social mores
Society's unwritten rules
Social mores are the unwritten rules and customs that govern behavior within a community—what's considered acceptable, proper, or taboo.
Unlike formal laws, mores are enforced through social pressure: approval, disapproval, inclusion, ostracism.
The social mores of Victorian England restricted public displays of affection.
Mores shift across cultures and generations; what scandalized one era may be unremarkable in the next.
- etiquetteRules of polite conduct
- good mannersSocially acceptable conduct
- conformityAdherence to norms
- decorumFitting social conduct
- community standardsCollective rules for conduct
proper etiquette · societal expectations · shame · saving face · gossip · tradition · convention · euphemism · politeness · ostracism · propriety · unwritten rules · polite society · hierarchy · old boys club · peer pressure · fitting in · societal roles
- etiquettemanners, politeness, etiquette, table manners, courtesy
- Victorian etiquettecalling hours, visiting cards, chaperoning, propriety, decorum
- sexualitysexual orientation, sexual behavior, erotica, sexual identity, bisexual
social moreslaws
Enforceable societal rules
statutes · legislation · legal code · legal codes · criminal law
social morespersonal choice
individual autonomy · personal freedom · self-determination · individual conscience · personal autonomy
social morestaboo
Cultural or social prohibition
transgression · impropriety · indecency · unconventionality · bohemianism