Live Nude Girls Unite
1. What is the main thesis of the film?
The main thesis of this film is let everyone know that dancers and strippers are not just sluts but they are real people. That they deserve rights at their "job" just as much as we do working at other places like a professor or a grocery store clerk.
2. What were the main arguments that support this thesis?
A argument is that most people miss, is that these dancers are just working their "job", their "profession." A lot of people look over that because they are to busy stigmatizing this professions with sluts and whores. Just because the women sell their body to pay their bills does not mean they should have the same rights or the same access to things as other "professions" do. They do not have sick days or health care and they are discriminated against by their body type, hair color, and especially skin color. When reading Humanizing Sex Workers? and looking at the ads made me think that they should be humanized. I have never really thought about how bad they are treated, how they do not really have any rights until watching this film and also reading this article. they are more then just a dancer or stripper they are a mother and sister too.
3. How does the thesis of the film relate to the class?
Its obvious that these dancers are seen as deviant because of what they do. They are stigmatized from the very get go. We think, as a society, that we should not be selling our body. This reminds me of when we talked about deviant bodies and how you have to look the perfect way for society not to look at you as deviant. It is the same way for dancers. They have to be certain body type, hair color and length, a certain skin color, etc to be accepted into this profession.
4. Which arguments did you find most convincing?
The part I found most convincing was when the dancers where marching on the street demanding for rights. Since dancing is a job they should be allowed to have basic work rights or at least human rights. Sick days, holidays, health care, etc. Everything that we have in our professions they should at least have the options.
5. Which arguments did you find the least convincing?
Really, I found all of them convincing and really good.
6. Choose one argument, point or question that most stands out for you. How would you study this point? Briefly design a research study around that point.
I would like to study if the men really do like the "ideal body type" for a stripper then others. Do they really prefer white, blond hair, big boobs and butt women. Or do some men like darker skinned women with brown hair, etc
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Extra Credit 5
'Codes of Gender'
“Codes of Gender” is the fourth and last film in the diversity film serious at WSUV. I found this film the most interesting and the one I liked the most as well. This film talked about how society sees gender. It started out with how we only see two genders and then it went on to go into depth about how we see each gender.
We have talked about this a lot in class how the males and females of our society are seen. This film even went into depth how we photograph male and female models. It talked about how females are always with this seductive positions and that if you see a male in the same positions then they must be gay. And everything that was about a female was that we are below males. Everything! The way we stand, touch, look, etc was all submissive, powerless and dependent, where the male stance was powerful, and assertive.
I also noticed that every picture of a model was the “ideal women.” We talked about that in class as well. They were all skinny, but not really too skinny, pretty hair, etc. Not one model was overweight or at least more than 100 pounds.
At the beginning it mentioned that we need to know the gender of someone before can communicate with them. It’s like when we can’t tell what gender they are, it’s really hard for us to function. This film was by far my favorite and I felt it gave the most “facts” then the others as well.
“Codes of Gender” is the fourth and last film in the diversity film serious at WSUV. I found this film the most interesting and the one I liked the most as well. This film talked about how society sees gender. It started out with how we only see two genders and then it went on to go into depth about how we see each gender.
We have talked about this a lot in class how the males and females of our society are seen. This film even went into depth how we photograph male and female models. It talked about how females are always with this seductive positions and that if you see a male in the same positions then they must be gay. And everything that was about a female was that we are below males. Everything! The way we stand, touch, look, etc was all submissive, powerless and dependent, where the male stance was powerful, and assertive.
I also noticed that every picture of a model was the “ideal women.” We talked about that in class as well. They were all skinny, but not really too skinny, pretty hair, etc. Not one model was overweight or at least more than 100 pounds.
At the beginning it mentioned that we need to know the gender of someone before can communicate with them. It’s like when we can’t tell what gender they are, it’s really hard for us to function. This film was by far my favorite and I felt it gave the most “facts” then the others as well.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Extra Credit 4
Drag Show
For extra credit I attended the WSUV drag show on Thursday March 29, 2012. I had never been to a drag show prior to this event. I am not going to lie it was a little awkward at first. I kind of just sat towards the back and observed things. But as the show went on I was kind of mad that I couldn’t see above peoples head and see the whole performances so I moved closer to the front and started getting a little bit more involved. The first time I tipped a performer I was like “awkward” but as the show went on I got much more comfortable with it.
But to say the least I had a lot of fun. I was unable to stay for the dancing but the show was really good and so much fun. There were numerous performers and they all did really good. I would say that your partner was one of my top favorites. I really liked how she got involved with the audience the most. I also really liked the one that the couple did and then his solo was awesome too. I guess you could probably say that I liked the whole show. The poem that one of the hosts read was touching. I know what the LGBT community goes through but not really, and that just put it into full gear.
I had no idea that this event was put on every year. I am really glad that the club is also putting on the general neutral bathroom week to raise awareness about what some of the LGBT community has to go through just to pee. I hope at least around campus that the LGBT can get more respect. Not have to be questioned about their gender or sexuality.
You can relate this to our class because this show is definitely seen as deviant to society. The society has labeled this type of event as not in the norm. The performers are not heternormative, nothing matches the “norm” of our society. I really liked how you stated in class that you don’t want to become normal and be like the “straight” community but that you want the rest of us to expand our definition of normal that accepts you and the LGBT community. I had never heard that before about any other community. All you have to be is NOT white, straight, and male to be looked down on at some point in life and we just broadened our definition to let others that are not that in we wouldn’t have all the problems that we have in our society.
I loved this event!
For extra credit I attended the WSUV drag show on Thursday March 29, 2012. I had never been to a drag show prior to this event. I am not going to lie it was a little awkward at first. I kind of just sat towards the back and observed things. But as the show went on I was kind of mad that I couldn’t see above peoples head and see the whole performances so I moved closer to the front and started getting a little bit more involved. The first time I tipped a performer I was like “awkward” but as the show went on I got much more comfortable with it.
But to say the least I had a lot of fun. I was unable to stay for the dancing but the show was really good and so much fun. There were numerous performers and they all did really good. I would say that your partner was one of my top favorites. I really liked how she got involved with the audience the most. I also really liked the one that the couple did and then his solo was awesome too. I guess you could probably say that I liked the whole show. The poem that one of the hosts read was touching. I know what the LGBT community goes through but not really, and that just put it into full gear.
I had no idea that this event was put on every year. I am really glad that the club is also putting on the general neutral bathroom week to raise awareness about what some of the LGBT community has to go through just to pee. I hope at least around campus that the LGBT can get more respect. Not have to be questioned about their gender or sexuality.
You can relate this to our class because this show is definitely seen as deviant to society. The society has labeled this type of event as not in the norm. The performers are not heternormative, nothing matches the “norm” of our society. I really liked how you stated in class that you don’t want to become normal and be like the “straight” community but that you want the rest of us to expand our definition of normal that accepts you and the LGBT community. I had never heard that before about any other community. All you have to be is NOT white, straight, and male to be looked down on at some point in life and we just broadened our definition to let others that are not that in we wouldn’t have all the problems that we have in our society.
I loved this event!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
An "Illness"
Bipolar
Before I get into the in depth about my illness I want to give you some facts and definitions about it so we can all be on the same page.
