I recently turned nineteen years old this past month. I am in my second year of college. Growing up, around the time of puberty, I remember being one of the tallest in my classes. In Spencer A. Rathus’s textbook of Human Development, it says, “Girls start to spurt in height sooner than boys, at an average age of a little more than ten” (Rathus 232). This is true in my case because I remember being taller than all the boys in my class. When it came to what I thought about my changing body, I was not surprised or nervous. I read books that were written to inform girls about their body during puberty, so I already knew what was going to happen. When my body was changing, I ate healthy food, about the same as the text suggests, “1,800 to 2,400 …show more content…
As it is explained in the text, as an adolescent, I “neither had commitments nor trying to form them” (Rathus 254). In a way, I also “drifted through life.” The age I discovered "who am I?” would be around sixteen or seventeen years old. That time is when I knew exactly what career I wanted to study for, and what values and beliefs I had. That was also the age when I had a sense of my personal well-being and self-acceptance. I would describe myself as more realistic. During my teen years, I went through times of emotional distress and at times had low self-esteem. Like for most adolescents, regarding back to the text, having low self-esteem produced temporary discomfort for me. Emotional support that I received from my family and close friends, has helped me get through my self-esteem (Rathus 256). I had times when I would be concerned over my appearance and I would care about what people think of me. In high school, my emotions were easily triggered, so if someone would be mean to me, or if something was going a wrong way, I would easily cry. Over time, my ability to control my emotions have become better. I learned to accept myself for who I am, so I no longer care too much about people's opinions of me. Some peer groups that I fit in were the same age as me, same interests, and same beliefs. I did not try out different identities before settling on one. I got along well most of the time with my parents, but my early adolescence, like it is explained in the text, was “characterized by increased bickering and a decrease in shared activities and expressions of affection. In my childhood, I spent a lot of time with them, but as I got into my teenage years, I spent less time with them. I have five older siblings, that growing up, I did not have really close relationships with. Now, I interact better with my older sisters than I did
...f adolescence allow development the identity that will serve as a basis for their adult lives. During Erikson's stage of identity versus role confusion, adolescents' description of self expands to include personality traits and attitudes. The emergence of abstract reasoning abilities allows adolescents to think about the future and experiment with different identities. The development of abstract thought in adolescence also impels the exploration of religious and spiritual beliefs. The development of religious identity begins to come into question with further exploration. Even though the adolescent may eventually adopt beliefs that were similar to their childhood beliefs, the process of exploration is important in achieving a religious identity.
The perceived goal of children, or their parents, in Bailey’s article is to be of normal height at adulthood; but what is normal? The average height for American men is 5’9” and for women it is 5’4” (Bailey). According to Robert W. Steele, M.D., “alterations [in growth] may be in the form of a growth slow down, accelerated growth, or disproportionate grow...
This period is marked by physical, social, moral and emotional development (Davies, Hartdegen, Haxell, Le Geyt & Mercier, 2012). It is a time when the adolescent’s sense of self or identity is becoming much more clear and they are beginning to understand their role in society, starting to question the morals of others and contemplating their own moral and ethical beliefs (Davies et al., 2012). During this time Erik Erikson believed that adolescents are faced with the psychosocial stage of identity versus role confusion (Berk, 2008). Adolescents explore their values and role in society, overcoming this conflict to better understand their own identity, however if they do not fully overcome this conflict, Erikson believed that the adolescent would be confused about their values and future adult roles (Berk, 2008). This conflict was clearly demonstrated in my own development during the late teenage years when I experienced both the results of failing to overcome and then overcoming Erikson’s fifth psychosocial stage. At age eighteen I finished secondary school and began my tertiary studies, I had been accepted into the degree I had wanted to study since middle childhood, however I quickly learnt that I was enjoying neither my studies nor my experience of life in halls of residence. I discontinued my studies after only
"For most of history, anonymous was a woman", quotes Virginia Woolf. (1) Throughout history, women’s lives were restricted to domesticity and family, and they were left oppressed and without political voice. Over the decades the roles of women have dramatically changed from chattels belonging to their husbands to gaining independence. Women became famous activists, thinkers, writers, and artists, like Frida Kahlo who was an important figure for women’s independence. The price women paid in their fight for equality was to die or be imprisoned along with men, and they were largely forgotten in written history. However, the roles they took on were wide-ranging which included working in factories, tending the troops, taking care of children and working at home. Frida Kahlo was a talented artist whose pride and self-determination has inspired feminists and many others. She was an important figure in the women’s movement not because she fought for women’s rights in an organized way, but because of the way she lived her life. “I suffered two grave accidents in my life. One in which a street car knocked me down, the other accident is Diego” (2), says Frida Kahlo. She was in a turbulent relationship with her husband Diego Rivera, but she claimed her independence from him. The experiences in her life shared with her nature and strength made her famous and well-known worldwide as a woman of independence, courage and nonconformity. Women like Frida Kahlo have fought for their independence and contrasting the modern-day women to the women in 1900s, we can see that their roles have changed and in return they received their independence. After centuries of conforming to female stereotypes, women are gradually taking control of their own image of...
