Background Music: You are not alone- Michael jackson

Research Paper: Gender Inequality

Where can we see gender inequality?

        Our gender identities are constructed by our inborn biological characteristics and sociological factors. In terms of biological factors, men are generally more muscular than women. People may presume that men are stronger than women and tend to discriminate against women due to their physical differences. As a result, women may have a sense of inferiority due to the physical differences between the two, which serve as the basis of gender inequality.  Undoubtedly, women participation has increased significantly in the recent past. Statistics from University of Maryland shows that nearly seventy-five percent of women between the ages of 25 to 54 are now currently engaging in the working force. Men’s rates are slightly higher only, which eighty-five percent of men are  engaging in the working force. Women have also started to engage in “male fields,” which are the jobs that were previously dominated by men. They have increased their proportion in fields such as “law, medicine and engineering since 1970” (Giddens 231).

        Although statistics reveals that women have lessened their inequality in work participation, they still suffer from other forms of gender inequalities at work. One of the common gender inequalities that women face at work is glass ceiling. Giddens explains what glass ceiling is and how it influences women. Glass ceiling is a form of discrimination and “is a promotional barrier that prevents a woman’s upward mobility within an organization.” (Giddens 232) Basically, glass ceiling is simply a hurdle that prevents women from promoting. Glass ceiling does not simply include the promotional barrier, but different salaries for comparable work as well. Glass ceiling trends are more common in male-dominated fields. In many occasions, this barrier prevents women from attaining the most powerful and prestige positions within an organization. Accordingly, it makes women feel that they are not worthy or they are not capable of entering high rank positions. Nevertheless, the fact is that the promotional barrier has nothing to do with their ability, but their bosses have prejudice against them, which they believe that women are not capable of high ranking jobs. Bosses may easily neglect women and dismiss them from high rank positions.

 Another prominent factor which contributes to glass ceiling is gender stereotypes. Since men have stronger physical appearance, people may presume that males are more powerful, efficient at work and capable of obtaining high ranking jobs. In addition, men are also more positive and confident. A research from the book “Women and Work: A Handbook” shows that “college-educated white males in professional jobs tend to identify potential leaders as people who are like themselves.” (Cleveland 1996). Men tend to believe that they have the potential to become leaders. Therefore, they would be more aggressive in order to become leaders within their organizations. Conversely, since women are comparably less active and aggressive, they would be evaluated negatively by their bosses. As a result, the perception that women are not capable of high ranking jobs and the lack of confidence of women serve as the basis of gender inequality.

Another place where women face gender inequality is family. In most of the families, male would have a perception that women should be responsible to take care of their children and to do all the housework. This also serves as an important factor that affects women’s behavior. A research conducted by the University of Maryland reveals that there are huge distinctions between the percentage of married woman with children and those without children. For instance, the research shows that only sixty-two percent of married women with children who are in the workforce. However, for those married women without children, eighty-two percent of them are currently engaging in the workforce. Therefore, it can be seen that childcare consumes a lot of time. Women who have children need “extra time off for school holidays or if a child falls sick and responsibility for child care is a mother’s problem rather than a parental one” (Giddens 234)”. It is obvious that childcare consumes a lot of time, yet people would presume that it is only women’s responsibility to take care of the children instead of both male and female because people have a preconception that male should be the breadwinner of the family while women should occupy the inferior role as the primary caretaker of their children. People tend to assume that women should be responsible for doing all the domestic-work as well.

Despite the belief that women are supposed to do the housework, household economy also explains why gender inequality exists. Since women usually earn less than men, “they are more likely to remain economically dependent on their husband and thus perform the bulk of the housework” (Giddens 235). It is true that women generally have lower salaries than men. In order to compensate for the economic support that men give, women are expected to perform housework. Some sociologists demonstrate the inequality between the amount housework between male and female by calculating that “working women perform fifteen more hours of housework per week than their husbands, in effect a ‘second shift’ of work”(Giddens 235). Even though statistics show that men have increased their proportion in doing housework, there is still a significant difference in terms of the amount of housework between the two. Consequently, these factors establish a passive role for women, which is undoubtedly a typical example of gender inequality.