Bipolar is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) under the mood disorders. Bi-Polar is a disorder where the primary symptom is a disturbance in mood. The Etiology of this disorder is that it has been shown a strong biological component and that environmental factors play a role in the exacerbation of the symptoms (allpsych.com). According to the DSM, Bipolar disorder is broke down into two types.
To be diagnosed with Bipolar 1, you must have at least one manic episode. Mania is like the opposite of depression. It is a very intense high, a person can feel euphoric, and they may feel indestructible in areas like finances and relationships. They feel that they don’t need sleep; they will have an elevated self-esteem, and may be easily distracted. They high may be appealing but it will often lead to severe difficulties in the areas listed above. For example, they may spend much more money than intended or make extremely rash personal decisions. Also in Bipolar 1 disorder you will experience depression. Depression is where the high will fade and the person realizes what they may have done during their manic episode, and the severity of the depressive episode can be increased (allpsych.com).
The second type of Bipolar is called Bipolar 2. Bipolar 2 is very similar to Bipolar 1. The only difference is that instead of manic episodes they are called hypo manic. The episodes are not as severe as manic. They don’t cause severe enough impairment in someone’s social or occupational functioning (allpsych.com).
Treatment for this disorder is medication. They find that medication is what helps the most. There are different medications that you can take for this disorder. But lithium is an example. But also, therapy is another treatment (allpysch.com). If you put both of these together is when you get the best results. But you cannot just throw in some medication and call it good. It can take years to find the correct combination of medications and therapy to get it all correct.
As the definition states, the behaviors that would be seen as deviant are the manic episodes. During these episodes you spend money you don’t have, relationships get ruined, business stuff can get messed up and other things as well. All these things are seen as deviant in our society. And also when you are in your manic episode and if someone steps in the middle of it and is making it to where you cannot do what you want, you can get out of control. Our society does not see that as the right way to handle things. And then also when you get depressed you can get so depressed you don’t want to get out of bed. Here is an article called “Hey, Why Are You Crying?” and it shows a great understanding of the depression part of this disorder.
The people that are diagnosed with the disorder of Bipolar gain from this because they get answers on why they act the way they do. It also helps the people around them understand their diagnosis and how to act around them. As Life Love and Bipolar says that family has to learn coping mechanisms. It comes down to routine, organization, and planning (Life Love Bipolar 2011).
They can also lose by being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder because they are looked at as being deviant. They are different than others and having the Bipolar disorder becomes their master status. That is all that people see is them being Bipolar, when there is so much more to them.
Whitney Blair Wyckoff says in the article “Despite Deeper Understanding of Mental Illness, Stigma Lingers” that some research suggests that the science behind being mentally ill is a brain disorder and not a defect in character. And maybe that is powerful enough to have the stigma of the condition disappear (Wyckoff 2010). This is going very well. People may understand that it is a brain disorder but there is no decrease in stigmatization. “Many people see mental illness as something that never goes away. ‘When you attach a feeling of permanence to this, then it justifies, in some ways, a person's sense of 'otherness' or 'less-than-humanness,’ Bernice A Pescosolido says” (Wyckoff 2010).
Bipolar disorder affects men and women equally. But if you went into the clinical area you would find a lot more women than men because women are more likely to come and get treatment for this disorder (Sachs 2008).
Being diagnosed with Bipolar it becomes your master status. That is all people think off. I think back to the article we read at the beginning of class called “My Gay Lifestyle” and how the author makes fun of how everyone thinks things are different because he gays. Some comments he makes are like he is just taking a gay shower or eating a gay dinner etc. I think of this when I think of Bipolar because when you are diagnosed with this disorder and really any other disorder that is all that people look at. If you were to write that same article but instead of gay use the word Bipolar. You eat a bipolar dinner; you drive Bipolar to work, etc. Just because you are gay or bipolar doesn’t mean everything is different than if you were “normal”.
Also Bipolar becomes there label. When we wrote all those labels on the board like jock, welfare mom, bitch, gay, etc, Bipolar should have been one on the board as well. You are labeled with this diagnosis for the rest of your life.
To bring this disorder home a little bit. My mom is diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder. It was very hard to understand at first. I remember always having fights with her because I didn’t understand her and she didn’t understand herself. It was about five years ago that she finally got diagnosed with it. And it was just about two years that things are finally normal in her life. I understand when they say it’s a strong biological component. It has taken us this long to finally get the right medication for her. And then also, environmental factors do play some role in this disorder. Now that she has a stable life and things are much better than before she has fewer reasons to have a manic episode. There are fewer things that may trigger a manic episode. Being bipolar is always thrown in my mom’s face. Everyone (but me, because I understand it) blame her being bipolar on any little thing she may do. If she is aggravated then it’ is like because she is bipolar, because no one else in this world gets aggravated. It is because it is her master status, which is all some people look at.
Being Bipolar is hard. It is almost like you are two different people. But with the correct treatment and the right support you should be just fine.
WORD COUNT: 1186
Works Cited
Krulwich, Robert. "Hey, Why Are You Crying?" NPR. 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2012..
"Living With Bipolar Disorder." Life Love and Bipolar. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2012..
Psychiatric disorders. (2011, Nov 29). Retrieved March 20, 2012, from Allpsych Online: http://allpsych.com/disorders/mood/bipolar.html
Sachs, Gary. "Are Men or Women More Likely to Develop Bipolar Disorder?" Abc News. 28 Feb. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2012..
Wyckoff, Whitney B. "Despite Deeper Understanding of Mental Illness, Stigma Lingers." Npr. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2012..
Before I get into the in depth about my illness I want to give you some facts and definitions about it so we can all be on the same page.
Bipolar is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) under the mood disorders. Bi-Polar is a disorder where the primary symptom is a disturbance in mood. The Etiology of this disorder is that it has been shown a strong biological component and that environmental factors play a role in the exacerbation of the symptoms (allpsych.com). According to the DSM, Bipolar disorder is broke down into two types.
To be diagnosed with Bipolar 1, you must have at least one manic episode. Mania is like the opposite of depression. It is a very intense high, a person can feel euphoric, and they may feel indestructible in areas like finances and relationships. They feel that they don’t need sleep; they will have an elevated self-esteem, and may be easily distracted. They high may be appealing but it will often lead to severe difficulties in the areas listed above. For example, they may spend much more money than intended or make extremely rash personal decisions. Also in Bipolar 1 disorder you will experience depression. Depression is where the high will fade and the person realizes what they may have done during their manic episode, and the severity of the depressive episode can be increased (allpsych.com).
The second type of Bipolar is called Bipolar 2. Bipolar 2 is very similar to Bipolar 1. The only difference is that instead of manic episodes they are called hypo manic. The episodes are not as severe as manic. They don’t cause severe enough impairment in someone’s social or occupational functioning (allpsych.com).
Treatment for this disorder is medication. They find that medication is what helps the most. There are different medications that you can take for this disorder. But lithium is an example. But also, therapy is another treatment (allpysch.com). If you put both of these together is when you get the best results. But you cannot just throw in some medication and call it good. It can take years to find the correct combination of medications and therapy to get it all correct.
