Henslin (2015) discusses social location when he states that social location is the groups that people belong in because their place or position in society. Things that contribute to someone’s social location are their income, job, education, gender, race, religion, location, culture and age. I think a lot of the males in my family still think that women stay home and men go out to work, and still tease all the females about this. They don’t think that females will ever make a lot of money and males run the household. My older brother shows a lot of this thinking. He will hardly do anything around the house that deals with cleaning, cooking or washing clothes because he says that’s the women’s job. Sometimes he seems to be joking about it, but he still doesn’t do any cleaning or cooking. He has told me I’m not going to get anywhere and thinks I will never make as much money as him. My mother though always tells
He learned this from somewhere, and it is from our past. Henslin (2015) shows how sociologist C. Wright Mills also discusses this vision, “By history…each society is located in a broad stream of events that gives each society specific characteristics” (Pg 3). This describes how we learn things from our history. My Grandpa on my dad’s side worked two jobs to support the family, while my grandma stayed home with the three kids. My mother doesn’t believe in that thought. Her dad died when she was thirteen, so she had to grow up at a young age. She and my uncle, who is her brother, have always told me to not depend on a man. She wants me to go get an education and be able to support myself. She didn’t grow up with the idea that Henslin (2015) pointed out in the book which is that “women were expected to devote themselves to the four C’s” church, cooking, children and clothes” (Pg 8) which also happened to the women in early sociology. Comparing both of the sides of my family shows how
He mentions how far women have come since his grandmother's day, but realizes the country as a whole has more room to grow. He mentions how tough it can be for women to juggle a demanding career while raising a family. Both text reference what honor motherhood is but they also admit the demanding workforce can determine how successful a mother they can be. Women today may not face slavery, but they face double standards that limit them to be successful professionals and parents.
There are many factors that have influenced my view of society, these factors are intrinsically linked with the social and political location that I hold within society. My social location is defined by my age, race, religion, gender, familial experiences, and income. All of these factors have influenced my social location, which in turn has had an impact on how I identify myself, as well as my view and understanding of society.
In American Diversity is one of the biggest issues in America. America is a home to all, such that no one group can call itself more “American” than another. Even the America is very diverse, not everyone has the privilege in living in a cultural/racial diverse area. With this being said every person is not use to interactions with people much different from their own race. After reviewing many articles and books I have gained enough knowledge on my topic: prove why living in diverse area is not only just beneficial with social interactions, but with your self-esteem, and just life in general. After reading this paper I would like to think that you will have a better understanding of why growing up and being exposed to diversity at a young age is extremely beneficial.
During the 1800’s, especially in the beginning, the American society was run by males. They were seen superior to women in nearly every way. They got the best education, they were paid the most, they had the only voice in the family, and they had complete control over women. Especially at home, women weren’t respected. The father was the highest voice and everybody was expected to listen to the father. A woman’s roles at home included taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning and doing whatever her husband asked of her. A women’s money belonged to her father if she wasn’t married. If she was married, they money belonged to her husband. It was because of these reasons that men looked for wealthy women to marry so they could have more mon...
Social location plays a huge role in our day-to-day life. We 're classified by social class, education, gender, race, ethnicity, and the culture. Henslin (2015) notes, “One of the beautiful and fascination aspects of sociology is that it enables us to look at both parts of our current reality: being part of a global network and having unique experiences in our smaller corners of life” (p. 3). That statement is what draws me into sociology, we know that everyone 's treated different, and get more privileges than others based on social
The intersection of dominant ideologies of race, class, and gender are important in shaping my social location and experiences. By exercising my sociological imagination (Mills, 1959), I will argue how my social location as an Asian American woman with a working class background has worked separately and together to influence how I behave, how others treat and view me, and how I understand the world. The sociological imagination has allowed me to understand my own “biography”, or life experiences by understanding the “history”, or larger social structures in which I grew up in (Mills, 1959). First, I will describe my family’s demographic characteristics in relation to California and the United States to put my analysis into context. I will then talk about how my perceptions of life opportunities have been shaped by the Asian-American model minority myth. Then, I will argue how my working class location has impacted my interactions in institutional settings and my middle/upper class peers. Third, I will discuss how gender inequalities in the workplace and the ideological intersection of my race and gender as an Asian-American woman have shaped my experiences with men. I will use Takaki’s (1999) concepts of model minority myth and American identity, Race; The Power of an Illusion (2003), Espiritu’s (2001) ideological racism, People Like Us: Social Class in America (1999) and Langston’s (2001) definition of class to support my argument.
