Deviance x2

In class this week we read an article called The Saints and The Rednecks by William J. Chambliss. This was a story where a sociologist followed students that both demonstrated behaviors outside the social norm (deviance) and documented their actions. This guy, William J. Chambliss, labeled the groups "the saints" and "the roughnecks" based on how others perceived them. The saints were seen around town as good students, smart, intelligent, wealthy (or had some money), and all around good students that had a bright future ahead of them. The roughnecks were just the typical bad guys---the ones who ditched class, didn't do their homework because they didn't care, didn't have a lot of money, didn't really know what they were doing with their lives. Both these groups ditched class, lied to their teachers, and were equally deviant, however, they weren't punished the same. I thought this was really shocking because when I think of someone ditching class, I think of getting in trouble. But when the saints ditched class, they'd come up with some excuse like a different teacher needed to see them, while the roughnecks were honest that they didn't want to go. Honestly, I think it's better to be a roughneck than a saint, because at least you're honest when you're a roughneck, even though you're breaking the rules. At our school if you ditch a class, 2 days later you get called down to the dean. The dean asks you why you weren't there, and you can either say you didn't go, or you got called out or something and then they ask your parents. It really depends on the type of person you are. If you'd rather lie when you get in trouble or just get in trouble because you deserve to.

Deviance

This week in class, we focused on the topic of deviance. Deviance is actions or behaviors that violate cultural norms. How other people perceive our actions, and how we perceive others. I think a lot of deviance comes from where and how you're raised. For example, in class we took a survey with a list of 17 different questions, such as "walking with groceries on your head" or "a man wearing a dress" and we had to check next to it if we thought that was unacceptable. I had checked off less than four as unacceptable, because I felt that most of the things on the list were okay for people to do. I was really shocked that some people checked off more than 10 as unacceptable. There was a lot on that list. If nothing on that list is okay to do, then what is? I think I don't judge people as harshly as others because I've been judged before, like by being Jewish. I think everyones judges, but everyone is also deviant. I don't understand how we can be both, but majority of people are.

media affects us

This week in class we've been focusing on how media affects both us as individuals. I thought it was really shocking that media has stereotypes and is powerful enough that it can affect our everyday lives, and how we think about ourselves.

 I buy magazines a lot, so I know what the media prints and how they make these models and actresses and stars look. They look so fake, like fake skin and almost too skinny. I think that these pictures that magazines print attempt at making women want to buy their product so they can look just like the model, but I was really shocked to learn that it's media ads that show these images of gorgeous and almost unreal people that cause girls to have eating disorders, and low self esteem. In magazines you see like celebrities (pretty much women) being judged on like the way they dressed, or their weight, so as a girl, I start to think constantly, "do I look alright?" or "am I too fat?" The media does affect us a lot more than I used to think it did. 

Our teacher showed us a magazine where there were toys for little girls and boys. If he hadn't have pointed out that the girls were always shown playing with their toys somewhere safe (like inside a bedroom, or a living room, or a kitchen even...), and the boys playing outside (backyard, and my personal favorite: in outerspace), than I never would have noticed. But it's these little images that we see in the media that affect us when we're kids and adults. I never really thought about media in a way of being harmful to anyone, but after discussing how the media depicts women and causes all these serious problems, I know that a lot of it is harmful and kind of degrading. 

Being human

We focused a lot in class this week about how we, as humans, are affected by both our nature and nurture in our lives. Nature consists of our genes, emotions, instincts. Nurture is basically just our social environment, society, and interactions/relationships we have with other people. Both nature and nurture play off each other to create the person that we are now. All my life I've been in such a positive environment. My parents always played with me when I was little. I had siblings. I went to school. I had friends. I was healthy. My parents always told me how much they loved me. It was actually pretty surprising me to in class when we learned of the feral children and how they were raised in isolation and basically stripped from both nature and nurture, like how could I take everything I have for granted when there are actual cases out there where kids never got what I did? The one story of a young girl named Dani really stuck with me. Her mother basically kept her in a room for six years, until the police arrested her for child neglect. The young girl had no human interraction and had the mental capacity of an infant. This girl, who should have been in first grade, can't speak, can't play, can't write, can't do anything due to her lack of nature and nurture. After learning of these feral children, I don't think I'll ever get mad at my parents for little things anymore.

