The Art of Conformity

The Art Of Conformity, By Yasmina Ibrahim

As you walk down the street, take a look around you. Certainly note the differences of all the faces you encounter, but more importantly, notice the similarities. Observe everyone’s actions, words, even the way they “look.” You’ll find that there seems to be very minimal distinction in your observations. Why is that you may wonder? The answer is simple. It’s called living in a compliant society, where spotting a nonconformist is like spotting a celebrity. That’s what conformity does to you, it eats you up, breaks you down, until you’re well suited to be molded to look like everyone else. It seems to me that as the generations go on and the world population grows, conformity tends to spread much quicker, and also, much farther.

Perhaps it’s because society’s standards have become so fixed lately, that people feel the need to adhere to every single little thing. Say for example, the media’s perception of beauty. It’s quite obvious that the majority of people are not born looking like supermodels. In fact, many of those familiar faces on the runway have had to go under the knife to achieve the industry’s desired appearance. As the eyewitness of such a situation, I laugh at the stupidity of the sly tactics that the media uses to plant these ideas into their heads. But, in reality this can be seen all around us on a daily basis.

New York is known for combining and bringing together all the vast cultures of the world. Living here all my life, I have had the opportunity to explore all these different backgrounds, thus contributing to my development as an open-minded person. The diversity of my setting showed me the importance of acceptance. With such a broad range of minds, one is bound to learn the value of talent, originality, as well as inspiration. So then, despite our differences, why is it that we try so hard to be the same in many ways?

In Junior High School I was with the same people for a solid two years, and for some – three years. The sixth grade was weird. Everybody was busy trying to figure out everyone else. Then came seventh grade, which is when a lot of us began bonding. However, eighth grade was when we considered ourselves almost like a family. The thing is, everyone was just so different in that class. We had a little bit of everything – East Asian, Hispanic, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Italian, Russian, Irish etc. Point is, we were all so culturally diverse, yet we bonded so perfectly. The teachers loved us because of the great chemistry that flowed between us. We cracked jokes about each other’s races, but deep down we had mutual respect for one another. Looking back at it now, because of our differences we each made a unique contribution and wonderful addition which made our class so special. I honestly can’t imagine it without any one of them. When we graduated, we left behind a memorable legacy that has not yet been forgotten. We still reunite and visit our old school whenever we can, and I’m truly grateful to be a part of something so rare.

You may be wondering why I just gave this little scenario. Does it have anything to do with our main idea here? Actually, yes it does. You see, my peers and I never wanted to be alike, we were attracted to each other by our differences, and we did not want to change that. Sure, we had a few followers, but that absolutely did not clash with the quality of our relationships. When I went back to visit the school, and after doing so a few times, I began noticing a few things. The new group of eighth graders who were supposedly taking our places were nothing like us. I’m not saying they were better or worse. All I’m saying was that they were different from us – but not from themselves. It was there that I saw such a strong sense of conformity. There were a few kids who seemed as if they were the “leaders” of the school and expected those around them to follow. As expected, many people did just that. From what I’ve heard, it takes forever to get these kids to work, and actually like what they’re doing. Of course, this doesn’t pertain to every single child in that graduating class, but I am speaking towards the majority of them. According to my former English teacher, these kids lacked the creativity that we had. This is were the idea of conformity comes into play.

We interacted with each other based on our distinct ideas. No one was really looking to be like anyone else. Therefore, we were able to further learn new things everyday based on everyone’s own creativity. Because we each paved our own paths, we developed our own ways of thinking. However, the class of eighth graders that succeeded us did not create their own paths, but rather decided to take a run down a path already made by someone else. John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” The more we know, the more we grow. It sounds like something we would hear teachers telling us in the first grade, but it’s true. So the better we become acquainted with ourselves, the more we grow as individuals. These kids did not allow themselves to grow because they confined their minds to the methods and conceptions of others rather than digging to come up with their own ideas.

The last time I visited the school, my friend Jessica came along. She also had been in our class for two years and noticed the same things I did about the new eighth graders. When I asked her why she thought things were so much different she said “It differs between the classes because in our old eighth class everyone had a unique personality, but that’s what brought us together. Everything blended almost perfectly despite the few kinks.This year’s eighth graders were led by an idea which they all followed. Many of them were followers and they blended perfectly in that way. I guess conformity can be a positive as well as a negative thing.”

The concept of conformity is much broader than one can possibly imagine. There are supposedly four different branches, but in one way or another, they are all connected. The first type is known as normative conformity. This branch suggests that one will give in to group pressure due to the desire to fit in and be accepted by those around them. This can be a result of the fear of rejection. As human beings, the feeling of rejection can be a major cause for emotional breakdowns and can allow the mind to go into depression. The next branch is called informational conformity. Here, a person will conform to a particular group’s ideas because they themselves lack knowledge and will look to that group for the assumption of being led in the right direction. In actuality, they are merely following that group of people and they are not being educated as they think, but rather they are limiting themselves to their thoughts without really going further to uncover the truth behind them. Compliance, the third type of conformity is perhaps the most common among society. It is expressed by a change in behavior just to satisfy the requirements of a specific group while secretly disagreeing with their actions, morals, etc. Internalization is the exact opposite. It’s when you alter your personality and change your behavior while being fully convinced that the crowd you are following is acceptable.

Conforming to the majority is a well known phase that many adolescents go through. One can not change them all at once, but if we can show a handful the importance of embracing their individuality, they in turn will pass that on to a few more people and so the cycle will continue. When you go deeper into the concept, you’ll realize that it’s not an entirely negative thing. There needs to be certain qualities and ideas that bring society together, but there also needs to be a sense of originality flowing through society so that we can each contribute something discrete thus leading to the greater benefit.