When reading the "Sex" portion of chapter four's "Cultural Variation and Everyday Experience," I was shocked to find that, according to the text, "... 1% of all babies born have some form of intersexuality, meaning that they are born with sexual organs that don't completely fit into the standard sex categories" (Newman 122). I viewed several videos online in which people who identify themselves as intersexuals speak out. Even though this video is in Dutch, I think it illustrates some of the constant struggles these people face.
Even though Maya constantly struggles with her sex, I think she's had an advantage being able to choose how to identify herself. The text talks about sexually ambiguous newborns being "assigned" genders: "About 90% are designated female because creating a vagina is considered surgically easier than creasing a penis" (Newman 122). Some of the videos I viewed showed people who had been "assigned" a gender that felt wrong. Choosing a gender at birth can not only cause extreme confusion, but it also limits options for possible surgeries later in life.
I can't imagine being unable to completely identify myself as one sex or the other, as being a girl is so much a part of who I am. I also can't imagine how I would have reacted had my son been born without a definite sex. What would I have told everyone in the waiting room?
I'm sure it's a complete shock to new parents, so I can understand why they would blindly follow a doctor's recommendation to assign a gender to a newborn; but hopefully increased awareness will help parents make informed decisions.
Newman, David. Sociology, Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Ed 8. 2010.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Personal Billboards
This assignment was extremely difficult for me because I'm not a billboards person. The above images do describe me: I'm a pro-peace, vegan Montessori parent, but I would never advertise these facts on my car or shirt. To me, personal billboards are not important. Seeing an "I heart cheese" t-shirt has never made me want cheese, just the same as a pro-war bumper sticker has never caused me to change my opinion on the matter. Personal billboards are, in my opinion, a way to make people feel like they're challenging ideas or changing minds, when they're just making their shirts and cars look cluttered.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Limitless
A self-fulfilling prophecy, according to David Newman's Sociology, Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, "is an assumption or prediction that, purely as a result of being made, causes the expected event to occur and thus confirms the prophecy's own 'accuracy'" (Newman 59). I've always found this idea fascinating, especially the way that self-fulfilling prophecies can affect people in a physical way. Newman writes of the affect a placebo drug had on balding men-- 42% noticed thicker hair or that hair loss had stopped. He shows that often, when people think they're being treated for a condition, their bodies react positively. The inverse is often true, too: When people think they're being exposed to something harmful, their bodies can react negatively (Newman 59).
Last night I saw the movie Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, and it got me thinking about self-fulfilling prophecies and the placebo effect. If you don't know what the movie is about, watch the trailer.
I wonder, though, what would happen if a group of people viewed Limitless and then were given the "exact pill" from the movie. Would the placebo work? I wouldn't be surprised if some, with the help of a little confidence, improved their lives, maybe to a drastic extent. Or what if they were given a pill that was supposed to do the opposite? Maybe they'd lose their jobs or become depressed.
Either way, the placebo effect illustrates the amazing power of the human mind. It's incredible what a little positive (or negative) thinking can do.
Newman, David. Sociology, Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Ed 8. 2010.
Last night I saw the movie Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, and it got me thinking about self-fulfilling prophecies and the placebo effect. If you don't know what the movie is about, watch the trailer.
After reading about the placebo effect, I couldn't help thinking, throughout the entire movie, that the pill was fake and at the end of the movie, we'd find out that Edward Morra had it in him the whole time: He just needed to believe in himself! Cheesy, yes, but not out of the realm of possibility. However, that wasn't the way the movie went, which you're probably glad to know if you were planning to see it. I'm not one to give away the ending.
I wonder, though, what would happen if a group of people viewed Limitless and then were given the "exact pill" from the movie. Would the placebo work? I wouldn't be surprised if some, with the help of a little confidence, improved their lives, maybe to a drastic extent. Or what if they were given a pill that was supposed to do the opposite? Maybe they'd lose their jobs or become depressed.
Either way, the placebo effect illustrates the amazing power of the human mind. It's incredible what a little positive (or negative) thinking can do.
Newman, David. Sociology, Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Ed 8. 2010.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
So Many Roles, So Little Time
When I read the "Statuses and Roles" section in Chapter Two of Newman's Sociology, Exploring the Architectrure of Everyday Life, I knew I could apply it to my own life. Role strain and role conflict are all too real to me.
I'm experiencing a bit of role strain, which Newman describes like this: "Sociologists use the term role strain to refer to situations in which people lack the neccessary resources to fulfill the demands of a particular role..." (Newman 25) I'm a Biology major who seems to lack scientific abilities: Chemistry makes me, literally, pull my hair out (my natural response to stress-- weird, I know). I understand this may not be a perfect example, though, as natural science abilities are not necessarily a requirement for a Biology major: Abilities can be learned. And to this idea I'll be clinging in my many, many, many hours of studying.
Returning to school has also brought about some role conflict, which is the situation that arises when one tries to adhere to conflicting roles, according to Newman (Newman 25). Currently, my status as a student is clashing with my status as a mother and partner. Prior to returning to school, I worked a very flexible job with great hours, allowing me to spend a ton of time with my son and boyfriend. Now that I have homework and classes, that's not the case. My roles don't start at a specified time and end a specified number of hours later like I wish they did. I'm simply going to need to learn to manage my time more effectively. I'd love some advice if others are dealing with the same thing. The below image is perfect-- that's exactly how great I look when juggling forty things ;).
Newman, David M. Sociology, Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Ed 8. 2010.
