final thoughts

Sociology has taught me a lot of things about what goes on around me and how I am influenced by my surroundings.  I have developed some sort of 'sociological imagination' as this class has continued throughout the semester.  I do look at the world around me in a different light and look at people differently now.  I try to see people for who they are and not for what class they are from or what race they are.  I also can tell more obviously how a society influences how a person behaves, thinks and interacts with people.  For example, when I visited my college in Florida, I noticed that the people from there act differently than what I am used to.  The town my school is in much more affluent than Barrington, and the only thing the people there were concerned about was themselves rather than others, while here there is more of a sense of community and helping each other.  I would have liked to have talked a little more about gender issues in our society, because they are very prevalent.  It frustrates me to see how our society, more so the men, still treat women and still act with a slight air of superiority, and that women really have little ways to defend and stand up for themselves.  This class really has taught me to look at society in a different way and to appreciate the people around me more. 

Race

A person’s race can be interpreted in many different ways, both positive and negative.  There is a difference between a sociological definition of race and a biological definition of race. A sociological definition of race has to do with how people and a society perceive a certain race and people of that race, and what traits are associated with that race.  A biological definition of race is what the genetic and biologically derived within the person, or what they were born with, not what they acquired as a result of the society around them.  The IAT helps to show how subconsciously racist we really are. This type of racism isn't necessarily a terrible thing to have, the test just shows how the society we live in and the people around us truly influence our beliefs and how we view other people.  During the test we are not trying to seem racist, we are just clicking buttons, but in reality we are being tested on what type of race we prefer compared to another.  In a society generally dominated by one race, subconsciously we are going to prefer the race we are a part of, only because our society teaches us to be that way.  I do believe that this test is accomplishing measuring what it is attempting to measure because it is testing our subconscious mind and what we automatically prefer. 

            I did believe that African Americans were biologically superior athletes, only because I am an athlete myself and I see first hand how easy sports and certain components of sports come to them.  I still do believe that African Americans have a slight edge in certain sports because they possess certain traits that are a better fit to that kind of sport then other races, but I don't believe them to be completely dominate in sports.  Just because they are African American or possess certain better traits doesn't make them automatically better at sports than another person of a different race.  There are many other aspects to sports that makes a player great, including leadership, determination, hard work and mental ability.

Class

Social class stereotypes and status symbols are everywhere around us, and are something that Americans place a great deal of value into.  We associate people’s property and how they look directly to what social class they should or do belong to.  It can be easy to obtain these things that seem to elevate your social class, but in reality, being a part of a class is a lot more than just having certain things.  As seen in the movie in class, some people try to fake being in a higher social class than they are, or are trying to move up a class but simply do not have the means of doing so.  There are many social cues and underlying cultural differences that each class contain, and it may take a person a very long time to figure all of these out and learn to use them properly.  People of lower class status tend to be more family oriented and able to maintain close relationships, while people of higher class tend to be more independent and distant from people so they can form and break relationships easier in order to keep and attain the level of success they desire.  Social class is not something most people like to discuss or like to classify themselves by, but it is very prevelent in our society today.

perfection

In our society today, everywhere we look there are advertisements for products to ‘make you look younger’, ‘get you in shape’, give you that body you’ve “always desired”.  Because our society has become so technologically advanced and dependent on the technology, kids are being introduced to these ads and images from a very young age.  I think that right now in our society there is a growing number of people, especially teenagers and girls, that have self esteem and self confidence problems.  All these images being put out there by companies to advertise their products that purposely make the consumers and public feel bad about them themselves and inadequate so that the consumers feel like they need the product to make themselves acceptable to society are all a part of the problem that is lowering self esteem.  I feel that women have always been objectified to a certain extent by men and now the media, and these images are starting to make things even worse.  Companies use women and their bodies to sell almost everything.  ‘Beautiful’ and ‘perfect’ women are used to make products more appealing or to make consumers think that they can look like that if they use the products.  In reality, it is almost physically impossible to look like the people in the ads. 