As the definition states, the behaviors that would be seen as deviant are the manic episodes. During these episodes you spend money you don’t have, relationships get ruined, business stuff can get messed up and other things as well. All these things are seen as deviant in our society. And also when you are in your manic episode and if someone steps in the middle of it and is making it to where you cannot do what you want, you can get out of control. Our society does not see that as the right way to handle things. And then also when you get depressed you can get so depressed you don’t want to get out of bed. Here is an article called “Hey, Why Are You Crying?” and it shows a great understanding of the depression part of this disorder.
The people that are diagnosed with the disorder of Bipolar gain from this because they get answers on why they act the way they do. It also helps the people around them understand their diagnosis and how to act around them. As Life Love and Bipolar says that family has to learn coping mechanisms. It comes down to routine, organization, and planning (Life Love Bipolar 2011).
They can also lose by being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder because they are looked at as being deviant. They are different than others and having the Bipolar disorder becomes their master status. That is all that people see is them being Bipolar, when there is so much more to them.
Whitney Blair Wyckoff says in the article “Despite Deeper Understanding of Mental Illness, Stigma Lingers” that some research suggests that the science behind being mentally ill is a brain disorder and not a defect in character. And maybe that is powerful enough to have the stigma of the condition disappear (Wyckoff 2010). This is going very well. People may understand that it is a brain disorder but there is no decrease in stigmatization. “Many people see mental illness as something that never goes away. ‘When you attach a feeling of permanence to this, then it justifies, in some ways, a person's sense of 'otherness' or 'less-than-humanness,’ Bernice A Pescosolido says” (Wyckoff 2010).
Bipolar disorder affects men and women equally. But if you went into the clinical area you would find a lot more women than men because women are more likely to come and get treatment for this disorder (Sachs 2008).
Being diagnosed with Bipolar it becomes your master status. That is all people think off. I think back to the article we read at the beginning of class called “My Gay Lifestyle” and how the author makes fun of how everyone thinks things are different because he gays. Some comments he makes are like he is just taking a gay shower or eating a gay dinner etc. I think of this when I think of Bipolar because when you are diagnosed with this disorder and really any other disorder that is all that people look at. If you were to write that same article but instead of gay use the word Bipolar. You eat a bipolar dinner; you drive Bipolar to work, etc. Just because you are gay or bipolar doesn’t mean everything is different than if you were “normal”.
Also Bipolar becomes there label. When we wrote all those labels on the board like jock, welfare mom, bitch, gay, etc, Bipolar should have been one on the board as well. You are labeled with this diagnosis for the rest of your life.
To bring this disorder home a little bit. My mom is diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder. It was very hard to understand at first. I remember always having fights with her because I didn’t understand her and she didn’t understand herself. It was about five years ago that she finally got diagnosed with it. And it was just about two years that things are finally normal in her life. I understand when they say it’s a strong biological component. It has taken us this long to finally get the right medication for her. And then also, environmental factors do play some role in this disorder. Now that she has a stable life and things are much better than before she has fewer reasons to have a manic episode. There are fewer things that may trigger a manic episode. Being bipolar is always thrown in my mom’s face. Everyone (but me, because I understand it) blame her being bipolar on any little thing she may do. If she is aggravated then it’ is like because she is bipolar, because no one else in this world gets aggravated. It is because it is her master status, which is all some people look at.
Being Bipolar is hard. It is almost like you are two different people. But with the correct treatment and the right support you should be just fine.
WORD COUNT: 1186
Works Cited
Krulwich, Robert. "Hey, Why Are You Crying?" NPR. 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2012.
"Living With Bipolar Disorder." Life Love and Bipolar. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.
Psychiatric disorders. (2011, Nov 29). Retrieved March 20, 2012, from Allpsych Online: http://allpsych.com/disorders/mood/bipolar.html
Sachs, Gary. "Are Men or Women More Likely to Develop Bipolar Disorder?" Abc News. 28 Feb. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2012.
Wyckoff, Whitney B. "Despite Deeper Understanding of Mental Illness, Stigma Lingers." Npr. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Extra Credit 3
Orchid
The third documentary in this film serious was called “Orchid.” I really liked this documentary actually. There was a lot that I liked about it, but one main thing was that the sisters did it themselves. They didn’t get some high tech, high paying, video team to do it, they did it themselves which I thought was really good and really creative.
This documentary was about intersex sisters that wanted to get out there and tell everyone about their disease. Their parents made them hide it the whole entire time they were growing up. There was even a time that they didn’t know each other had it. They had a middle sister that doesn’t have AIS but has the genes to possibly pass it on to her kids. At first their parents, especially their mom, would not participate in the documentary. She didn’t like the fact that the sisters were not hiding it anymore. But then one day she received a letter saying that she was ready to tell her side of the story. So the documentary goes on and they travel around Australia. They meet up with someone else that is intersex as well, just a different type of it. They end up going into a thrift store and the clerk was asking questions of why they were filming, etc. Phoebe was a little hesitant to tell, but she said that was the whole reason why she was doing this documentary was because she wanted her story out there. They ended up meeting up with two of their friends that had met years ago that are both intersex as well. She met them online when she was looking for other people like her.
She has a husband that loves her dearly. But they had to come to the realization that they could not have kids of their own because of her AIS. They went through the process of adoption and after the long and hard process got adopted and at the end of the documentary they had their little girl.
This documentary relates to class in a few different ways. Also in some of the same ways I have talked about in my previous extra credit papers. But one way is that we talked about deviant bodies. And as sometimes it is really hard to tell if someone is intersex, other times it’s not. So we look at these people as deviant because they do not look like every other man and women. Also, this is their master status. We don’t look at anything else except the fact that they are intersex. They are different than the typical white, male, etc etc. I also found it interesting when the husband mentioned that when he found out about her AIS, he thought that maybe he was gay. Or did this mean that he was gay. But he didn’t sound like it would have been a bad thing if he was. But at the same time for him to even think of that means that maybe he was like “Oh no, I may be different then everyone else.”
All in all, I really liked this documentary and I am looking forward to the last one in the serious next Thursday!
The third documentary in this film serious was called “Orchid.” I really liked this documentary actually. There was a lot that I liked about it, but one main thing was that the sisters did it themselves. They didn’t get some high tech, high paying, video team to do it, they did it themselves which I thought was really good and really creative.
This documentary was about intersex sisters that wanted to get out there and tell everyone about their disease. Their parents made them hide it the whole entire time they were growing up. There was even a time that they didn’t know each other had it. They had a middle sister that doesn’t have AIS but has the genes to possibly pass it on to her kids. At first their parents, especially their mom, would not participate in the documentary. She didn’t like the fact that the sisters were not hiding it anymore. But then one day she received a letter saying that she was ready to tell her side of the story. So the documentary goes on and they travel around Australia. They meet up with someone else that is intersex as well, just a different type of it. They end up going into a thrift store and the clerk was asking questions of why they were filming, etc. Phoebe was a little hesitant to tell, but she said that was the whole reason why she was doing this documentary was because she wanted her story out there. They ended up meeting up with two of their friends that had met years ago that are both intersex as well. She met them online when she was looking for other people like her.
She has a husband that loves her dearly. But they had to come to the realization that they could not have kids of their own because of her AIS. They went through the process of adoption and after the long and hard process got adopted and at the end of the documentary they had their little girl.
