Final Blog Entry

 

1.       There are two ways we look at race, sociological and biological. The sociological view on race is how a group of people in our society associate with others. It’s the study of human behavior. For example if you are darker skinned you may be looked upon as African American or Mexican, depending on your skin tone. The biological view is more than just the physical features of a person, but it’s also the social side is the way of life and behavior of a race and or races. Biological is always scientific while social is usually portrayed as psychological but can also be sociology. One article we read in class was about how American Americans were biologically superior athletes. I learned, based on scientific information that East Africans are better long distance running. It was not based on their looks; it was based on their environment, body type, workout, diet, etc. By reading a couple articles on this topic I realized that some different groups of people are good at certain sport, not because of the way they look but based on their beliefs, health and skill.

This is a picture of a color chart, used to define your skin color. I believe the IAT test does not define your race just because it only judges the color of your skin. Someone may look American Indian when they’re really Asian, depending on their traits. This chart really doesn’t define race.

2.    Looking back at the beginning of the semester and comparing it to now, I learned and know a lot more about our society. I analyze things and people differently now. For example the way people talk or act in certain situations. Learning about the different social classes was my favorite. It was very interesting to see what others had verses others. Watching that movie in class about social class and seeing the lowest social class really opened my eyes. Growing up in Barrington you never see much of that and it made me realize I have it very lucky that I’m able to go to college or even own a car. I also liked seeing how much our society changed in the sense of the school dress code and technology. I liked all of the topics we went over and will keep using the knowledge I learned in this class in my everyday life.

Stereotypes and social classes

Physical attractiveness defines stereotypes and our social interaction in everyday life. First we see the features of the person or hear things about them. Then we fit what we see or hear into stereotypes. From that we expect that person to act in a certain way, or we judge their actions or attitudes. Many times, that person gets ideas on how we perceive him or her. To match our expectations, we confirm the stereotype. Social classes usually bring to mind certain stereotypes. For example, the upper class is stereotyped as sophisticated, educated and wealthy (beautiful people) by the way they dress, eat and socialize. They dress in the latest fashion trends (no matter what the cost), eat at high-end restaurants and attend many social events. Many middle class and lower class people think of them as stuck up and as people who care only about themselves. As for middle class, their stereotype is viewed as an average working American. They may dress in ordinary clothes with an occasional splurge, they eat out at moderate restaurants and occasionally participate in social events.  They make a living to get by and can sometimes afford a few perks along the way. But as for the lower class, they are judged as red necks, blue collar workers or just poor (sometimes irresponsible, unmotivated, ugly people). They are viewed as people without a good education who may work at fast food restaurants or are unemployed and unwilling to work hard to find a job.  Many times they are associated with bad grooming. In the move we are watching in class it showed how we viewed them, by showing them jumping in pools of mud and a grape spitting contest. Our society is very harsh when it comes to stereotypes and social classes. Instead of getting to know someone, we judge them by their background, where they live or how they act and dress, even before we get to know the person. We, as a society, go totally against the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.  In economies like the one that exists today, there are many unemployed, depressed people who were recently in that middle or even upper class.  Many times, poor and homeless people were very responsible people who faced unexpected hard times and have not been able to recover.  Unfortunately, our society often judges them before they know the whole story. Physical attractiveness and stereotypes will always be around in America.

How we may see the middle/lower class

Verses

How we see the Upper class people