Tough Guise

Tough Guise

Today we watched a video about how our society socializes boys in a narrow 

and limited way. That video is called "Tough Guise". In other words, the disguise

 to seem tough that guys put on. Watch Tough Guise 2 on mediacast by clicking here. 

 Please read the article I assigned by Kimmel and Mahler related to this.
The documentary has a few important parts.  First, is the idea that men are at risk 

because masculinity is a social construction that says violence, anger and toughness

 are the only okay emotions or reactions for males.  When violence occurs in society, 

the media and society ignore the masculine element.  They just assume that it is natural.
However, the connection between masculinity and violence  has only been around 

since society changed from an agricultural patriarchy to a modern more egalitarian society. 

 As our society changed to be more urban and more equal, men have been taught to

 fear women and fear the changes.  These changes helped to popularize the Western 

movies and shows that have only been around the last 75 years or so.
Along with the change of society came changes in acceptance of women as equal and 

changes in gay rights.  Fear of the changes in society is filtered throughout society 

via politics and media.  Guns are a symptom of the fear of the changes. There is a

 siege mentality that promotes rugged individualism and gun ownership as a way

 of fighting back both literally and figuratively.  Guys today are taught that violence

 is the only way to be really considered a man and to hold onto their manhood.
This includes denigrating anything that is female or gay.  This creates a dangerous 

anti-woman attitude.
He ends with the idea that we can all make little changes in how we talk and act and 

think. We can support movies that show honest portrayals of guys and movies that help 

broaden the box that guys fit into.  

Gender Post 7

For this post, we have explored how socialization affects males and females and how something like gender can be so taken-for-granted.  In our culture there is a polarization of what it means to be female and male and heterosexual and lesbian or gay.  Our culture pushes individuals to opposite ends of a spectrum.  For this post, use examples from your own experience to show how our society socializes men and women into narrow boxes.  Explain how masculinity and femininity are a social construction.  How do the agents of socialization play a role in your experiences?  To demonstrate literacy, feel free to comment on the myriad sources we looked at for femininity (the research and videos on my blog)  and the  movies, Gender Revolution (National Geographic show) Tough Guise2 (Documentary), Like a Girl commercial, and the LBGT panel discussion.  YOU MUST DISCUSS THE KIMMEL READING FOR FULL POINTS.

DUE MARCH 1st

Boxed in Gender

As you enter, answer this question in as many ways as you can (brainstorm):
 

How would your life be different if you were born a different sex?




     Gender is one of the social constructs we learn from an early age and we often take it for granted. Nearly everyone is born biologically with a sex (that is male or female) and a sexuality (that is a sexual attraction such as heterosexual or homosexual). Most researchers who study people such as doctors, biologists, psychologists, sociologists will say that all of the research shows that people are born with their sex and sexuality. These are part of our biological makeup, our nature.

      However, gender is learned. Gender is how you react to your sex and sexuality. Think about how you answered that question at the top of this post.  Most of the ways your life would have been different are examples of treating people different based on their sex (and sexuality).  This constructs a certain way of being.  So, for example, if I am a heterosexual male, how should I act? What colors should I like?  What clothes should I wear?  How should I talk?   What sports should I play?  Is it okay for me to cry?  To be rough?  To like violence?   To be sensitive? And so on...These are all our gender and they are all learned reactions.  

Sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity is all fluid on a continuum:

                                                                                    1       2      3       4       5      6      7      8      9          

Sex (biological; physical body, chemical makeup) Male                      intersex                        Female

Sexual Orientation (attraction)                              Hetero                   Bisexual               Lesbian or Gay

Gender (expectations about how to act)              Masculine          Neutral/Queer/Fluid         Feminine
Gender Identity
         
Here is a terrific program about gender from National Geographic.

       

However, our culture boxes people in to two very narrow ways of being.  It doesn't allow for any expression of sex, sexuality, or gender along the continuum.






Look at the handout called "Socialization of Gender Roles."