Gender inequality is a problem not only across America but all over the world. Women usually have less access to parliament and executive power because gender inequality can be found in patriarchal structure of the cultural background of nation or people. Although gender inequality in politics is not as serious as the one in previous generations, male and female still enjoy different statuses in politics. Statistics from dw-world.com shows that women now occupy about 18.8 percent of parliamentary seats, which remains a small proportion when compared to men’s. In addition, Unicef, the National Committee that promotes children rights states that ten countries in the world have no women parliamentarians at all, while in forty other countries, there are less than ten per cent of female legislators. Moreover, it also estimates that if the annual growth of female parliamentarians in nation parliaments is 0.5%, full gender equality in parliament would not be achievable until 2068. These statistics about gender inequality in politics highlight the limitation of women’s participation in politics.

 Furthermore, women certainly face economic inequality in terms of income gap. For example, income levels remain relatively low for females when compared to males. Some suggest that the underlying causes of the income gap between men and women is due to continuing discrimination. It is also proven that minority groups such as women and racial minorities are subjected to negative stereotypes and they affect their job experiences. Forbes Magazine shows that only one female is on the list of “The World’s Billionaires”, while there are nine males on the list. In addition, males nowadays out-earn women by 61.2% and undoubtedly it is still a significant percentage that proves the seriousness of gender inequality in terms of the economic aspect/

Undeniably, part of our gender identities are shaped by our cultures. It is also obvious that there is a great diversity of cultures. Among different kinds of cultures, some of the traditions hold the same perception that promotes the inferiority of women. One of the great examples of gender inequality is Iran, where debates on family matters, in many occasions, their law would treat women as a legal minor under the guardianship of their male family members. Family decision-making is thought to be dominated by men, who enjoy the legal status as the “head of household.” These notions are supported by family courts in the region that often reinforce the primacy of male decision-making power. The legislature in Iran imposes different laws and rights against woman. If certain accidents happen to both the male and the female, “the cash compensation of the female is half of that of men’s” (Wikipedia). Also, if a woman wants to leave her home to work outside or to leave the country, she will have to seek for her husband’s permission.

China is another great example of gender inequality. Over 2500 years, China has been under great influence of Confucianism, which is an ethical and philosophical system that was developed by Confucius. Confucian teachings are very influential across Asia and have influenced people’s thought and behavior. Yet some teachings of Confucianism, like “women and people of low birth are hard to deal with” (Kelley L. Ross), promote the subordination of women and reinforce male authority. Indeed, in a Confucian structure of society, such as China, women tend to have lower positions when compared to men. Most people in China presume that women are inferior and accept the fact that women are treated as subordinate.

                Hence women in Chinese society encounter different forms of gender inequality. It is harder for women to find jobs even if they have college degrees. According to Shanghai Daily, one in four women are denied because of their gender. Even when a man and a woman have the same job, in many occasions, the woman would still receive a lower pay. Women only get paid “78% of the pay the men get” (Chinese Women’s Rights) even though they are engaging in the same job. A research conducted by the Centre for Women’s Laws and Legal Services of Peking University demonstrates that women also face other inequalities in workplace. More than 20 percent said employers cut the salaries of women who became pregnant or gave birth, and 11.2 percent lost jobs for having a baby. Women are seriously discriminated in China due to the truth that Confucianism plays an important role in Chinese culture, which men are more superior to women. Consequently, women confront discrimination and their careers are impacted negatively.

