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SEVEN

WHAT IS NORMAL?

What is normal? It's time to question what we consider normal. Since 2020, the phrase new normal has often been used, but what does this mean, and what truly is normal? To start overstanding the system, let's explore not just what is normal to you but what most others around you and society at large consider normal.

Normal is a concept that seems straightforward but is profoundly complex to define. We're so immersed in what's deemed "normal" that identifying it often feels instinctive. Rarely do we question the norms we've internalized; they're simply part of us. Yet, have you paused to consider the evidence or reasoning behind these societal norms? While some question them, many accept them without thought. Our perceptions of "normal" are largely shaped by social conditioning – reinforced by family, education, and media.

Societal norms aren't fixed; they're not determined by collective agreement. Rather, they are traditions handed down, rarely questioned until societal shifts challenge them.

Consider past "normals" around gender and identity. It was once unquestioned to refer to newborns by their biological sex or to call a woman who gave birth a mother. These definitions have recently been challenged, with terms like birthing person replacing mother on some birth certificates, without public consensus.

The concept of “normal” changes, impacting everything from fashion to dietary preferences, and more significantly, language and gender classification. The shifts of this decade are and will be groundbreaking. 

The system conditions us to see these norms as beneficial when they primarily serve the system's interests. When the system dictates a change in what's considered "normal," it's rapidly adopted through repeated messaging, in contrast to changes initiated by the people, which can take decades of struggle to be recognized. For example, women's fight for rights to education and voting took centuries to overcome.

Today, we're conditioned to pursue a predefined path of education, career, and family life, often without questioning if these goals align with our desires. History shows that breaking free from these systemic expectations is rare but not impossible. The system, however, strives to maintain a "normality" that it has decided, making us resist transformative changes that could alter the course it has set for us.

Change initiated by the populace is neither quick nor easy, marked by resistance and discomfort, highlighting the system's inherent resistance to deviation from its agenda of established norms.

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