WhoAmI

ByDesiraeMerrill

Societyisthebackbonetowhatweshouldbe.Ithelpsusaspeopletodefineeverypersonaround
ustoknowiftheyfitinornot,butwhenwethinkaboutitsocietymakesusputonamasksowecouldfit
in,toactfake.Whenwewerebornwehadnoideawhatsocietywas,onlytoknowthatitwasgonna
changeuswhenwehadnochoice.InthearticleTheCycleofSocializationtheauthorBobbieHarro
claimsOursocializationbeginsbeforeweareborn,withnochoiceinourpart.Societydeterminesif
youaretheagents,theleaderofsociety,thatisalwaysnoticedor,thetargetsthatneverseemtobe
noticed.Targetsarebasicallyknownforbeingtheinvisiblepeopleofourworldandthat'swhoweare
socializedtobe.Oursurroundingsarethehelpersofthecycleofsociety,yourfamily,school,media,
peers,religion,andsports/activityhaveallaffectedwhoyouare.Ivebeensocializedbytheseidentity
categoriesthatmakeupwhoIhavebeenidentifiedasinthisworld,suchasmygender,race,andage.
Genderisagroupeveryonecaneasilydefinesomeoneas,butasawomanwehavetostriveto
lookperfectlikesocietytellsus.Whenwewerelittleweweretoldthatboyswearblueandgirlswear
pink,thesesimplerulesarewhatsocietytellsuswhatgenderyouareorhowyoushouldactasaboyor
girl.Nowadaysthebalanceofpowerbetweengenderrolesareunequalgivingmessagesthatmenare
betterthanwomen.InthevideoTonyporter:Acalltoman,itpresentsamanbox.Amanboxgives
rulesthatamanshouldfollow.Ifhefailstofollowtheruleshewouldbeportrayedasnotamaninsteada
girl.Themanboxsaysthatmencan'tcry,can'tshowweakness,havetobedominant,cantbelikea
women,can'tbegay,havetobeathletic,andtheyhavetoviewwomenasproperty/objects:Intheman
boxitclearlystatesthatmenhavetobemorethanwomen.Thatgoestoshowthatmenareshownthat
theyarebetterthanwomeninthissociety,leavingthewomeninthedust.InthearticleTheNameandthe
Nameless:GenderandpersonsinChinesesocietybyRubieS.WatsonsaysJudgedagainstthestandard
ofmen,theevidencepresentedheresuggeststhatvillagewomendonot,indeedcannot,attainfull
personhood.Evenindifferentcultureswomenaretreatedlesseventhoughwearen'tasstrictasthe
ChinesebuttheU.S.isalsoanotherculturethattreatswomenlessthanmen.Ivebeensocializedbythe
mediaandmypeersthatIhavetobelowerthanmenbecausei'mawomen.AsawomenI'velearnedthat
therearenormsofbeingawomanbywhatIhavetolooklikeandthat'sthelookIhavetostrivefor.The
mediatellsallthesegirlsofwhattheyneedtolooklike,tolookperfect,thatwehavetobeskinny,wear
thenewestfashion,wearmakeup,andhavetohavealotoffriends.Thatifwedon'tlookperfectwehave
tousephotoshop.MyidentityasawomenhasbeenimpactedbythesemessagesitmakesmefeelthatIm
notaperfectwomenbecauseI'mnotskinnyenoughornotprettyenoughtofitintoaperfectwomen
category.Themessageswegetifwedon'tlooklikeaperfectnormalwomenthatwewillneverfinda
boyfriendbecausewearenotperfectorwecan'twearabikinibecausewearetoofatfortheperfect
womensize.
Raceisanissuethathasbeenaroundsincethebeginningofslavery,sowhyhasn'tracismbeen
stopped?Orwhydon'tpeopletalkaboutit?AsawhitewomanI'vebeenoverprivileged,Idon'thaveto
worryaboutlookinglikeawhiteperson,copsinvestigatingmeallthetimebecauseofmyrace,and
gettingbulliedatschoolcauseIdon'tlooklikeeveryoneelse.Asawhiteprivilegesocietyweare
socializedtobeopposedtoanyonewhoisn'tlikethenormwhitepersonandiftheyaren'tlikeuswe
makethemstrivetobelikeus,tochange.InthearticleWhitePrivilege:UnpackingtheInvisible