With our technology, photo shopping the models make them appear near perfect and very appealing to society.  Perfect does not physically exist in our society as humans.  It is only something that we imagine and desire but can never achieve. 

our developing "selves"

In our society, we are predisposed virtually at birth to be concerned with what others think about you.  We are told from a very young age to act a certain way, talk a certain way, and interact with others a certain way in order to fit with the flow of society.  Our “true” self is built up through our experiences and knowledge that we gain throughout our lives.  As children, it is not easy to know what kind of person you want to be right away.  Kids tend to experiment with different personas and act in different ways, almost as if they were “trying on” different selves.  Now in our society it is even easier for kids to try on these different selves with the aid of all the technology available.  It is easy to create different or even multiple personalities online that aren’t really what these kids are in real life.  The self is almost allowed to develop faster because it is so easy for kids to try many different personalities and selves that they can find the one that fits them the best faster.  I think many adults are very skeptical about the use of technology and how it is becoming so prevalent in the everyday lives of kids.  But I hope they are able to realize that no where in the near future will technology not be available and not be constantly advancing, so it is to the kids benefits to be able to get accustomed to the technology and use it to their advantage.  I have even noticed from my time in middle school when technology was first starting to become very prevalent to now all the changes in kids and society due to the technology.  For example, when I was in middle school, we would AIM each other, but we didn’t have cell phones or social networking sites to also be in contact with each other. It was hard to get to know kids outside of your classes at school because you weren’t able to communicate with them easily. Now, my little brother is in 6^th grade, and with all the advances in technology, it is super easy for him to be friends with and keep in touch with almost everyone in his grade and that he used to be friends with.  Now the middle school students use SKYPE, which they can also videochat with, and text on their phones. I have noticed that my brother and most of his friends are much more confident than I ever remember anyone being when I was in middle school.  I think this shows the changes being made to kids and society by technology, and that they are able to find their “selves” faster and easier.

human rights

                The Purse of Hope presentation really encompassed what our society values compared to other societies.  The human trafficking going on in these foreign countries is huge and definitely not uncommon, whereas human trafficking in our society would be unheard of.  For many of the girls involved in this dangerous lifestyle, this is the only means of survival for them.  Our society values human rights and dignity and that everyone has a right to control their own body and life.  In these other cultures where human trafficking is uncommon, their values are obviously a whole lot different than ours.  With AIDS plaguing the people there as well, the value of life has declined greatly and the only thing the people really care about is whether or not they are going to get their next meal, not what might be in store for them in the long haul.  It was interesting to learn how the males in these countries are really nothing like the men in our culture, and that the men there don’t really have any respect for the women or the women’s lives.  It really is astonishing to see how many cultural differences there are between our culture and these other country’s cultures.  The values are almost completely on opposite ends of the spectrum, with our culture putting great worth in human life and rights, while theirs is merely based on getting another meal and not really caring what happens to them in order to get it.

you're weird...

Our value and norms in our society are unlike those in any other society.  Americans value money and individualism more than anything.  There is a wide variety of norms and values in our culture and society, mainly because of the huge diversity of the people that live here.  The things we value and normal day to day activities that we don’t even think twice about may be totally frowned about elsewhere.  Asking someone “How are you?” in Europe would lead to a ten minute conversation about how their day actually was, whereas in America, it is just a common thing that people don’t actually mean.  Also, it is considered extremely rude in other countries to end a conversation because you have to be somewhere on time, because there really is no sense of time there. 

                In class, we discussed the different values of our culture that are looked down upon.  Folkways, misdemeanors, taboos and felonies are all different levels of breaking the social norm.  Things like interracial dating and marriage, insulting a dead person, and using certain language in public are all things that most people in this society do not agree with.  The ways people interact with each other in this society and how they view others is all based on their opinions and if the people follow the social norms and values or not.  If a person dresses or acts not according to the norms, people tend to stay away from them and try not to associate themselves with them so they don’t look like they’re not following the norms either.