Sociological Imagination is essential realizing that how you feel personally, emotionally, or physically is also being felt by everyone else in society, and this opens up a whole new perspective of understanding. And this new understanding is so important to being compassionate and empathetic with someone because you are also in the same boat. Like when it comes to self-image and self-love. I always had the issue of loving myself for what God made me, because of what I 've internalized on watching tv, reading magazines, and etc. Viewing images of skinny, blonde hair, blue-eyed, gorgeous women, I associated was a real beauty. Much to my displeasure to learn, that millions of women also have internalized this. It’s also displeasing to know that …show more content…
At a young age, I already internalized so much self-hatred because of the color of my skin and hair. I struggle with this immensely since I’d watch Disney movies, that only popularize one racial demographic, and the only person that I could semi look up to was Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. But there was no real representation of minorities when I was growing up, so I strived like any other person would to be a Disney princess. I always asked my mom to put weave in my hair or do something with it, so I could have long flown hair like Princess Ariel, from The Little Mermaid movie, or strive to look as beautiful as Princess Aurora when she was sleeping. And I continued to struggle with these ideas that what is beautiful was to be white. And I just couldn 't comprehend at the time, that I was already beautiful just the way I am. It wasn’t until I got to high school, where I somewhat shed these ideas on what was beautiful. I just realized that the media and the movies are essentially fake and photoshopped. And the models for the tv and magazines were too boney and hungry. I got used to my curves and by the body by that time. But I didn’t really show forth pride for my melanin nor color. I just accepted the fact that I was black and born that way. I didn’t realize how rich and important my color is as well as my culture. It was until I started school, here in the University of Boston, …show more content…
and this has been internalized by everyone in the African Diaspora. This affects their self-esteem, respect, and their love for themselves. because they believe that they are ugly or not beautiful because they are not white. Black men help the situation neither, where they segregate their own race, like in music videos and movies. Black men, always ensured that they have the lights skins models and dancers, that have the hourglass figure with big butts. This is particularly damaging to our women whose skin is darker, body different from what it saw on Tv. it 's hard to find someone who has the same feature as you on tv when it is only one form that is being shown. And to relate it to slavery, and how the African-Americans were so divided within each other because of the field slave vs house slave mentality which is an example of the In-group and out-group (Sociology 101 Lecture, “Groups and Organization”, September 29th, 2016.) The field slaves didn 't care for the slave master and don 't respect him at all because he doesn 't respect them as human beings. Whereas, the house slaves, even though they receive the same treatment as the field slave, they believe that they are better than the field slaves. because they get to live in the house and is able to eat the same food as their master (even though the food is just scraps of what was left). And they are overtly concern for their
Colorism is described as discrimination based upon the tone of ones skin. Colorism is a global issue that affects an array of people around the world. Although colorism is a worldwide issue, it is unique to African Americans due to the experience of slavery and its long-term psychological effects. African American men and women both experience colorism but the psychological effects are more prominent in women. Women in the black community are greatly affected by colorism starting at a young age. This is due to the history of the European standard of beauty in North America which plays a big role in how it affects their self-image, self-esteem, social status and relationships, and opportunities;
The human body is one of the most complex and yet beautiful things on the earth. We live in a time where our perception of the way we view the body is driven my social stereotypes. In todays world we are supposed to live by the standards of this unwritten code. All of this affects the quality of life we live in. It ranges from the workplace; our personal relationships to the way strangers perceive a person. At this very day in age we are categorized due to being born male or female and things that should be talked about are considered taboo to others.
“Remember those posters that said, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”? Well, that’s true of everyday but one – the day you die.” – Lester Burnham
It is sad to know that we cohabit a nation where you are frowned upon because of the content of your skin. This documentary depicts adolescent Black/ African American girl and boys, and women talking about their melanin. Society imposed on us that to be beautiful you must be of a fairly light complexion, have a sculpted body, perfect bone structure, and have nice non-kinky hair. This image has been imbedded in our society, and resulted in those in the Black/ African American community feeling as is they are ugly, non lovable, unwanted, not smart, less than, lacking self confidence, and wishing that they can change their skin tone (by bleaching) to be accepted and to be considered beautiful.
In today’s society there are many stereotypes surrounding the black community, specifically young black males. Stereotypes are not always blatantly expressed; it tends to happen subconsciously. Being born as a black male puts a target on your back before you can even make an impact on the world. Majority of these negative stereotypes come from the media, which does not always portray black males in the best light. Around the country black males are stereotyped to be violent, mischievous, disrespectful, lazy and more. Black males are seen as a threat to people of different ethnicities whether it is in the business world, interactions with law enforcement or even being in the general public. The misperceptions of black males the make it extremely difficult for us to thrive and live in modern society. Ultimately, giving us an unfair advantage simply due to the color of our skin; something of which we have no control.
