In our society we have a number of society norms that we abide by. It is like there is this unwritten rule of how one should behave. When a social norm is broken people may respond with humor, fear, irritation, or an assortment of other emotions. In society today the people decide what is normal and abnormal.
Even though gay and lesbians are becoming more “normal” is today’s society, people still react negatively towards them when seen in public. Multiple times I have seen both men and women gays holding hands and kissing in public. But the most recent was in the airport on my last vacation to Florida. I was sitting in the food court, where me and my mom love to watch people, we find it entertaining to see how people act when they think no one is watching. While we were sitting there eating, two men walked by holding hands and talking. They did not look gay; they just looked like two men holding hands. Not to mention they were Arabic. So not only were they holding hands, but they were Arabic men in an airport. We all know since September 11, 2001, it has been abnormal for a Middle Eastern person to be seen in airport, or airplane.
I thought about how weird it was that two Arab men were holding hands. So I then pulled out my laptop from my bag, and typed in “Arab men holding hands”. Multiple things showed up about President Bush holding hands with an Arabic man. I read on and found out that in Arab countries it is normal for Arab men and women to hold hands, it is a sign of kinship. It is not considered a sign of being gay in Arabic countries. It also said that if men choose not to touch during a greeting, it is a sign of distance or disdain. Kissing cheeks, long handshakes and clutching hands are meant to reflect amity, devotion and most important, equality in status. I found it so interesting that different cultures feel differently about social norms. What is normal in America could be abnormal somewhere else. It could even as close as what is normal in one...