Sex and Gender!!!!

Sex and gender is all around, meaning I always hear about it, and I been learning about it ever since I was little. Nowadays you can never know if someone is a male or female, because people changes there looks so much.

Many people seem to not understand the difference between Gender and Sex. Sex really means female with female organs and male with male organs, whereas gender is socially constructed by our cultural expectations, our interaction with others. The reading "Understanding Sexual Orientation" by Alfred C. Kinsey is a cross culture study about homosexual and heterosexual. He talks about how everyone was either heterosexual or homosexual from the time of birth. he studies homosexual people by their emotions, aspiration, appearance, activities and behaviors. There are three types of gender identity: some identify themselves as heterosexual while some identify as homosexual. From reading this article, I think hes trying to say is, everything is not always divided, someone can be two or three things at the same time. And I seen proof of all that, where someone can be lost lesbian and gay or other things. You might not be gay when you were born, but everything changes when you’re living through life. I knew a lot of girls who use to like boys and vise Vera, but after awhile I guess they got tired or they just got attracted to the same sex so they became something else, its but to be that, I mean I know before in the society accepting something like that wouldn’t it ever happen, but now you can do whatever you want, it’s the 21^st century. I know for  a fact, more years later, theres gonna be maybe something more interesting than just dating your own sex, and I honestly wont be surprise with anything that happens.

Race and Ethnicity!!!!!!

I know so many high school drop outs, and funny how, most of them are my age or younger, and they were in the same position like me as a school student, and now I’m almost with a associate college degree where as there doing nothing with their life, just working minimum wage jobs, I mean don’t get me wrong, I work too, but its not like I’m going to work there forever. I feel sorry for them sometimes, but sometimes I wish I could do something to help them, because they could have had a bright future, or still have a future if they still start going to school again. Sometimes it’s the race that affects all this.

Reading the article “The Hispanic Dropout Mystery” I knew high school dropout rate went up  from the past years, and its also dvided into race.This article talks about how the dropout rate for Hispanics is 30 percent. This percentage is nearly 3 times the rate for whites and twice therate Blacks. Why are these numbers so high?

These students all have a lot of reasons most of them are personal reasons and or family problems, many of them which can apply to students from all different ethnic backgrounds; they are failing, they are bored, peer pressure, they get disrespected, or they are working to support their family. Other people just blame it on the students themselves. The article says "One third of Hispanic children live in poverty, and like many inner-city children, they start school at a substantial disadvantage: They rarely attend preschool, and their parents, often ill-educated or illiterate, don’t read to them." I think someone needs to show them step-by-step raising children. There is a stereotype (generalizations about categories of people that do not acknowledge individual variation) about Asian and South Asian students that say that they are all very smart, just because some are smart, doesn’t mean all of us are smart.. and sometimes, its because parents pushes hard so they can do something good in the future. Although that is how most of the parents are, some parents just can't do much for their kids education wise because of poverty. This is a way that the Hispanic parents talked about in the article are related to many South Asian/Asian parents.

What can be done? i think people should talk to all these people and show them how their future would be like without education. I feel like we need to try harder to convince them, because they might be just dealing with hard problems and family issues, and someone needs to show them there’s still hope.

What’s really different between all of us? The video “The between us”  talks about how yes, we are all different by color of our skin, eyes, hair, how we are figured and etc. And many years ago we were divided in 5 different races, but now it has expanded. We created different race in the world but really, there is no genetic difference between different ethnic groups. In the video it shows Africans American are athletes, but is that true? No because anyone can be good at something if they try, its not only one person is better at something, someone always has to try hard to get whatever they want. This relates to the article I read because its like the drop outs, if they tried hard enough, and do what they can, they can still go somewhere in life.

Extra Credit: TED Talk education Hosted by John Legend

Ted Talk Education is a talk show that hosted by John Legend. It shares a deep concern to notice the entire high school dropout crisis. John Legend brings speakers to give us a speech on different things about learning and teaching. Rita F. Pierson is a woman who spent her whole life working in school. She shares how if students don’t like teachers they won’t learn. She explains how if teachers don’t communicate well enough with your students then they will not learn anything and they won’t pay attention. She thinks teachers should have a better attitude toward student; the job is not hard, they were born to teach. She just wants teachers to know, you don’t have to like the student, and you just have to do your best of teaching the students. Dr. Ramsey Musallam a chemistry teacher who states that best way to learn is keep asking why like how little kids to when they don’t understand something, and until they do, they keep repeating why why why. Even with all the new things around, we still need human beings to help us more understand new things. Like me, I need someone to explain to me if I’m learning something new, I can’t just go to Google and learn, it’s never going to work, I don’t know if it’s just me, or if everyone is like that. Dr. Angel Lee Duckworth a psychologist who speaks about those people who successful are those who have girts. She tells us that in order to learn is to be wrong, make mistake and keep trying again until you take more lesson and start all over again to do better at something you fail. It’s like me, two semesters ago I failed my math class, but I didn’t give up, I took it again and got an A, that proofs she is right about even failing is not a bad thing, because you keep trying again. Bill Gates said everyone needs a coach in everyone’s life. I think he’s correct, we always had a coach, we just never noticed it, example when we were first born, and who taught us to walk? Talk? Eat? Of course it’s the people who took care of us, so we always had a coach we just never realized it, and I think even after we grow up, we need someone to always help us and tell us if we are doing something wrong. Dr. Geoffrey Canada talks about how this year we lose millions of kids from the education system. He said there are kids failing in school that had kids failing 56 years ago and still failing until this day, he’s talking about how it didn’t change, even after that many years, its true it’s funny how everything changes and things get better but not school systems? And he also says how can they pay so much money to pay other things, but not school?  He says 5 billion dollars should be much if they can waste money on other useless things. All the speaker in this show explained their thoughts about how teachers needs to improve, people needs to ask for changes in the educational system and more other things. Im very touched how there are still   people out there who cares about education and still wants more change in this world.

