The social norm is constructed: not naturally occurring but created by the society in which it is found.
Hence there are no actions which in themselves are inherently #abnormal or universally condemned by all societies at all times. Deviance is thus situational and contextual.
Rough contact and impact peak around the age of seven. This is gradually replaced by peer monitoring in the years that follow.
Isabelle Clair: "Adolescence is a very normative age. At middle school, "there's a very tough relationship to what's the right thing to do".
Margot Déage: "Physical violence is much more prevalent in elementary/primary school, then decreases in middle school, and progressively through high school."
Margot Déage: "A girl who does not belong to a boy or a man can fall into the category of whore at any time, whatever her clothes or sexual practices."
Margot Déage: "Being in a position to say who’s a whore and who’s a good girl is a power in itself within the girls’ group, a power that is strongly mobilised by certain girls. The ones who can fall, in general, are the hardest on the matter."
"It’s difficult to talk about #manliness in absolute terms. What is considered virile depends on social background and age. In my survey, being #manly meant asserting one’s body and physical strength, and accepting sexist insults. Younger people in particular anchor manliness in their bodies in this way. For older men, manliness can be achieved through professional integration. In the end, what is defined as manly is always defined in opposition to #feminine; so being manly is the obligation not to #feminise oneself."
"Dominance over girls is expressed in many ways. In adolescence, it manifests itself in the direct control of their sexuality (or any outward sign of sexuality, such as dress, geographical mobility and any form of communication with boys). As a result, they are the focus of #reputations that place them in two radically opposed categories: "good girls" and "whores"."
Isabelle Clair, "Les jeunes et l’amour dans les cités" (2008)
"If a young woman does not follow the social injunction to have feelings in a sexual relationship, she knows that she risks being called to order, being punished. Or to feel shame or guilt. This burden of the social norm is primarily internalised."
"There is, in all circles, the threatening 'spectre of the faggot'. The determination to appear as 'a man, a real man' and secure one's masculinity, while escaping suspicion of homosexuality, which is considered demeaning and dangerous. Some gay boys from privileged backgrounds have told me that they were in a relationship with a girl at school to give the impression, to cover their tracks."
"If a young woman does not follow the social injunction to have feelings in a sexual relationship, she knows that she risks being called to order, being punished. Or to feel shame or guilt. This burden of the social norm is primarily internalised."
"There is, in all circles, the threatening 'spectre of the faggot'. The determination to appear as 'a man, a real man' and secure one's masculinity, while escaping suspicion of homosexuality, which is considered demeaning and dangerous. Some gay boys from privileged backgrounds have told me that they were in a relationship with a girl at school to give the impression, to cover their tracks."
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