Gender inequality is also prevalent in Islamic countries. In Qur’an, the bible of Muslims, teaches the followers that “women have rights that are similar to men, but men are ‘a degree above them’”(The Skeptics Annotated Quran). Theocracy is a common practice in Islamic countries and laws are constituted according to the religion. In places such as Egypt and Bahrain, husbands can write an official complaint to the airport in order to forbid their wives from leaving the country. In Saudi Arabia, women must obtain written permission from their closest male relative to leave the country or travel on public transportation between different parts of the kingdom.

      We must not deny that both biological and sociological factors cause gender inequalities. Women are not physically as developed as men, which looks like women are weaker than men in every aspect. In addition, different cultural values have also rooted the origin of gender inequality. Therefore, women encounter inequality in terms of wages, social status, and economic status, which impact women in a negative way. Yet there is no reason why we should discriminate against women. For example, women have narrowed their gaps with men in terms of political and work participation. Moreover, women also have increased their participation in “male’s jobs”, such as doctors and engineers. Women are not as weak as they look physically. Gender equality is a human right. Empowering women is also an indispensable tool foradvancing development and reducing poverty. Therefore, we must lessen gender inequalities in the society and establish gender equalities, which can result in multiple benefits

Out Class Essay #2 Rehabilitation or Punishment?

Should Juveniles be tried as adults?

        Honestly, before reading True Notebooks written by Mark Salzmann, I have a perception that juveniles should be tried as adults. The reason I have this thought is that juveniles have committed crimes and it is no different than the crime committed by adults. Furthermore, it seems to be unfair to the adults if the juveniles are not tried as adults. Yet after reading True Notebooks, in which Mark record the writings of numerous inmates in his writing class, I realized that I was wrong. Through their writings, they express their difficulties before and after entering Juvenile hall, their worries about their family and they are remorseful, regret for what they have done in the past. I felt guilty for labeling them as “criminals”, since I have been judging them from my point of view. However, the truth is that most of them have complex backgrounds which contributed them to commit crime. And I think that during the process of deciding whether juveniles should be try as adults or not, the court should make their decisions depending on each case and put the factors that contribute them to commit crime into consideration.

        Undoubtedly, family is an important element to children growth. As an illustration, family provides shelter for their children and teaches them what is right and wrong leading them to the right direction. Conversely, the lack of attention and care from parents or complicated family background can certainly have adverse impact on children. According to the book, Jimmy Wu, one of the students of the writing class at Juvenile Hall has an extremely complex background.  He wrote: “Then something terrible happened. It caught my surprise. It hurt me like a hurt I never knew. When my brother was three, my parents divorced, they said it was for the best” (67).  Furthermore, Victor, another inmates also complained about his family. “They don’t know what it’s like when you come from a family that didn’t have a father there to guide you in the right path” (290).  Both Jimmy and Victor were greatly influenced by their families.  They certainly did not have role modeling that led them to the right path nor had any support from their parents whenever they were in need.  Children started to feel that they were being neglected by their parents, so they would try to seek for substitutes to replace the attention and the love that were lacked by their family. Consequently, they joined gangs for which they could seek for identity and recognition resulting them to commit crime.

In my point of view, juveniles should not be the only one who is responsible for their crime but their family as well. Imagine if they have a normal family where their parents can provide them with love and care, the outcome would be entirely different. They would not need to seek for substitutes of their parents by joining gangs. However, with proper attention and care of parents, they would be guided properly and shape them to the right way of what the society would accept them. This would definitely reduce the possibility for them to commit crime. I am not saying that all juveniles should refrain from trying as adults; the point I am trying to make is that we should always carry serious considerations on juvenile’s family background. If we try them as adults, it is unfair to the juveniles with complicated family background or broken families. Certainly, their family background is the most important factor for them committing crimes. Therefore, instead of trying them as adults, they should have an opportunity for rehabilitation so that they have a chance to change.

