"Cheating On Your Partner": 40 Common Things That Should Not Be So Normalized

Normalization is a social process whereby something—an idea, an action, what have you—is made “normal” and viewed as such by the vast majority of a society. To them, it just feels natural in everyday life at this point and is often taken for granted.

The idea of normalization has been discussed by several notable figures, including French philosopher, historian and activist Michel Foucault. His unique take is within the context of disciplinary power and the 19th century. Essentially, normalization is a process of establishing an ideal standard of behavior and enforcing it through rewards and punishment. This way, you form a broader strategy and discipline that essentially controls society with minimal effort.

And you can say that there are several layers of normalization. That which is good or bad can be normalized as is, but it also changes over time and the new norms can also become good or bad as a result.

This ought to be concerning because, considering the past few US presidential elections and the media’s impact over it was a dangerous game to play as it essentially normalized controversial behaviors.

The idea behind this sociopolitical normalization was the psychological idea of repetition—a certain kind of desensitization. Repeated exposure to particular behaviors, very closely covered by the media, has great power in pushing towards forming a view that this is normal over time.

And it’s not just politics. There are studies that have determined men exhibiting stalker-like behaviors can lead to female viewers to become more tolerant of obsessive behaviors.

While many are protective of the concept of normal, always wanting to retreat to that comfort zone after a life-changing event, it’s these situations of shifting acceptance that prove just how that which is normal changes over time.

In fact, having a fixed idea of what is normal seems to be a problem. Cultural theorists, sociologists and other experts agree that more folks should recognize that normal is a “value judgment and not a neutral or descriptive term.” It is so because having set ideas of what normal is in beauty and aesthetics is damaging to the self esteem of women and girls alike.