Deviance

This week really opened my eyes to the social construct of punishable deviance. I believe that it is a social construct because someone at some point decided that when you go out of the norm there should be consequences. While I agree that negative deviance should be punished, it was scary to read the Courtroom 302 article and watch the 30 days episode and see how the deviant people were treated. Our system of penalizing and punishing does less rehabilitating and changing what society doesn't like, but more oppressing and controlling what they do and when they do it. I don't know how a society could avoid punishing negative deviance because then there would be too few consequences to have any control. Without the laws and penalties that stigmatize deviance, there would be far more occurrences of what society shuns. Our penitentiaries show how society wants to control the actions of its people to create a utopian-esque way of life. The ideal community is one without crime or any other acts of negative deviance. By locking them up, society hopes to rid the world of the men and women that would harm that ideal. In doing so, many people are punished harshly as means of prevention rather than in response to a problem. Because of the harshness and intensity of the criminal justice system, I am very thankful not to be a part of the negative side of it.

Socialization/Adolescence Reflection

1. It's ironic that you asked about both what we've decided to wear today and what sports we enjoy because today I happen to be wearing my Stevenson Varsity Poms jersey. This jersey is what we wore to our state competition last year, and I think it represents the nurtured qualities that being part of a dance team has instilled in my character. The competitive spirit and strive to beat rivals is actually pretty relevant in the world of poms. Although we're usually grouped into the "dumb cheerleaders", I think that the values of teamwork, dedication, and commitment that have been nurtured by our environment allow us to overcome the stereotype and achieve great things, like winning state championships for example. However, there are also aspects of nature that have brought me to be able to wear this jersey. Talent and love of dance are things I was born with. My sister and I were both lucky enough to make Junior Varsity freshman year and Varsity sophomore year. This is not a privilege given lightly, and I think I was born with natural talent that I worked really hard to pursue in order to achieve these goals.
2. Social status power is so important to adolescents because it is one aspect of life that they have control over. As opposed to political or economical responsibilities, teens focus on social power because they actually have a say in what they can and can't do. They want to have the most power within and amongst their groups because if they do not succeed socially, there is not much else to succeed in until they get older. This concept is consuming the minds of teens because they always want to be the best.
3. Socialization for children today is dramatically different from past generations to do the advancements in technology and the relentless advertising that companys have imposed on just about everything. Because communication and accessibility have increased tenfold, it makes it that much easier for advertisers to reach children and manipulate them. This raises plenty of concerns because at this rate, it will be nearly impossible to control the consumption of infantilized minds because they will be so impulsive and irrational. When kids are socialized more by the media than by their own families, it should raise red flags that we need to regain control. The nurture part of a child's upbringing needs to be less about what they have and more about who they spend time with and what they do.
4. Gender differences in socialization are prevalent because society imprints certain responsibilities and values that differ between boys and girls. We are pushed towards different activities and passtimes that are more socially accepted. Parents make the decisions for us that girls are more likely to enjoy ballet class and boys are more likely to love Little League. Specifically for me, I chose between my two loves when I was younger. I started dancing when I was three years old, and basketball when I started first grade. I was pretty good at both and always had so much fun. When it came to 7th grade, I did both sports at Daniel Wright, and volleyball too; however, in eighth grade, I had to choose one to focus on because my mom told me that both my favorite sports were during the same high school season. My sister danced, and my brother played basketball and volleyball. Looking to them made my decision even more difficult. I picked dance because it seemed like I should follow in my sister's footsteps rather than my brothers because she was a girl, and my mom pushed for me to dance as well. I don't regret my decision, but thinking about it now I am curious to know what I would've picked if gender differences in socialization were irrelevant.

Adolescence

The expectations that society has for the teenage age group are constantly and hypocritically conflicting. The fact that some responsibilities are too much and others are understood and demanded from the adolescence causes the confusion that categorizes those subjected to it. It is interesting to consider the perspective of the teenagers themselves versus the authority that controls, or tries to control them. It is unfair to allow some privileges with reasoning that proves the maturity of teens, but then to also restrict and limit other privileges because they are too young and immature. However, this is exactly what parents and adults do in trying to control the actions and behaviors of this misfit group.
It was also interesting to read about the reproduction theory and how parents are not as vital to the formation of a child's behaviors and personality. The first few pages of the article really emphasize the constant push and pull between nature and nurture. There is a constant struggle between parents and peer groups as the frontrunner for child and adolescent development. On the other hand, some argue that genes determine the personality, and there are few outer affects that have an influence over how a child turns out. Lastly, the reproduction theory was interesting because it points out an obvious truth that we sometimes choose to ignore as a society. The inequality that is present socially and economically is reproduced among generations because it is so difficult to overcome the expectations. The example from the reading is devastating because it shows that no matter how much work someone from a tougher neighborhood dedicates, there is no deciding factor that can assure their success.