Imagine a world where social norms didn’t exist. Would it be chaos, or would you finally be able to relax? You would no longer have to worry about watching what you say around colleagues or feel pressure to conform to rigid beauty standards.
While societal expectations can certainly help us navigate through the world with minimal conflict, certain ones might also become the bane of your existence.
Redditors have recently been calling out social norms that they would happily eliminate if they could, so we’ve gathered some of their hot takes below. Keep reading to also find a conversation with sociologist and author Dr. Todd Schoepflin, and be sure to upvote the unspoken rules that you’ve had enough of too!
#1
Letting kids act like psychotic inmates in public and at school. Because it’s super disruptive and ruins everybody else’s time, and is sometimes dangerous, and does not bode well for the kids as adults.
Image credits: ScoutieJer
#2
Not accepting aging. 20yo girls shouldn't be getting "preventative botox". And actresses showing signs of aging shouldn't lose jobs. "Aging like milk" shouldn't be a saying at all. Normalize aging in general.
ktatsanon:
The amount of plastic surgery that young women are getting around here is sickening to me. Beautiful women ruining their looks to look like inflated, smooth faced aliens, is just so off-putting.
Image credits: lithuanian_potatfan
#3
That as a woman you need to have biological kids or that “you’ll never be complete/feel true love without them”. Just let us be our own selves.
Image credits: rock-mommy
#4
Circumcision. Such a barbaric thing to do to a literal infant.
Image credits: eyedaisydoom
#5
Having to pretend you’re “busy” to decline plans – just let me say no without making it a whole thing!
Image credits: Blake-Faust
#6
Touching a pregnant woman’s belly without permission.
Image credits: fallen_aussie
#7
Expecting people to be onboard with gender norms is really annoying. Let boys learn home cooking and give girls the opportunity to do yardwork.
Image credits: Barely_An_Artist
#8
More than 1 please 🙂
1) it is normal and healthy to be unmarried
2) it is normal to think of entering in a romantic relationship in 30s or beyond
3) divorce is a situation and not a label, once divorced, you are as single as someone single
4) love can be found at any age.
Image credits: shalini-andwemet
#9
Tipping.
Image credits: HeyImBandit
#10
The need to be busy or productive all the time. Hustle culture is b******t, we all need and deserve rest time. It’s not lazy, it’s something we all need. My hobbies don’t need to be monetised or marketable in some way to be worth doing.
Image credits: breadcrumbsmofo
#11
Working 40 hours a week until you can hopefully retire at 65.
I see my coworkers more than I see my own family.
Image credits: Apprehensive_Use2563
#12
Expecting people to be in a relationship, and questioning single people about why they’re single. All it does is makes single people feel inadequate.
Image credits: DeathSpiral321
#13
Drinking alcohol in almost any social situation.
Image credits: ThimMerrilyn
#14
I would eliminate the social norm that discourages open conversations about mental health. If we could talk about our struggles without stigma, more people would seek help when they need it, and we’d foster a society that’s more understanding and supportive.
Image credits: iiJinn
#15
Shaming people who live with their parents as adults.
ChairmanLaParka:
The amount of people I interact with who, when they find out I, as a middle-aged man, live with my mom, no longer want anything to do with me is pretty high.
The amount of people who still feel that way after I tell them it's because she has mobility issues and has trouble doing basic things on her own is frustratingly high.
Image credits: Tkinokun
#16
Not talking about your salary with your coworkers.
If everyone knew what everyone else was earning, wages would go up across the board—which is exactly why it is taboo.
Image credits: Incredible_Witness
#17
Shaking hands. Let’s just go to a head nod instead. I’m not a germaphobe in the slightest but I know people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom.
Image credits: Kid_Named_Trey
#18
Virgin shaming. More specifically making assumptions about a person if they are “still” a virgin (ex: religious, traumatized, weird, question sexuality etc). It could just be circumstantial it hasn’t happened yet, they aren’t ready yet, didn’t meet someone they want to yet. It doesn’t always have to be some exaggerated reason and some questionable trait about a person that they’re a virgin.
Image credits: RezDerez
#19
I would eliminate the idea of wearing high-heeled shoes.
Image credits: P44
#20
Being a workaholic is a kind of = success, and working just to get to live and enjoy life with your loved ones is kinda "stupid".
Life is short, why do I have to spend 12h working in a place to make money for someone else and be a stranger to my kids, stop visiting my parents, and just talk to my wife 20mins before we fall asleep.
Image credits: bunanita3333
#21
Always needing to have new, fashionable clothing that you cannot wear repeatedly. This is slowly starting to change, but people still look askance if you wear the same thing more than once within a short amount of time even though plenty of people have washer and could easily wash something overnight and wear it again the next day. Fast fashion causes a lot of harm.
Image credits: AlishaV
#22
That a woman should be younger in relationship.
Having a younger boyfriend/husband for women should be a norm and not a shocking exception.
Image credits: Soft_Detective5107
#23
This is a new social norm of tween girls being taking to sephora and ulta to buy face serums needs to be eliminated. Dermotologists are horrified, no tween girl skin needs anti aging products. And these products are not cheap. I used to work at kohls and every night there would be a gaggle of middle schoolers and their mom and sometimes dad, buying the products that cost $50+ why be use of tik tok!!!
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Image credits: GongYooFan
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