        When people commit crime and are put into jail, the society would treat them differently. Our society tends to label them as “criminal” or “convict, resulting in a preconception that they are “bad” people disregard of whether they are juveniles or adults.  In this way, the society refuses to give a chance for the juvenile criminals to rehabilitate and abandons them instead.  According to True Notebook, the inmates expressed their disappointment of being abandoned by the society. For instance, in Jimmy’s first writing, he wrote: “Who cares if we change now? Nobody, that’s who”.  In addition, Kelvin Jackson, another student of the writing class taught by Mark, had the same feeling as Jimmy did.  He wrote:  “I don’t know who I am. Somebody lost”. Inmates such as Jimmy and Kelvin became lost and felt being abandoned and discriminated by the society.

The upshot of all these are that we should give a chance for juveniles to correct their mistakes. Juveniles are just adolescents and most of them have already regretted for what they have done in the past.  For instance, Patrick regretted of joining the gang in his writing. “Sure, I thought it was cool three years ago, but I didn’t know it could put me in jail. If I had the chance to go back to that day and not join, I would. And maybe I wouldn’t be in a place like where I am today” (94). Patrick was immature at that time and he thought it was fun joining the gang. Yet he regretted afterwards. It is obvious that no one is a saint and everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing about punishment is that we learn from mistakes. These juveniles have already regretted in their writings. They always want to change but the discrimination of the society has forbidden them to do so. They have already been in the juvenile hall and they have already suffered. They have learnt their lessons. The society should forgive and accept the juveniles so that they can go back to the right track.

Last but not the least, trying juveniles as adults is not a suitable way and it is way too harsh for juveniles. Obviously, placing juveniles to adult prison can encourage them to commit more crime. This is because adult prison is the place where the worst criminals are placed and Juveniles might easily imitate their behavior through observing them. Accordingly, juveniles might internalize the norms in adult prison and develop more criminal behavior. In addition, according to the article “Numbers of Juveniles Charged as Adults Up” written by Michelle Durand, it reveals another drawback of putting juveniles into adult prison. “If you just punish people, whether they are juveniles or adults, it increases recidivism by 7 percent.” The statistics has revealed that punishing people would just enhance recidivism, but not enabling criminals to learn from their mistakes. Therefore, as Francisco says to Patrick, “Negative leads to more negative, and positive leads to more positive. That’s how I changed.” (94) Thus, instead of placing them with the convicts in adult prison, we should give a chance for the juveniles to undergo rehabilitation, so that they can learn from their mistakes.

        Primary socialization has contributed to juvenile’s behavior and I consider family is the most influential agent. This is because the lack of parent’s attention or having complex family background have made juveniles suffered and they try to seek for substitutes. As a result, they might go off the track and commit crime. The second reason I think they should not be tried as adults is that juvenile hall is already a place where they can carry rehabilitation.  Hence it is unreasonable to send them to prison. The most essential issue after making mistakes is to learn from it and to make changes.  Undoubtedly, juveniles should have already learnt their lessons in juvenile hall so there is no point trying them as adults.  On the contrary, placing juveniles to adult prison might even encourage juveniles to commit more crime. While we are judging whether juveniles should be tried as adults or not, we should not simply focus on the crime itself but consider all the factors that could possibly lead them to commit crime and to ponder whether adult prison is suitable for juveniles.

Reflection:

Two paragraph Reflection of the essay:

Honestly, before reading this book, I thought that juveniles should be tried as adults. The reason I have is preconception is due to the fact that they have committed crime and there is no excuse for not putting them in jail. However, after reading True Notebook written by Mark Salzman, I have an entirely different concept of juveniles. The fact is that juveniles have undergone series of socialization and it has shaped their identity. For example, many juveniles committed crime as a result of their family background or so. And it is not only their responsibility but their family as well.

 

Throughout the process of writing the essay, I need to think deeply what actually causes juveniles to commit crime and whether they deserve rehabilitation or punishment. In this way, I am able to think critically in order to fulfill the goal of this essay. Undoubtedly, it has enable me to learn how to ponder and how to better sum up the points. In addition, through writing this essay, it also improves my sentence flow and my grammar.

