Women and Men (Sumblog10)

Parsons had three goals when developing his theory about the ways in which society and individuals are structured. He wanted his theory to enable relationship comparisons between cultures, be relevant to action frames and references, and be relevant to all social systems. He then laid out 5 pattern variables which are affectivity - affective neutrality, diffuseness - specificity, universality - particularism, achievement - ascription, and collectivity - self-orientation.

Personally, I find the way Parsons analyzes society to be intriguing and with many insights. However, I thought some of the examples he gives of these pattern-variables (particularly affectivity - affective neutrality, and diffuseness - specificity) to be somewhat ethnocentric. He first claims that newlyweds should expect a considerable amount of affection. Then he states that closer relationships lead to more expectations and demands while a more limited relationship has fewer expectations. I think these examples are appropriate for certain social systems but not others. For example, this applies well to the typical American marriage, but not to arranged marriages in Pakistan and other similar cultures. In certain cases, a newlywed bride in an arranged marriage should probably not expect a considerable amount of affection AND it could be considered a limited relationship that exhibits a significant amount of demands and responsibilities on her.

I found Parsons discussion on kinship systems and their influence on sex roles to be very interesting as well because it provided me with a new angle to analyze society since I am not inclined to look at it in such a way. However, I think that Parsons is writing about some seriously old ideas that just are not as applicable today as they had been in the past - “feminist emancipation”, and the roles of men and women in general. Sex roles and expectations have been dramatically changing.

The following image is an award-winning poster from the non-profit organization Posters for Tomorrow competition on Gender Equality Now. I chose it because of how depicts gender stereotypes in an artistically appealing way that alludes to old scientific graphs/charts. At the bottom it reads “Gender equality is, first and foremost, a human right. Women are entitled to live in dignity and in freedom from want and from fear.” I wish it said - “Women and Men”. <<Song Link - Enjoy!

Labels are for Jars ... Not People .... (Sumblog9)

This past week, we discussed Erving Goffman’s concept of dramaturgy where society is framed as a theater with individuals presenting themselves differently based on situational factors - most importantly, audience expectations. There are routine behaviors which should be adhered to otherwise the audience will become confused, and each individual has a specific role to play in order for the performance to go off without a hitch. In a way, this seems similar to the idea of society as a mechanism and the individual as a cog in the machine.

We also talked about Labeling theory. Labeling theory focuses on the interactions between society and the individual and emphasizes the importance of societal reactions to deviant behavior. It is a process theory that attempts to explain how an individual comes to assume role that goes along with a deviant label. Self-labeling is when a person presents a certain identity in attempt to manage or manipulate other people’s impression of him/herself. This is one way the individual can attempt to regain a sense of control over their own identity, but it also illuminates the way the individual understands themselves, the world around them, and other people’s reaction to them.

I think labeling theory applies very well to my brother’s experience in the school system as he grew up. Very early on, he was labelled a “bad kid” essentially because he could easily be provoked into fighting. Several disciplinary actions had been taken against him by the school, and eventually he was segregated from the rest of his peers and required to take classes with LD and ED students. I believe my brother developed a self-fulfilling prophecy based on this deviant label, and he came to accept this role for a very long time. He continued to act out in school and break the law which resulted in a rap sheet that eventually barred him from joining the military.

I chose the following image because I think it humorously depicts the Power of Labels, and it shows how certain labels result in obstacles which can block an individual from getting somewhere or achieving something.

Masking the Self (SumBlog8)

This past week we’ve been discussing W.E.B Du Bois concept of double consciousness and the veil. Double consciousness is a concept of “twoness” as part of an individuals identity. In essence, there is an incongruence between identities which leads to changes in the sense of self and restrictions to behavior based on situational factors like who is around and what social expectations exist in the moment. We mentioned that the veil is similar to Marx & Engel’s idea of false consciousness in that it acts to obscure a person’s view but also that with the veil there is an element of adhering to and bolstering the status quo.

We saw in the video during class how these concepts apply to NYPD’s Stop and Frisk policy where police officers are forced to do inappropriate stops otherwise face reprimand. They’re basically required to harass the public and are encouraged to “violate some rights today”. I think the veil applies to the officer in the video because he probably wanted to become an authority figure for good reasons but he may likely go against his own feelings and values of moral rightness and basically “follow orders” but maintains the status quo in doing so. I think the concept of double consciousness applies because the NYPD officer seemed to be an upstanding guy with genuine intentions of serving and protecting. He also seemed genuinely disturbed that he felt he was forced to violate innocent people’s rights otherwise be penalized by his superiors. These conflicting identities - on one hand being morally upstanding, on the other ‘just following orders’ - probably force him to act differently when around his superior officers versus his own family. In one setting, he can express himself freely and be true to his own values; in the other, he has to put on a sort of mask to maintain a façade of being part of the group. Psychologically this is not healthy and could result in crossing boundaries one genuinely disagrees with. There could also be a breakdown in individual behavioral boundaries which may not be healthy.