This documentary relates to class in a few different ways. Also in some of the same ways I have talked about in my previous extra credit papers. But one way is that we talked about deviant bodies. And as sometimes it is really hard to tell if someone is intersex, other times it’s not. So we look at these people as deviant because they do not look like every other man and women. Also, this is their master status. We don’t look at anything else except the fact that they are intersex. They are different than the typical white, male, etc etc. I also found it interesting when the husband mentioned that when he found out about her AIS, he thought that maybe he was gay. Or did this mean that he was gay. But he didn’t sound like it would have been a bad thing if he was. But at the same time for him to even think of that means that maybe he was like “Oh no, I may be different then everyone else.”
All in all, I really liked this documentary and I am looking forward to the last one in the serious next Thursday!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Extra Credit 2
Riot Act
For the second documentary in the series that we watched last week was “Riot Act”. “Riot Act” is a documentary about transgendered bands or members of a band being transgender. I found it very informative. I had never known there were bands out there that consisted of all transgender people. I mean, why not? I just never thought of it. But everyone can form bands, it doesn’t matter your gender, sexuality, etc, it just matters if you can play some instruments or sing a few songs.
I remember a part in the documentary where a lot of the people talked about how they felt about how they are perceived and also how they like it. It was also discussed how others perceived them. I found it interesting that some of them were worried about how they would sound if they took hormones, etc. I guess it could change their voice from a male, deep sounding voice to a high pitched female voice or vice versa. Or if I remember right it could even ruin their voice?
This documentary relates to our course this semester because, for one, we have been talking about our master status. And people who are transgender, which is their master status. Regardless when someone looks at them, or talks to them etc, they first notice that they are transgender. Secondly the entire course is about being deviant and people who are transgender are looked at as deviant. They are not white, male, straight, etc so they are looked at as different, deviant. Thirdly, we just got done talking about deviant bodies and transgender people have a deviant body. They don’t look like a typical male or female (sometimes they do).
I look forward to the last two videos that we are going to be watching. These first two have been very informative and awesome to watch.
For the second documentary in the series that we watched last week was “Riot Act”. “Riot Act” is a documentary about transgendered bands or members of a band being transgender. I found it very informative. I had never known there were bands out there that consisted of all transgender people. I mean, why not? I just never thought of it. But everyone can form bands, it doesn’t matter your gender, sexuality, etc, it just matters if you can play some instruments or sing a few songs.
I remember a part in the documentary where a lot of the people talked about how they felt about how they are perceived and also how they like it. It was also discussed how others perceived them. I found it interesting that some of them were worried about how they would sound if they took hormones, etc. I guess it could change their voice from a male, deep sounding voice to a high pitched female voice or vice versa. Or if I remember right it could even ruin their voice?
This documentary relates to our course this semester because, for one, we have been talking about our master status. And people who are transgender, which is their master status. Regardless when someone looks at them, or talks to them etc, they first notice that they are transgender. Secondly the entire course is about being deviant and people who are transgender are looked at as deviant. They are not white, male, straight, etc so they are looked at as different, deviant. Thirdly, we just got done talking about deviant bodies and transgender people have a deviant body. They don’t look like a typical male or female (sometimes they do).
I look forward to the last two videos that we are going to be watching. These first two have been very informative and awesome to watch.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Film Review 4
Generation Rx
1. What is the main thesis of the film?
The main thesis of the film “Generation Rx” is that pharmaceutical companies persuade doctors to prescribe medications that in the end can hurt children and also adults. Its drugs like Ritalin which is prescribed for ADHD that cause these horrible symptoms.
2. What were the main arguments in support of the thesis?
The main argument is that these drugs that are prescribed to children SHOULD NOT be. They are not meant for children and in the end they are hurting them and or KILLING the children.
3. How does the thesis of the film relate to the class?
The thesis relates to the class because it has to do with how we socially construct people. If we wouldn’t label a child with ADHD and make that their master status then we wouldn’t have to go through with all this. The doctors are socially constructing these children for the rest of their lives. Making their master status something that is very hard for our society to accept.
4. Which arguments or points did you find most convincing?
I felt that the whole entire film was convincing. I agreed and do believe that the medications that the children were taking was causing the suicides and everything else.
5. Which arguments or points did you find least convincing?
I didn’t really find anything in the film that I didn’t like or that wasn’t convincing.
6. Choose one argument, point or question that most stands out for you. How would you study this point? Briefly design a research study around that point.
I would like to research more of the children that committed suicide. Make sure that there was nothing else in their life that could make them choose that. But I still cannot believe that children that young were committing suicide.
1. What is the main thesis of the film?
The main thesis of the film “Generation Rx” is that pharmaceutical companies persuade doctors to prescribe medications that in the end can hurt children and also adults. Its drugs like Ritalin which is prescribed for ADHD that cause these horrible symptoms.
2. What were the main arguments in support of the thesis?
The main argument is that these drugs that are prescribed to children SHOULD NOT be. They are not meant for children and in the end they are hurting them and or KILLING the children.
3. How does the thesis of the film relate to the class?
The thesis relates to the class because it has to do with how we socially construct people. If we wouldn’t label a child with ADHD and make that their master status then we wouldn’t have to go through with all this. The doctors are socially constructing these children for the rest of their lives. Making their master status something that is very hard for our society to accept.
4. Which arguments or points did you find most convincing?
I felt that the whole entire film was convincing. I agreed and do believe that the medications that the children were taking was causing the suicides and everything else.
5. Which arguments or points did you find least convincing?
I didn’t really find anything in the film that I didn’t like or that wasn’t convincing.
6. Choose one argument, point or question that most stands out for you. How would you study this point? Briefly design a research study around that point.
I would like to research more of the children that committed suicide. Make sure that there was nothing else in their life that could make them choose that. But I still cannot believe that children that young were committing suicide.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Film Review 3- Tough Guise
1. The main thesis of the movie Tough Guise is how the media portrays masculinity to the public and also how it has changed over time.
2. One of the main arguments was that in films the man’s role is almost always demeaning women. The shows then shows that men are suppose to treat women unequal and make them beneath them. But we are supposed to be all equal.
3. The thesis relates to the course themes by the whole course are about social deviance. And men, especially white men, are the least group seen deviant in the U.S. So seeing this film and how men are portrayed and how the media puts out how men should be is interesting. Also
4. The arguments I found most interesting or convincing was when they showed how G.I. Joe figures have changed over the decades. How first they were skinny men with little muscle and now the muscle and size of men’s biceps have grown so very much. It shows that to be accepted as masculine you have to be buff and have huge arms. Also I liked how they showed how women are perceived in our country. Notice, every Barbie is skinny, built but not too much, and mostly blond hair. I do not look like a Barbie, by far.
5. I didn’t really see any arguments that were not convincing or that I didn’t like. They were all good.
6. I would really like to research why they perceive that men need to look like the G.I. Joes. And the fact that the size of the toys’ bicep as grown over the years and by a lot. I would also like to research the other side of it, the girls. Why are they all super skinny etc? Why don’t they make a fat Barbie?
2. One of the main arguments was that in films the man’s role is almost always demeaning women. The shows then shows that men are suppose to treat women unequal and make them beneath them. But we are supposed to be all equal.
