sorry about the link. don't know how to post a Word document on the internet so i'll just post the paper here:
snozepp147 said:Social Norm Term Paper
The social norm that I intend to break exists in a specific subculture: the culture of modifying import cars, specifically Honda and Acura. Since Acura is owned by Honda I will refer to the two automotive companies simply as Honda. To understand this norm, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of what is acceptable, popular and respected in this subculture. Cars that are often described as “clean” in the Honda enthusiast community follow a fairly specific list when it comes to modifications. This “cleanliness” in regard to Hondas is often synonymous with the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM.) Since Honda was originally based in Japan, American Honda enthusiasts collect rare parts exclusive to Japanese Hondas, hence the idolization of the Japanese Domestic Market. This has become so much a part of the Honda scene in the United States that “JDM” is often used as an adjective to describe a tastefully-modified Honda (or any car originally from Japan, for that matter.) Since the JDM phenomenon has become the established norm in the sub-culture, any excessive deviation from the JDM standard results in ridicule and the offender is often shunned and not taken seriously as a Honda enthusiast. I intend to break this established JDM norm by branching out and modifying my car in a way that would go against what most people find appealing.
The sociological theory that best explains this norm is Interactionism. Symbolic Interactionism was formulated by George Herbert Mead and theorizes that society functions due to the recognition and interpretation of certain established symbols and gestures. This sociological theory is a micro approach because it is based on encounters on a personal level. The reason it applies to society on a macro scale is that the agreement of the meaning of symbols and gestures is what holds society together. The recognition of these symbols and gestures facilitates interaction and organization because they are widely established as having a specific meaning.
Interactionism relates to this specific norm because mostly everything in the Honda modifying scene is based on symbols in the form of brand name parts. Take wheels, for example. Wheels are an important part of the car and often are said to “make or break the car.” A car with expensive wheels made of forged metal like Volk (often retailing at $1,000 or more for four wheels without tires) is much more respected than a car with cheap knockoff wheels like Rota (retailing as low as $445 without tires). Given the Volk wheel is made of higher quality material, the name itself is a symbol of high status, as with many other products. The same goes for rare JDM Honda parts. Interactionism is what brings Honda enthusiasts together; without the shared knowledge of symbols (parts) and their meanings (status), there would be no established norms in the sub-culture.
This norm is fairly strong among Honda enthusiast. There are often multiple cars that look similar, with the main difference being the wheels. Everyone generally purchases the same parts because of the status they give the car. Since the number of parts that fit the category of “JDM” is relatively small, there is often no choice but to buy the same part as another Honda, leaving little room for creativity.
The main exception to this homogeny is the wheels, since there is a broader selection of companies that offer many different kinds of wheels. In the import scene, wheels often show off the driver’s personality and, as previously stated, their status. Although certain wheels become popular and often get “played out” or too common, most enthusiasts can find a set of wheels that are unique and not seen on many other cars. Therefore, I intend to break the social norm by painting my wheels an obscure color or design.
My hypothesis of the reaction to breaking this social norm is that since the design painted on the wheels will be outside the standard deviation of conformity, most people will dislike the modification and tell me to stick with what is considered normal wheels. Although, I speculate that some people will like it because it is not often that people come up with original ideas for modifications to their Hondas. Some people may be tired of seeing the same cars over and over again. Basically, it is often either hit or miss with creative, new ideas.
I intend to paint my wheels with a pattern trademarked by Burberry, which is “an internationally recognized luxury brand with a worldwide distribution network.” It is based in London and was established in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England in 1856. The particular brown, black, white, and red plaid pattern I intend to use was introduced in the 1920’s as a lining of the already popular Burberry trench coat. Since then it has become a status symbol of the highly cultured and affluent both among young and old American girls and women as well as in Europe and all around the globe. Burberry has no connection with the Honda tuning scene, but other expensive fashion companies such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton designs have been used in the interior of exotic show cars.
I had hoped to bring the car to a Honda meet with the wheels painted to observe people’s reactions, but due to an emergency technical problem I was not able to get the car running in time. Instead, I took pictures of the wheels and posted them on Honda internet forums to which I belong. I posted the pictures on five different forums to get a broad range of responses. I decided not to tell them it was a sociology project until after twenty-four hours (in which most of the replies were anyways) to get their true thoughts.
People post pictures of their cars on these forums everyday so I felt that it was not much different than bringing the car to a meet. The responses may even be more truthful than personal encounters because the members may not hold anything back like they would in face to face encounters due to courtesy.
I got many responses about the wheels and, as I suspected, the general reaction was that of dislike. Some people appreciated the effort I took to paint them and respected me for being different but responses were generally negative. Others disliked it and thought that since I painted the steel wheel that comes with the car from the dealer, it was less appealing and that I should have painted a more expensive aftermarket (non-Original Equipment Manufacturer) wheel, although I doubt their responses would be much different.
Since most of the members of these online forums are male I tried to get some more female feedback. The first feedback I received was from my sister and her two friends, who saw two of the finished wheels while I was still painting the others. Their responses were positive. Two other things I did to get feedback from females were to post on an online forum called Honda-Girls.com and to post the wheels on Facebook.com. However, since Honda-Girls.com does not have many members, I got a limited number of replies.
The replies on Facebook.com may have been more biased, because those who replied were my friends and may have not told me their true thoughts. Four of my female friends saw the wheels on Facebook.com and all liked them. Their replies included, “Made my day” and “So cute.” Four of my male friends commented on them, mostly thinking they were a funny joke because I was bored. Most of these friends are also into cars and joked, “Kills me and Justin’s wheels.” Both of their sets of wheels cost around $600 and $1,000 respectively. Another friend said he could not stop laughing since he saw them, and another reply had a heavily sarcastic undertone, “They look even better in person.”
I tallied the replies from the different online forums in this table:
(first number is Liked, 2nd is Disliked/Wrong wheel choice, 3rd is commended for effort or for being different)
Superhonda.com 1 5 7
VAdriven.com 3 19 16
Club Civic . com 13 14 18
H-T.com 7 77 19
Honda-Girls.com 0 3 3
It was interesting to get so many different replies. Most notably, most of the replies from people that liked the Burberry wheels were tied in with social status and directly related to attracting women, an effect I overlooked. One reply read, “Take that car to a sorority party and you’ll be golden.” Humorous tone aside, this response highlights the fact that although most Honda enthusiasts disliked the wheels does not mean that other social groups will share the same feelings. Once the car is running, I will be interested in possibly conducting follow-up research regarding reactions from non-automotive enthusiast, perhaps even the sorority scene, of which a majority of its members are known for their idolization of products from fashion giants such as Burberry, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, et cetera. One Honda enthusiast who claimed to work for Burberry wrote that the wheels “looked dumb but I like dumb.”
Other comments along the line of status position included comments like “pimp,” “ghetto fab’,” and “baller,” all of which are slang terms idolizing ghetto culture and often referring to people of high social status, wealth, and ability to attract women. These comments are usually positive but could have been sarcastically intended.