Wright Mills, an American sociologist coins the term sociological imagination as “the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society (Mills, 1959). This term is not necessarily a theory, rather an outlook of society and the ability to consider life beyond the typical day-to-day attributes. This results in a greater understanding of individual development in a larger social context contributing to a greater quality of mind distinguishing individuality and the correlation between societies at large (Sociological Imagination, Video file). Sociological imagination to me personally means the ability for one to imagine oneself on a bigger
I wanted to wear brand clothes/shoes they did, I wanted to do my hair like them, and make good grades like them. I wanted to fit in. My cultural identify took a back seat. But it was not long before I felt black and white did not mix. I must have heard too many comments asking to speak Haitian or I do not look Haitian, but more than that, I am black, so I always had to answer question about my hair or why my nose is big, and that I talked white. This feeling carried on to high school because the questions never went away and the distance between me and them grew larger. There was not much action my family could take for those moments in my life, but shared their encounters or conversations to show me I was not alone in dealing with people of other background. I surrounded myself with less white people and more people of color and today, not much has
Attending a predominantly white school, white people were very interested, or rather over interested, in the so-called black culture. Being in a space that had minority black people, oppression was felt on the highest level. Anything that may have remotely involved the black skin, was downplayed and undermined, and more cases than one, my voice was silenced. From this experience, I started realising that wherever I may go, the female black body was not correctly or remotely represented positively in the media and in general society. For many years, as a regular television watcher, I began to realise that the media and entertainment industry did not put black women in power or inspiration, but women who are needy, sexual objects or women who play second best to men. In my educational systems, I have not been exposed to black lectures or teachers enough, and I realised that we were not being correctly and rightfully represented. As a black body, I am aware that I occupy space in a white environment, and that much of what I do is under the scope of white supremacy. Much of the experiences I have at my university are very much related to my racial profiling, and my level of intelligence is marked according to how I look eternally. Daily, I am constantly reminded that I am black as if it is something to be ashamed of social elite environment. In the article written by Dill and Zambara,
This is the foundation of the Sociological Imagination Concept. According to C. Wright Mills, sociological imagination is developed when we can place personal problems in a social situation or environment such that they are no longer viewed solely as individual or personal problems, but instead as social problems. That is problems that are shared by enough peop...
The sociological imagination is the ability to connect your own life and experiences to other people as well as history. When you take a deep breath to think about what you are doing and where you are at in life to see how it fits into your ultimate path you are using your social imagination. It is actually frightening in some cases to think how painstakingly average what you are doing is. I think that is part of the reason many people seek for something in life that gives them a sense of individuality. For example, while attending soccer practice, you do something that you think is extraordinary, but then another player steps up and does the same thing. If you stop and think about how many other kids are able to perfect and perform the same
The truth is that there has been a deliberate and consistent campaign to feminize, emasculate and even homosexualize (newly coined) the black male image. Although this extends far beyond the entertainment world, it will do well to keep the focus here for maximum elucidation. I have made it a personal policy not to personally attack any of my black brothers and sisters, unless I identify the fact that they are acting with negligence and clear hostility toward the black collective. So, I will stick to addressing this in general, but I will use a couple of names as benchmarks.
I still need to learn how to stop judging people by how they look. I don’t mean that I judge people by their skin color, but by how they dress and what kind of cloths they are in. Everyone should wear what they feel good in, wear what they want to without anyone telling them they shouldn’t. I would like to be more open minded, but it doesn’t help that my mother makes those comments all the time about how someone is dressed. Race plays more of a role in my life than I would like it to. I am a white female, so I am seen as both privileged and oppressed, privileged because I am white, oppressed because I am a woman. I want to break my chains of oppression, break the chains of privilege, I want to be defined by who I am, not by what I look like or what gender I
Sociologist C. Wright Mills tells us that we must expose ourselves to sociological imagination, which is the ability to link someone’s personal struggles and success to the world around them and to observe what social factors might affect them. Sociological imagination is the ability to get rid of the familiar routines and look at something as
We all need to come together and stop giving into the white standards. The phrase “My Black is Beautiful” has to be said more so that they understand that it is okay to love your skin. It may be hard for some people to do, but it will take time. Our beauty has become a battleground, and this comes from years of slavery and Jim Crow segregation. The unprocessed collective pain from these destructive social experiences has been passed down through generations. As a result, there is so much pain living on our skin and we are trying to escape
Consequently, I feel misunderstood at times. I had this hole in my heart, where the love and affection of my biological mother belonged. A lot of my childhood involved being anxious about whether I would find my spot in a world where it seemed like everyone looked different than me. However, everything I felt, the discrimination, the disapproving whispers, and the loss I endured all happened for a reason: to strategically mold me into the person I am today. My experience and viewpoints have lent me the desire to use my education for better and to be someone who strives to create an accepting, understanding society. I find the world around me to be fascinating; it’s a jumbled up, beautiful chaos that tugs at us from every angle. My world has been turned upside down by the recent political turmoil. Last year, I began to understand what it means to be confident with who you are. Seeing people who so eagerly will tear into you, simply because of the color of your skin has always affected me. But now, I see things differently… I don’t desire to look like my peers anymore, I desire to show others why it’s imperative to listen and accept