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  • Essay / Norms and values: the invisible social regulators

    In another world, I could find a way to not wear a shirt in certain situations. Even though it's not illegal, people in our society will still ask you to put on a shirt. I walked around Burns Hall in my Nike fleece jacket but no shirt. Most people asked me where my shirt was, others asked me to put a shirt on. A few girls didn't mind that I didn't have a shirt on. Later that evening, I want to go to Papa John's and meet up with my friends, Christina and Brianna. Christina looked at my shirtless torso and asked me to go back to the bedroom and put on a shirt. Brianna, on the other hand, didn't care as much as some of those other girls. She even went so far as to poke my abs several times, which made me think about what some consider to be standards that differ from individual to individual. Mass media greatly shapes the way our generation perceives certain aspects of our lives. There are many commercials and advertisements showing shirtless guys. It's not a big deal until a woman is shown half-dressed. With the exposure of advertisements, including men without shirts, sometimes without pants or just in underwear, fathers are becoming more concerned that their daughters are more likely to engage in malicious behavior. Most fathers are overly protective of their daughters, which is completely understandable, but the media isn't helping worried fathers.