3. The thesis relates to the course themes by the whole course are about social deviance. And men, especially white men, are the least group seen deviant in the U.S. So seeing this film and how men are portrayed and how the media puts out how men should be is interesting. Also
4. The arguments I found most interesting or convincing was when they showed how G.I. Joe figures have changed over the decades. How first they were skinny men with little muscle and now the muscle and size of men’s biceps have grown so very much. It shows that to be accepted as masculine you have to be buff and have huge arms. Also I liked how they showed how women are perceived in our country. Notice, every Barbie is skinny, built but not too much, and mostly blond hair. I do not look like a Barbie, by far.
5. I didn’t really see any arguments that were not convincing or that I didn’t like. They were all good.
6. I would really like to research why they perceive that men need to look like the G.I. Joes. And the fact that the size of the toys’ bicep as grown over the years and by a lot. I would also like to research the other side of it, the girls. Why are they all super skinny etc? Why don’t they make a fat Barbie?
Extra Credit 1
Straightlaced
First off, I will start by I really liked this documentary. It was very informational on all different sides of the topic. I have never really interacted with someone that is bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, or someone that might be unsure of their sexuality, etc. At least if I did interact with them I had no idea that this was who they were. I thought it was really good to hear all sorts of different people’s feelings, life stories, etc on the subject of being straight or not.
Second, I also liked that everyone that talked about their experience was in their 20’s or they were a teen in high school. It was nice because it put it on a level that I understood and could relate to, in a sense. They were my age, much better then someone older or someone with a high up degree trying to explain it to us. It is hard to relate with people like that sometimes. And if I could not understand because we are different, I am sure someone else can relate to them and it helped them having it be someone their age possibly going through the same thing.
It was really nice to get more in depth, or at least know that is more than just being straight or gay. I have always known that it is more than that, but I didn’t know it could go that in depth and that there was WAY more to it. Having people tell their personal experiences and their thoughts was amazing. It was much better then learning about it through a text book.
The document “Straightlaced” relates to course topics in class because we talk the whole semester about people who are labeled deviant. And everyone that was in the document would be labeled deviant by our society. They look different, act different, talk different and more than the average white male or female. The people’s master status, in this documentary, was their sexuality or their gender and that also relates to class topics because we talk about how people are looked at in society. And if there master status is deviant then that is the only thing that gets looked at.
I am really looking forward to the rest of this series. I think it is going to be great. Like I said above, this was much better then learning this stuff out of a text book.
First off, I will start by I really liked this documentary. It was very informational on all different sides of the topic. I have never really interacted with someone that is bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, or someone that might be unsure of their sexuality, etc. At least if I did interact with them I had no idea that this was who they were. I thought it was really good to hear all sorts of different people’s feelings, life stories, etc on the subject of being straight or not.
Second, I also liked that everyone that talked about their experience was in their 20’s or they were a teen in high school. It was nice because it put it on a level that I understood and could relate to, in a sense. They were my age, much better then someone older or someone with a high up degree trying to explain it to us. It is hard to relate with people like that sometimes. And if I could not understand because we are different, I am sure someone else can relate to them and it helped them having it be someone their age possibly going through the same thing.
It was really nice to get more in depth, or at least know that is more than just being straight or gay. I have always known that it is more than that, but I didn’t know it could go that in depth and that there was WAY more to it. Having people tell their personal experiences and their thoughts was amazing. It was much better then learning about it through a text book.
The document “Straightlaced” relates to course topics in class because we talk the whole semester about people who are labeled deviant. And everyone that was in the document would be labeled deviant by our society. They look different, act different, talk different and more than the average white male or female. The people’s master status, in this documentary, was their sexuality or their gender and that also relates to class topics because we talk about how people are looked at in society. And if there master status is deviant then that is the only thing that gets looked at.
I am really looking forward to the rest of this series. I think it is going to be great. Like I said above, this was much better then learning this stuff out of a text book.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Blog Post 3- The R Word
We have been speaking since we came out of the womb, from baby babble to the real words of the English language. We have nice words to describe people like nice, handsome, kind, compassionate, etc. But, we also have not so nice words like bitch, slut, dick, etc. And lastly we have words that we just throw around like “gay” and “retarded”. The word I choose for this blog post is “retarded”.
I chose the word retarded because I throw it around a lot. I sometimes say to my family when they are being slow or being even funny, I will say “you’re retarded” or “you’re being retarded”. I have never used it in a bad way or used it to put someone down. I also do not call people I don’t know these words. My mother and I have called each other retards since I was in my teens. Neither one of us take offense to it, it is just a joking around type of thing. I even call myself retarded sometimes. If I do something wrong or if I know something but I cannot think of it and then when I do I would be like “I feel retarded.”
It was not until I got with my fiancée` that I have been trying to not say this word so much. He has a younger sister that as Retts Syndrome and really is mentally retarded. He does not take offense to the word when it is used, but his other younger sister does, and I also feel bad saying that word now that I really know someone that is that word. It changes everything when it is a “hit home” kind of thing.
The definition of retarded is “slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The word retarded is from Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin. The first known use of the word was in the 15th century (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
The word retarded went from a clinical description to a hateful derogatory word. When the word was first introduced, it was introduced as “mentally retarded” or “mental retardation” and it was a medical term that had a specific clinical connotation. Now the words “retard” and “retarded” are thrown around in today’s society to insult people. Also, when people without disabilities use the word to replace “stupid” and “dumb” it only “reinforces painful stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities being less valued members of humanity” (r-word.org). It is like we have talked about in class these last few weeks about dehumanizing people and this is a great way that we of society do that, with just a simple word like retard.
I feel the people that are most likely to throw the word retarded or retard around is our generation and mostly the generation after us. I think teens from like the age of twelve to age of sixteen or seventeen are the most likely to use these words.
The communities that are impacted by this word the most is the “mentally retarded” community. They are being dehumanized each time everyone outside that community used the words retarded and retard to dehumanize someone else. This word is not acceptable by really anyone. I think whether you are “mentally retarded” or not I do not think it is acceptable to use.
Yes, there are people that want us to stop using the word in the way we do. The whole reason of r-word.org is for a pledge not to say the word.
I think you can relate this to when we read about the labeling theory. Howard S. Becker says in his labeling theory that “Social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders” (Howard S. Becker, as in the book Readings in Deviant Behavior). We label mentally retarded people as the outsiders; therefore we make the mentally retarded have the label of deviant.
I also think that calling people retards or retarded and dehumanizing them also relates to the movie that we watch in class called “Murderball” staring Mark Zupan. The movie talked about how people in wheelchairs are dehumanized and looked at like they are less than people that have an able body. That is similar to people that are mentally retarded, they are looked at as less than people who are not mentally retarded.
We read a blog about the good cripple and the supercrip. Lastly, being mentally retarded would not fall into the good cripple or the supercrip, I don’t think so at least. I do feel that we feel bad for these people and always wish they were more like us.
Being mentally retarded is hard enough for people but I think we could make it a little easier if we didn’t throw the word retard or retarded around like we do in today’s society. So next time you go to say “your retarded” or something similar, maybe take a second look at that!
