Ch 10- Gender and occupations

This is a subject that I think about almost everyday. Is it true that men are sometimes better for some jobs, and women are better at others? Yes. I believe us women are drawn to more social, delicate and maternal jobs like say nursing, thats a great example. And men are drawn to more testosterone soaked jobs that are more competitive. I think it all comes to anatomy and biology. Why are men and women different? Because we are. So, I do believe not every woman can do equally as good at a masculin job and viceversa. Now, I don't find anything maternal in being a secretary, or anything machist in being a CEO.

Ch 9- Global Stratification

In our world there are high income countries and low income countries. Some examples of high income countries are the USA, Argentina, Australia, and many countries in Europe. Some examples of low income countries are Tanzania, Ethiopia, Niger, Chad, and other countries from Africa. I think that it is very sad how some people that live in low income countries have such a low quality of life, sometimes restricted from good medical care and technology, having to make more sacrifices and more manual labor. While in other countries, manual labor is almost non existent and commodity is the priority.

Ch 8- Social Stratification

It is hard to accept that social stratification in societies has always existed and will most likely always exist. There are countries where this social stratification is worse, and some where it is not so rigid. In places like India, some people are shun from the rest of society just because they suffer from a curable sickness, or because of where or to whom they were born; and these people have no hope to move themselves to a higher social status. And there are places like here, where your social status doesn't depend on whom you were born to or where, but it depends on what you do for a living and how much money you make.

Ch 7- Deviance

This chapter talks about deviance, which is the recognized violation of social norms. In other words is when something breaks any social rules or expectations. When I hear deviance I think of a very mentally unstable person who hurts others. Example of people who may be considered deviances of society are those who commit crimes or are part of subcultures. And people who are part of subcultures are considered deviants because some may live on the edges of society, not following any norms or rules.

Ch 6- Cultural Variation

It is so interesting how much every culture is so different when it comes to sexuality. There are cultures where couples don't kiss or show any kind of affection, and there are cultures that are more open to expressiveness where kissing in public is very normal. I come from a culture where showing affection in public is very normal, but funny enough, I shy away from PDA a lot.

Ch 5-Asch Research

In 1952 Solomon Asch made an experiment. Along with a small group of people, he proved that we all long to fit in and are willing to make simple mistakes or go against our wits just not to feel left out or different. I think all of us have been in a situation like this in our lives, where we go against what we think is right just to be part of the crowd.

Ch 4-Ethnomethodology

Ethonomethodology is the stufy of the way people make sense of their everyday surroundings, meaning it is the way we all look at the world through our eyes. I have always been very interested in this because it is the explanation behind all of our actions. Our past, our experiences, how we were brought up, and what we  want to become, are what I believe shape our ways of behaving and interpreting what happens around us. As we all know, there are the positive people, the downers, the negatives, the realistics, and the list goes on.

Freedom in High-Income countries vrs Low-Income countries

I think that if we talk about social freedom, high-income countries have less freedom than low-income countries. For instance, social norms and dictations are more prominent, more strict and more common in high-income countries than in low-income countries. I think this is because there are more expectations, more social dominance and more leadership in high-income countries.

Symbols

Symbols, are anything that have a certain meaning that is understood and shared throughout all or many cultures. Examples of symbols can be material like a stop sign, an electronic symbol like "@"; or it may be something like a catcall, a whistle, a thumbs up, a head shake. These symbols connect different cultures in ways that are underestimated, and they make socializing easier when visiting new cultures.

Sociology and Perspectives

Sociology is the study of human society, and it helps us to understand more about the world around us. Many times, we behave as if we lived alone in the world, inside our own bubble; and learning about different cultures helps us widen our minds and stop the ignorant generalizations that we think and say about cultures and societies we know little about.