 

Out Class Essay #1 Hers/Yours

Our Identities

        In the memoir Farmworker’s Daughter written by Rose Castillo Guilbault, she describes the story of her life from a young girl in Mexico to a grown up in California. She originally lived in Mexico and moved to California due to the divorce between her parents. Living in California, which was a brand new environment for Rose, also symbolized as an obstacle to her. She faced a lot of hurdles in terms of cultural and language differences when she first arrived in California. Yet through struggling with these challenges, Rose finds her identity and enables her to have a better sense of ‘self’. In her memoir, there are various agents of socialization which affect Rose’s identity and her character. Among all these agents, I found her mother, school and peer relationship the most influential agents on her. The various agents of socialization in Rose’s life have inspired me to ponder my agents of socialization and undoubtedly these agents have shaped and constructed my identity.

        

        Undeniably, Rose’s family background has definitely a crucial impact on shaping her identity. According to her memoir, Rose’s parents were divorced when her mother, Maria Luisa found out that her father, Tito was still keeping a close relationship with his ex-wife. Moreover, even in the time when their parents were not divorced, her father was always away due to business purposes. Therefore, Rose barely interacts with her father during her childhood and she certainly has a blur impression of her father. For instance, on page 11, Rose claims that ‘My father was away so much he was nothing more than a tall shadow in the doorway, an impatient voice in the dark.’ Accordingly, she depends on her mother more since she is the only one who takes care of her. Her mother becomes an essential role in her life and affects her in many circumstances. For example, in many occasions, when Rose is making decisions, her mother’s opinion represents an important factor. For instance, on page 153, when her mother found out that Rose and her friends are planning to go to the beach, she warned her that ‘Nice girls don’t go around walking with strange boys’. Although Rose really wanted to go to the beach, she chose to listen to her mom’s words and went home afterwards. In this way, it reveals that Maria was acting as an important role in Rose’s mind that her words or sayings can influence Rose’s decisions. Her mother’s beliefs or values has definitely shape her identity.

          

        Although my parents are not divorced as Rose’s family, my situation is quite similar to hers. As an illustration, my father is a doctor and he seldom spends his time at home. Thus, I have no one to rely on except my mom. Therefore, when I feel confused or frustrated and want someone to talk to, my mother would be glad to be my listener. Likewise, when I have trouble on making decisions, the first person I talk to is my mom. My mother is always willing to help me by providing valuable advices. For instance, when I am struggling on deciding to study abroad or    not, I had a long talk with her and she shares a lot of her opinions and views. Honestly, this really helps me as you can’t find another person who is willing to help you wholeheartedly and have the patience to hear your words. I would not be in the United States if I didn’t talk with my mom.

        Most importantly, I consider my mother one of my most fundamental agents of socialization is that she taught me how to be a good person. For example, she taught me that I should always be humble and never be arrogant. In addition, she told me not to be disobedient and ought to know what is right and wrong. These phrases may seem to be insignificant; they have guided me not to fall in the wrong way and have penetrated in my mind always. Although I am thousands miles away from my parents, their lessons and teachings have long lived in my heart; my identity will always be shaped by their beliefs and values.

        After their parents divorced, Rose came to California when she was five. California was a brand new environment for her. Simultaneously, it also represented a whole new challenge to her. Barriers such as language and culture differences have become serious obstacles to Rose. For instance on page 47, she acknowledges her confusion. ‘I lived in a world of confusion- the language, the kids, the culture spun around me like a vortex’. Due to the fact that she is lacked of English proficiency, she found it difficult to understand her teacher and communicate with others. Besides, once when Rose tried to play dolls with her classmates, she was embarrassed when she realized her classmates all brought Barbie dolls but hers is just a simple baby dolls. ‘I would not be invited to play with them again. Nor would I be invited to Mona’ or any of the other girls’ birthday parties’. (49) Obviously, the dissimilitude in terms of culture has caused her lack of friends and became alienated, which affect her identity that she might become a pessimistic person.

