Week 9: Gender Inequality

I think that gender identity is more socially constructed than biological.  If biology played a major role than we would expect to find men and women's roles similar everywhere.  However, that is not the case.  In different cultures all over the world we see that some societies have similar roles for men and women and some, like America, have very different roles.  Based on how males and females are perceived in a society, the society socially constructs gender roles.  We see every day how babies are introduced to social roles in America.  Girls wear pink and play with dolls, boys wear blue and play with trucks.  Parents reinforce children who follow what is expected of them and are punished when they do not follow those roles. 

What is harder to explain would be homosexuals.  I believe that homosexuality is biology based and many homosexuals go against social norms for gender.  They have a hard time being who they are and dealing with the problems that society has with them.  I think that gays and lesbians go through a different gender construction.  They cannot follow the majority of society and so I think that they turn to each other to learn roles. 

Week 8: Global Inequality

Like the podcast asked, why should we care about global inequality?  It may be easy to say that global inequality does not matter so much to us in the United States because we are so high on the income scale and most of us enjoy comfortable lifestyles.  However, to someone in a low income country like most of Africa, global inequality would be a big deal.  Low income countries strive to build their economies and may strive to be like the United States or western Europe.  They face a lot of challenges though.  Global inequality is something those countries struggle with every day.  We may not see the impact of the inequality in our lives in obvious ways, but it does affect us.

Many of our jobs here in America are outsourced to other countries because those countries will work for far less wages.  That has an impact on unemployment rates and therefore poverty rates in the United States.  America gets many products from other countries because they may be cheaper.  Because we depend so much on these exports, the prices can change a lot.  These other countries that control the production of things we want can change their prices, which in turn makes us pay more.  Global inequality also affects what we are able to sell.  The low income countries cannot afford our products and we lose business because of that.  If global inequality were to diminish and those low income countries were to see an increase in their economy we could start new business with them.

Not only should we care about global inequality because of business reasons, but also moral reasons.  Global inequality means that low income countries do not have access to health care or education.  They cannot afford the means to live a minimally necessary lifestyle.  Children starve and die of diseases they should not die from.  If these countries had a chance to learn from schooling they could make something of themselves and help their countries to improve.  Children would not have to die and quality of life would improve.  These sorts of problems may not affect us directly here in America but I feel that we as a high income and privileged country should aid those other countries in some way so that we can all benefit from less global inequality.

Week 7: Social Class in the US

I think that social class still very much matters today.  It may not be something that we express very often or are obvious about it these days but class still plays a role in our behavior.  A few decades ago class was very important.  The rich looked down at the poor people and had no problem expressing their disdain for them.  Today it would be seen as more rude to outwardly talk about not liking people of a lower class.  People may see you as stuck up or snobby.  Also, today we have a lot more classes than existed years ago.  People who are not in the upper class can still enjoy a comfortable lifestyle and there are those in the upper class who use their money for good causes to help those less fortunate.

I think that class shapes society, although not as much as before.  We have a lot more opportunities for upward mobility.  However, as shown on the website People Like Us, each person stuggles individually with their class.  Some people have a harder time moving up classes when they began in a lower one.  When people move down classes by choice or not they are looked down upon by the class they once belonged to.  I think the way people treat different classes can be blatant (especially from the upper class to the lower class) but a lot of the interaction that takes place on a daily level is more subtle.  Think about the movie Pretty Woman.  When Julia Roberts goes into that pricey store in her revealing dress she is asked to look elsewhere for clothes.  I have seen the looks that poorer looking people get when they walk into nice stores.  They are followed by the sales associates because they may steal something.  How many of us avoid homeless people when we walk through cities?  We may not say anything outloud, but we cannot help but think about these class differences.

I think that class still matters a lot in today's society.  We may not be as vocal about it and we may have more opportunities for upward movement, but we can't deny that class separates us from other people.

Week 6: Social Connections

With all the advances in technology we are able to do some pretty amazing things.  We can learn about anything from Google, we have the internet on our phones, and we can video chat with someone on the other side of the planet.  According to our textbook Americans use the most internet.  I assume that this is why some people are worried that Americans are becoming more isolated.  I do not understand why they say that only Americans are becoming isolated.  Almost everywhere you go there is internet access.  America does not have some amazing technology that no one else has.  I do believe that we are becoming more isolated because of all this new technology but I do not believe that it is only America, it is everywhere.

