Freeze Tag

This weeks article is called Sexuality and Gender in Children's Daily Worlds by Barrie Thorne Zella Luria. From an early age children separate into same-sex gender groups. Boys typically play in larger groups and prefer playing outside. Girls on the other hand tend to stick in pairs and get to know one another on a more personal basis. Girls are constantly throwing around the word, "best friends." Young girls are quite selective when it comes to who they play with. After all you want someone who will keep your secrets. Boys could care less about secrets; They are occupied picking teams for whatever game they decide to play that day. Something that we discussed in class is that boys will pick teams based on who is the best, because to most boys winning is everything. Girls on the other hand will pick teams based on who they are best friends with, even if your best friend lacks skill in that area. This article also talks about "cross-chasing," otherwise known as "Boys chase girls" or "Freeze tag." Automatically when children play tag the teams are based on gender.

I can relate this article to my life because I remember those elementary school days where I would watch the girls perform cheerleading routines very close to the football game that the boys were playing. I knew all along all the girls wanted was attention, after all who doesn't at that age?

We Know Who We Are

This first article is titled On Becoming Male: Reflectinos of a Sociologist on Childhood and Early Socialization by James M. Henslin After reading this article numerous memories came to mind from my childhood that I could easily relate to. I remember sitting on the swings and hoping that I could go and play kickball with the boys. I knew that if I was to walk over and ask to play they would all stare at me with mouths wide open. Playing sports on the playground wasn't something girls did, well not unless you count jump rope-lame I know. This article discusses how parents obsess over our sex and force upon us things that are associated with being a boy or a girl. Blue balloons outside the house for a newborn boy and Pink of course for a girl. Early on we were told how to act and that is what influences us into becoming masculine or feminine. Boys were told to be rough and tough with their toys where as girls would sit inside and brush their dolls hair. Girls should be dainty and strive to be pretty. Boys would be allowed more privileges and they would thank god they weren't born a girl.

All of the things in this article are very stereotypical although I can't say that there not true. In a way it does seem like boys have it easier. There is always the double standard, especially staying out late. I know that my brother would come home late into the night and my parents wouldn't say a word, but then when I ask to go out with a boy they would say, "no."

The other article is called On Becoming Female: Lessons Learned in School by Donna Eder.

"Girls are sent a strong message that what they do and who they are is less important then how they look." This article talks about a particular middle school where the popular girls are typically cheerleaders. To be honest I'm not surprised because when I was in middle school it was the same. Reading some of these conversations between the girls aren't foreign to me. They sound like typical conversations. Theres something about putting down someone else that makes you feel better. We all do it, maybe not face to face, but we most certainly talk behind other peoples backs. Its sad to think that us girls can't be proud of who we are and that we are constantly trying to change, but for what? Is it the attention from boys that we want? Or do we want other girls to become jealous of us? I believe it is a little bit of both. Girls are sent such strong messages through the media to look a certain way. Many of these images that we see are edited. Nobody is perfect, yet we strive to be just that.

Extreme Isolation by Kingsley Davis

     Throughout this week we have been talking about feral children. The term feral children is when children are considered "wild" because they receive limited interactionism with humans. Some of these "wild" children are found in the wild others are locked up in a room where they experience extreme isolation for a long period of time. The most famous case in history is the story of feral child Genie. Genie was locked up in a room with only a crib at a child potty for 13 years. Scientists believe she was routinely beaten as well as harassed. Genie was discovered around the age of 12 or thirteen years old when discovered and was immediately taken to a children's hospital, little did she know that she would be studied for years to come.

     As far as the article Extreme Isolation two young girls around the age of six had been isolated from all interactionism. The question that this article poses is whether or not Anna for example could not make further progress because of genetics (her mother had a low IQ) or because of past circumstances such as being neglected as a child. This idea is known as nature vs nurture. Nature being did you inherit the trait vs nurture where you learned to act that way from the environment in which you grew up in. A second child is discussed in this article. Her name was Isabelle and she was said to have been born one month after Anna. Similarly to Anna, Isabelle was an illegitimate child and was set apart from the rest of her family in an enclosed room with her deaf and mute mother. Isabelle was discovered around the age of 6 and was quickly taken into rehabilitation.

     In the end both girls needed both medical attention and interaction with others. The message that this article is trying to convey is that children need love, care, and affection from an early age and without that they will not develop "normally." Because Isabelle was discovered at a younger age she was able to soon act about her age and perform daily tasks. She not only learned to speak, but she was able to run and sing. Perhaps because Isabelle was discovered at an early age she was able to make up for loss time when she was neglected. On the other hand Genie was isolated for much longer therefore not being able to progress after a certain point.