             

        Similar situation apply to me as well. I am an international student from Hong Kong and I have never been to the United States before. I first came to the United States in last year’s September. Like Rose, United States represent a new environment and present challenges to me simultaneously. Although I have learned English since primary school, I am still hesitated to talk and find it difficult to interact with the Americans. In many occasions, they speak so fast that I could not catch the words and felt embarrassed to request them to say the sentence again. Furthermore, I find it hard to express my feelings through English since I could not pick the right word to express my feelings. As a result, this kind of language differences has definitely hindered me from communicating from Americans. Frankly, I could not find a sense of belonging to this place during the first few months. Nevertheless, when I stay in the States for a longer time, I began to get used to their culture and started to improve my English. Despite meeting Americans, I started to make friends from different countries and it was then when I found my own identity and the sense of belonging.

        

        The upshot of all this is that despite culture and language differences, peer relationship is very significant in identity construction as well. For instance, Rose found she confused and lost when she is discriminated by her classmates due to language and culture differences. Without friends, Rose found herself as an ‘outsider’ in the United States. ‘It was great to be popular in Mexico by acting out being out an American, because in United States I certainly didn’t feel like one.’ (112). In conclusion, the lack of peer relationship has made Rose identify herself as an ‘outsider’ and lost the sense of belonging to the United States.

        Last but not least, after reading this book, it has really inspired me. Frankly, before reading this book, I know nothing about identity or what actually construct out identity. Nonetheless, this book has enabled me to explore, assess numerous agents of socialization and to identify which is the most significant in constructing our identity. Through relating Rose most influential socialization, her mother Maria and environment with mine, that is my mother and language differences, it made to have a better understanding in my own identity and to comprehend that various agents of socialization can influence our identity construction which accordingly affect our identity in the future.

Reflection: 

       Frankly, during the process of reading The Farmworker's Daughter, it has enable to me to have better understanding in numerous aspects. First of all, while reading The Farmworker's Daughter, it has made to ponder my situation and what actually shapes my identity. It has also enable me to have a better understanding of myself since I now know what actually shape who I am today. Moreover, Rose situation has also showed me that how brave she is, to stand up from all the difficulties, such as discrimination by her classmates. And I think that is definitely an important issue that I need to learn.

      Secondly, I think I also need to improve my proof reading skills. Since I have made serious mistakes in this essay, I think I need to be much more careful on my grammar. Also, my sentence flow is not smooth enough and intergrating quotes are also an essential issue that I need to work on. I hope I can really learn from these mistakes and can write a better essay next time.

In Class Essay #2 Conformity, Deviance and Crime

What Creates Crime?

       

We are living in a world of danger. Every morning when you wake up and read the newspaper, you can always obtain information about crime. Basically, crime is all around us. There is always someone committing crime every day. So what actually creates crime? According to the article “The Code of the Street” written by Elija Anderson and “Conformity, Deviance, and Crime” by Anthony Giddens, it describe several theories about crime, which explain how crime arises. Anderson employs these theories in his essay and among all of them; the theories that best explain the existence of crime is undoubtedly the interationist theories.

       

Interactionists believe that “deviance” is not inherent but constructed socially. In the article “Conformity, Deviance, and Crime”, Giddens explains how “deviance” is socially constructed.”Individuals become delinquent through associating with people who are carriers of criminal norms. For the most part, according to Sutherland, criminal behavior is learned within primary groups, particularly peer groups” (ES 140). People may not know how to commit crime originally, yet through interacting with primary groups such as their parents or their peers, they may intimidate them and are able to obtain the skills to commit crime. In the article “Code of the Street”, Elija applied this theory to explain how crime arises in inner city area. In his article, he defines the difference between decent families and “street” families. According to his description, “street” families usually refer to the poor in the ghetto or blacks living in the inner city area. Elija explains how the environment of the “street” families can encourage their children to commit crime. “These children of the street, growing up with little supervision, are said to “come up hard.” They often learn to fight at an early age, sometimes using short-tempered adults around them as role models” (CS 175). Unlike the parents in decent families, who are strict in teaching their children, “street” parents have an entirely different approach to their children. The parents in the “street” families tend to spend less time on taking care of their children. With less supervision and consideration of their parents, the children might develop the behavior in the “streets” without consideration. For example, children may observe the norms in the inner city area, which are usually physical aggression and verbal disputes, and learn from this behavior. Thus, the children may go off the track easily, losing the ability to distinguish what is right or wrong, and accordingly increases the possibility for them to commit crime.

