Male Restroom Etiquette Essay Example

Male Restroom Etiquette Paper Graham Smith Professor Desormeaux English 101 August 4, 2009 Male Restroom Etiquette From the time a young boy can go the restroom on his own to the time he can be accountable for all of his own actions, he learns the unspoken rules of restroom etiquette. â€Å"Ever since man crawled out of the primordial ooze, he has built himself structures to contain the processes of bodily waste removal† (Wallach) For many men, the etiquette in restrooms is imbedded in their brains. There are many guidelines that are set to keep men comfortable during their joyous visit to relieve themselves. All of these guidelines are promoting men to become more proper. With these guidelines, taking a trip to the restroom has almost become an annoyance for males today. When a man first walks into the restroom, he is presented with a decision. He must choose which stall he is going to use to do his business. Obviously, if he is going to need to sit down on a toilet, he can just go and use a toilet. However, when he has to urinate, there is a list of options for him to choose from. If he is the first into the bathroom, he can choose whichever stall he pleases. We will write a custom essay sample on Male Restroom Etiquette specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Male Restroom Etiquette specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Male Restroom Etiquette specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer If there is already another man in the restroom, he must decide which stall to use. Choosing a stall can be a very complex decision for someone. There is nothing more uncomfortable than when â€Å"Two urinals [are] crammed in a two and a half foot space [with] no stall divider present† (Flannery). The number one rule for male restrooms is to never stand next to another man (Wicks). If there are no open urinals, he is to wait for one to open. As Rob Wicks comments on a situation, when â€Å"only one urinal is taken†¦[you choose the urinal furthest away] to minimize the chance of contact whatsoever with the person. In his example, there are five urinals and the far left one is being used. In this case, a man would use the far right urinal, keeping the most distance between him and the other person- three urinals. This keeps enough personal space between the two men so that neither of them can be too uncomfortable. When kids are growing up, we teach them to be friendly and open to people to a certain extent. Then why is it wrong for a grown man to stand next to a friend of his or in-between two men if there is no other option? If there are 4 urinals open and someone chooses the urinal next to him, it is seen as an invasion of privacy. It is said to be one of the worst situations in a public male restroom. However, this rule can be ignored if there are privacy dividers between the two neighboring urinals. A second rule or guideline that is set for male restrooms is the no conversation rule. Wicks again comments in a post about speaking in public restrooms, stating that, â€Å"Speech is your enemy. Never, ever, under any circumstance say a single word while within a bathroom. Not to a friend, not to a lover not to Jesus himself. Not only does this grate against all good things and the way of nature, it ruins the efficiency of the bathroom. When people speak, the tendency is for things to slow down. It’s easier for somebody to lose track of what they were doing when they try to multi-task. Because of this, the time spent in the restroom increases and causes less efficiency, especially during busy times like a sporting event at halftime. Men are more known for flatulating than women but it is seen as rude to d o it in public. In order to flatulate with respect, men are expected to go into a restroom or somewhere away from the public to do it. However, one of the unspoken rules of restrooms is to not make any noise while in the restroom (Wallach). With the opposing view points on making noise in a restroom, what is it doing to the alpha male? Is he supposed to become more proper and feminine by hiding their bodily functions or continue the â€Å"tradition† and do it in the restroom? Lastly, a rule often followed and for most men, a great thing is to make no eye contact at all costs (Wicks). This goes along with the personal space and privacy issue. When a man sees another man looking at him in a restroom, automatically, he thinks he is comparing sizes. This makes most men uncomfortable because it brings out an insecurity that a lot of people have bout themselves. Also, if someone else in the restroom catches a man staring at another man with his private area exposed a little bit, in he is seen to be gay. He might just be seen as a little weird; though in most cases, people would think otherwise. Even though going to the bathroom may seem like such a simple task, with the way society perceives actions, it too has become an annoyance to think about what to do. As Phil Rice stated in an interview online, â€Å"increased cultural diversity has necessitated the exposition of previously unwritten rules regarding the use of male restrooms. Although we try to make things easier as technology advances, it seems that some things will only continue to get harder and harder. Works Cited Flannery, Blake. Www. hubpages. com. Ed. Blake Flannery. 4 Aug. 2009 http://hubpages. com/hub/How-to-Behave-When-Using-a-Urinal-Man- Etiquette-in-the-Bathroom Rice, Phil. 2009. 30 July 2009 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Male_Restroom_Etiquette Wallach, Dan. Male Bathroom Rules. August 1, 2009 http://www. cs. rice. edu/~ssiyer/x/humour/funny00002. html Wicks, Rob. Male Restroom Etiquette. August 4, 2009 http://everything2. com/title/Male+restroom+etiquette

