I agree with most of what Jean Kilbourne spoke about, and I do motice these thing myself. Although most times I never say anything I do take heed to what is happening. While I have my fair share of insecurities wanting to be thin is not one of them. I think my body, skin tone and hair are just fine as is and I am in my own was 'Perfectly Imperfect.' I do notice that ads influence a lot of thing is women, wanting to be thin, wanting to be prettier, ashamed of their skin color; so we're lightening our skin. For me it's my style as opposed to my physical features. I don't wear make up, because I rather wash my face for clear skin rather than cover it up. I know women that have done "corrective surgery," gotten breast implants, reductions, and a nose job. I know two women that have gotten breast reductions for health reasons, which is something I would do if necessary. I also know a woman that has gotten implants and a nose job, she did this to be more appealing and less AFROCENTRIC, this woman wears about a size two in the abdomen. While I do admit she is very sexy I personally wouldn't do either because I am not my cup size and I take pride and dignity in my heritage and all that comes with it. I also agree that there is an increasing sexualization of little girls. There are naughty school girl costumes for Halloween. Little girl are being made up, faces caked with make and all and put into pageants. Their shirts tied up at the bottom, showing skin. Dancing provacatively is being encouraged at a young age. The media is supporting women being objects, valued more for their bodies and used for sex. This can be understood as a form of oppression. Women should take part in the media and encourage women to love themselves as they are. Movies like 'Phat Girlz' do this, they show the value of thin and thicker women in their own positive ways although leading star Monique had an unhealthy insecurities and an obsession with being thin, she comes to realize her worth and how beautiful she really is. I think Kilbourne's 'Killing Us Softly' is a great example of how the media uses advertisements as agents of socialization that defin the socialization of women invoking women's sense of self and looking glass self.
A Call To Men- Tony Porter
Tony Porter talks about what it means to be a man, or what he was taught, it means; tough, strong, courageous, no pain, emotion or fear, that men were superior and women inferior. Porter has realized that this is wrong, and I agree. He wants to make a change in how men raise their sons that will interact with the daughters, that will become lovers that turn into to mothers. No one want to be with a man that is violent, disconnected, or mistreats them, because they think they're being a man and that they are superior so they treat women as inferior. Porter is encouraging the resocializtion of the socialization of men.
What Does It Mean To Be Human? Human Nature, Society, and Culture.- Joel M. Charon
This immediately caught my attention because Joel M. Charon related the thought process of what it means to be human and how we are socialized to 'The Twilight Zone.' I used to love that show, although I am more familiar with the one hosted by Forest Whitaker and prefer this one as opposed to the 1959 series. I find it interesting that Charon repeatedly refers to humans as animals, and uses our similarities to establish this. In my Psychology class we are discussion Human Development and one of the things my professor mentioned was that we naturally know how to swim, and that if an infant was put into water the child would swim, I was shocked and amazed she always warned us NOT TO TRY TO PUT AN INFANT INTO WATER TO TEST THIS, but this is one of the many instinctive traits we know how to survive, as opposed to those we must learn. That we are dependent on others and naturally social. We develop human and individual qualities through socialization. While there are biological things that make up a individual, socialization plays a great part in the anticipatory socialization.
Chapter Six
I find that in every chapter I have read there is truth to what I was already aware of, while there is alos knowledge. We are taught about our culture through socialization; the process through which people learn their cultures basic norm, values, beliefs and behaviors. This chapter makes me think of all the ways I have been socialized as an individual and as part of a group. Through, school, the media, my family and how Mead's I; the part of the self that is spontaneous, impulsive, creative and unpredictable will resocialize in small way through my peer groups and family.
Signed; The Outlook Blogger.