In addition, in many occasions, although the “street” parents barely supervise them, they can get really aggressive with their children and the aggressive behavior of them can definitely affect the children’s values. Elija explains how the aggressive behavior of the parents can affect their children. “They learn that to solve any kind of interpersonal problem must quickly resort to hitting or other behavior” (CS 174). Hence, they may think that it is normal to use aggressive behavior and tend to use this kind of behavior as a solution to interpersonal problems. As a result, growing up with these factors in the “street” families has made them to have different values from others, encouraging them to commit crime.

       

The second theory of the interactionist theories is labeling. Referring to the article, “Conformity, Deviance, and Crime” written by Anthony Giddens, he describes how labeling theory affect an individual. “Once child is labeled a delinquent, he is stigmatized as a criminal and is likely to be considered untrustworthy by teachers and prospective employers. He then relapses into further criminal behavior, widening the gulf with orthodox social conventions” (ES 161). Basically, labeling means once an individual is tagged with label, for example, such as “deviant”, he or she would accept the label and treat themselves as “deviant”.  He or she would continually commit crime due to the fact that they have already considered themselves as a criminal.

       

Similarly, in the essay “Code of the Street”, the author employs the labeling theory in describing the situation of the “street” families. The “street” families, who are usually being tagged as criminals, are subject to these labels as a result of discrimination. Elija explains how these labels affect them in the essay. “At the same time, many less alienated young blacks have assumed a street-oriented demeanor as a way of expressing their blackness while really embracing much more moderate of life; they, too, want a nonviolent setting in which to live and raise a family; they, too, want a nonviolent setting in which to live and raise a family” (CS 183). Indeed, most of the people in inner city are not fully invest in the “code”. It is the minority of youths who have aggressive behavior commit crimes. Yet through the labeling and discrimination of the society, all the people living on the “streets” are considered as criminals. As a result, based on the labeling theory, even the innocent ones in the inner city area may accept the label as a criminal, and consequently commit crimes.

       

“Deviance” is not inherent in people. Yet through series of socialization, an individual or group can become “deviant”. I consider the interactionst theories the best sociological explanation due to the fact that it can alter people values and perception in various ways. For instance, the rare supervision of the “street” parents, have undeniably a fundamental effect the children’s development. Moreover, the label as a criminal by the society has made the people living in the “streets” to accept the label as a criminal and relapse to commit crime.
Reflection

It has enable me to better understand on how crime is formed. Moreover, writing this essay also improve my innovative skills and writing skills. This is because writing this essay demand us to think critically and to conclude the most prominent theory. Although writing this essay is definitely not easy for me, it really helps me a lot.

The second thing that I think assignment helps me is that I found that it is related to the essay we wrote before. For instance, the aritcles we read about crime explains how the identity of the criminals are constructed. This also made me to have a better understand on identity construction and how this can affect our behavior. After writing  these essays, I have undoubtedly have a better knowledge on sociology.

In Class Essay #1 How Identity is formed?