Word Count: 840
Becker, Howard S. "Labeling Theory." Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. 39-41. Print.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retarded
http://www.r-word.org/r-word-why-pledge.aspx
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/the-transcontinental-disability-choir-disability-archetypes-the-good-cripple
I chose the word retarded because I throw it around a lot. I sometimes say to my family when they are being slow or being even funny, I will say “you’re retarded” or “you’re being retarded”. I have never used it in a bad way or used it to put someone down. I also do not call people I don’t know these words. My mother and I have called each other retards since I was in my teens. Neither one of us take offense to it, it is just a joking around type of thing. I even call myself retarded sometimes. If I do something wrong or if I know something but I cannot think of it and then when I do I would be like “I feel retarded.”
It was not until I got with my fiancée` that I have been trying to not say this word so much. He has a younger sister that as Retts Syndrome and really is mentally retarded. He does not take offense to the word when it is used, but his other younger sister does, and I also feel bad saying that word now that I really know someone that is that word. It changes everything when it is a “hit home” kind of thing.
The definition of retarded is “slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The word retarded is from Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin. The first known use of the word was in the 15th century (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
The word retarded went from a clinical description to a hateful derogatory word. When the word was first introduced, it was introduced as “mentally retarded” or “mental retardation” and it was a medical term that had a specific clinical connotation. Now the words “retard” and “retarded” are thrown around in today’s society to insult people. Also, when people without disabilities use the word to replace “stupid” and “dumb” it only “reinforces painful stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities being less valued members of humanity” (r-word.org). It is like we have talked about in class these last few weeks about dehumanizing people and this is a great way that we of society do that, with just a simple word like retard.
I feel the people that are most likely to throw the word retarded or retard around is our generation and mostly the generation after us. I think teens from like the age of twelve to age of sixteen or seventeen are the most likely to use these words.
The communities that are impacted by this word the most is the “mentally retarded” community. They are being dehumanized each time everyone outside that community used the words retarded and retard to dehumanize someone else. This word is not acceptable by really anyone. I think whether you are “mentally retarded” or not I do not think it is acceptable to use.
Yes, there are people that want us to stop using the word in the way we do. The whole reason of r-word.org is for a pledge not to say the word.
I think you can relate this to when we read about the labeling theory. Howard S. Becker says in his labeling theory that “Social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders” (Howard S. Becker, as in the book Readings in Deviant Behavior). We label mentally retarded people as the outsiders; therefore we make the mentally retarded have the label of deviant.
I also think that calling people retards or retarded and dehumanizing them also relates to the movie that we watch in class called “Murderball” staring Mark Zupan. The movie talked about how people in wheelchairs are dehumanized and looked at like they are less than people that have an able body. That is similar to people that are mentally retarded, they are looked at as less than people who are not mentally retarded.
We read a blog about the good cripple and the supercrip. Lastly, being mentally retarded would not fall into the good cripple or the supercrip, I don’t think so at least. I do feel that we feel bad for these people and always wish they were more like us.
Being mentally retarded is hard enough for people but I think we could make it a little easier if we didn’t throw the word retard or retarded around like we do in today’s society. So next time you go to say “your retarded” or something similar, maybe take a second look at that!
Word Count: 840
Becker, Howard S. "Labeling Theory." Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. 39-41. Print.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retarded
http://www.r-word.org/r-word-why-pledge.aspx
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/the-transcontinental-disability-choir-disability-archetypes-the-good-cripple
Friday, February 24, 2012
Murderball Film Review 2
The main thesis of the film Murderball is that people that are disabled are able to do just as much as able bodies are if not more. I am an able bodied person and I do not think I would be able to, let alone have the guts to, play wheelchair rugby.
The main argument of the film is that disabled people are just as good as people that do not have a disability. For example people with disabilities are tired of getting looked down on, felt sorry for, etc. Like when Mark Zupan was explaining his situation at the bar. When the guy felt sorry for him and Zupan was like "Fucking hit me, I'll hit you back." He just wants to be treated equal. He wants equal opportunity with everything like we as able bodied people have. If you wanna pick a fight with someone in a wheelchair, pick it, they can probably kick your ass! And second another thing that is looked down on is if people in wheelchairs can have sexual intercourse. And as the movie goes into great detail about, you can still have sexual intercourse.
The main thesis of the film relates to the course materials because we have been talking about deviant bodies and how they are portrayed in society. And as we have discussed in class be disabled is being deviant. You are looked at differently.
The point I found most interesting was that when people just get into their wheelchair for the first time and for the next couple years they are really hopeful that they will be able to walk again. It takes some major adjusting to the wheelchair and the lifestyle. But after a few years they get the attitude of "okay I am never going to walk again, so lets make this the best". I feel that Zupan and the other characters in the film do that and they really show it, that just because you are in a wheelchair does not mean life cannot be great. You would think that Strain Theory would play a role here. Strain Theory is "how some social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons in the society to engage in nonconforming rather than conforming conduct" (Merton, as stated in Alex, Thomas, and Addrain, 2010). I would think they would have some strain at things. And they may, but they do not show it at least. The found a sport they can play and they are darn good at it. They embrace it!
There was not a point in the film that was not least convincing or anything. I really liked the film and I thought it was a great thing to show us. It was good information because there are a lot of people, and i was one at one time, that just feel sorry for people in wheelchairs and think they are helpless, but they are not.
Something I would like to look more into is how other people in wheelchairs feel about things. Talk to people that just got into their accident and then talk to them 5 or more years later. And also talk to different types of people, women, children, different races, etc. The film only showed white males that played wheelchair rugby really. Like what we read in the Bitch Magazine blog about "Supercrip." Its interesting how we portray the disabled and how they portray themselves.
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/the-transcontinental-disability-choir-disability-archetypes-supercrip
Merton, Robert K. "Strain Theory." Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. 21-26. Print.
The main argument of the film is that disabled people are just as good as people that do not have a disability. For example people with disabilities are tired of getting looked down on, felt sorry for, etc. Like when Mark Zupan was explaining his situation at the bar. When the guy felt sorry for him and Zupan was like "Fucking hit me, I'll hit you back." He just wants to be treated equal. He wants equal opportunity with everything like we as able bodied people have. If you wanna pick a fight with someone in a wheelchair, pick it, they can probably kick your ass! And second another thing that is looked down on is if people in wheelchairs can have sexual intercourse. And as the movie goes into great detail about, you can still have sexual intercourse.
The main thesis of the film relates to the course materials because we have been talking about deviant bodies and how they are portrayed in society. And as we have discussed in class be disabled is being deviant. You are looked at differently.
The point I found most interesting was that when people just get into their wheelchair for the first time and for the next couple years they are really hopeful that they will be able to walk again. It takes some major adjusting to the wheelchair and the lifestyle. But after a few years they get the attitude of "okay I am never going to walk again, so lets make this the best". I feel that Zupan and the other characters in the film do that and they really show it, that just because you are in a wheelchair does not mean life cannot be great. You would think that Strain Theory would play a role here. Strain Theory is "how some social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons in the society to engage in nonconforming rather than conforming conduct" (Merton, as stated in Alex, Thomas, and Addrain, 2010). I would think they would have some strain at things. And they may, but they do not show it at least. The found a sport they can play and they are darn good at it. They embrace it!
There was not a point in the film that was not least convincing or anything. I really liked the film and I thought it was a great thing to show us. It was good information because there are a lot of people, and i was one at one time, that just feel sorry for people in wheelchairs and think they are helpless, but they are not.
