Soc 001

After reading this article and watching the video in class, I am heartbroken for these soldiers. It kills me how the entire system is one corrupted pattern. These soldiers are told to bottle up their feelings and not show emotions, and therefore feel terrorized to ever talk about them. Their psychological issues get so deeply conflicted and yet their leaders are telling them that is weak to even discuss the issues. These men already have to deal with issues that human beings shouldn't ever go through. The idea of stripping one's identity and becoming a numb figure is something that is traumatizing within itself. If it isn't bad enough to deal with the horrors of war, it is awful that these men have to still deal with their fear when they get home. It's something obviously most people can't understand unless they have been to war, and that probably terrifies them. Now that these soldiers are starting to commit suicide, it makes me sick to think that we are doing this to our own men. I acknowledge that with war one needs to be prepared to deal with killing and seeing all that is going down, but if it is tearing these soldiers apart we need a new mentality. These men won't speak up because they don't want to be seen as weak or crazy and kept in the psychological center any longer than they need to. Our message needs to be that is ok and even encouraged to go seek help when feeling any distress. Sociology uncovers the paradox in that these men who are suppose to be stripped of all feelings are the ones who end up with the most psychological problems. And although there is help for those people, it obviously looked down upon to ever get that help. The social pressures are beyond measurable and make times of war not only hard the soldiers that are away, but for the soldiers who are able to come home to their normal lives. I am happy to see that we are finally taking into account not only the physical but psychological wounds that soldiers undertake and hopefully will help make their lives easier in the future.

Soc 001

This video was very powerful to me. It makes me sad how our society has yet to allow these families to be apart of the same benefits as the families that have heterosexual parents. I have never really thought of a family in prospect to gender each member is, but as a unit of those who love each other. I am proud and thankful for this man to get up and fight for his own family and demonstrate how unfair it is to be discriminated against just because he had two mothers. I worked at a camp two summers ago and had two children in my group with gay parents. There was no difference whatsoever between the behaviors of the children with a mom and dad compared to those with two moms. Both loved their families very much. For this, I am disappointed on how our society is still making this huge idea of the idea that gays can become any sort of union whether it is marriage or having a family. It just seems so messed up to me. Sociology has already uncovered that there are no drastic effects on having two of the same sex parents compared to having one of each gender. It's not necessarily the gender that makes all the difference, but the parenting style that comes from it. There are so many bad parents out there that shouldn't have been able to raise kids, and it wasn't based off their sexuality. It was based off bad parenting and abuse. Families shouldn't become such a legal debate. This man in the video was a family regardless of what the legal system states. How can we put such restraints on two people trying to come together and form something so beautiful and important? There are so many other issues out there to be concerned about. Society's view on lesbian and gay families is slowly changing, but is quite sad to see how long it took for us to come this far. It is hard enough as it is to realize that your family is different than most, but even harder to know that your own country's legal system isn't supporting you or your family. That is a burden that is completely unnecessary.

Soc 001

I thought this video was very interesting in terms of what the marriage was suppose to provide. In our culture, a great deal has to do with companionship, but we also base much of our marriage off of the passion love that comes with it, like romance. This culture, however, uses marriage as a ground base to stabilize their home and family. It's more of a planned comfort zone, then a relationship full of lust. Most of our society views any sort of poligamy as a taboo, however I think we are very naive when it comes to those who practice it and their intentions. In this culture the men need the women because the of the few girls that are left due to the killing of the girl babies in the past. They are trying to actually even out the population and benefit everyone. Also, with this relationship, the men are doing more housework and child caring than most relationships with only two people here. The family unit seems to cooperate and work well, perhaps even better than most marriages here. The one woman also provides a sense of birth control. All of these good things show that perhaps our judging on this culture is mislead. Sociology would see that there are reasons and benefits for this type of practice that can allow society to still work and sustain. The marriage is not being misused, just differently directed. The people in the family all still depend and love each other like any other relationship. Sociology demonstrates that we as people need other people to survive. This set up portrays a unusual, but productive way of survival by having one woman and many men. I think this makes a lot of people uncomfortable because we are used to hearing one man taking care of many women. In a way, this culture compliments the woman role in a relationship and her vital presence. The families in the video seemed to truly respect each other and share common roles within the house, unlike here, where many of us fall into these stereotypes of what men and women should be contributing to the family.