I'm experiencing a bit of role strain, which Newman describes like this: "Sociologists use the term role strain to refer to situations in which people lack the neccessary resources to fulfill the demands of a particular role..." (Newman 25) I'm a Biology major who seems to lack scientific abilities: Chemistry makes me, literally, pull my hair out (my natural response to stress-- weird, I know). I understand this may not be a perfect example, though, as natural science abilities are not necessarily a requirement for a Biology major: Abilities can be learned. And to this idea I'll be clinging in my many, many, many hours of studying.
Returning to school has also brought about some role conflict, which is the situation that arises when one tries to adhere to conflicting roles, according to Newman (Newman 25). Currently, my status as a student is clashing with my status as a mother and partner. Prior to returning to school, I worked a very flexible job with great hours, allowing me to spend a ton of time with my son and boyfriend. Now that I have homework and classes, that's not the case. My roles don't start at a specified time and end a specified number of hours later like I wish they did. I'm simply going to need to learn to manage my time more effectively. I'd love some advice if others are dealing with the same thing. The below image is perfect-- that's exactly how great I look when juggling forty things ;).
Newman, David M. Sociology, Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Ed 8. 2010.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
When I Was Twelve...
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was an awkward twelve-year-old, sitting in Ms. Pape's art class. It was normal for her to have the radio on but never the television. When I saw the smoking Twin Towers on the screen, I didn't understand what was going on, but maybe no one watching really did. It was a long time before I fully understood the scope of what happened that day.
It was so strange to know that the United States wasn't invincable-- whether that was an idea I'd been taught or just something every kid believed, I don't know. I wouldn't go as far as to say I wasn't a kid after September 11, but something definitely changed, as I'm sure was the case for many.
When I watched the initial bombing of Iraq on CBS with my parents, I thought the conflict couldn't possibly last long: just looking at a map reassured me. That was obviously not the case, though. As the years passed and the United States remained in wars, I became sort of numb to hearing bad news on television: "Thirteen killed in roadside bombing" might as well have been the daily weather report. And as more people began to oppose the wars, I became confused. I didn't know if I wanted to "END THIS WAR" or "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS."
To complicate things, a couple years ago I discovered a 2007 Peter Joseph documentary called Zeitgeist. The film is controversial, so you'll find many critics and supporters if you do some research. It's made me question much of what I believed about September 11 and many other "truths." As I haven't personally researched each claim, however, I can't guarantee accuracy. I'm going to post two parts of the 9/11 attack section, though I recommend you view the whole thing when you have time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_E4N5YIycI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECMJ2LBK90Q
I guess I'm still figuring out all the ways that my twelfth year has shaped me, personally. Perhaps it made me feel less secure growing up or caused me to have thicker skin; or maybe it humbled me and those around me, or made me trust less.
In terms of the larger effects of September 11, 2001, discrimination has seemed to increase against people of Middle-Eastern descent. In fact, at the time of the attacks, my sister was married to a man whose parents were from Iran, and my classmates jokingly called him a terrorist.
Also, patriotism seemed to reach an all time high after the attacks in a way that I'd not seen before. For the first time, people around me began expressing interest in joining the military. Before the time of the attacks, I would have never guessed so many of my peers would spend time in Iraq and Afghanistan. My brother, in his last month of being a part of the reserve, was sent to Afghanistan for a year. When he returned, he was different-- angry and distant. He's since returned more to his old self, but he's not the same. It's possible that this has affected many veterans, which certainly has had an impact on life here.
I truly believe we have yet to discover all the ways September 11 has impacted and continues to impact lives. Hopefully, though, 100 years from now, children will read about it in history text books, and all the answers will be there.
It was so strange to know that the United States wasn't invincable-- whether that was an idea I'd been taught or just something every kid believed, I don't know. I wouldn't go as far as to say I wasn't a kid after September 11, but something definitely changed, as I'm sure was the case for many.
When I watched the initial bombing of Iraq on CBS with my parents, I thought the conflict couldn't possibly last long: just looking at a map reassured me. That was obviously not the case, though. As the years passed and the United States remained in wars, I became sort of numb to hearing bad news on television: "Thirteen killed in roadside bombing" might as well have been the daily weather report. And as more people began to oppose the wars, I became confused. I didn't know if I wanted to "END THIS WAR" or "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS."
To complicate things, a couple years ago I discovered a 2007 Peter Joseph documentary called Zeitgeist. The film is controversial, so you'll find many critics and supporters if you do some research. It's made me question much of what I believed about September 11 and many other "truths." As I haven't personally researched each claim, however, I can't guarantee accuracy. I'm going to post two parts of the 9/11 attack section, though I recommend you view the whole thing when you have time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_E4N5YIycI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECMJ2LBK90Q
I guess I'm still figuring out all the ways that my twelfth year has shaped me, personally. Perhaps it made me feel less secure growing up or caused me to have thicker skin; or maybe it humbled me and those around me, or made me trust less.
In terms of the larger effects of September 11, 2001, discrimination has seemed to increase against people of Middle-Eastern descent. In fact, at the time of the attacks, my sister was married to a man whose parents were from Iran, and my classmates jokingly called him a terrorist.
Also, patriotism seemed to reach an all time high after the attacks in a way that I'd not seen before. For the first time, people around me began expressing interest in joining the military. Before the time of the attacks, I would have never guessed so many of my peers would spend time in Iraq and Afghanistan. My brother, in his last month of being a part of the reserve, was sent to Afghanistan for a year. When he returned, he was different-- angry and distant. He's since returned more to his old self, but he's not the same. It's possible that this has affected many veterans, which certainly has had an impact on life here.
I truly believe we have yet to discover all the ways September 11 has impacted and continues to impact lives. Hopefully, though, 100 years from now, children will read about it in history text books, and all the answers will be there.
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