GENDER "Roles": Male and Female

I read "The Impact of Pervasive Beauty Images on Black and White Girls' Self-Concepts", by Melissa Milkie and "Varieties of Masculinity in Male Cheerleading", by Eric Anderson. Both of these pieces were very insightful of how both male and female regard image as important. As a female, it was no surprise to see how the young white females compared themselves to what they felt were unrealistic images of women but, still felt compelled to because of pressures of their peers. What was most interesting to me was that men were exactly the same in how they internalized the importance of image and self-perception. Anderson teaches us that men just measure themselves by a entirely different scale however the insecurities are still there when their masculinity is put into the equation.

It was interesting to see into the minds of some of these guys who felt like doing anything that might be considered as feminine was labeled as gay. I felt a bit guilty because as a mother, I sometimes drive this idea into the mind of my step-son. If he swishes his hips in a dance, I would call him on it. Don't get me wrong, I have no offense against him doing so. I allow him to play dolls with his sister or whatever other "feminine" games and activities he might want to try. I try hard not to label things as masculine or feminine. However, my concern is for how he carries himself outside. It's easy to say that you don't care about such gender roles, however, he is in junior high and I know that certain behaviors can label him and destroy his self esteem if the kids poke at him. So I feel a bit torn. Part of me says, "who cares what other people think of you", while another side says, "be careful you don't want people to make fun of you."

It was also interesting to see how much of a learned behavior it actually is and made me think of the gender role stereotypes I unconsciously instill in my kids. I did feel less guilty when I saw that some of that gender roles thinking can be changed. When some of the "macho" thinking males join the cheerleading squad, their trained perception of women and of homosexuals actually changed to be more open and accepting of both groups. And that they did not have to sacrifice their masculinity to do so.

Troubles vs. Issues: The Sociological Imagination

Do you have troubles or do you have issues? If you thought they were the same, they are not. According to C. Wright Mill's essay, "The Promise of Sociology", having troubles is a personal problem where issues are social problems that affect us personally. He says, "A trouble is a private matter: Values cherished by an individual are felt by him to be threatened. An issue is a public matter: Some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened"(Adler, 14). In his essay, Mills challenges us to use a sociological imagination to see how troubles and issues may be interrelated and not necessarily separate issues. "Sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society"(Adler, 12). I really enjoyed reading this essay because it challenges one dimensional thinking. To not just look at ourselves but to look at ourselves, others, and the world and how both things or not separate but interchangeable.

What I like most about it is that I can see it playing out in my own life. I work with inner city kids in a low income neighborhood. In a passing conversation, I realized that one of the kids was struggling in school and wasn't a very strong reader. When we talked to him about school, he brushed it off and said he had a hard time focusing sometimes. In my mind, this is his own personal trouble. So we approached it as such. We started thinking of ways to encourage him. One day we decided to do a game where it required the kids to do some light reading. As we began the activity, we found that about 60% of the kids that attended had the exact same issues with reading. So we decided to start a tutoring program to help them along. One day, we were have group discussions on family, and the children began to open up and share a bit about their families. The ones that struggled the most had all been displaced at some point in their lives by ACS due to some form of negligence from their parents. In the year that the children had been visiting our center, we had never met their parents only signatures giving permission for the kids to come. When the program is over, the kids stay out for long hours into the night. These kids are only in middle school. These kids have major issues. Problems that extend beyond personal responsibility and beyond their control.

I cannot help them until I develop a social imagination and learn to think past the personal troubles of what I see with my kids. I have to learn to look at the big picture.

The American Dream

I really like the article, "Class In America". Class status always seemed to be that unspoken truth. The truth that there is an invisible scale that measures our success in this world. Everyone is on it, whether we like it, believe in it, or care about it. Although my beliefs have trained me to measure myself against a different scale, that still dosen't change where I am on the graph. If I think about it through the lens of the author of this article, the underlying reason for my being in this sociology class is to obtain a degree so that doors that were once closed to me will be opened. I do want to move up and I am willing to push myself to the limit and beyond to get ahead.

A classmate of mine used Bill Clinton as a reference to someone who started from nothing to go on to become an important part of American history. She said, " He not only received the education that changed his social standing, but he worked hard enough to recieve a scholarship at a prestigious school ultimately leading him to his role as President of The United States". She said this to say that hard work is the way to the American Dream. I truly believe that.

There are some things that I would like to learn more about. How much influence do our parents have on our success in moving up? The article touches on this subject but, never explains why. One of my classmates said that she believed that the children of the upper class had a bit of an advantage in moving up in class than the lower class because they did not have to worry about finacial burden. I really agree with her on that. On a personal note, I don't know anyone who has moved up from the class of their parents which is low class or low middle class. Why is that? According to the article, they can move. But why haven't they.