INEQUALITY!!!!!!!

 

The video "people like us" shows how everyone tries to fit in the society. The video's main point is like the whole society always finds ways to fit in, its like in a job or something, you always see how other acts and you follow them so you could be part of the so called "crew."This video also goes back to what Professor applewhite was talking about in class, about class, and how much people make, and whose higher or not. like you might think your working class or middle class but instead you might be in a lower class then you know.Watching the video made me realize we all try to fit in everywhere, and we do anything and everything just to fit in. I actually compare this video to my country becuase, in my country who ever has land is rich, and they think they are all that just becuase of their land, this defines that what class you are does matter in our everyday life, sometimes, some poeple just wants to hang out with you just becuase you have money, you can actually see how people are treated just becuase they have money.

 

 
The world that we live in today is filled with social, class and gender inequality. The article "cause of death:Inequality" is about how poeple of lower class seem to be direct target when it comes to inqquailty. this includes people that are poor, less educated and have very low class jobs. This article points out that even if people are poor in the United States; these people are having better health than ordinary people in poor country. The sentence that was interesting to me in this article was the first sentence becuase it makes you realize the reality of our world and society today. although people are dynig all over for many reasons, if you notices, poor people seem to be more affected with all the illness than the upper class. The article points out reasons for inequality, such as gender, race, class, education act and how it effects life expectancy.in the USA woman have no longer life expectancy by six years more than men do. Men with less than 12 years of education is more likey to die before educated men and the reasons are because highschool drop out do whatever they want, and follow others who doesnt care about their deit and other things in there life. A high school drop out is considered poor while a college student is considered middle class and the college student would likey live longer than a drop out student becuase the college student will have an easy job because of thier hard work they did in school, where as the drop out will probably die from all the injuries they get from there hard jobs. Although we have changed many of the gender inquality over past cnetury, socail and class inequality are now more than ever at a very high level. 

 

 

 

 

 

DEVIANCE!!!!!!!

Chapter 8 discusses Deviance and Social Control. Deviance is behavior that does not conform to basic cultural norms and expectations. Boundaries between normal and deviant are rarely understood or clear because people often disagree about where the line should actually be drawn. Maybe the way i define deviance might not be the same way someone else defines it.  


Examples of deviances of my everyday life.

1.Wearing footwear is mostly accepted here in the United States. If you were to wear footwear in an South Asian home, that is an act of deviance. In my house, shoes are not to be worn after you enter through that door. Now that I think about it, my parents would yell at me if I didn’t take off my shoes after I came from outside because they think my shoes are dirty. This is a shared belief within the community.

2. In my country or most muslim country, you eat with your hands.  Its not really accepted here in the united states. Almost everyone here eat with fork and spoon but back home, that will be considered a disrespect to your religion if there’s nothing wrong with your hands and your still eating with fork besides your hands. I don’t know if anyone else feels like this but, I find it way easier eating with my hands, maybe because I been eating with my hands my whole life, but its so easy and to me the food tastes ten times better. This 'act' is not normal here in America, but if I was back home, it would be completely normal. This proves that our culture and location has a lot to do with what is considered 'normal'. This also proves that the boundaries between normal and deviant are rarely clear. I also think this directly relates to differential association theory. For an outsider looking in, they would be able to see that I usually eat with my hands because that’s what I learned from my family.

3. )  Its so depressing In some countries, there is a lot of prostitution, child sex trafficking going on. Prostituting a daughter in America would be a deviant act in the United State but a way of life for some non-industrialized nations.  America does not allow that nonsense. In some countries, and some part many parents will actually give up their children to prostitution in order to help make money for the rest of the family.


4) Sometime when I walk into a restaurant, I see some guys picking their nose, now that’s just nasty but he thinks no ones sees it. I  mean it might be right to do it in your house, or not but not outside, especially not in a restaurant where people eats. this can be related to loner deviance, where the individual commits this act without the social support of another person.

