Basically, whenever I ran into a friend today, I gave them an overly-extended hug. At first, they thought it was pretty funny, but when I refused to let go, they got a little antsy - which is to be expected, I guess. Neither my friends nor I were particularly offended because, I mean, we're friends; the people most weirded out would definitely the people watching the interaction. I got lots of stares in ABP or out on the plaza when I gave my aggressively long hugs.
In our society (I guess depending on where you hail from), hugs are pretty normal, but usually last about 2-4 seconds long. In other countries, it's the norm to exchange kisses on the cheek of others as a greeting. In others, not even eye contact is appropriate. Social norms are so very unique, and with that, I leave you with my favorite awkward hug that definitely broke some Death Eater social norms.
Lucie, this was such a great idea for breaking a social norm. I love the example from Harry Potter! From my own personal experience, I can definitely point out which of my friends love LONG hugs and which of my friends start squirming after a couple of seconds. If other people also took notice of your norm breaking, then your hugs must have been extra long (or your friends must have really been squirming!) I think it is really interesting that you pointed out different cultural norms for greetings. It's true that norms are very complex and varied across cultures, which is why studying in-group and out-group behavior must be very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete