In reading the parallel stories of Byron and May in “A Tale of Two Families,” I find myself relating more closely with Max’s experience. My parents benefitted from stable jobs, homes increasing in value in nice neighborhoods, and the financial stability of their own parents. I am now benefitting from the advantaged starting point my parents gave to me. And I hope to one day give my potential children a leg up in life by starting from an even higher point.
I liken this to saving for retirement, with the advantages compounding on one another. If you start investing in your 401k early on, the money continues to compound, adding up to a very large lump sum at the end. But if you start investing late, no matter how much you put in, it will not have the chance to compound and you will end up with something, but not as much as it could have been.
Just like the 401k account, Max’s advantages in life compounded, one on top of the other, and led him to the wealth he has now. Byron and his family made some solid investments into their future, but it took them more time to do so, therefore, decreasing the amount of wealth he holds now.
These two stories have opened my eyes to see how my economic position in life is directly related to the path of my ancestors. Although my parents worked incredibly hard for everything they have, they were given the advantage of beginning their journey without debt and without having to step in financially for their parents and other family members. They were able to put the entire amount of money they worked for into their future. And they benefitted from real estate in stable and more affluent communities. Perhaps if my life were more similar to Byron’s, I would be contributing part of my paycheck to helping out my family. Perhaps, I would not be able to afford myself that nice suit which got me a new job. And perhaps I would not even live in the community that was close enough to get to that new, high paying job. I’ve seen how life advantages add up, and if you are not given any advantages, it is incredibly hard to be competitive with the rest of the community.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Week Nine Blog Entry: Social Construction of Gender
What you've read about the social construction of gender may have seemed totally normal to you, or you may have strongly disagreed with sociologists' arguments about gender, or you may just have been shocked at some of what you learned. Please take some time to reflect on this material by adding an entry to your blog. You can write about whatever aspect you'd like of this segment of the reading, discussing your personal responses to it and how your personal experiences and observations support or fail to support the sociological perspective.
Before taking this Sociology course, I gave the most weight to the role of biology in the creation of our gender identities and roles. In studying our text, podcasts and videos, I continue to believe there is a strong biological basis for many gender differences, such as the natural instinct women have to become the primary caregivers for their babies. But I’ve now expanded my views to also understand the growing belief that gender identities might be entirely created by society linking gender identities with sex differences (social construction).
The story of Jan Morris, a well-known travel writer who underwent a sex change to become a woman, struck me the most. She described her experiences at a restaurant as formerly a man and then now as a woman. When she was a man, the waiter would greet her with “respectful seriousness.” Now that she is a woman, the waiter greets her with playfulness and humor, and expects her to respond with something frivolous… which she does. This reinforces the social perception that characterizes masculinity with strength and tough attitudes, and therefore, specific mannerisms like seriousness and respect. And vice versa, it reinforces the social perception that characterizes femininity with grace and gentleness, and therefore, specific mannerisms like passiveness.
My beliefs on the role of biology were further challenged with the study on the hormonal makeup of monkeys. It was shown that providing opportunities for monkeys to be dominant over others increased their testosterone levels. This means hormones may not necessarily cause certain behaviors. Instead, certain behaviors may cause the production of hormones.
These two examples of social construction have certainly challenged my belief that biology, not culture, underlies gender differences. However, I continue to reason that gender identities, for the most part, seem to be so similar across countries, societies, cultures, time, etc, that there has to be more than social construction. There must be a biological basis for our identities. Also, in my experience within my own network of family, friends and colleagues, there seems to be a common thread between the way male minds operate and a common thread between the way female minds operate. Furthermore, the mere existence of the vast library of books like “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” suggests there are incredible differences in the ways male and female brains function.
Before taking this Sociology course, I gave the most weight to the role of biology in the creation of our gender identities and roles. In studying our text, podcasts and videos, I continue to believe there is a strong biological basis for many gender differences, such as the natural instinct women have to become the primary caregivers for their babies. But I’ve now expanded my views to also understand the growing belief that gender identities might be entirely created by society linking gender identities with sex differences (social construction).
The story of Jan Morris, a well-known travel writer who underwent a sex change to become a woman, struck me the most. She described her experiences at a restaurant as formerly a man and then now as a woman. When she was a man, the waiter would greet her with “respectful seriousness.” Now that she is a woman, the waiter greets her with playfulness and humor, and expects her to respond with something frivolous… which she does. This reinforces the social perception that characterizes masculinity with strength and tough attitudes, and therefore, specific mannerisms like seriousness and respect. And vice versa, it reinforces the social perception that characterizes femininity with grace and gentleness, and therefore, specific mannerisms like passiveness.
My beliefs on the role of biology were further challenged with the study on the hormonal makeup of monkeys. It was shown that providing opportunities for monkeys to be dominant over others increased their testosterone levels. This means hormones may not necessarily cause certain behaviors. Instead, certain behaviors may cause the production of hormones.
These two examples of social construction have certainly challenged my belief that biology, not culture, underlies gender differences. However, I continue to reason that gender identities, for the most part, seem to be so similar across countries, societies, cultures, time, etc, that there has to be more than social construction. There must be a biological basis for our identities. Also, in my experience within my own network of family, friends and colleagues, there seems to be a common thread between the way male minds operate and a common thread between the way female minds operate. Furthermore, the mere existence of the vast library of books like “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” suggests there are incredible differences in the ways male and female brains function.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Week Eight Blog Entry: Global Inequality
We should care about global inequality because it affects our everyday lives. The countries around the world are increasingly intertwined. The most popular toy in the world, Barbie, exemplifies this connectedness. A product of the global commodity chain, Barbie’s origins span around the whole world. She begins in the United States, where she is designed, and she continues on to make stops in Saudi Arabia, China, and Japan for molding, shaping, manufacturing, dressing, marketing and advertising.
