Sunday, April 26, 2015

post vii: socialization into gender

The moment this unit started I knew it was going to be an interesting one. It changed my perspective with a lot of things. I thought I knew things but in reality I didn't. Coming from the Philippines (A very conservative country with mostly Catholic people), I thought America was a very liberated and open minded country. In some ways, it is considering they have adapted the concept of gay marriage and such. Watching the film "Tough Guise" for the first time, made me realize how ignorant I have been with the issue. I was guilty of being the person who would say "man up", "don't be such a girl", "what are you? gay?" and so much more to my little guy cousins and to my boyfriend. It was all connected. People loves it when guys open up to them but only to a certain extent or it would decrease their masculinity. And because of this, guys tend to keep their feelings to themselves until they reach a limit and they start acting up based on their emotions. That is when violence to one's self and other people come up. After watching the movie "Tough Guise", I realized how I became one of the ignorant ones and I then decided to change this certain part of myself. Another part of the film was how there was a lot of crimes was done by man. Statistics were high and the film made a point that over time, this issue become Women's issue. In the world we live in, we are the ones that has to be cautious.We were the ones that cannot provoke or bad things would happen to us. The topic about masculinity made me disgusted on how the man in our society thinks they have the right to dominate and hurt woman just to prove they are more masculine. 

On the other hand, the topic femininity made me more sad and sympathetic of the women all over the world. It is inevitable to be insecure and feel like one is not good enough. It made me realize that instead of bringing each other up, women tends to tear each other down. In the film "Killing Us Softly4" is where it showed how media affect how women deal with their body. In the film, women are usually the weaker one. The men are the more dominant one, the women are perceived as someone who just obeys and follows. It basically showed that women needs to please men. It definitely made me feel really hopeless because it is true that men see's women as object. Only a few are treated well. I can say that everyone felt more of an object at least once in their life. In this unit is where it emphasized how women are different. There are different body types and it is okay to have them. That we, women, does not need to force ourselves to look like someone else. The film made me appreciate how it is okay to be skinny. That I cannot let myself be categorized as an object and the one that pleases. This topic is something everyone can relate too and if women everywhere accepts and makes each other feel comfortable in each other's skin then it would benefit everyone. 

Monday, April 6, 2015

post vi : socialization

Few weeks ago, we have learned that everyone is being influenced in every way and every day. From small to big things, everything we do is based of how we were raised and how people around us are. Recently, we came across the "Agents of Socialization". It is where people get and learn values and know what to do and it is where how they think came from. It was divided from family, friends, school and more.

The foundation of everyone would be family. Without a doubt, families shape people. From what to wear, how to act, what to eat and more is when the influence starts. I definitely agree with this because I am an example of it. At such a young age, I was taught on what and what not to wear. I was taught how to act at certain places. I ended up liking things that they liked. I ended up eating things they usually eat. And now, I still find myself doing things they usually do. I still eat things they feed me. I still have the values they taught me growing up.

Another saying that stuck was "tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are". All my life, I was taught to pick my friends. To not be with druggies or people who drink alcohol or one will lead to the wrong path. Growing up, I never believed in peer pressure. I never felt pressured to do anything because whatever it is, I wanted to do it anyways. I became the one that made people do things, it was not bad or anything. It actually turned out for the good. The friends that I have are friends for we can somehow connect to one another. We like the same things and often hate the same things. If a person surrounds itself with good people, eventually that person will be influenced and be good as well or do less bad things. The influencing is really strong specially in friendship.