What is stereotype? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stereotype as “believing unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same.” Stereotypes are everywhere. Stereotypes cover racial groups, gender, political groups and even demographic. Stereotypes affect our everyday lives. Sometimes people are judged based on what they wear, how they look, how they act or people they hang out with. Gender and racial stereotypes are very controversial in today’s society and many fall victims. Nevertheless, racial and gender stereotypes have serious consequences in everyday life. It makes individuals have little to no motivation and it also puts a label about how a person should act or live. When one is stereotype they
When I was born, I was 2 weeks late and 10 pounds. Then, I grew more into my body around 5 years old and was not as chunky. Then when I was about 10 years old, I was skinny and just over average height. Then, once I got to be 16 years old, I began lifting and I saw myself getting bigger, not fatter but just more muscle to add onto my stick thin figure. However, I stopped growing height wise and haven’t gotten much taller since, but have gained weight through muscle, as muscle weighs 3 times more than fat. My personal example just shows exactly how you can’t assume your child will grow up to be big, small, short, or tall. It all depends on their genes and their
This essay will argue that films and other media cultures represent an element of modern life, whilst gender ideologies and stereotypes still remain as a question of how society thinks about gender identities. With so many films that deliver messages and images about men and women today, it is inevitable that it would leave the audiences with no impact about these ideas whether directly or indirectly. However, people live in a modern life that keeps changing and thus the traditional stereotypes and generalisations that existed before about media and gender might not be as relevant in today’s world, as the society keep changing which gradually affects the media and people’s attitude to change. Douglas Kellner phrase that media culture “constitutes a common culture” (Kellner 1995, p.1) about gender is not entirely true. This essay will argue that media images do not fully represent the gender roles in today’s society. Using the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith as an example, where the gender roles have been switched, it will examine on how the gender roles are represented in the film (Mr. and Mrs.Smith 2005). Traditionally, men would be seen as more dominant than women, but in the film, one could see that the female character, Jane Smith is more dominant compared to her husband, John Smith.
Girls are supposed to play with dolls, wear pink, and grow up to become princesses. Boys are suppose to play with cars, wear blue, and become firefighters and policemen. These are just some of the common gender stereotypes that children grow up to hear. Interactions with toys are one of the entryway to different aspects of cognitive development and socialism in early childhood. As children move through development they begin to develop different gender roles and gender stereotypes that are influenced by their peers and caregivers. (Chick, Heilman-Houser, & Hunter, 2002; Freeman, 2007; Leaper, 2000)
... changes of puberty, which may be interpreted as ?getting fat.? Encourage an active lifestyle. This needn?t involve organized athletics necessarily, but rather any movement ? walking, dancing, biking ? that is pleasurable enough to do everyday.
Changes in society have brought issues regarding gender stereotype. Gender roles are shifting in the US. Influences of women’s movement (Firestone, Firestone, & Catlett, 2006) and gender equality movement (e.g., Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)) have contributed to expanding social roles for both genders. Nevertheless, gender stereotypes, thus gender stereotype roles continue to exist in the society (Skelly & Johnson, 2011; Wood & Eagly, 2010). With changes in gender roles, pervasiveness of gender stereotype results in a sense of guilt, resentment, and anger when people are not living up to traditional social expectations (Firestone, Firestone, & Catlett, 2006). Furthermore, people can hold gender stereotype in pre-reflective level that they may
You are at an interview, the interviewer says that you are not qualified for the job because of your gender. What would you say? Sexism has caused stereotypes, and harassment in the workforce, and professional sports, therefore people should know more about sexism. Media is a powerful tool of communication, it produces both negative and positive impacts on society.
Adolescence refers to the transition period experienced by children that occur between childhood and adulthood (Shefer, 2011). Identity is first confronted in adolescence between the ages 12 – 19 years old, because of physical and hormonal changes in the body. It is also due to the introduction of formal operations in cognitive development and societal expectation that this contributes to an individual’s identity to be explored and established (McAdams, 2009). The forces within and outside (family, community) the individual that promote identity development usually create a sense of tension. The basic task is, in Erikson’s terms, “fidelity or truthfulness and consistency to one’s core self or faith in one’s ideology” (Fleming, 2004: 9), in a nutshell: "Who am I and where am I
Transition and change are some of the most difficult obstacles for people to overcome. It is no surprise that adolescence, defined as the transition from childhood to adulthood, is full of obstacles (Feldman, 2012). During this time period, adolescents are neither adults nor children; they do not appear to belong in any stable group. However uncomfortable this may seem, it is also a fitting definition. For during the adolescent stage, adolescents face puberty, sexual curiosity, self-esteem issues, and doubts about their future (Feldman, 2012). Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson aptly argued that adolescents pass through the identity-versus-identity-confusion stage in which teenagers search for defining and unique characteristics about themselves (Feldman, 2012). When a teenager struggles with this stage, a crisis emerges in which they are unable to find an appropriate role in life, often acting out or pursuing dangerous behaviors (Feldman, 2012).
During this stage adolescents develop a better understanding of self and belonging or they face identity crisis and role confusion. During this stage in my life I felt that I was rebelling and doing things that were not age appropriate. I did not respect authority and thought it was ok to do what I wanted to do. Even though I was a young teenager I did not think of myself that way. I thought of myself more like an adult. Through my negative experiences in this stage I suffered identity crisis and role
Adolescence is defined as “the developmental period of transition between childhood to adulthood that involves biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes; beginning around the age of 10 to 13 and ends in the late teens.” (Santrock 16) As I reflect on my younger years I remember having many different emotional issues; many of them due to the fact that I moved around a great deal until I was about 12 years of age. I always felt misunderstood by my peers and adults. However, growing up in the 80’s was not all bad; it was a very popular culture. While reading chapter one and two I was able to put some of my feelings and actions in perspective.