The following images are by photographer, Toby Dixon. I chose them because it includes an image for both a man and a woman, and it shows how there are many ways, even subtle ways, in which we can have a sense of double consciousness. The clothed half of the individuals particularly struck me as depicting the way these other identities often have to be hidden under something like a mask.

http://www.tobydixon.com/split-personalities/

The Business of Marriage & Family

Charlotte Perkins Gilman discusses the lot in life of women in the 19th century based on their economic dependence upon men. She basically states that marriage is not like a business partnership. Yet she also states that men cannot produce wealth without the support of women. But then she goes on to argues that women do not "earn their keep" by the happiness, house service,  or motherhood they provide to their husbands. I think that Gilman's ideas are accurate for the women of 19th century, but views of gender roles and exactly what marriage is and should be have changed over time. Personally, I disagree with Gilbert - particularly that marriage is not like a business partnership. (She is also mistaken about her idea that the division of labor based on gender cannot be found in other animal species, but that is a lesser argument.) Gilbert limits her view of women's worth to economic exchange alone and I think this is not quite accurate.

I do think that marriages are comparable to businesslike partnerships. The couple acts like an mini organization with common goals and efforts to reach those goals. There is an exchange of goods and services based on the strengths and weaknesses of each partner,  and a network of support is created through the joining of larger family units. Even without such emphasis on purely economic exchange, there is an irrefutable social contact in place which delegates# delineates certain areas of management for each partner. A healthy, prosperous family unit is usually a main goal of a marriage and that requires management over the home and management over the economic direction of the family unit. When one partner is not holding up their end of the bargain for an obscene amount of time, divorce may be likely in which the businesslike partnership based on this kind of social contact then dissolves.

I can agree with Gilman's assertion that, "If we dare face or own thoughts,  and force them to their logical conclusion, we shall see that nothing could be more repugnant to human feeling,  or more socially and individually injurious, than to make motherhood a trade", but I also believe this is closer to the truth of the situation. Without shielding our eyes by our own sensibilities toward our animal nature, we avoid Gilman's limitation of accepting a less accurate picture.

I chose the following picture because it symbolizes the binding social agreement people enter when getting married.

The Anomaly of the American Dream (Sumblog5)

Harriet Martineau discusses her ideas of morals,  manners,  and anomaly.  To her,  morals are beliefs about behaviors which are dictated by authority and delineated to behaviors which are acceptable (prescribed) and which are to be avoided (proscribed) for all of society. Manners,  on the other hand, I thought she meant were more like behavioral casual events because she talked about associations. It made me think that behaviors are influenced by several environmental factors.  Overall, Martineau's morals seem to stand for the ideal values of society,  while manners are how a society actually behaves. Anomaly is a state which exists when a society experiences a large amount of conflict between ideal values and actual behaviors;  between what it ideally wants to represent and what it actually stands for in reality.

This concept of anomaly can be applied to the american dream and capitalist values. The american dream is supposed to hold values of an equal, free society where so long as you’re hardworking you have the opportunity to pursue your personal ambitions. Reality though does not necessarily reflect this ideology, and not everyone has the same access to opportunities which will raise their living conditions. Anomaly can be seen in capitalist values as well. Under capitalism, competition is a good thing and is supposed to create opportunity and more choice for everyone. In reality, companies merge and consolidate, gaining more and more control over the market and garnering power unequal to that of others. Choice, in the end, is rather limited even though it is not portrayed as such.

I chose the image below to represent the conflict between what an American, capitalist system ideally wants to represent, and what it actually looks like in the real world. The blue half shows the ideal, with everyone having opportunity to raise themselves up in society relatively equally. The red half shows the actual, with a few people at the top and a majority of people being squashed at the bottom, while holding everything up.

Ideology as an Iron Cage (SumBlog4)

Max Weber essential argues that man is subordinate to the desire for more and more money and the material goods which can be acquired. He states that "man is dominated . . .by acquisition as the ultimate purpose in life, " and that this type of subordination is "a leading principle of capitalism". He goes on to link this particular ideology to its moral foundation in religious asceticism, and declares it an "Iron Cage" for humanity. In other words, man is dominated, encapsulated, and incapacitated by capitalism; an ideology. Thus, any ideology would pose as an "Iron Cage". This is similar to the idea that religious ideology, for example, acts as a blinder. Moreover, as Durkheim claims in the Cultural Logic of Collective Representations, this tendency to cage ourselves appears as part of the human condition.

How can men be accepting of this, especially in America - touted as the land of the free? For what purpose would human beings be inclined toward such a thing?

Some would say this is what gives meaning and direction in life; that the ideological box, in whatever form we desire, provides motivation to advance ourselves. Ideology lays out a framework to operate under and suggests strategies for coping with life struggles. It gives reason for being. It is no wonder then that Durkheim finds Anomie proven to be an extraordinarily challenging state for humans to cope with.

As Weber frames it, Traditional authority and Rational authority are what lead men to submit to the capitalist way of life.

Today, there is a significant iron cage constructed through conservative media and individuals like Rupert Murdoch who monopolizes these media outlets. This type of system uses propaganda thick with fear tactics, and draws on individual’s faith in religion and patriotism in order to dominate and incapacitate masses of society.

I chose the following image because it highlights the purported desire man has for freedom, while also alluding to the human condition to crave and construct cages for ourselves.