Socialization in Gender through Advertisement

Ads targeting MEN:

Search through your magazines, advertisements or internet for an ad for one of the following:

Men's Jeans
Men's Cologne or Fragrance
Movie Targeting Men


You will be analyzing the ad so find one that you like, or find to be interesting.  Keep the image in a browser so you can easily access it.

Once you have found your image answer the following questions and submit your response please.

Manly Advertising Survey

Ads targeting WOMEN:

Search through your magazines, advertisements or internet for an ad for one of the following:

Women's jeans
Women's fragrance/cologne
A movie targeting women


Women's Advertising Survey



Once everyone in your squad has filled out both surveys discuss the following questions:

After searching for the ads, discuss these questions below:

1. What are the similarities and differences between what is required for men and what is required for women?

2. How do you explain these differences and similarities?

3. Besides gender, how do other factors such as race, class, age, sexuality, and sexual orientation seem to affect the rules of beauty in these magazines? Be specific and detailed.  

Media as an agent of socialization

Here is the group activity that we are working on today.  Please read the post below and answer the questions on your discussion sheet as a group.

By watching the documentary Consuming Kids and doing the The Un-TV experiment, I hope you became more aware of how the media impacts you.

Part I. First, discuss the Consuming Kids video.  Hopefully, the Consuming Kids video helped illustrate the socialization messages that TV has for us and the reality that it is more like a two-faced back stabber than a friend. Below is the trailer for Consuming Kids. But you can see the whole video by clicking here and logging into mediacast, or in parts at youtube and find more info on the Media Ed website.
 
Part II. The Un-TV experiment.  Hopefully you were really able to experience this experiment. If you did, you may have noticed the mindless trance that TV creates. You may also have seen that TV is in its essence quite boring and so it uses technical events as well as tv's own message that you should believe it is entertaining and exciting. Regarding the news on television, it is really one more entertainment program that presents itself as news. Very little of the news is actual news (in the sense that it is information that you need to know). See this post about headlines that you won't see in the news. Furthermore, the news is there to give you a sense that it is important. Here is a video making fun of the typical news magazine story. Isn't that funny? How true is that? Another one that is pretty funny, though politically charged is comedian Lewis Black's critique of Glenn Beck.

Besides the "news" TV is interspersed with a message to you to be a consumer and a conformer.  It is also produced so that as a viewer you don't question what you are doing, certainly not while you are watching the TV.  The TV is in many ways like a good friend of ours waiting for us in our living room. It's there with us giving us the feeling that we are connected and engaged to society, when the reality is exactly the opposite. 

Part III.  Quizzes.  And if you are skeptical that you have been socialized by the media, try playing one of the corporate logo games here. See how much you have been influenced.  Or try this quiz of tv show theme songs.Or this quiz from sporcle for commercial jingles.  Or this commercial jingle quiz from business insider.  What is interesting to me is that none of us ever consciously tried to learn the logos or the theme songs and jingles, but we know so many of them.  TV influences us without us realizing it.

Part IV. FIJI.  Even more evidence of the powerful force the TV has on us comes from the small Pacific island of Fiji. Ann Becker studied Fijian norms before the island was able to get satellite TV. After getting satellite TV, in a very short time period, just a few years, the island had reversed its norms and was now experiencing the body dysmorphic disorders of the United States. Here is one summary from Harvard. And Here is one from the NY Times. Here is an excerpt: 

'You've gained weight'' is a traditional compliment in Fiji, anthropologists say. In accordance with traditional culture in the South Pacific nation, dinner guests are expected to eat as much as possible. A robust, nicely rounded body is the norm for men and women. ''Skinny legs'' is a major insult. And ''going thin,'' the Fijian term for losing a noticeable amount of weight, is considered a worrisome condition. But all that may be changing, now that Heather Locklear has arrived. Just a few years after the introduction of television to a province of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu, eating disorders -- once virtually unheard of there -- are on the rise among girls, according to a study presented yesterday at the American Psychiatric Association meetings in Washington. Young girls dream of looking not like their mothers and aunts, but like the slender stars of ''Melrose Place'' and ''Beverly Hills 90210.'' ''I'm very heavy,'' one Fijian adolescent lamented during an interview with researchers led by Dr. Anne E. Becker, director of research at the Harvard Eating Disorders Center of Harvard Medical School, who investigated shifts in body image and eating practices in Fiji over a three-year period.