5) Another deviance act is example in my house, my father is very religious, so if someone came to my house and doesn’t go pray especially the mans, or even my own brother, he will not talk to them, or be very mad at them, but if you see other family from the same country as me, their fathers are not that religious so there father doesn’t get mad if they pray or not, as in American people they pray when they want to, thy don’t have no timing for it.

6) This country is a multi-cultural, so with all the nationality all around, I m not surprised with all the deviances here. Its not surprising, because every culture looks t everything in a different way, so as I might see something being deviant, someone else might not, as same goes for, some things some culture does that American still don’t accept.

Positive Functions of the Undeserving Poor: Uses of the Underclass in America by Herbert J. Gans. Gan's article talks about  how poverty causes people to behave in deviant ways and commit deviant acts. He is saying that based on your social class of being poor, this causes you to act the way you act. In my opinion, although I can see why people will make this stereotype, I do not necessarily agree with it. There is no proof for it and frankly, there can be many factors as to why a person behaves the way that they do.

SOCIALIZATION !!!!

1. TONY PORTER : A CALL TO MEN

The video by Tony Porter: A Call To Men  is video most men’s and females should watch. The video was about Tony telling us about his life experience and tells how what some guys would have to follow this “Man Box” in order to be considered a man.  Tony grew up in New York City in Bronx Harlem and growing up as a boy he learned men had to be courageous, strong, dominate, no pain, no emotions and with all that a exception of anger, no fear and suppose to see woman’s as sexual objects. Woman are suppose to listen to men and men’s are suppose to be the head of the house hold. Tony gave one great example of how he has two kids, a boy and a girl and they are 15 months apart from each other and how he showed sympathy while his daughter was crying, but when his son was crying he told him to go to his room, and stop crying, and when he’s ready to talk to his father like a man he can come back and talk to him. Tony himself admit, he realize what he did wrong, his son was only a child at that point, and he understood what was his mistake, telling his son to men up.Another example Tony gave was, when his family had to bury one of his brother who died at a teen age and after coming back from burying him, they were on their way back home while everyone but his father and him didn’t go to the bathroom, and his father started crying because there was no females around, and his father told him he was strong because he wasn’t crying. This showed he wait to wait until all the females left for him to cry because he didn’t want to show no emotion. He was just following the man box. Tony also asked a boy, imagine you didn’t follow the man box or there wasn’t one, what would happen? The young boy answered he would be free. This video is worth spreading and showing people how and what happens for some men’s following this man box, and they cant even get out of it, because of the fear of society. 

2. KILLING US SOFTLY 3: ADVERTISING IMAGES OF WOMEN

This video was about how they use women and how they advertise them.  Shows how advertising is doing to some people’s mind, as well as how they show the women’s on advertising’s. This is how advertising started off really good and got better during the years. Advertising started from 1979 to 1999 and got so popular since then.  It’s everywhere you go, example billboard signs, T.V, radio, newspaper, magazine and etc.  Some people says the media full of Ads didn’t corrupted their mind, at the same time their trying to look like the model on TV not knowing those models doesn’t even exist.
Showing how advertising is getting bigger and everyone sees it or listens to it, it can affect and cause a lot of problem, because not everyone is the same or can use the same products. Over all the media has become a big influence over the years, and its still getting bigger. Women’s waste a lot of money, time, and amount of energy, but after while they fail because how can you be like someone that doesn’t even exist.

3. The chapter on socialization shows how we as in us were socialized into our society’s culture, how do agents of socialization reproduce social structure and how power shapes our daily life and your sense of self.   After reading chapter 6  I learned how people learn about their culture through the process of socialization . An how family, school, media, peer groups, the workplace and religion plays a big role in every person’s life. The two video A CALL  TO MEN by Tony Porter and Killing Us Softly are two videos that shows the differences between male and females. We know what we are the day we are born, by the way we are dressed, our human body tells us who we are by looking at our body. Both video relates towards this chapter because it shows how male and female are separated from each other and shows how everyone sees us very different.

4a) Looking at the first picture can you tell the difference between these two picture? of course growing up in this society you can tell one is a boy and the other one is a girl.

b) Would a boy play with this doll house? obviously not, you know from the beginning this is a girls toy.

c) Same thing with this photo, you would mostly see a boy play with cars than a little girl.

5)The two reading The retro wife and parents socialization of children's also goes towards this chapter. The  retro wife was about how a woman had her future planned and showed how most women didnt want to be a a house wife and want to do same things as mens. The parents socialization of children's is about doing research on different cross cultural and see how different parents raises their kids. They noticed in their research that parents all over the world have more similarities than differences.

Reading both of the article, I know not all woman's wants to be house wife, neither do I, because I'm married but I still think i can finish my education and still be someone in the future even after being married, i dont see myself as a house wife. An when i have kids, im not gonna let them do whatever they want, but at the other hand, not let them do anything at all, but be in-between. An i also agree that parents all around the world are more alike than different.