Something I would like to look more into is how other people in wheelchairs feel about things. Talk to people that just got into their accident and then talk to them 5 or more years later. And also talk to different types of people, women, children, different races, etc. The film only showed white males that played wheelchair rugby really. Like what we read in the Bitch Magazine blog about "Supercrip." Its interesting how we portray the disabled and how they portray themselves.
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/the-transcontinental-disability-choir-disability-archetypes-supercrip
Merton, Robert K. "Strain Theory." Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. 21-26. Print.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Middle Sexes Film Review
What is the main thesis of this film?
I think that main thesis of the film, "Middle Sexes" is for the society to acknowledge the "inner sexes." And not only acknowledge them but accept them for who they are. Society is stuck on all the norms and not being different, and when you are different "we" as society doesn't accept that.
What were the main arguments in support of this thesis?
I think the main argument of the film is when they talk about when everything is formed in the womb. The fact that we all start out with the same parts until hormones kick in and form us differently. And also that the private parts are formed as early as like 12 weeks but the brain inst formed until months after that.
How does the thesis of this film relate to the course?
The thesis relates to this course because this entire semester we are going to be talking about being deviant. Being "inner sexed" is definitely deviant, it doesn't fit into our norm. Nor does anything else around that topic either, homosexual, transgenders, or those born with man parts but is a women and vice versa. This also relates to the class because we "label" these people and we just got done talking about labeling theory. Howard S. Becker says in the labeling theory that "the central fact about deviance: it is created by society." So as society, if we would not label these kind of people as deviant, then they would not be different then all of the others that follow the correct "norms." Also if we didn't label us as just male or female, we would not run into so many problems either. The Intersex Roadshow
Which arguments or points did you find most convincing?
I really liked the point when they were talking about being Transgendered has nothing to do with your sexual orientation. Just because a women becomes a man doesn't mean she is going to like women.
I also really liked Noah's story. The way everyone reacted to him and the questions the film person was asking the family really got me thinking, "what if my daughter decides to like women? What am I going to do?"
Which arguments/points did you find the least convincing?
I liked every single argument in this film. I did not think there was anything that was least convincing then something else.
Choose one argument, point or question that most stands out for you from the film. How would you study this point? Briefly design a research study around that point.
I would like to research more into the Hindu thing. I don't recall exactly what its called or how they are referenced. But I would like to research it more. Research what is better, to take the hormones, to have surgery, or to not do anything but dress and look like a women.
Word Count: 487
References:
Becker, Howard S. "Chapter 7:Labeling Theory." Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. 39-41. Print.
I think that main thesis of the film, "Middle Sexes" is for the society to acknowledge the "inner sexes." And not only acknowledge them but accept them for who they are. Society is stuck on all the norms and not being different, and when you are different "we" as society doesn't accept that.
What were the main arguments in support of this thesis?
I think the main argument of the film is when they talk about when everything is formed in the womb. The fact that we all start out with the same parts until hormones kick in and form us differently. And also that the private parts are formed as early as like 12 weeks but the brain inst formed until months after that.
How does the thesis of this film relate to the course?
The thesis relates to this course because this entire semester we are going to be talking about being deviant. Being "inner sexed" is definitely deviant, it doesn't fit into our norm. Nor does anything else around that topic either, homosexual, transgenders, or those born with man parts but is a women and vice versa. This also relates to the class because we "label" these people and we just got done talking about labeling theory. Howard S. Becker says in the labeling theory that "the central fact about deviance: it is created by society." So as society, if we would not label these kind of people as deviant, then they would not be different then all of the others that follow the correct "norms." Also if we didn't label us as just male or female, we would not run into so many problems either. The Intersex Roadshow
Which arguments or points did you find most convincing?
I really liked the point when they were talking about being Transgendered has nothing to do with your sexual orientation. Just because a women becomes a man doesn't mean she is going to like women.
I also really liked Noah's story. The way everyone reacted to him and the questions the film person was asking the family really got me thinking, "what if my daughter decides to like women? What am I going to do?"
Which arguments/points did you find the least convincing?
I liked every single argument in this film. I did not think there was anything that was least convincing then something else.
Choose one argument, point or question that most stands out for you from the film. How would you study this point? Briefly design a research study around that point.
I would like to research more into the Hindu thing. I don't recall exactly what its called or how they are referenced. But I would like to research it more. Research what is better, to take the hormones, to have surgery, or to not do anything but dress and look like a women.
Word Count: 487
References:
Becker, Howard S. "Chapter 7:Labeling Theory." Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. 39-41. Print.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Being Deviant
How am I deviant? The biggest way I am a deviant is the way I drive. I have a record of speeding. Howard S. Becker explains in the labeling theory that society labels me as deviant because I exceed the speed limit. As a society we have had the norm of that we are to go the speed limit that is posted on those white and black signs on the right side of the road. Well, I decide not to sometimes, and I get caught. Robert K. Merton explains in strain theory that there could be a stress or burden on someone and that is why they are deviant or do deviant acts. I normally have the strain of being late to something and that is why I speed. I try my hardest to leave in enough time to get to my destination without speeding, but it is a challenge sometimes. (1)
Also, another way I am labeled deviant, by society, is I have a little fluff on my body. I am not a size 0 or anything. Actually by the numbers of the scale and doctors, I am considered obese. I don’t think I look obese, but according to society that is how they label me. That puts strain on me sometimes because it makes me want to lose weight more. I stress about it sometimes and wonder why I can’t be the size that society wants me to be. I really like the article we read called “My Gay Lifestyle” by Scudera because being fat is a similar thing. (2) I live a normal life and do normal things like shower, drive, have normal relationships, but since I am considered obese it’s like that word follows me, as the word gay follows him. We also read, “Hey Fat Chick: Thin Privilege Checklist” and I found that very interesting because as I was going through the list, my body type does not fall on that check list. For example, the second bullet point talks about picking up a magazine or watching TV and seeing people the same size. You don’t see fat or obese people in magazines or on TV very often. (3)
For my deviant experiment I decided to stand backwards in a few elevators. It’s funny because I decided to do this before you put it up on the blog as an example. Here is an example of what I did. It was the best one I could find.
I stood backwards in a few different elevators. The first one was in the Clark County Juvenile Court house. I just happen to be there for a speeding ticket so why not be there for two deviant reasons. There was one man in the elevator with me. I can feel that he was staring at me awkwardly. The second place I stood in the elevator facing backwards was at the Vancouver Mall. I ended up in an elevator with two teenage females. They didn’t say much, but laughed. And when we were getting out of the elevator I could tell they were talking about me quietly.
Standing with your back to the front of an elevator is considered deviant because we have a social norm to stand facing forward, just like we have a norm to follow the speed limit signs on the side of the road. There is nothing wrong or harmful with standing the opposite way; I just received awkward looks because I wasn’t following the social norms of society. It shouldn’t matter what way we stand but since day one we have always stood a certain way we are expected, as a society, to keep it the same.
It was strange to be acting in a deviant way. I am not a person that goes against the social norms of society frequently. Also, it was strange and different to be receiving looks, which I couldn’t really see because I was facing the other way but I could feel them staring at me. They were labeling me as weird or strange because I wasn’t following the norms of society. Like I explained above Becker says in labeling theory that if you act in a way, society will label you differently, whether that is who or what you are regardless.