Family: An Agent of Socialization

Family:  An Agent of Socialization

One’s family is the first and primary agent of socialization a person encounters during their early years.  The question then becomes- how does one’s family shape and influence who they become.  Please choose one of the following articles to read and then do some further research on a type of parenting and how it socializing the child.

Be prepared to share your findings in written form and as part of class discussion.  Please do not judge the parenting style as good or bad, but rather focus on how that type of parenting shapes the individual.

Choose ONE of the following to read:

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/08/12/339825261/global-parenting-habits-that-
havent-caught-on-in-the-u-s

This is a short article on differing parenting styles from around the world- you can choose one
from it to focus your research on.
______________________________________________________________________________

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2015/10/16/former-stanford-dean-
explains-why-helicopter-parenting-is-ruining-a-generation-of-children/

Why Helicopter parenting is Ruining a Generation of Children
Article focuses on some affects- you will need to further validate these and do research on
what it means to be a helicopter parent

______________________________________________________________________________

http://www.freerangekids.com/faq/

This article focuses what and how free range parents raise children, you will need to research
how this affects the individual

______________________________________________________________________________

http://www.parents.com/parenting/gender-neutral-parenting/

An article written for pop culture more than information but gives the basics of Gender Neutral
parenting and some thoughts on how it might impact a child.  You will have to research and
validate any of the claims made by the article.

Blog #3 --Due Monday 9/19

THE FIRST BLOG POSTS HAVE BEEN GRADED. IF YOU DONT LIKE YOUR GRADE YOU CAN REDO IT. JUST EMAIL ME TO LET ME KNOW TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT IT.    

IF YOU DIDN'T DO BLOG 2 YET GET IT DONE!!!

Make sure you hit publish not just save when you have finished.

For the second half of Unit 1, we examined Social Construction of Reality, Macro/Micro sociology, Research methods, Groups and Identity, Ingroups/outgroups, Stereotypes and Generalizations .  A few reminders for when you post:

1) Be sure to look back at my blog and read over the posts that apply.  My posts contain explanations of what each of the concepts were that we learned and sources that apply to them.

2)Be sure to explain some of the concepts that we learned and try to apply them to an original example from your own life/experience.

3)Be sure to explain how a couple of sources or activities apply to the sociological concepts we are learning.  Demonstrate an understanding of how the source applies to the sociology.  Some sources we have looked at: Venkatesh's "Gang Leader For A Day", Should We Generalize, Abandon Ship and others we looked and did during class.

4)Spell check and proofread.  Do not use casual/texting language.

Here is how you will be graded on your posts:

Sociology  (Artisan – students can craft authentic posts that richly explain the class content in a unique way): Students will be able to explain the concept of sociological imagination through different supporting content.  Students will demonstrate that individuals are shaped by their social life.  (Excellent includes application to student’s life and demonstration of sociological mindfulness.

10 Student is able to fully explain the sociological content and apply it to a unique example.

9  Student fully explains the sociological content using relevant terminology from the class.

7 Student somewhat explains the content from class but does not do it in detail and/or uses little or no sociology concepts or terms

5 Student completed the assignment but did not explain any sociology at all.

Standard:  Literacy (Scholar – Students can read and understand a wide variety of sources and make meaning from them):  Objective: Student demonstrates an understanding of the sources used in class (books, movies, websites, etc…) and connecting them to sociological concepts/themes.

Target (the scale):

10 Student refers properly to multiple sources from class and/or explains the connection of an outside source found by the student.

