Post 6

This unit, we have examined the concept of deviance. Deviance is defined as repeatedly or seriously violating society's norms, and is relative to time and place. In our society today, people are so quick to judge when someone does something the slightest bit different from what is considered "normal." Deviance labels people by making society believe they are different or weird. In the worksheet we filled out on the first day of this unit, some behaviors that were commonly labeled deviant within the class were a man wearing a dress, continuously talking to oneself in public, and balancing groceries on your head in public. Though, since deviance is relative to place, balancing groceries on your head in a different country may be considered normal. In Saints and Roughnecks, the saints thought the roughnecks were deviant, and the roughnecks thought the saints were deviant. The actions that were considered deviant by the saints weren't the actions considered deviant by the roughnecks, because these two groups had a different perception of what is acceptable and normal. Delinquency by the roughnecks was normal, but delinquency by the saints was deviant. Going to college for the saints was normal, but deviant to the roughnecks. A few years ago, if I was in public and I saw two men kissing, I would believe they were deviant or different. Though, if I saw two men kissing today, I would think it's completely normal. This proves that deviant is relevant to time. Personally, I like to go to bed around 9 pm. My friends who like to go to bed around 1, 2 am think I'm deviant, because I'm different than them and I probably violate the norm of a high school student going to bed really late. Deviance is repeatedly present in our society, but we shouldn't always be so quick to judge.

Post 5

Recently, we have explored how socialization affects males and females and how something like gender can be so taken-for-granted. Our society tends to push people towards one end of the spectrum. Masculinity and femininity are factors of social construction. Our society pushes men to be "masculine", or strong, muscular, not sensitive, unemotional, and more. Boys feel pressured to fit this standard, so when they don't, much bigger problems occur. One of those problems being resorting to violence to prove masculinity. In class we read the article by Kimmel and Mahler, and this showed us that the main factor in shootings is gender, specifically men. We learned that when men feel that their masculinity is taken away from them, some resort to guns to prove their manliness. We also focused on femininity, and the pressures on girls from society. Through multiple videos in class including Killing us Softly, we explored how society pressures girls to be perfect-thin with long hair, flawless skin, bright eyes, and more, even though the women we see in ads are far from real. Ads use photoshop to enhance these models, making girls believe they must fit this idea, even though these photos are fake. As as result, women strive to fit this fake image of perfection, even though it's unattainable because it is not real. This is prevalent in my life whenever I watch tv or go to the mall. I see commercial after commercial and ad after ad advertising for hair products or skin products using a model that has been photoshopped. All in all, society puts unrealistic pressures on each gender, leading to consequences and problems that aren't worth it.