Powder Puff

     All of a sudden I found myself thinking sociology when I arrived at school on the day of powder puff. were juniors or seniors. I also saw that many norms were being broken. Boys wearing skirts, girls playing football, and boys being cheerleaders. I was not a part of this simulation I was merely an observer. The social groups were variously spread out. There were white people, Hispanics 's, and  black people. Obviously I saw juniors and seniors all over the place wearing pink or green shirts  depending on whether they they choose to be a part of this activity, but I wondered why. Why is it that one day a year the roles are reversed? If you are not affiliated  with the powder puff game then,  you're considered  weird and un-cool. For the entire week  before the game, most people's only question is "Are you in powder puff?". 

     For one week, all of the norms in society are broken. You wear your hair in a crazy way, girls participate in football, and boys are cheerleaders. The only norms broken are folkways, but it leads me to question why would we want to do any of these things, when on any other day, these acts are frowned upon. On any other day, no one would even consider  doing  these things. To know this information, I would need to be a mind reader, or a sociologist. Still, to think that once a year girls willingly tackle other girls, and boys perform a cheer, will baffle my mind possibly until the day I die.   

Signs and Symbols of America

• Fast Food: I picked this image because I thought that it had a lot to do with American Society. In America, we are very lazy.We want things fast, including our food. Most families don't have to time to sit down and have a nice home-cooked meal. So what do we do? We run to a fast food restaurant and get greasy,unhealthy food because our schedules are too busy to make a simple pasta dish.   

 
•  Skimpy Clothes: I chose this image because it shows how the men in American view  women. The men in America treat women as if they are not   even humans. They call them all sorts of vulgar and grotesque names that offend women. Most men look at women as toys. They are to be played with and then thrown in the closet with the rest of their other toys. They don't realize that women want committed relationships. The way that American men treat their women is, in a nutshell, why other countries believe that American women are easy.

  

  
  
• Freedom: I chose this sign because i believe that freedom is the backbone of America. Everyone in America has the right to be free. We may do what we want, wear what we want, eat what want, and say what we want. Many other countries don't have that kind of freedom. They are told what to do, what to wear, what to say, what not to say, and so much more. Thankfully, we can do what we want, for the most part, and not get punished.

• Restrictions: Along with all the freedom that we have, we have many responsibilities. America contradicts itself greatly. They say that we have the right to do, for the most part, whatever pleases us, but then they put signs everywhere telling us not to do something. Yes, its true that we have the freedom to do what we want. But, it's also true that we need to chose wisely and think over about the consequences of our actions.

• Materialistic: America is dependent. We depend on technology for everything. Throughout the years we have advances so greatly that most people can't even image or remember their lives without it. It feels like everyday there is a new cell phone or a new kind of computer coming out. I feel that  many people would truly grow depressed if they didn't have their precious iPad's or their iPhone. America is completely materialistic. In every sense of the word.  

Heelots and Hokies

All of a sudden, I found myself thinking sociology when I was in sociology class.  Everyone in the class was doing a simulation. Before Mrs. Haas even told us about how the simulation was related to our class, I knew. To explain the game a bit, ill say that there were two different groups. A few of my classmates and I were Heelots, and the other group were Hokies. The Heelots and the Hokies were completely opposite in the way they communicated. The Heelots thought that the body was private, so they didn’t touch people nor did they look them in the eyes. The Hokies were all about touching and they communicated their answers with us by using their hands and shouting our numbers. For a while, no one understood how to communicate with one another.

            After a few trial and errors, and observing the other groups, people caught on pretty fast. We worked together to try and understand one another better. In real life situations, you are faced with language barriers and cultural differences quite often. We learned that being from different cultural backgrounds can really be a nuisance. Although, if you work together, instead of against one another, more cultures would get along and understand the way others cultures function way better.  

Bemused in America

What article and topic did you examine?
Food for thought: the supermarket.

What aspects of American culture does Stefan find strange?
Stefan finds it strange that we have so many deals. He doesn’t understand why we have deals such as: “buy-two-and-get-one-free,” because we would have so many extra items. He also finds it strange that we are so obsessed with sweets, while at the same time, a lot of our food is fat-free. He finds it extremely weird that we have so many places that are open 24 hours because in Germany, this is considered wrong and unheard of.

Why do you think Stefan finds these aspects of American Culture strange?
He might find these aspects of American culture strange because in Germany, their traditions and values are completely different. In Germany, stores wouldn’t we open past 8 P.M., and on a Sunday, nothing would be open because Sunday is considered to be a day of rest. Whereas in America, people could really care less about the day of rest. We close stores earlier on Sunday, but it’s nothing compared to how Germany runs their country.

What American values can you relate to this article? Explain how and where.
In America, we have many deals. We are always trying to save money. When you go to a store you see posters everywhere trying to sell you two of something for the price of one. We always want more, but we want to spend less. We also have many businesses that are open 24 hours. For example, McDonalds is a fast food restaurant that you may go to at any given time during the day. This shows how Americans value their money and their time greatly.

The In Crowd

    All of a sudden, I found myself thinking sociologicaly when I was in the cafeteria (commons). I was with kelsey and kaityln. We were looking over at a table when we saw someone that we didn't exactly like. She sat at her table and began to talk to her "friends." Now, I use quotation marks because everyone knew that those were not her real friends. She was more of a follower. A sad little puppy. Really annoying, but you can't turn her down. We were really just watching the situation. She tried to join in on the conversation but everyone kind of just ignored her. They were all white, including the sad puppy, a mix of female and males and around 16-18 years old.Everyone at the table was just talking and eating their lunches trying to exclude the poor girl. They all seemed like they wanted to be there. Especially the girl.They were laughing and joking and eating their lunches, except for the sad girl, she desperatley tried to fit in and laugh at all the appropriate moments. Some of the people played along with the girl, laughing along with her and trying to make her feel welcome, while other people just flat out ignored her or gave her mean looks.
    I wanted to ask the girl why was she trying so hard to fit in with these people that clearly did not like her. They obviously wanted her gone, but she did not give up. Why try so hard to be part of one clique, when the clearly don't welcome you? She had no reason to be there at THEIR table, but clearly she didn't really care. She didn't mind being shuned or treated poorly. Some people, I came to find out, will do anything to be in with a certain crowd.