9 Student refers properly to a source from class and explains its connection to sociology in the student’s own words.

7 Student refers to a source from class but it lacks depth, clarity or correctness.

5  Student completed the assignment but was not correct in interpreting the sources from class.

                                    Success criteria:

                                    Reference to evidence from the source(refers properly)

                                    Students’ own words (explains)

                                    Author’s message/thesis (

Academic Expectations (Citizen- Student recognizes the importance of being a part of the community of class; being present and on-time, listening, sharing, respecting, trusting other student, participating in class and writing properly.)

10 Student contributes to the class through commenting, listening and reading.  Student uses proper grammar, spelling, punctuation and clear and academic writing.  Student meets deadlines and is on time.  Student’s work is neat and professional.

9 Student is able to meet almost all of the expectations above.

7 Student meets some of the expectations.

5 Student turns in the assignment or shows up, but does not meet any of the expectations above

Generalization and Stereotype

After reading Joel Charon's "Should We Generalize..." hopefully, you realize that yes we must generalize because it is what makes us intelligent human beings. But our great strength as humans can also be a horrible flaw. If we do not generalize and categorize accurately then we run the risk of stereotyping. We must realize that although individuals can be categorized into certain groups, it doesn't mean that all individuals fit that group's generalization. Toward the end of the reading, Charon says, 

"If we are open-minded and reflective, we can even evaluate how good or how poor our generalizations are, and we can alter what we know as we move from situation to situation."

This is both the task and the promise of sociology. Sociology challenges us to think about our generalizations and assumptions about what we know and it promises us that with proper thought and care we can understand people better. There is a poem I like that illustrates Charon's point. The poem called "The Cookie Thief" by Valerie Cox. We are all cookie thieves sometimes in how we erroneously use the categories that Charon talks about. When was the last time you were too quick to categorize or judge someone? Have you ever been stereotyped or judged wrongly? 

Here is a link to a video called I am an American that shows the dangerous power that extreme stereotypes can lead to.

In this case, Islam is the example, but it could be any religion or ethnicity or whatever group. United States' history is littered with examples of groups that have been scapegoated and vilified. This is how Muslims have been treated in many cases in post 911 America. But I have had so many Muslim students who prove that this is just a stereotype. And that is what this video is showing. There are caring, loving, neighborly Muslims all around us but extreme stereotypes lead us to only see the stereotype and ignore the reality.  Here is a link to a page hoping to end stereotypes about Muslims.

One example of people stereotyping quickly might be this Washington Post experiment in which Joshua Bell, violin virtuoso, played some of the greatest classical pieces ever written on one of the most expensive violins ever made. And yet few people noticed because he was dressed like an average guy and he was playing in the subway. Maybe people assumed he was a homeless streetperformer, so why stop and listen?

Community Service

Check out the right side and near the bottom of Sal's blog to find service hours ideas:  sociologysal.blogspot.com

Hopefully you are willing to try community service with an open mind. I think that most students who have done service experiences before will say that it was rewarding and an overall good experience.  Do you see how doing community service might make you sociologically mindful?  What was it like? What went well? What advice would you have for those who have never done it? If you have never done something like that, what do you think about it? What are your concerns and questions? 

I think the most challenging aspect of this is to get students to begin thinking about what experience they might want to do without constantly hounding them. I hope you are up for it. This is your homework - find some places that you might be interested and call them or email them or sign up for service hours!  Please have at least 2 places in mind . Here is the assignment that I call Step 1.         Please turn this in by MONDAY.

Some advice that I want to emphasize:
When you call places to volunteer, do NOT say "I have to do community service..." That makes a bad first impression. It sounds like you are being forced. Instead, say "I want to volunteer..." or "I heard it was a really cool experience so I want..." or you can even say, "My teacher told me about this experience so I wanted to try it..."

Be open minded and willing to feel a little uncomfortable. The best learning experiences of my life were when I was willing to put myself in that position. 

Some of the more rewarding experiences have been PADS, the Uptown Cafe, and Clearbrook. Try to do these if you are interested, but you may have to do it with a parent or another adult.