Folkways, Mores, Taboos, and Laws

Folkways, Mores, Taboos, and Laws The social norm, or simply norm, is arguably the most important concept in sociology. Sociologists believe that norms govern our lives by giving us implicit and explicit guidance on what to think and believe, how to behave, and how to interact with others. We learn norms in a variety of settings and from various people, including our family, our teachers and peers at school, and members of the media. There are four key types of norms, with differing levels of scope and reach, significance and importance, and methods of enforcement. These norms are, in order of increasing significance, folkways, mores, taboos, and laws. Folkways Early American sociologist William Graham Sumner was the first to write about the distinctions between different types of norms in his book Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals (1906). Sumner created the framework that sociologists still use today. Folkways, he wrote, are norms that stem from and organize casual interactions, and emerge out of repetition and routines. We engage in them to satisfy our daily needs, and they are most often unconscious in operation, though they are quite useful for the ordered functioning of society. A common example of a folkway is the practice, in many societies, of waiting in line. This practice brings order to the process of buying things or receiving services, allowing us to more easily perform the tasks of our daily lives. Other examples of folkways include the concept of appropriate dress, the practice of raising ones hand to take turns speaking in a group, and the practice of civil inattention- when we politely ignore others around us in public settings. Folkways mark the distinction between rude and polite behavior, so they exert a form of social pressure that encourages us to act and interact in certain ways. However, they do not have moral significance, and there are rarely serious consequences or sanctions for violating them. Mores Mores are more strict than folkways, as they determine what is considered moral and ethical behavior; they structure the difference between right and wrong. People feel strongly about mores, and violating them typically results in disapproval or ostracizing. As such, mores exact a greater coercive force in shaping our values, beliefs, behavior, and interactions than do folkways. Religious doctrines are an example of mores that govern social behavior. For example, many religions have prohibitions on cohabitating with a romantic partner before marriage. If a young adult from a strict religious family moves in with her boyfriend, her family, friends, and congregation are likely to view her behavior as immoral. They might punish her behavior by scolding her, threatening judgment in the afterlife, or shunning her from their homes and the church. These actions are meant to indicate that her behavior is immoral and unacceptable, and are designed to make her change  her behavior to align with the violated more. The belief that forms of discrimination and oppression, like racism and sexism, are unethical is another example of an important more in many societies today. Taboos A taboo is a very strong negative norm; it is a prohibition of certain behavior that is so strict that violating it results in extreme disgust and even expulsion from the group or society. Often times the violator of the taboo is considered unfit to live in that society. For instance, in some Muslim cultures, eating pork is taboo because the pig is considered unclean. At the more extreme end, incest and cannibalism are both considered taboos in most places. Laws A law is a norm that is formally inscribed at the state or federal level  and is enforced by police or other government agents. Laws exist to discourage behavior that would typically result in injury or harm to another person, including violations of property rights.Those who enforce laws have been given legal right by a government to control behavior for the good of society at large. When someone violates a law, a state authority will impose a sanction, which can be as light as a payable fine or as severe as imprisonment.

Environmental Report (Shell) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Environmental Report (Shell) - Essay Example In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in charge of making sure industry is compliant with standards set into law. On the worldwide scale some developing countries do not have any guidelines, where as European Union and the United Kingdom do. European Union is responsible for a host of regulations that reduce greenhouse gas emission, preserve bio diversity, protect water supply and impose stiff fines for non compliance. The United Kingdom also has its own sets of rules and regulations, also enforced by fines for non-compliance. The International Standards Organization (ISO) has developed ISO 14000 and particularly ISO 14001 pertains to development and reporting sustainability of a company. ISO 14001 is a voluntary guideline that is compatible with the EU environmental management auditing standard (EMAS). This is one complexity that faces all companies that are trying to develop environmental sustainability. Developing a company that is both environmentally friendly and sustainable is the trend of the times in which the world finds itself these days. Shell is a worldwide company that has accepted this challenge of sustainability and reducing its impact on environments in which it operates. Herein is a brief overview of environmental management systems and environmental performance measure that make up a sustainable company. Thereafter evaluations of which systems have Shell put in to place, followed by a comparison of Shell with one of its competitor’s programs to evaluate how well Shell is in becoming an environmentally friendly and sustainable company. First there will be a discussion of sustainable development, environmental management systems (EMSs) and environmental policy management (EPMs). What is sustainable development? Sustainable development refers to using resources in such a way that fulfill our human needs today as well as save the environment from detrimental