Is there any such thing as 'NORMAL'?
@jewelenterprises (1996)
Australia
April 23, 2012 3:31am CST
I've often wondered what other people's perception on the topic of whether there is really any such thing as normal.
For myself, I don't really believe there is any such thing as normal... at least not in the sense that it gets used in the sense of normal is good and abnormal is bad (or even evil).
To me, if it is included within the scope of human experience, even if it is uncommon or unusual then it is still normal.
Thousands of years ago, children with blue eyes were killed because they were considered to be demons because the vast majority of children were brown eyed.
Although we can laugh about such stupidity now, there are still instances in which we perpetrate the same type of ignorant prejudices.
For example, a friend of mine adopted a little girl from India. Her Yugoslavian mother in law was horrified because in her mind "Black babies don't have brains!" And she meant literally too... like the skull would be empty. Imagine her shock when young Rebekah excelled with her schooling... Whoops there goes an uneducated opinion! Thank goodness for that!
And we do the same thing with homosexuals... only many people label it as EVIL. When you consider that statistically, approximately 11% of the overall population is homosexual it's certainly not rare. Can it therefore be considered abnormal? Especially considering that the weight of scientific evidence now supports a genetic source for homosexuality. Not all homosexuals would be genetically homosexual however. Some would be psychologically because they were sexually abused or whatever.
Even rare illnesses couldn't really be called abnormal simply because they exist... if it were abnormal then it couldn't exist!
I think the main problem is that we use the term 'normal' so exclusively when we are all so very different.
What do you think? Is there really any such thing as normal? Or is it merely a perception that we have?
Look forward to hearing your opionions 
6 responses
@jewelenterprises (1996)
• Australia
24 Apr 12
Exactly Suebee... of course, it depends very much what is implied when we think something is abnormal. Is it regrettable, inferior, evil, substandard, second class or is it just unusual?
It's a problem when it becomes a derogatory thing.
I think if we used the term in a way that didn't imply inferiority it wouldn't be so bad.
@Suebee (2013)
• Canada
24 Apr 12
Probably for most, normal is a word used to describe the common place, whatever is considered acceptable by the majority of people in their society or circle. Normal is such a relative term and of course, as with any other word, there are synonyms that could be used in it's place. (average, ordinary, common, routine). I suppose it really depends in what context you are using the word. For example someone having a normal workday would mean that nothing unusual or out of the ordinary happened for them at work that day--they did their routine tasks, went to routine meetings or whatever. However, if you say someone had a "normal childhood" that could mean just about anything as what is "normal" for one child may be extraordinary, outrageous, bizarre, boring etc for another.
@shrinithi18 (548)
• India
23 Apr 12
I'm abnormal when i go to another country because those people have another way of living-the habitat,and i have something else way.
I have black hair, people somewhere else, i mean in some other country would have blonde hair, so i'm abnormal there!They're abnormal here.Fat people are abnormal.Blue eyed are abnormal.Male voiced female are abnormal.Black in Australia are abnormal..We could says lots here.But there's nothing called abnormal.It's people way of describing them abnormal-when they are entirely different from them-the way they live,they are considered abnormal.In my view,there's nothing abnormal in world.Just because nature wanted me to be unique,or god for that sake,i'm unique.
If someone goes on telling me i am abnormal, then my next question would be, what is your care in it?How so ever i am, no worries on you!You're not going to keep me and serve me the whole life after all,so why talk? Better close and run away.That's it.I would never agree with the abnormal thingy.It's just perception-people's way of thinking.Things are like that, so they see different people and think differently.That's it.No context of being abnormal.Even a baby born with 6 legs(yeah,hope you have known about it-In Pakistan-Karachi there was a baby born with about 6 legs and it was there in yahoo!news all day long) is not considered abnormal by me.Maybe a way of being UNIQUE-is being considered abnormal by too many of them.In that case,i would say, a unique way of being normal makes sense as abnormal to most people and that's how they came to know about the abnormal!
Or perhaps,they thought, every word has an opposite,so would normal have? (WINKS)
That was a very good discussion and i loved sharing my opinion, though you could find must of the sentences alike,yet i meant the very same and wanted to stress it.Atleast that's going to be my way of explaining things.Like a dull tape recorder telling the same for 10 times.But i anted to stress, Unique was considered abmormal by many many many!
Good luck!
@jewelenterprises (1996)
• Australia
23 Apr 12
LOL... you bandy that dreadful word 'abnormal' around a lot :) To me the word hints at second class, substandard etc and that's why I have an issue with it. Because it gets used to belittle people.
I get that 'normal' must have an opposite. Just that I don't believe that they are absolute concepts and that's basically what they've become.
@mensab (4200)
• Philippines
23 Apr 12
this is a good discussion. your discussion apparently touched only one side of abnormality of things. rarity is one aspect of abnormality. the illogical existence is also one. for example, a person with three feet or three eyes is considered abnormal. in this case, not only sub-normal (with less than normal) but also over-normal (with more than normal) is treated as abnormal.
@jewelenterprises (1996)
• Australia
23 Apr 12
You're right... the term 'abnormal' is used to apply to anything unusual that we don't understand.
@Mashnn (4501)
•
23 Apr 12
I think the word abnormal is applicable if we look at it on cultural perspective. If 99% of members from one culture/community accept that something is out of the ordinary, then they would probably call it abnormal. For an example, you will probably have no problem watching a man wearing a lip stick and wearing a woman dress but if such person was spotted in some other very conservative countries, people would most likely disown him or keep off from him.
@jewelenterprises (1996)
• Australia
23 Apr 12
So you believe that as humans we get to decide what is normal and abnormal? In which case you are actually agreeing with me that 'normal' is a human perception rather than an actual fact.
But from the way you've said it here, it's also a social standard.
And you're right... it wouldn't bother me to see a man wearing lipstick and women's clothing. But it is still an oddity. Just that I wouldn't think less of the person doing it.
I guess the problem comes when people use their concept of normal as an excuse for hate, judgement and the belittling of people who are different.
@beloved39 (66)
•
24 Apr 12
There is a subtle difference between normal and abnormal. Take for instance a guy earns $10 here in a week or a fortnight. It's normal whereas a guy earning $10,000 in a week or month is abnormal.
If a chap can eat a full chicken in one meal it is above normal, but if he can eat four or five chicken it sure is abnormal. Secondly, there is what is called para-normal. It is about ghosts, demons, vampires which are not normal. Many do not believe in this. Yet, some people claim to have seen ghosts. This is what I call para-normal. The rest is all normal.
@jewelenterprises (1996)
• Australia
24 Apr 12
Yes, but is it abnormal... or is it unusual?
In your culture. Does the term 'abnormal' imply inferior?
@angiejoanna (17)
• Uganda
23 Apr 12
I think becoming changing your gender to female or male is not normal,to me this is what I would call abnormal. There certain things that are normal, for example if you failed to cover yourself on a cold day and got sick, that is is normal because yo9u simply neglected yourself.
There are certain things that are normal like going to sleep and eating meals. It depends on what you think is abnormal and normal but the fact is certain things are just normal and are part of life.
@jewelenterprises (1996)
• Australia
23 Apr 12
Yes, but in a case like you describe, the choice is made by a person whose psyche doesn't match their physical gender. Regardless of whether that is a genetic or psychological glitch is beside the point. The point is that the difference exists.
The question is whether we have the right to label that person as abnormal and tell them how to live their life.
