Life Experience Essay

Submitted By MatthewHowk1
Words: 1188
Pages: 5
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When you start to look at your daily life in a sociological perspective, it opens your eyes to what is really going on in society today. When I first started changing my views, I watched the actions of others a little more closely using a micro-level orientation. Listening more to the way people talk and looking at the actions people choose, you start to hear how people blame themselves for their own life problems. Such as being stuck with a job they would rather not have, but have no choice because they need to support themselves or their family. Instead of complaining about having a job they dislike, they should be using what we call a sociological imagination. If they were to use their Sociological imagination they would blame our current society rather than themselves. For example; the economy is not so stable in our society and there really are not that many jobs, so I’m just lucky to have a job.

I’ve also paid more attention to the regulation of sexuality and how our society regulates with whom and when people reproduce. An example is religion, which looks down upon pre-marital reproduction. Even to what gender we can and cannot marry. I’ve noticed homophobia a lot, realizing how many people just bring up the fact that someone may be gay, just to look down upon him or her. This is an example of what we know as a structural-functional approach; how our social structures contributes to our overall operation of our society. Up until about the age of 16 my parents forced me to go to church. I complained about going non-stop, but because of my family’s beliefs they made me attend. That intern made me being catholic an ascribed status of mine. Even now that I am older I still choose not to attend church for my own reasons.

Growing up as a boy I got treated differently than the girls I grew up with. Being able to play any sport I wanted to, being expected to cut the lawn and do harder physical work are some examples. Gender stratification is a big issue with our society. Over the years, it has improved, but it is still present and a big part of my current life. Women should not be treated any differently than the way men are, they can be just as strong, smart, and equal to men at anything. People have the view on sexism that women are not as capable at the same jobs as men, and that they can’t do certain things just based on their gender. For example, if I had been in a cosmetology class, as in my vocational school, I would have been looked at differently, because ninety-nine percent of the cosmetology classes at my vocational school were girls. Being born a boy, I was given an ascribed status making different role strains on me for my future.

Have you ever looked at someone who dressed or looked differently than most people, and discriminated them for it? This is a good way to show how labeling theory, which is looking at people differently for wanting to express themselves, applies to our society. Some don’t want to abide by our societies’ unwritten rules on the way you are supposed to dress. Being your own character is everyone’s right, and yet society looks at expression in disgust. I wear tighter jeans than most, and have had my hair longer than most for the last five years of my life. I’ve been moderately criticized for it of course, but I like to wear them, and I enjoy my hair being long. Thus, I tend to ignore the crude comments. It’s horrible how society can put thoughts into people’s heads, making it seem wrong to be unique or just to be different in the slightest way, when it really is not.

I’ve always been fond of animals, whether they are domesticated or not, particularly rats. Rats are much cleaner animals then common belief. Society’s norms have made an image of rats as sewer dwelling vermin. The term society uses, “street rat,” creates a negative image towards rats that misrepresents their true nature. Similarly the same thing occurs when referring to snakes as “slimy,” but realistically they
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