-Mom
-Relationships
-Submissive
-Pretty
-Slim/Small
-Sensitive/Emotioal
*Any woman acting outside of these characteristics will be labeled a whore, a bitch, or a slut.
-Powerful
-Sports
-Tough
-Strong
-Protective
-Aggressive
-Big
-Dominant
*Any man acting outside of these characteristics will be labeled gay, homo, or wimpy.
During Sociology class on Thursday, we wrote down society's perceived characteristics of both women and men. It was interesting to see how society has formed both genders as a result of telling them how they should act and what they should and should not like. This starts from a young age, as we saw from the in-class activity that we did throughout Tuesday and Wednesday in the computer lab in which we completed activities that showed us society's skewed perception of the world and the people that make it up. It was scary to think that the messages of being pretty and submissive to men are taught to girls at such a young age through Disney movies! The media should be trying to make a positive impact on young girls to establish their self confidence from early on and not to tear them down and make them think that they are inferior to men and that this is the way society should be.
However, men don't get off the hook that easily either. The princes in the Disney movies also teach them the views of society and their role in that society. Most all of the princes teach boys that it is important to be rich and good looking in order to succeed in society. It disgusted me to think that this is what children have been seeing for many years and that they have probably internalized what they have watched.
Boys and girls are taught different things from a young age because of their sex, or physiological make-up. However, their gender takes on a whole different meaning. Gender, as we explained in sociology class, is how we identify ourselves as learned from the society around us. Most girls learn to act like society's perception of how a girl should act because they are expected to do so and are raised in this fashion. Thus is so with the Fafafini, the third gender in Samoa. Fafafini are men raised as girls by their family, but are acknowledged as their own gender. In our society in the United States, most people would consider the relationship that the Fafafini have with other men to be homosexual. However, the Fafafini are not considered gay because they have taken on the gender as a woman, and therefore like men. I thought that it was interesting, and almost sad, that if there aren't enough women to do chores that a family will raise a boy as a Fafafini. It seems like the boys are not given a choice and do not fully understand who they are until they are older.
Fafafini
We act the way that we do because of the influences of those around us on ourselves. From the honors article that we read, "Durkheim observed that human beings experience society's influence as a force outside of themselves that constrains their behavior." Muzafer Sherif took things a step further and identified that there is a "personal norm" present in every human being. This means that "the individual comes to perceive the situation in line with the views of others, and is frequently unaware that he has been influenced." I thought that this was interesting because if you think about it, there is no true-self since we are a compilation of all our past experiences and choices. I thought that the video below was interesting because it presents some characteristics of the "typical" person on the earth, as aided by society.
To again reference Cooley's "Looking Glass Self", people "imagine themselves as others must see them." I know that girls in particular are so engrossed in their image and how other people perceive them that they will go to the extreme to make their bodies perfect. During the internet activity that we did in class, we got to see before and after shots of women who had been photo-shopped for billboards or magazines. One video that really made my jaw drop was the Dove Evolution commercial. I think that it is so great that Dove is trying to make people aware that our view of beauty is distorted and that what we see on the billboards isn't always what is really there. I have posted the video below for blog readers to watch. I know that from personal experience, I have always tried to achieve the body type of the girls that I see on the cover of my magazines because that is what society has taught me is attractive. I've started to notice how my environment truly does affect how I look because over time I have been evolving in terms of what I care about with my body. For example, over time girls begin to wear more and more makeup because they constantly see that "this mascara will make your lashes look longer" or "this concealer will take away any blemishes that you have." I've realized that even in the past year I have started to wear more makeup because it makes me look older and cleaner. However, I am still comfortable going out in public in sweatpants and a sweatshirt without any makeup on during the weekends fortunately!
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