Because of this connectedness, the stratification system can affect such things as the prices of products we buy, how we use natural resources, and how much pollution our country emits. It affects our attitudes towards people from other countries, and can even contribute to hatred and warfare.
Technology is one of the most important tools in everyday modern life. It is the basis for much of the innovation and economic growth we see. But because of global stratification – technology innovators, technology adopters, and technologically disconnected – either you have it or you don’t, which further polarizes the rich and the poor countries, and traps the poor in a vicious circle.
Additionally, when we try to fix global problems, such as poverty and hunger, we should look at the countries who benefit from the world being organized in this way. Perhaps here lies the answer to why the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. In understanding this, perhaps we will be better equipped to help poverty-stricken countries break the cycle.
Because of this connectedness, the stratification system can affect such things as the prices of products we buy, how we use natural resources, and how much pollution our country emits. It affects our attitudes towards people from other countries, and can even contribute to hatred and warfare.
Technology is one of the most important tools in everyday modern life. It is the basis for much of the innovation and economic growth we see. But because of global stratification – technology innovators, technology adopters, and technologically disconnected – either you have it or you don’t, which further polarizes the rich and the poor countries, and traps the poor in a vicious circle.
Additionally, when we try to fix global problems, such as poverty and hunger, we should look at the countries who benefit from the world being organized in this way. Perhaps here lies the answer to why the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. In understanding this, perhaps we will be better equipped to help poverty-stricken countries break the cycle.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Week Seven Blog Entry: Social Class
Social class matters greatly in the U.S. today. In a society consisting of strata, where the more privileged are at the top, and the less privileged nearer the bottom, most people are in a constant struggle to reach the top, or at least, keep themselves from landing on the bottom. The lower strata tend to be insecure about the future, but as you move up towards the top, you are more likely to enjoy a comfortable, secure, and even luxurious lifestyle.
Most parents want to give their children the maximum number of life chances, i.e. the best odds of achieving economic prosperity. And the best chance an individual has of achieving wealth is to start off as wealthy in the first place. I’ve seen this first hand with my Cousin Steve’s family in Maryland. Cousin Steve and his wife have two young boys, ages one and three. Cousin Steve, an engineer, and his wife a public school teacher, belong to the middle to upper middle class and live in a nice community. They began looking at pre-schools this year and were deciding between enrolling in the public pre-school nearby, or a private pre-school a little further away. They have decided to put their eldest boy on the waitlist for a private pre-school and will be paying steep private school tuition when that time comes. As a lifelong public school student, I couldn’t wrap my head around this. I couldn’t understand why my cousin and his wife would want to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a private pre-school! It seemed so silly! And this would be just the beginning of their private school education. Next will be private tuitions for elementary school, middle school, high school and college, I don’t want to imagine what the final bill will look like! But then Cousin Steve explained to me how these private schools will open the doors to friends with wealthy parents in high positions, therefore, opening up countless opportunities to influence their son’s social and economic status and boost them towards the top. After hearing his reasoning, it’s still not something I would choose, but I can see the line of thinking and I can imagine his sons likely will have a better shot at achieving economic prosperity with this leg up in the game so early on.
By viewing the People Like Us website, I saw how expressing my individual identity through decorating my living room, etc, can reveal my class and my class tastes. My chosen living room items - frames of recent family photos, hardwood floors, and a Labrador dog - revealed my position as middle middle class. This matters because expressing our class, whether intentional or not, can make the difference between closing and opening the doors to opportunities. For example, if I show up to a job interview for a position as a News Anchor in grungy street clothes and smelling of foul body odor, my appearance may scream “lower class”, and I will likely not get the job/opportunity. If I show up to the same interview polished, with my hair neatly done and my suit cleaned and pressed, my neat appearance will increase the probability of getting the job.
Most parents want to give their children the maximum number of life chances, i.e. the best odds of achieving economic prosperity. And the best chance an individual has of achieving wealth is to start off as wealthy in the first place. I’ve seen this first hand with my Cousin Steve’s family in Maryland. Cousin Steve and his wife have two young boys, ages one and three. Cousin Steve, an engineer, and his wife a public school teacher, belong to the middle to upper middle class and live in a nice community. They began looking at pre-schools this year and were deciding between enrolling in the public pre-school nearby, or a private pre-school a little further away. They have decided to put their eldest boy on the waitlist for a private pre-school and will be paying steep private school tuition when that time comes. As a lifelong public school student, I couldn’t wrap my head around this. I couldn’t understand why my cousin and his wife would want to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a private pre-school! It seemed so silly! And this would be just the beginning of their private school education. Next will be private tuitions for elementary school, middle school, high school and college, I don’t want to imagine what the final bill will look like! But then Cousin Steve explained to me how these private schools will open the doors to friends with wealthy parents in high positions, therefore, opening up countless opportunities to influence their son’s social and economic status and boost them towards the top. After hearing his reasoning, it’s still not something I would choose, but I can see the line of thinking and I can imagine his sons likely will have a better shot at achieving economic prosperity with this leg up in the game so early on.
By viewing the People Like Us website, I saw how expressing my individual identity through decorating my living room, etc, can reveal my class and my class tastes. My chosen living room items - frames of recent family photos, hardwood floors, and a Labrador dog - revealed my position as middle middle class. This matters because expressing our class, whether intentional or not, can make the difference between closing and opening the doors to opportunities. For example, if I show up to a job interview for a position as a News Anchor in grungy street clothes and smelling of foul body odor, my appearance may scream “lower class”, and I will likely not get the job/opportunity. If I show up to the same interview polished, with my hair neatly done and my suit cleaned and pressed, my neat appearance will increase the probability of getting the job.
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