Referring to the article “Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging” written by Duneieir Applebaum, identity is the understandings of people to an individual about who they are to them and how important is that individual to them. So what are the elements that form our identity? Indeed our identities are formed through a series of socialization. Socialization is a process that we gradually become mature through learning different things by various means and accordingly help us to develop a set of values and perceptions which shape our identities. Moreover, it is also greatly influenced by the social environment that he or she involved in and through interactions with different agents of socialization, our identity is shaped. Basically, socialization can be separated into social identity and self identity, where social identity often includes gender, occupation and nationality while self identity refers to an individual’s perception of “self”.

There are numerous agents of socialization and undoubtedly family is one of the most important agents of socialization. Family is the first people we know since we are born and they always act as a crucial role in our life. For instance, they teach us how to speak and help us to develop our values and perception through their teachings. Most importantly, our parents’ behavior can have significant effect on our development. This is because children tend to learn the ways their parents behave due to the fact that they are curious and are lack of the ability to think logically. In addition, according to Applebaum, families of different background can affect socialization as well. “It is easy to understand the influence of different types of family background if we think of what life is like, say, for a child growing up is a poor black family living in a run-down city neighborhood compared to one born into an affluent while family living in an all white suburb.”  Families of different types of family background can certainly affect socialization. As an illustration, family in black would have a higher possibility to be discriminated by other people than family in white. Obviously, this kind of discrimination can cause serious effect to the children’s mind, especially when he or she is undergoing socialization.

The second agent that I would like to bring out is school. Schools are always significant to a child’s development as a student spend most of the time in school. Schools have a set of rules and regulations for students to follow. If they fail to obey any of the rules, they would be punished and subject to punishment. As a result, children are able to have a sense of discipline and able to know that there are certain rules in the society and if they fail to obey the rules, such as laws, they would be subject to punishment. Furthermore, children will undergo a lot of difficulties during school. Students would need to figure out a way to overcome and endure the hurdles. In this way, they are able to learn how to survive and deal with the hurdles in which they can apply this in reality and they wouldn’t hesitate and give up easily when they face difficulties in times of work and other aspects.

     

      Furthermore, peer relationship can also have great impact on children’s development. Basically, peer relationship is the relationship between children of similar age. The behavior of the children in the peer relationship can have significant impact on other children. This is because children often lack the ability to think critically and tend to follow what others do. As a result, if one of the children in a certain peer group consume drugs, it is very possible that other children in that peer group would follow that child to consume drugs. Therefore, peer relationship can have fundamental effect to the socialization of the children, especially when they are lack of the ability to ponder and distinguish what is right and wrong.

      

     Undeniably, our identity is formed through socialization, which is a process we undergone since we are born. Socialization is greatly influenced by numerous agents of socialization, and among these agents, family, school and peer relationship are the most influential ones For example, family can affect our development seriously since how our parents behave and the background of our family would affect our values, beliefs and attitudes. Secondly, school are also an important agents of socialization due to the fact that train children’s discipline which is beneficial to future development while peer relationship can affect children through following what other child do. These various factors help us to develop our own value, perception, attitudes, behavior, which accordingly shapes our identity, creating an understanding of people to ourselves.

Reflection: 

  To be honest, I never know what identity is before enrolling this class. Through writing this essay, I need to read several related articles and it has undoubtedly enable me to have a better understanding of myself and sociology. For instance, our identities are influenced by numerous agents of socialization. And these agents of socialization, such as school, peer relationships, family, mass media, gender and work. In my opinion, the most important agent of socialization is family. This is because family are the people we met since we are born in this world and they are the ones who teach us how to talk and educate us to distinguish what is right and wrong. Therefore, I think that family should be the most influential agent of socialization.

  As a writer, after writing my first essay, I realized that my essay is not organized enough. This is due to the fact that I spend much of my time developing my ideas and I think that I should be more focused on writing my ideas instead of just thinking ideas. Secondly, I think that I should really proofread my essay before. I made a lot of careless grammatical mistakes in the essay and I know I would not make these if I proofread my essay. Therefore, in writing my next essays, I would pay more attention on proofreading and maintain a better time management.