Soc 001

After seeing this video, it really made me realize how often we use that word and how loosely we decided to use it. The fact that the government even says it shows that the people we look up to and the people who establish our society are even giving the "ok" for that word to be used. It saddens me because I cannot imagine how those who actually have mental retardation feel. It goes hand in hand with the term gay. The fact that these terms are always use in a negative way makes the people who actually are those terms feel bad about themselves. I have seen other interviews of those with mental retardation who also are deeply effected by this name. A girl from the television show glee explained how she hopes the show really points out that those who are mentally retarded can live life just like any other person and don't want to be treated different. I don't think people even think about it when they say the word. Just like this interview explains, a lot of people agree that it is offensive, but admit to using the word. I believe that it will be a difficult task in removing the word retard from all government documents, but it will give a good lead into ending the use of the word and will prevent those who are retarded from feeling hurt. If someone were to use something I am like short or freckles as a general negative term, I would constantly feel down and want to change myself. Sociology shows that we as people easily can be influenced through our environment and media. Since our environment allows us to use the word so freely, we do, and don't even think about its consequences. Like Sociology explains, we need to look at the world in a different perspective. In other words, we need to really think about the names we use and who we are offending because it does have an effect on the world we live in. It's not even just the word retardation. Our society offends blacks, blondes, gays, women, jews, and more. We really need to check our mouths and what we are really trying to say when we use these terms.

Soc 001

Not only was this song extremely funny, but it brought up a lot of good points. This singer uses this "love song" to mock society's false idea that true love has this magical way of bringing about two people who were designed to be together. The truth is that who we end up dating or marrying is based upon a bunch of sociological strings that shape our pathways into meeting a certain someone. It's all about proximity and the choices we make that shape our lives. He jokes around on how if he didn't kiss some other girl that time in 7th grade that lead to another incident that maybe his life would have never crossed with his current wife's life. The idea is that the only reason he and his wife are together is due to their sociological strings that happened to come together at a certain time. His main chorus states if he didn't have her, he would probably have someone else. As harsh as that sounds, it is true. We as people interact to survive. There is no such thing as two people who are meant to be together, because in fact there are a bunch of people that probably meet each other's standards. He explains how if he never met his wife, there are other women out there that he would have met and thought they were the one too. My favorite line is when he talks about the bell shaped curve in which his wife falls into. This line brings out that our love lives are pretty much statistical calculations in which society has created for two people to meet and stay together. The main point of the song shows that that the person we love, of course is real, but how this love was formed is due to these sociological strings. I could use this song the next time i go though a bad breakup and realize that there is a very high chance in that I will meet another person who will satisfy what I am looking for just as well as or even better than my previous boyfriend, and therefore, it is not the end of the world.

Soc 001

This video definitely relates to what we discussed in class about our society's fear of the unknown. Parents tell their children to not talk to strangers or hold hands with them because they have this fear that there is this likelihood in a stranger being a bad person. The main cause of this fear is our own fault. The media blasts about these rare stories of child abductors and kidnappers and have them all over the news. What the media doesn't tell us is that these instances are very uncommon and really only make for a good story. We analyze these stories so much that we are convinced society is this dangerous place for our children. It contradicts so much because as Mr. Richards said before, when a child does become lost, he or she will most likely have a much harder time being found/ getting help because he or she has learned that all strangers are bad and scary. These rules that parents lay out for their children will potentially endanger them even more. Yes, safety is a very important aspect for parents to take in account, but the child will only live in fear if they are not able to communicate with strangers. These researchers who study risk aren't saying that children should just talk to strangers all the time, but when in need of help or lost, its important to know how to do so. Sociology demonstrates that our society really doesn't have all the facts about how dangerous our streets really are. Just because the media amplifies these rare stories, doesn't mean crime is getting worse throughout the years. Statistics show that crime rates with children abduction have been steady for quite some time. With that said, we need to stop making our intuition of the unknown out of fear, and realize that the probability of our children getting kidnapped is never going to happen. A stranger is only someone you don't know. It can be anyone from another parent, to a teacher, to an average joe on his way to work. The likelihood of a stranger being this crazy person is so absurd. Even in this clip, the stranger who grabbed the child did so in broad daylight. If he were to actually have gotten away with it, I am sure everyone around him would be aware that this kid didn't know him and he would have been stopped anyway. Our take on fear is much more than it should be, and with that our society has learned to be overly cautious. This video gives the perfect view on how the media has triggered a false image on our world, the unknown, and how we should handle the unknown. I personally now know to make sure to know that when I have a child, he or she will know how to approach and stranger and be able to get help on his or her own.

