Reading about social construction gave me perspective into all of the subliminal cues we can pick up on to classify someone else. I think people are very concerned with being able to fit others into a definable category. Although I think it is absurd, it is the world we live. As Hanfler addresses, “A person who has a strong bond to society and has little reason to break the rules will be dissuaded from deviance.” This is where the idea of normalcy comes into play. Although the rules aren’t explicit, one can easily distinguish “normal” from “abnormal.” However, all the time, we are encouraged to be ourselves.
As it turns out, “being yourself” is the thing that fits you into a category. Hanfler discusses the Skinhead subculture and all of the minutiaes that can differentiate subcultures within the Skinhead lifestyle. Hanfler points out, “Something as seemingly simple as a shoelace can hold significant meanings. To some skins, wearing white laces signifies white pride, red laces white power, and yellow laces hatred of police.” Ridiculous! Regarding social construction, Skinheads have attributed shoelaces to hold meaning!
Similarly, Young discusses how school has fit into a norm as well in “Students Rights to They Own Language.” Young reflects “it may be true that the standard language is [...] a device for protecting the status quo, but that very truth is a reason for teaching it to students.” Young discusses how if students were permissible to write with their own voice, it would allow prejudices to take root. I think he raises a valid argument. Even as I write now, I am following a list of rules within the english language. I began this paragraph with a different thought and I am doing my best to follow the grammatical, accepted practices of the english language.
Both articles relate to the TED talk by Sam Killerman, “Understanding the Complexities of Gender.” In the talk, Killerman discusses what it means to “be a man and vs. a women” in our society. He questions why the world we live in cares so much about it. Men “should” be strong and women “should” be passive. Again, our fixation on categorization is not something I support.
I think all three represent what social construction is doing to our society. I fear soon we will live in a place where everyone is so goddamned scared to be different, creativity will seis. I think it would be interesting if you could see the life of someone immersed in society and the same life totally secluded from any norms. Would they be the same them?
David,
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up points and examples that are very thought provoking! In my linguistics class last semester, we talked about the various dialects that we have of the English language throughout our nation. A huge discussion that we had in that class was how to teach Standardized Written English without making students feel devalued for the dialect that they speak at home. One of the ways that we talked about approaching it was to teach it as though it was a translation from their home language into this "new" language of Standardized English; therefore, it would allow students to see that there is a specific context in which using formal English is needed without making them feel like they way they speak is wrong. This goes along with your last statement about people be so afraid to be different and the importance of recognizing that just because something is different does not mean it is wrong or of less value. For instance, my English dialect is not of less or more value than a person who has a Southern accent or dialect. Lastly, I'm interested in your statement that you do not support categorizations. I definitely agree that categorizations can inhibit people and leave people out, but I've noticed that our mind tends to categorize things whether we realize it or not, it's our way of understanding the world. So I guess my question is either keep from categorizing in our minds or what do we do in order to prevent harmful categorizations of people?
David, your blog has a lot of great and interesting ideas. From "being yourself", but not really being yourself to fitting into social norms using language/writing as a n example. What I really want to comment on is your last thought, " I think it would be interesting if you could see the life of someone immersed in society and the same life totally secluded from any norms. Would they be the same them?". Can we have a life secluded from norms? I don't think we can, because you would have to completely seclude a baby at birth, and that wouldn't be possible, because that baby needs his/her parents to help him/her grow up. It is so damn frustrating to be apart of social norms and it makes you feel like a pawn in the game of life, but what else do we know? This social construction can't go away no matter how hard we try. Once you have so easily learned something, it is ten times harder to unlearn, and we may not be able to unlearn these norms. And its funny, because we think "normal" as being a good thing, but when it comes to social norms, it may not always be good.
ReplyDeleteSuch a deep conversation! You all really made me think!
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