Doing Fieldwork Among the Yanomamo- Values and Norms

This post relates to the values and norms of the Yanomamo. In class we talked about different values and norms. The term values is the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly. Next, the term norms is the expectations, or rules of behavior, that reflect and enforce values. Some of the cultural norms within the Yanomamo include the people being fierce. The members of the Yanomamo are fierce and expect others to look at them as fierce. Aggression is another important norm that all Yanomamo members possess. If they show aggression towards one another then in turn will have power. Wife beating, chest pounding, and organized attacks on other villages are some of the ways of life. They are taught early on not to trust anyone. In the United States we were taught from an early age to treat others the way you would like to be treated. We both hold different values for what may or may not be desirable. Yanamamo people are also extremely loud and threatening when talking to one and other. They may say things such as, "Share your food with me!" "Loan me your flashlight so I can go hunting tonight!" Giving into a demand was looked at as weak. A person was to stand up for themselves. Chagnon soon had to adjust his norms-behavior in order to get a long with the Indians.

This relates to my life because if a member of the Yanamamo was to stay in my home I'm sure that some of the daily routines with my family would shock them just the same. The amount of time and money Americans spend "beautifying" themselves would be looked at as the biggest waste of time to them. Just because they may do things differently doesn't mean our way of life is wrong. Both cultures can co-exist.
  This photo is of a naked woman from the Yanomamo. 






To their tribe they look at her as being clothed where as to Americans we would say things such as "ew" or "why 






isn't she wearing any clothes?" 

Doing Fieldwork Among the Yanomamo

Summary: This article is about an Anthropologist who graduated from the University of Michigan. This intelligent individual is looking to study the fieldwork among the Yanomamo Indians. This particular tribe live in Southern Venezuela. They live in areas that have not yet been contacted by other human life. The people among the tribe have very different values than that of people from the United States. First of all according to Chagnon the tribe members among the Yanomamo are disgustingly dirty. "I looked up and gasped when I saw a dozen burly, naked, filthy, hideous men staring at us down the shafts of their drawn arrows!" He also stated that chunks of green tobacco was stuck in between their teeth and lips. Green slime also hung from their noses. Reading this I was appauled! How could anyone bare the feeling of being dirty to that extreme. As I continued reading I realized that the people among the Yanomamo have different cultural norms that set them apart from other groups. By not bathing regularly they are able to accomplish more in a shorter amount of time.

Relation to Sociology: This relates to Sociology because in class we learned what it means to be ethnocentric. To be ethnocentric means to view your lifestyle as better than others. Anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon thought that the Yanomamo did not meet his standards of living therefore making his lifestyle appear to be superior. Chagnon also viewed society in the United States as better because of the way we eat, where as the people there steal eachother's food and constantly beg for me. In a way we are similar to the Yanomamo because when we prepare meals we do so for an entire group of people living in our home.

Relation to My Life: I can see why Chagnon might be so quick to judge the Yanomamo. If I was to take the trip myself the first thing I would notice was the way the people lived. I would most definitely notice the lack of structure. Not only are the people filthy (in my eyes), but where is the meaning of life among these people. There is no schooling that is mentioned and without education a society or group tends to fall apart. Overall I enjoyed the article and thought it was good for me to read about other cultures norms and values compared to that of my own.

   A different cultural norm. The members of the Yanomamo wear little to no clothing!!

Are Dialects Fading?

Summary:      This article talks about two different topics. The first being that dialect differences will never disappear. The article used the example that teenagers purposely set themselves apart from their parents by speaking in a different way. For example when texting we tend to come up with slang or abbreviations such as: ttyl- talk to you later, lame-sauce- something that is super uncool or not pleasing. Teenagers almost create their own dialect to intentionally set themselves apart from adults.
                      The second part of the article discusses how there are different dialects all over the world. A professor from California referred to her dialect as "Valley Girl," because she grew up in Southern California. The mentioned professor also admitted to speaking with an "uptalk." Uptalk is the use of rising information for sentences that are not questions. For example simply saying "Ms. Castelli?" That is not a formal question. What does formal really mean? Is there a right way or a wrong way to talk? Not necessarily. After watching the videos in class and participating in the class discussions, I came to realize that people are going to naturally pick up on a different dialects that you may or may not be used to.


Relation to Sociology: This relates to Sociology because often times groups of people work together. If you were to apply for a job and you were able to put down on your application that you speak three languages this puts you ahead of someone who can only speak one because you are now able to communicate with more people.


Relation to My Life: I feel as if language is a big part of my life because not only does it help me communicate with my peers, but it allows all people to carry a little bit of heritage with them. Unfortunately after the second generation families typically lose that language. It's interesting to be able to meet different types of people from different cultures and compare them to your own.

   - HELLO IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES!!