Soc 001

As humorous as this video is, it also point out how much our society emphasizes conformity. As much as we try to act like we are all individual and have our own identities, a lot of outside forces and invisible strings have made us adapt to a very specific lifestyle and conform to these social norms. This video in particular demonstrates how in the workforce, even something as simple as facing the back of the elevator, will make people do anything to conform. If everyone is doing it, we automatically think it must be right thing to do. As human beings we rely on socialization to survive, and with socialization comes all these "social rules" that develop throughout our lives. We don't want to oppose them because we would be rejecting the norm and isolating ourselves. Since we as people need to socialized to survive, we will act in these conformities just to maintain in these interactions with society. Bigger instances of this are clothing trends, ideas about political issues, and religion. Even though there are plenty of different viewpoints for each one of these instances, our society has narrowed it down into two groups in which people need to chose if they are going to join or not. Political wise, we have the democrats and republicans. Both of these groups are the extremes, and yet no one ever really choses to form another group outside of these norms. This idea of conformity makes people feel secure and safe. The more people are involved in this conformed idea, the more confident each individual feels for choosing that path. The only issue I seem to recognize is that by conforming, a lot of individuals who have the potential for great ideas might never open up because it would go against society and what society has already established. Conformity is a lot stronger then we see and we all partake in it one way or another. Conformity also has its benefits too. It's what keeps us structured and gives us the ideal. Society in America is not nearly as chaotic as other countries because it has established the ideal american in which so many citizens try to follow. The power of conformity is much more than just trying to fit in, but it shows that by trying to fit in, you are participating in this huge action that just became one more step stronger in becoming a social norm because you are adding on to this group of other conformers. Our need to be like one another allows sociology to point out how we as humans interact and develop in order to sustain in society.

Soc 001

Well, as a sociologist I feel inclined to tell you that although you feel that this idea of committing suicide is completely in your hands and you feel as though your mindset has been created by your own thoughts, there is much more in the world that is controlling how you got to this position. I would first like to tell you that there are many others who have been in this same situation, and feel the same empowering need to die or escape from life. What I am here to tell you is that you just need to take yourself out of the equation and look at your life. You live in Japan and obviously your career status is the most important aspect of your life. With the economy going downhill, the pressure to keep your job is sky rocketing. What you need to realize is this need to have the perfect career is not the want of yourself, but the want of your social surroundings. You need to look around at other things. Do you have loved ones? Are there friends that can help get you through the hard times? Do you have hobbies? The world should not end in losing a job or feeling like you have dishonored your family. The truth is everyone in your family feels this same pressure to keep a high status, therefore if you do lose your job or feel like a failure, they would actually understand you the most. I know you feel like you are alone and it is your actions and decisions that have gotten you to where you are today, but it is so much more than that. Even beyond the social norms there are these invisible strings that enable all of us to see things in a particular way and make us who we are. I cannot personally tell you what these strings are, but I can say that these strings exist. And by knowing they exist, you should not feel so burdened by this idea of ending your life because you aren't completely in control. I also find that this forest of suicide is another social factor that almost compels you to want to commit suicide. What you need to understand is that is only a forest. Society is making it this symbol of escapism, and by doing so it actually triggers more people to try to commit suicide. If you think about it, isolating yourself in this forest doesn't let you escape, but actually feel more alone. Sociology looks at the bigger picture of things that we can't easily explain. It may seem simple to you of why you want to kill yourself. But if you start realizing that your thoughts are only one tiny portion of this bigger picture, you will come to understand that maybe suicide isn't an option for you. Suicide rates remain very steady throughout different social groups. The fact that Japan prides happiness, success, and overall honor through one's career status explains why so many people kill themselves. Maybe you need to look more into another culture that makes you feel good for who you are and what you are capable of. If that is too much, then at least recognize that these social pressures are sociological and beyond our control. Do you really want to end your life because you can't maintain a social standard? Evaluate the fact that you have a life, and with a life you do have all these freedoms that enable you to do great things. If it doesn't seem so now, you need to try new things or figure out what you truly think the meaning of your life should be. I especially want to emphasize your meaning you, personally, not society's meaning. If everyone was in their own bubble there would be no suicide because you would be living for you and what you believe in, not what these social expectations have carved into your brain. Suicide is only partly your control, so recognize it and don't do it. There is so much more to learn about how society shapes you as a person and how you are going to make these influences work for you. Your life is yours and yours only. It's important no matter what the social pressure makes you think of it.