Do not wait until the second half of the semester. These experiences take some time to setup. Sometimes the opportunities are filled, so don't wait! The sooner you set this up, the better chance you will have of finding something that is worthwhile and meaningful. If you wait, you will be rushing and you will only find some last-minute, not-so-great opportunity.

Finally, be patient but persistent when contacting these organizations. Many of the organizations are run by unpaid volunteers. Sometimes they do not work regular hours. If they don't get back to you right away, try calling at a different time of day or a different day of the week or try a different number, etc...

In Groups Out Groups

In-n-out is not just for burgers!

In and out is not just for burgers, it is also for groups! Sociologists use the terms ingroup and outgroup to refer to groups that you are either a member of or not a member of. It is much easier to feel attached to the groups you are a part of and feel judgmental about your outgroups.

To illustrate this, today we separated the class into two different groups. Each group made a list of reasons why the other group was wearing what they were wearing. Every time I do this lesson, the reasons break down into judgments against the other group. For example:

This was a lesson about in-groups and out-groups. In discussing the different groups that makeup society, we see that there are in-groups and out-groups. An in-group is a group that you are a part of. You have membership in it, and because of that, you feel aligned to the group and you have ownership in it. By contrast, it becomes easier to judge the out-groups, or the groups you are not a part of. As this semester goes on, be mindful of the groups that we talk about that you are not a part of. You must make a conscious effort to understand these groups. Try to become conscious of your judgments so that you can also consciously work against them. Watch this video clip about the famous "Angry Eye" classroom lesson done in the 1960s by teacher Jane Elliot. Think about how you may have judged out-groups in your own life. Also, think about how you become allied and bonded with your in-groups. Can you see how this happens in society? Can you think of examples in your own life?  You can watch the wh

Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Hello kids, it sure is nice to type to everyone today.  Our nanny got sick and called in last night so I am at home today with Luella.  I believe Mrs. Wood is your substitute today. She is awesome and deserves your utmost respect. I better not hear any thing negative! And always...be sociologically mindful.

Yesterday I introduced two terms that sociologists use when conducting research: qualitative and quantitative.

Qualitative research is data that is collective in non-numerical form. It would be information gained through interviews, non-multiple choice questions, free-response questions and scientific observation.

Quantitative research is data that is acquired through specific question with multiple choice answers, polls, Likert scale and questionnaires.  The research is driven by statistical data and is easier to analyze than qualitative but as we read in Gang Leader for the Day can often dehumanize the research.  

Today you will be doing two activities that revolve around these two types of research.  For each activity you need to type up a one to two paragraph response to the activity and post it on your blog. Please title the blog "Quantitative vs. Qualitative".   This blog post must be posted today.

Activity One:

1) Please read that following sociological and psychological study that was just released by Chapman University in California.  

https://qz.com/898207/the-psychology-of-why-americans-are-more-scared-of-terrorism-than-guns-though-guns-are-3210-times-likelier-to-kill-them/

Here is a video that highlights the survey and research done by Chapman University on American Fears

http://www.chapman.edu/wilkinson/research-centers/babbie-center/survey-american-fears.aspx

2) Throughout the reading make note of when you notice the use of qualitative and quantitative data in the study. 

3) Discuss with your group where you noticed the two types of data being used.

4) Write one paragraph that explains where the study used both types of research.  Which type of research do you feel was the most convincing in proving their thesis?

5) Write a one paragraph reaction to the article. Were you surprised? Do you agree with their thesis? How do you feel about it? 

Activity Two:

1) With your group come up with a sociological question that revolves around Stevenson High School. For example: What are leading characteristics in determining who donates the most money to school sponsored charity fundraisers?    You can't use that one in your post!

2) Create a list of 5 quantitative questions you could ask your researchers to find out.

3) Create a list of 3 qualitative research strategies you could do to aid you in your study.

4) Write a one to two paragraph explanation of what your study would be about, how you would do the research and what your quantitative and qualitative research would be.

Again please have this typed up and finished by today.  And be super nice to Mrs. Wood. She is the best!!!!!

See you tomorrow!