Word Count: 700
(1) Thio, Alex, Thomas C. Calhoun, and Addrain Conyers. Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.
(2) (2) Scudera, Domenick. "My Gay Lifestyle." Huffpost Gay Voices. 1 Nov. 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2012..
(3) (3) "Hey, Fat Chick." Thin Privileged Checklist. Web. 4 Feb. 2012..
Also, another way I am labeled deviant, by society, is I have a little fluff on my body. I am not a size 0 or anything. Actually by the numbers of the scale and doctors, I am considered obese. I don’t think I look obese, but according to society that is how they label me. That puts strain on me sometimes because it makes me want to lose weight more. I stress about it sometimes and wonder why I can’t be the size that society wants me to be. I really like the article we read called “My Gay Lifestyle” by Scudera because being fat is a similar thing. (2) I live a normal life and do normal things like shower, drive, have normal relationships, but since I am considered obese it’s like that word follows me, as the word gay follows him. We also read, “Hey Fat Chick: Thin Privilege Checklist” and I found that very interesting because as I was going through the list, my body type does not fall on that check list. For example, the second bullet point talks about picking up a magazine or watching TV and seeing people the same size. You don’t see fat or obese people in magazines or on TV very often. (3)
For my deviant experiment I decided to stand backwards in a few elevators. It’s funny because I decided to do this before you put it up on the blog as an example. Here is an example of what I did. It was the best one I could find.
I stood backwards in a few different elevators. The first one was in the Clark County Juvenile Court house. I just happen to be there for a speeding ticket so why not be there for two deviant reasons. There was one man in the elevator with me. I can feel that he was staring at me awkwardly. The second place I stood in the elevator facing backwards was at the Vancouver Mall. I ended up in an elevator with two teenage females. They didn’t say much, but laughed. And when we were getting out of the elevator I could tell they were talking about me quietly.
Standing with your back to the front of an elevator is considered deviant because we have a social norm to stand facing forward, just like we have a norm to follow the speed limit signs on the side of the road. There is nothing wrong or harmful with standing the opposite way; I just received awkward looks because I wasn’t following the social norms of society. It shouldn’t matter what way we stand but since day one we have always stood a certain way we are expected, as a society, to keep it the same.
It was strange to be acting in a deviant way. I am not a person that goes against the social norms of society frequently. Also, it was strange and different to be receiving looks, which I couldn’t really see because I was facing the other way but I could feel them staring at me. They were labeling me as weird or strange because I wasn’t following the norms of society. Like I explained above Becker says in labeling theory that if you act in a way, society will label you differently, whether that is who or what you are regardless.
Word Count: 700
(1) Thio, Alex, Thomas C. Calhoun, and Addrain Conyers. Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.
(2) (2) Scudera, Domenick. "My Gay Lifestyle." Huffpost Gay Voices. 1 Nov. 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2012.
(3) (3) "Hey, Fat Chick." Thin Privileged Checklist. Web. 4 Feb. 2012.
Friday, January 20, 2012
How do you spot a deviant?
How do you spot someone that is deviant? You pick a sample and watch them. If you want to know who they think is deviant too, you listen. I listened and watched my parents this past week to see who they thought was deviant. My parents are very overt of who they think is deviant. My parents make it very obvious who is normal and who is deviant. The deviant people are African Americans. You can tell by the way they talk about African Americans compared to whites.
My father doesn’t gain anything but self confidence or self esteem by considering African Americans deviance. It makes him feel better each time he talks about African Americans, or how he says “those blacks.” The only reason why “these people” (African Americans) are considered deviant to my father is because that is how he grew up. He has been prejudice towards this population for as long as I can remember. My father is in his 50’s and the only explanation that I can think of is his parents grew up in the generation where African Americans were looked at differently than whites more than they are now, so I was taught to keep that going. I never heard any definition or any other explanation of why he thinks African Americans are deviant. You can either hear a black person joke from him or something about our President, Obama, daily. It’s not even worth bringing up anything that deals with those two populations because he will go on and on about how they are deviant or how he thinks they are deviant. The consequence of African Americans being deviant is punishment. It’s like we all hear in the media, this African American did this, and that one did that. They are getting so many years in prison. My parents don’t police or monitor African Americans; it’s how they were raised. They don’t go looking for them to monitor their good or bad behavior; it’s just something they may run across. If you are talking about a crime, the first thing from my father is “was he black?”
My parents, but mostly my father follows a path of least resistance. Like it is discussed in “Privilege, Power, Difference, and US” whether he intends to or not, he follows this path of least resistance, and that is how white, male dominance will continue even if it is not meant the way it is portrayed, to gain there power. If they would follow the path of resistance then maybe others would move up in the chain of command, African Americans or maybe females. This reminds me of those two videos that we watched this week of the African American boys vandalizing and then white boys vandalizing the same thing. How would you react? The way it was portrayed in the videos or the right way. My parents would have reacted the way the people did in the videos because he considers the African American population deviant.
In conclusion, my father’s master status is he is a white heterosexual male that is able bodied and he has followed the path of least resistance. African Americans are deviant to him. He doesn’t gain anything from believing that African Americans are deviant, he doesn’t police or monitor them. He doesn’t go looking for African Americans; it’s more of just if something comes up. My father is privileged and he uses it.
Word count 572
My father doesn’t gain anything but self confidence or self esteem by considering African Americans deviance. It makes him feel better each time he talks about African Americans, or how he says “those blacks.” The only reason why “these people” (African Americans) are considered deviant to my father is because that is how he grew up. He has been prejudice towards this population for as long as I can remember. My father is in his 50’s and the only explanation that I can think of is his parents grew up in the generation where African Americans were looked at differently than whites more than they are now, so I was taught to keep that going. I never heard any definition or any other explanation of why he thinks African Americans are deviant. You can either hear a black person joke from him or something about our President, Obama, daily. It’s not even worth bringing up anything that deals with those two populations because he will go on and on about how they are deviant or how he thinks they are deviant. The consequence of African Americans being deviant is punishment. It’s like we all hear in the media, this African American did this, and that one did that. They are getting so many years in prison. My parents don’t police or monitor African Americans; it’s how they were raised. They don’t go looking for them to monitor their good or bad behavior; it’s just something they may run across. If you are talking about a crime, the first thing from my father is “was he black?”
My parents, but mostly my father follows a path of least resistance. Like it is discussed in “Privilege, Power, Difference, and US” whether he intends to or not, he follows this path of least resistance, and that is how white, male dominance will continue even if it is not meant the way it is portrayed, to gain there power. If they would follow the path of resistance then maybe others would move up in the chain of command, African Americans or maybe females. This reminds me of those two videos that we watched this week of the African American boys vandalizing and then white boys vandalizing the same thing. How would you react? The way it was portrayed in the videos or the right way. My parents would have reacted the way the people did in the videos because he considers the African American population deviant.
In conclusion, my father’s master status is he is a white heterosexual male that is able bodied and he has followed the path of least resistance. African Americans are deviant to him. He doesn’t gain anything from believing that African Americans are deviant, he doesn’t police or monitor them. He doesn’t go looking for African Americans; it’s more of just if something comes up. My father is privileged and he uses it.
Word count 572
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