Nothing

Last week in class our teacher gave us an assignment that we had to do nothing. We basically had to stand in a crowded area and just do nothing. We couldn't talk, or pretend to be waiting or looking around for something, we just had to stand there and "see what we see", and then reflect back on the process after ten minutes. I chose to do this assignment when I was at an airport when I was visiting Alabama. At first I thought an airport was a good place to do this because I thought people stand around doing nothing and no one notices but also because it was a really crowded place. I felt really awkward and uncomfortable at first. i'm not used to just standing around doing nothing. I always have to be doing something. I guess that's what the point of the assignment was--to prove that in our society, we're taught that it's awkward to just be standing around doing nothing. I noticed that everyone was running around like crazy (or maybe that's because they were missing their flights! i'm not sure..) and no one really took the time to just stand still and relax. From now on when my life gets really crazy busy, I'm going to make sure to take time and do nothing--it really did relax me!

Dependency -- Tuesdays With Morrie..

For the past few days in class, we've watched the movie "Tuesdays with Morrie" I've never seen this movie before but from what I have seen, I'm trying to analyze through a sociological perspective. The main character, Mitch, is obsessed with work, and keeps himself busy and detatched from the real world (his social life, like his girlfriend, and his old teacher Morrie). Mitch WANTS to be independent, although he becomes more and more dependent on the people he loves later on in the movie.

I think a lot of people are afraid of being so dependent on others is because you can lose the people around you. Mitch knows that Morrie is going to die; Morrie is sick and he's getting worse with every tuesday visit Mitch has. I think it's hard sometimes to get too close to someone you know you are going to lose. Or maybe it's just the thought of losing them that makes you so afraid of getting close in the first place?

I depend a lot on my friends, family and parents. Whether it's for support, advice, or just to talk and listen to each other, I need these people in my life. My parents have helped me a lot. When I was younger, I depended on them for rides. But now I have a license and a car, but sometimes I still ask them to drive me!! I also depend on my parents for starting college, having a place to stay, clothes, food, etc. I need my friends and family a lot for advice, or just to hang out. It doesn't really bother me being somewhat dependent on these people. If I was completely independent, I'd feel alone. I like having my friends and family around when I need them.

Alabama--subculture

We've been talking a lot in class about culture and subculture. Our teacher emphasized our social norms, and how other countries have their own cultures--and sometimes each country has their on subculture within. We learned how culture can depend on a lot of things: materialistic things  (clothes, phones, cars, etc..), resources, and even religion.

Last weekend my mom and I went to look at a college in Alabama. When I told all my friends that I was looking at schools there for next fall they all made fun of me saying I'd be the only jew. I thought it was soo weird that it was even a big deal that I'd be going there; being jewish is a part of me because everyone in my family is, but I've never really payed attention to my religion. When I went to visit Alabama, I met up with an old friend I have that goes there, and she introduced me to her friends, and they were asking me all about being jewish. Like they had never met anyone jewish before.. it was really strange and uncomfortable!!

Although Alabama is in the US, it felt like a completely different culture to me, even though it's a subculture. In Chicago people drive so fast and everyone is always in a hurry, but in Alabama I noticed that people even drive like 15 miles under the speed limit, and they take their time and go really slow with everything. I've seen Illinois colleges before, and Alabama college was so different also. I don't know if it was just the town or particular school, but there were a million churches, and no materialistic stores on the campus.

I think it's possible to evolve with whatever culture you're surrounded by, but visiting Alabama and comparing it to Illinois (even the people were so different there!) was so surprising to me!! Everyone says the south is different from the midwest and it really is true!!

(a photo I took in Tuscaloosa, Alabama...a few minutes past the college campus)

Culture shock definitely came into play for me when I visited Alabama. Not only were the people so different in the south than in Illinois, but the town (from what I saw) and some of their regular day customs were so different. I drove 5 minutes past the college campus, and was shocked when I saw the tornado damage in Tuscaloosa (left over from when the tornados hit in April just past the campus). It was horrific and I had never seen anything like it!! It was really shocking to see that such a beautiful campus where nothing looked wrong at all, had immense damage just a few minutes past the school. I was so shocked to see this.