In American culture many people expect those within our society to strictly follow gender roles that have been set in place and anyone who does not follow these roles are often judged harshly. Recently, a friend of mine had a son; her and her husband decided that he would take on the responsibility of being a stay at home father. When I first heard about this I was perplexed by the situation because fathers are “bread winners” for their family, not nurturers. The idea that men cannot be nurturing and mothers cannot be the sole financial support system of the family is deeply ingrained in our culture. Due to society’s idea of masculine and feminine roles, many people struggle with the idea of men and women behaving in ways that do not fit our
Children learn gender roles based on parental socialization, meaning what is talked about by society and what is culturally accepted. They learn based on what they watch or what they hear and see from their family, friends, and school. The children learn that women are nurturing and expressive while men are strong and independent. Women are seen as the primary caregiver of their children, whether they are work or not. Studies have shown that the wives who earn 100% of their family’s income spend more time with their children than the husbands who earn 100% of the income (Raley, Bianchi, and Wang 2012:1448). Looking at gender and sex at a sociological imagination standpoint, it would be clear that the way society influenced this data. Women have been the primary caregivers for almost all of America’s history, so it’s not likely to change anytime soon. America is slowing heading towards change with is seen with the stalled revolution, women are seen with different viewpoints than their mothers and grandmothers, but men still have more similarities with their fathers and
...ust from males. I feel that this is a result of the gender stereotype that men are leaders and woman are not. I am currently working towards a business degree which I plan to use to transfer to law school. I would love to be a judge one day. My own Grandfather told me the judges stand (or any other official position) is no place for a woman. My Mother and Grandmother where pretty upset with me for going to college because they feel that it takes away from my family. I think the biggest shock to the people in my life is that I work outside of the home while my husband works from home. I do not enjoy being in the home all day long, however, my husband doesn’t mind it. He decided to work in a home office so he can be with our children. I am grateful for him for doing this. I’m glad to have someone that understands my needs and doesn’t force me to follow cultural norms.
Before the 1890s, females had no other options but to live with their parents before marriage and with their husband after marriage. They couldn’t work and if they did their wage was way lower than men. Today many women chose their own lifestyle and have more freedom. They can chose if they want to get married and have kids or not. Coontz said “what 's new is not that women make half their families living but that for the first time they have substantial control over their own income, along with the social freedom to remain single or to leave an unsatisfactory marriage” (98). When women couldn’t work, they had no options but to stay with their husband for financial support. Working is a new way of freedom because they can choose to stay or leave their husband and make their own decisions. It’s not like women couldn’t work before, they could but they didn’t have too much social freedom like to get divorce or not have children. Their voice wasn’t as important as men. Most of the time men had to decide everything in the family and had control over the family. Coontz believe that today women have more control over their own life and they can choose however they want to live their life. Kuttner also agree that “most Americans, after all, believe women should not be consigned to the nursery and the kitchen” (122). Women used to be the mother who
This question is one of the examples that displays that gender roles are slowing progressing into change. If I had to asked this question again 50 years ago, I would probably get more fathers as answers and none for mothers. The next two questions discuss what is expected of men and women in the household. I put the most common tasks that men and women are associated with; cooking/cleaning and earning money. 17 participants said that men are expected to earn money and 14 participants state that women are expected to clean/cook. My prediction was right when I stated that this is the norm in traditional cultures. The last two questions asked if participants felt superior/inferior to their opposite gender. These two questions had an effect and cause on identity from the family. Most participants stated that they did not feel superior or inferior to their opposite gender. I believe if I asked this question to participants who I personally knew that grew up in an extremely strict household; I would get more “yes” than no”
The traditional gender roles have been slowly blurred over time. Traditional mid-20th-century American gender roles separate the roles of men and women within a household. Men were the head of household and then the women obeyed their husband. Within the last thirty years, the distinction between the two genders has slowly become equal in the workplace and in daily life.
Throughout history, the roles of men and women in the home suggested that the husband would provide for his family, usually in a professional field, and be the head of his household, while the submissive wife remained at home. This wife’s only jobs included childcare, housekeeping, and placing dinner on the table in front of her family. The roles women and men played in earlier generations exemplify the way society limited men and women by placing them into gender specific molds; biology has never claimed that men were the sole survivors of American families, and that women were the only ones capable of making a pot roast. This depiction of the typical family has evolved. For example, in her observation of American families, author Judy Root Aulette noted that more families practice Egalitarian ideologies and are in favor of gender equality. “Women are more likely to participate in the workforce, while men are more likely to share in housework and childcare (apa…).” Today’s American families have broken the Ward and June Cleaver mold, and continue to become stronger and more sufficient. Single parent families currently become increasingly popular in America, with single men and women taking on the roles of both mother and father. This bend in the gender rules would have, previously, been unheard of, but in the evolution of gender in the family, it’s now socially acceptable, and very common.
Since the dawn of time, men and women have held very distinct places in society. For example, in regards to family life, men have traditionally served as the hunters, gatherers, and providers. Conversely, women have historically served as cooks, cleaners, and caretakers to their husbands and children. For centuries, these family roles were the cultural norm, especially in the typical American household. However, in recent years, society has seen a gradual shift away from this family dynamic. Many married women are no longer just caretakers, but are major contributors to the family income. In fact, there are many households in which the husband stays at home and the wife works. This change reflects a shift in societal attitudes and expectations
The roles women typically play in the family may not always be consistent with success in the occupational arena. Staying home to care for a sick child may conflict with an important meeting (Broman 1991:511). Sometimes there has to be a change of plans when it comes to the family. Most people believe that family comes first no matter what. Men 's engagement in paid work fulfills prescriptions of hegemonic masculinity by facilitating their ability to gain status in the public sphere. A man can judge his worth by the size of a paycheck (Thebaud 2010:335). Most research shows that women are more likely to be effected by the household and men are more likely to be effected by their job. Some people feel that the goal is to reach higher on the occupational