KnapsackbyPeggyMcIntoshsaysWhitesaretaughttothinktheirlivesasnormallyneutral,normative,
andaverage,andalsoideal,sothatwhenweworktobenefitothers,thisisseenasworkthatwillallow
themtobemorelikeus.Societyhasgivenwhitepeoplethesemessagestotreatotherpeoplewith
differentskincolorasnotlikeus,whenweshouldtreatpeopleequally.Usaswhitepeoplethinkthat
sinceracismisn'taproblemforus,thatthereisnoneedtotalkaboutit,thatifwedotalkaboutitwe
won'tbeoverprivileged,thatsocietytaughtusthatyouhavetobeonthetop.Alifeofbeingadifferent
raceisn'tthebest,everydaytheygetoverwhelmedthatwherevertheygotheyknowtheyaren'tsafeor
haveanyfreedom.Thatpeopleassumethatsincetheyhavedifferentcoloredskintheyaren'tsmartorcan
getaneducation.ForexampleinadocumentarycalledPreciousKnowledgeshowedthatinschools
differentraceisreinforcedinschool.Thishassocializedmetothinkabouthowmyracehasimpactedme
inschoolthatIcangetagoodeducationbecauseofmyskincolorandthatIcangetagoodjobandgoto
college.Thatdifferentcoloredpeoplecan'tgetthesameamountofeducationbecausethewaywetreat
racism.Thatgoestoshowthatifwechangethewaywetreatracismitcanchangethewaysocietytaught
ustotreatpeople.AsawhitepersonIverealizedthatI'mpartofwhatmakesracismbad,thatIneedto
makeachangeinmyattitudetowardsracism.
AsateenagerIvebeenaccusedofthingsIdidbythestrongwordssocietytelladults.ThatIve
beenstereotypedtobeapersonwhohatestheirparents,doesdrugs,toberebellious,andstupid.SinceI'm
atwentyfirstcenturyteenagerI'vebeenthevictimofbeingtheaverageteenagerthatmoviesandthe
mediatelladultsofhowweact.ForexampleinthemovieMeanGirlsitshowsthatanormalteenager
parties,havesex,hatestheirparentsandsoon.Yes,Iagreethatnoteveryteenagerisanopposite
exampleofwhatnormalteenagersshouldbethatwedontalldothisstuff,butbeingjudgedbyyourage
orhowyouactisbeingjudgedbypeoplesayinglookatthatirresponsibleteenagerorthose
teenagersaresolazy.Wealwaysgetinvestigatedbyourparentsknowingthattheydontbelieveyou,
andthatweareoffdoingsomethingbad.Alsothemediastronglyactsuponhowteenagersact,itchanges
howteenagersusedtobe.Thesourcethateveryteenagergoestobeforeanythingelsetosolveproblems.
Being15isn'tsoeasy,frombeingalittlekidwhereIcandoanythingIwantandgetinlesstroubleto
beingthisteenagerthatdoesn'thavethesameopportunitiesonlytoknowthatwehavetofocusontwo
mainthingstogetagoodeducationandformintoanadult.
Whenwewerelittlewewouldmakethesecommentsthatwouldcontrolusfromthevoiceof
society,sowecantellpeoplewhotheyneedtobe,butlaterweneverrealizedhowmuchthosecomments
canaffectandchangeapersoninthefuture.WhenIcameintoamiddleschoolatmospherenotknowing
howsocietyworkedinthatenvironment,untilIexperiencedthepunchofsocietywhereeverythingIdo,
wear,think,act,andsayisgonnabejudgedbypeoplenomatterwhatIdototrytofitin,societyisgonna
stillbebetter.WhenyourparentssaydontcarewhatpeoplesayorJustbeyourselfyouthinkit
wouldbeeasybutit'snotthatsimpletopushsocietyaway.Butifweworktogethertostopthiscycleand
putourselvesoutthere.Itcouldbedifferentyoucantakethemaskofsocietyoffandbeyourself.
Facemaskparagraph
Toshowthatvisualeffectofastrongmessageofsocietywemademaskstoshowamessageit
couldbeanythingyouwant,itcouldshowwhoyouareoranythingelse.WhatIchosetoshowformy
maskishalfofwhatmediatellswhatwomenshouldlooklike.ThentheothersideistoshowhowI
actuallyamasawomenwhichisn'ttheexactsameaswhatanormalwomenshouldlooklike.Onthe
mediasideIputamagazinefaceforthewomen'sfacetolookperfectandmodgepodgethatsidetomake
itlooklikesheisfake.ThenontheothersideIputabunchofcolorsthatlookslikeapuzzletoshowthat
i'mnotjustanobjecti'mactuallyapuzzlefullofemotions.OverthecolorsIputreallystrongand

powerfulwordsthatdescribemeandotherwomenthatthemedianeversaysaboutwomenandIputa
pictureofmetoshowthatIdontlookliketheperfectwomanandIkeptthemaskwithnomodgepodge
thati'mroughontheedgesnotperfect.FinallyIputaquoteonthetopofmymaskthatshowsthatwe
shouldn'tletsocietymakeusactfake.