Soc 001

I am pretty stumped when trying to distinguish if these 90 girls getting pregnant in high school is completely their choice or if the "invisible strings" weigh in a lot more than we think. Initially, choosing to have sex is your own choice. Schools do their fair share of stating the facts and scaring kids about the responsibilities they must take on when having sex to prevent from getting pregnant. Then why is it that all these girls are still making these decisions? There must be a bigger picture for this type of trend to occur. That is where Sociology takes place. What I have particularly noticed is that teen pregnancies have become a lot more open in recent years. There are movies, television shows, and even day cares in the schools that are all stating that being pregnant in high school isn't a huge ordeal any more. I think this is allowing these girls to think its socially acceptable to be pregnant. The alternative of getting an abortion is less acceptable because these girls can just join the bandwagon of the other girls who are already pregnant. Even if these girls are unaware, they are participating in this group think. If they are all pregnant, it becomes less of a big deal and you have so many others going through the same thing as you. The more who are pregnant, the more okay it seems to be. I also couldn't help but notice that this school is in Tennessee. I think geography has a lot to do with the social norms as well. In south, there are many people that still practice this custom where the girl's job is to find a husband and make babies. Sometimes this pressure can get to these girls. I saw a documentary one time explaining how these girls want to get pregnant so that they can latch on to these boys and start this bond over a family. That way they are committed to the relationship and don't run off after high school. It many ways this seems immoral and wrong, but its these social pressures that are causing girls to think like this. I think it is also these social factors that making sex more and more casual for our generation. The media use to shun sex and now they can't get enough of it. Clothing is becoming more skimpy, songs more provocative, condoms more attainable. All of these factors are allowing sex to become this activity that isn't so forbidden anymore. These girls do have a choice to have sex or not, but their willingness to do so derives from these social factors that doesn't make them as free as most see them to be.

Soc 001

I have actually seen this show a couple times and every time I do I get mixed feelings. Are some of the girls there because they love to be in the beauty contest? Yes. However, I feel like a lot of these cases deal with some heavy force from the mother's end. When a child is 2 years old, there isn't much she has control over. For the most part its the parent's job to introduce different potential activities that they can enjoy. In most cases, this involves sports or maybe a scout troop. So from that perspective, its not fair to judge these mother's who introduce beauty pageants to their kids at such a young age. The reason this is such a big controversy is because a lot of people view these pageants as demeaning and superficial. What does this really teach a girl? At such a young age, entering these children in these contests can be somewhat manipulating. In a sense, you are robbing the child's innocence. I don't think its right to force a girl to get her eye brows waxed and wear these itchy clothes because their mother wants them to do so. It's kind of cruel. If the daughter truly enjoys it then I suppose this doesn't apply to those families. To try to see it from a sociological perspective, perhaps the mother's aren't fully to blame. We see these mother's as selfish people who are trying to live through their children, but we don't know there stories. What I have observed is that most of these families don't live in the best houses. They are usually pretty small towns with small one floor houses. It makes me think that maybe these mother's didn't have the best childhood and therefore want their children to feel like a princess. They may not realize that the child isn't into it because in their minds they believe they are giving something to their daughters that they never had. Also, these mom's could be pushing pageants on their children because the highlight of their lives is the children themselves. If thats the case, maybe they are just trying to prove to the world and themselves what great daughters they have. It can an arrangement of many things. Different mother's have different relationships with their daughters and it really isn't up to us to judge them. In a way the mother's are spending more time than most other mother's do just trying to help the child win this contest. In the end, it is about the child winning the crown, and the mom is just in the background. Freedom is definitely a debate in this issue because a lot of people feel like these children have no freedom in the matter, but I don't think people recognize that maybe the mother's don't have that much freedom either. If these mothers are struggling with money or feel like they aren't contributing enough to the family, maybe this need to put their kid in the spotlight is an attempt to make things better and make that mother feel more proud about her life.