SumBlog 11

Dorothy Smith talks about the Standpoint Approach/Theory.  How we become a part of the group, but we are not being completely objective.  We are able to see things happen from with-in with a feeling of connection and relation, even with a stranger.  Our experience is hands on while our perspective is just looking.  When we were talking about this in class I could not help but think of how children help and become friends with other children that have a mental disability.  I had a mentally disabled friend when I was in elementary school and now that I work in an elementary school, I see many other children helping and caring for their friend(s) with a mental disability.

At a young age children can see when another child is having problems, or needs help and they will go help them.  In my case I was friends with a girl who is autistic, I would become her "buddy" in gym class soon I somewhat became a part of their group.  I was allowed to come into the classroom when they were doing activities and I could help out. I was able to interact and see what life was like in their eyes.  I was an experience I wouldn't trade for the world.

SumBlog 10

Symbols, we see them everywhere with multiple meanings to very culture.  According to Clifford Geertz, symbols help define a culture, they help express something, someone, or a group.  There can be many different symbols, but Geertz divides them into two categories, physical like the American Flag, or a wedding band, and non-physical like a smile, a head-nod,  or a hand shake.

In our modern christian culture we use wedding rings to show that we are committed to one person and that one person is the one we will life the rest of our life with.  In the Amish culture they do not wear wedding bands, or any jewelry that will draw attention, so they grow their beards instead.  When a man has no beard, that means they are single, but when a man does have a beard that means they are married.  To most religions we would find this a little different, but for the Amish it's the way things have been and things have always been.  

SumBlog 9

Erving Goffman and the Presentation of Self caught my interest.  That we as people put on a show or go out on stage when we are in front of others or in general society.  Our status is our social position in life, who we are to others (ie. sister, student, teacher) but our role is more so the expected behaviors of this status.  With these two terms we create a self label which gives us a front stage (in public) and a back stage (in private).
In our society we view women as care givers, and wives, but society has been changing and many mothers have been seen in the work force having a career, and a family.  Women are striving to become equal and accepted in society.  But many still think that they only role for a women is to stay at home and take care of the children, that their status is Mom.

To me this picture can prove that women are strong professional people who can handle not only a full time job but also handle a house hold.  That women can take on many status's and roles and prove wrong to those who doubt them.

SumBlog 8

   George Herbert Mead talks about the generalized other and the self.  The generalized other is how we as society worry about what others think of us and wonder, are we separate or not.  The self is classified into two parts, the I and the Me.  The I is the person you need to be in relation to those around you.  This is your own identity.  The Me are attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors after the I has been filtered, how we have been raised, how we would approach situations.
   We did an activity in class dealing with Facebook and if it takes on more of the I or the Me.  I am personally in between on this issue.  Most people still choose to have that filter when updating a status or posting pictures, which would take on the Me.  But I have also seen people who post status's they should probably have kept to themselves and provocative pictures that should not be posted in my opinion.  This would take on more of the I, where people just do not seem to care what others think of what they have to say or do and there is no filter.
    We also watched the movie Liar Liar in class, with the part where Jim Carey is telling the truth about how he feels about everyone, including his boss, and they are laughing and thinking he's just being funny.  They did not understand that he was being serious because he was being so up front and forward about the way he felt.

I feel that we think too much about what people will think of us, that our society thrives on the opinions of others and that makes it hard for us to be ourselves.  Instead we so many images we have to up hold with so many different people, we don't know who we are anymore.