The Sounds of Silence

Summary: This article compares the nonverbal communication between many cultures around the world. For example men in Europe tend to really focus in on a woman's attributes, from her eyes, hair, nose, lips, breasts, hips to her feet. If a European woman was to come to America she may feel like she isn't looked at as much. Different cultures possess different norms with in their culture. Also, certain nonverbal communications differ from country to country. For instance in Italy the people are more personal and in your face where as in New England a man was brought up by reserved parents who enjoyed their privacy.

Relation to Sociology: Over all I found this article very intriguing because I had no idea that certain actions with your hands and such differed from country to country. A connection that I made from the article referred to the "fourth zone." Which stands for public distance typically used by teachers or public speakers. If I were to go to a concert I would recognize the same thing. The band would be about twenty-five feet at least from the fans.
*As we learned in class there are four main distances: intimate, personal, social, and public. An intimate distance might be me with my boyfriend. Its a distance that we both feel comfortable with because of our attraction towards each other.

Relation to My Life: This article relates to my life because I know what its like to be shocked by a foreign culture. I spent six weeks in France when I was fourteen years old and I remember thinking to myself, "Wow these people are really 'touchy feely'." Its our wide range of cultural norms that give our country diversity.

Eating Your Friends Is The Hardest: The Survivors of the F-227

 Summary:   This article poses one main question. Is it morally wrong to consume another human being during desperate times. On October 12, 1972 a propeller-driven Fairchild F-227 fled Uruguay's capital, Montevideo. The plane was headed for Santiago, Chile. Forty people were on the plane. The pilots expressed concern because of the turbulence over the Andes Mountains. That day the plane landed, but soon after they took off again, and the plane crashed into a snow covered valley within the mountains. The people on the plane were at 12,000 feet with out food and only had the limited shelter of what was left of the airplane. Many didn't survive the cold or the crash, but the few that did survive did so in a very grotesque way. They ripped open the bodies of the dead and ate their flesh to survive. One man that consumed the bodies said that the soul was gone and the body was simply meat and essential for their survival. Soon after others followed.

Relation to Sociology: Human flesh was not created for consumption, but when the circumstances change so does the meaning we hold for it. Just like the example Mrs. Castelli used in class. Kissing ones boyfriend or girlfriend is not considered gross. Although if I told the male to drink the saliva that his girlfriend spit on a spoon that would get a different reaction. Things change according to context and circumstances.

Relation to my life: This article relates to my life because I can think of a similar situation where I attached meaning to something. Both Kyle and I have a leather wound bracelet that we wear on our left wrist. This bracelet is meaningful to me because it represents our friendship. To anyone else it would "look like" a scrawny piece of string.

The Promise Reflection

This article poses three major questions. 1.) Why do things in society go together? I  view society as a willow tree. There is the trunk which represents the major building blocks of society, government, corporations, military, and people. Off of that trunk we have branches and they represent small businesses, jobs, and family life. All of those things are minor components to society as a whole, or the bigger picture. Without the trunk of the tree those branches wouldn't be there.
2.) Where does this society stand in history? Each and every day I feel as if our society changes as a whole. We excel in certain areas and struggle in others. After all "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."- Winston Churchill This relates to the article because in time we've realized that relaxation is just as important as our work.
3.) How do men and women prevail in today's society? Both men and women in today's world are supposedly given equal opportunity. I must say though that us women have been given a false start due to the cruel men of this world. All people were created equally therefore both women and men should be given the same job opportunities. In today's society we have more women enrolled in medical school than men. This just goes to show that we are not only as intelligent, but that we are diligent workers.

This compares to my life because I know what it's like to be treated differently. In 2nd grade I chose to play on an all boys baseball team. Not only was I made fun of for playing with the boys, but I was told I'd never be good enough. I proved all those boys wrong the second I walked onto that team. Not only did I look good while I played, but I showed up to practice every day with a smile on my face. My coaches were willing to work with me and soon enough I was just as good as all those silly boys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIxScJ5rlY&ob=av3e

Who am I?

Hello, my name is Daisy Schuster. I'm a senior this year and can't wait to graduate! I enjoy playing both Lacrosse and Tennis.  I am very active in U.N.I.C.E.F. which is a club that helps impoverished children all around the world. I wish that all children could have a home and I feel very blessed that I am able to live the way I do. My friends influence the choices that I make and are a big part of my life. In case any of you haven't noticed already Kyle Fitzpatrick is my best friend and sits right next to me in class :) My hectic family means a lot to me even if we don't get to spend much time together. My goal is to have some sort of an impact for the people on this earth before I die, especially children. My dream would be to go to Africa  and do any sort of volunteer project. Hope you enjoyed reading my first post!