I have to agree a little bit with George Ritzer that life is becoming less personal.  We no longer talk to bank tellers when we can get cash and make deposits with an ATM.  We no longer have to go to the mall to shop because we can do it online.  And unfortunately when we want some customer service on the phone we have to wait an hour on hold and press ten different options just to speak to a human being.  Some of us don't even have to go into work because we can do it from home.  I think that face to face interaction is becoming more and more obsolete.  In this sense I do believe that we as a society, not just Americans, are becoming isolated because of technology.

On the other hand, technology has given us some opportunities that we otherwise would not have.  If a group of young school children cannot afford to take a field trip to China they have the internet to learn all about it.  They can see pictures, movies, learn the language, culture, and cuisine of a place they would not be able to visit in person.  Technology has allowed us to be in contact with people all over the world without having to take the time and money to go there ourselves. 

I believe that technology has given us some great opportunities to be connected to people all over the world.  It offers us covenience and speed.  However, with all this great technology we cannot forget the importance of human interaction.

Week 5: Criminal Justice System

I think there are many ways in which the criminal justice system could be improved.  I believe that we just put criminals into prison hoping that if they spend enough time in there they will mend their ways and become productive members of society.  That is just not the case.  Many prisoners leave prison only to come right back. When it comes to serious and violent crimes I definitely feel we should give harsh sentences to prisoners to keep them off the streets because they pose a danger to others around them.  Because of prison over crowding it is hard and expensive to keep people in prison.  If tax payers are going to pay for these prisoners then I think we should all have an interest in actually working with these criminals to help them become better people.  Unfortunately I think the prison system is so concerned with keeping order in prisons and getting prisoners out so they have more room is taking precedent.

For criminals that are involved in less serious and non-violent crimes I do not know if long prisons sentences are necessary.  These people need help.  We should use the time we have while they are in prison to focus on helping them see their errors and becoming better people.  This would involve drug treatment for drug users, therapy for prisoners with troubles pasts, and treatment programs for people who have problems like sex addiction.  If we are doing nothing to help these prisoners then we are just wasting out money because when they get out they will have learned nothing and they will commit crimes again.  Prison should be a time of reflection and rehabilitation.  We could help criminals get educated like the female prison in the film we watched.  We could also help these criminals get jobs once they leave prison instead of sending them straight back to the streets.  There is room for much improvement in the criminal justice system.

Week 4: Nature vs. Nurture

When it comes to the nature vs. nurture debate I tend to adopt a combination theory.  I know that some aspects of people can be determined mostly by nature while others can be mostly by nurture.  However, I believe that most behaviors and the whole socialization process children go through is a combination of nature and nurture.

Certain conditions, such as nearsightedness have been found to be mostly genetic (Berger, 2008).  Twin studies are very often utilized to show whether something is genetic or not.  In the case of nearsightedness, if one twin has it the other twin almost certainly has it as well.  This shows strong evidence that nearsightedness is nature based.

However, when it comes to the issue of socialization, one cannot help but conceed to the fact that the process is very nurture based.  The word socialization is based on society, which nurtures people to be certain things.  I believe that people are born with dispositions to behave in certain ways and society can either encourage this or change this.  A child's temperament is their inclination to be a certain way, such as an introvert or extrovert.  With socialization, or nurture, this child's temperament can be shaped into their personality.  A child whose temperament includes being an introvert can change into being more of an extrovert if their parents put them into new situations and help them become engaged in various activities to meet many new people. 

When it comes to gender my same ideas apply.  I believe that males and females are born with dispositions to behave a certain way and society encourages those behaviors so that girls act like girls and boys act like boys.  I do not agree with Freud's focus on the penis.  Young children are barely aware of who they are, let alone worried about having a penis or not.  During socialization I feel that parents, other children, and the media all shape children to either continue their inclinations to be a certain way or change them.

Berger, K. (2008).  The developing person through the life span (7^th ed.).  New York: Worth Publishers.

Week 3: BBC Sketch

I couldn't help but laugh when I watched this sketch.  This sketch definitely embodies what other countries think about America.  The fact that the song only consisted of the words 'America' and 'the states' says it all.  Other countries see us as self-absorbed and conceited.  The song is making fun of America and that is why the audience found it so funny.  The American singer is portrayed as grungy.  The British see America as unproper.  The ending was representative of other countries wanting to shut us up because we like to sing our own praises all the time.

I did not take offense to this video.  Plently of countries make fun of America for being full of themselves.  America makes fun of other countries too.  I think we just need to take this video for what it's worth-a good laugh.