Flush Flush Flush

So for the past few days in class, we've been talking about... toilets! Although it seems as though it doesn't have anything to do with sociology, it has a great influence and reflection upon cultures and their norms. We talked about how cultures do not have a "norm" for a culture is just there. There cannot be anything normal about a culture. There isn't a circumstance that presents itself in a way where we can judge another culture and say whether it is normal or not. For example, the Japanese toilets, they have the toilet itself in a separate room from the shower and the tub because to them they feel having all three in the same room is disgusting. We think that this is abnormal but to them, our bathroom set-up is abnormal. Whose normal is the true normal? That's the idea, there is no normal. Cultures and ideas just exist naturally. There is no right and wrong in a culture.

I learned this idea the hard way when I went on my pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia three years ago. The traditional Saudi Arabian toilet, or the hole in the ground, was something very new to me. I wasn't used to such a form. I felt that that style was not normal at all. I would always look for a western style toilet every time I had to use the washroom. Because I refused to believe that the Saudi Arabian toilet was a "normal" toilet, I made my vacation less enjoyable. I didn't have cultural awareness and I thought there was this normal style of living, like my own style of living. I was wrong.

Saarah M.

"A Bronx Tale"

We watched a movie in class that had a social construction and micro/macro dynamic theme. These ideas were portrayed within the town. "C" had to put up with all this racist behavior from his parents, friends, and neighbors. He ended up falling in love with a black girl which undoubtedly caused him strife. He worried about what his friends thought as well as what his dad thought about him dating someone who wasn't Italian let alone white. "C" didn't want to be like his friends or his dad, for he knew they lived racist life. When he got into that fight with Jane, he ended up calling her the "N" word. Although it was something awful, "C" didn't mean for there to be any pain behind it. He grew up in a neighborhood where that word is a part of their vernacular. All his friends used that word in their daily vocabulary. That word is very normal for him. For Jane and her brother, it was rude, racist, and very hurtful. This plays into his social construction. His setting and lifestyle molded him into thinking the way he did. As accepting as he wanted to be, he still had these ties back to racism due to how he was raised.

This situation is not new to me at all. I know people who are in the same situation as "C". They have these racist parents yet they're trying to live an accepting, non-prejudice, non-judgmental life. When I went out with these people, they would comment on a certain race, not to be racist, but to share their observation, and sometimes their comments would have a racist or prejudice undertone. I knew these people fairly well and so I knew that it wasn't just them being secretly racist. I knew it was because of their house-life and their up-bringing (their social construction) that made them think the way they did. Although I try to understand where it comes from, I still feel awkward when I have to hear it.

You Must Walk the Plank!

We did this activity in class where we kicked people off our imaginary boat. We had sixteen people on the boat and we needed to get rid of nine in order to keep the boat above water. As we did this we started judging and evaluating people and what they had to offer. That brought forth our sociological mindset of how Americans value what a person has to offer rather than their qualifications. For example, we kicked off the poet as well as the elderly because they didn't offer the boat any physical assistance. If we had Indian or Chinese values and thinking, we would have kept them because they were educated or because they were elderly so they must be respected. I experienced this in my life through my fencing team. When we have fencing tournaments, we argue over who has the most strength and agility. We don't bother to discuss who has the best idea on defeating the opposing teams. What we look for is the person who can best perform that strategic idea rather than who can come up with it. It's pretty strange when I think about it.

Saarah M.

What to Think

This week we learned about social construction and how each and every one of us are influenced by it. Social construction is what society creates for us and which causes us to feel certain ways. What we did was spit in a glass. When my classmate did so, I was so grossed out. I felt that that was the most nastiest thing ever! Once Sal told us that we are being molded and influenced into thinking certain things are alright while other things are wrong, it made me think of my peer helper's club. In peer helpers, we learn about the stereotypical view people have on others. One of the views was that if a guy hangs out with a lot of girls, it means he's a homosexual and if a girl hangs out with a bunch of guys it means she's overly sexually active. I realized that we feel that way because of our society. I thought of my friend's French exchange student and how she had a bunch of guy friends; she wasn't labeled as a slutty girl. It's because of our society and its harsh mold that causes us to think the way we do.

I never knew how strong society's impact is on us.