delves into how the enforcement of school uniforms can limit students�
Anthem: Individuality vs. Conformity The novella Anthem by Ayn Rand is the story of an individual's search for identity in a society based on conformity. Set in the future the story's protagonist, Equality 7-2521 is a street sweeper whose great sin is to have personal ambition. Equality 7-2521 is born into a collectivist society in which everyone's life is controlled by various councils of social planners and disciplinarians and in which
In highly-publicized criminal offenses and violations of international law, American servicemen in charge of the Abu Ghraib facility abused Iraqi prisoners by terrorizing them with military service dogs and the threat of electrical shocks. They also purposely humiliated them by dragging them around naked, forcing them to simulate homosexuality, and by various other degrading acts specifically intended to disgrace their religious beliefs and cultural values. In some cases, abusive conduct
Rhinoceros, by Eugene Ionesco [...] theme of individuality vs. conformity and how it applies in today's world. Throughout history, individuals have felt torn between conforming to established tradition and social mores, and showing their individuality by rising up against conformity and tradition. In "Rhinoceros," Ionesco illustrates what can happen to a society that is so eager to conform; it cannot see a balance between the individual and the whole.
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