EOTO 2 Blog Post #9

 Subject: Overton Window

Implications

The Overton window is a scale that deems government policies as acceptable or unacceptable and radical. This window helps gauge what ideas, perspectives, and views society deems as favorable and acceptable in any given time. It plays a huge role in shaping societal norms, beliefs, and even laws. This window helps politicians make decisions in what polices and ideas they either support or don’t. Politicians follow what society deems as favorable ideas through this window to reduce the risk of losing electoral support because ideas outside of the Overton window are unfavorable to society so the Overton window is a great guide to embrace ideas or not. This window shows why and how ideas, views, and perspectives change over time. 

How this affects society?

The Overton window has a lot of affect on the decisions, ideas, perspectives, and norms society makes and supports because the majority of people support whatever ideas, perspectives, and beliefs are within the Overton window at that particular time because if it’s outside the window, it’s often dismissed as too radical or unthinkable. The Overton window helps define the limits of mainstream thought and whoever moves it has the power to reshape society. The window shapes public opinion because media, influencers, and public figures help expand, grow or change the window by exposing people to different ideas, beliefs, and perspectives. Over time, ideas that were once unacceptable can be normalized and vice versa because people’s opinions are constantly changing. For example, same-sex marriage was illegal in the state of Califronia in 2008 until 2013 when laws were passed throughout the country to make same-sex marriage legal as media, influencers and other people made it increasingly popular to support same-sex marriage which ultimately influenced the decision for the majority of states across the country to deem the idea of sex-same marriage acceptable too. Other examples of ideas and laws changing because the Overton window grew and expanded was the prohibition laws, voting rights for women, etc. The Overton window also affects and alters social behavior. What’s polite or offensive changes. For example, jokes that made fun of race or gender was common in the early 2000s, however, those jokes are deemed unacceptable in today’s society because the Overton window has shifted in the last 20 years to deem those ideas as radical. The window also shapes how people talk as individuals may start using different slang and language to stay within what’s accepted in society or else an individual might be “canceled” by society if an individual says things outside the current window. 

How this affects me and my generation?

The Overton window affects me and my generation a lot because it really shapes how we are “supposed” to think or believe. It forces me and my generation to stay within a certain window and not step outside of the window in expressing thoughts, opinions and ideas that we support but society doesn’t because we live in a cancel culture due to social media that is quick to “cancel” somebody if someone disagrees with the ideas, beliefs, and perspectives that society deems as right. It makes it hard for us to feel like we have an opinion, voice, or belief without receiving backlash from individuals because our opinion, belief, and ideas fall outside of the Overton window.