River Rodriguez

Professor Forstie

SOC112

12/8/19

Intro to Sociology Final

Short Answer Section

1: First, how is sexuality ​socially constructed​, according to sociologists? Be sure to

connect to at least one concept from textbook chapter 12 in your answer. Then, create a meme to

illustrate your answer using a meme generator (google “meme generator” if you’re not sure what

this is) and paste it at the end of your answer.

According to sociologists, sexuality is socially constructed in that different societies

define how individuals form their sexual identities and conduct sexual practices. For example,

certain societies have different expectations for how individuals behave sexually; according to

the Introduction to Sociology Textbooks section on sex and sexuality, people in Scandinavia are

more accepting of premarital sex than people in the US. This indicates that the society one grows

up in will have an affect on how one views sexuality, and what people find important and

relevant in regards to sex and sexuality.

2:​ ​Explain​ ​the concept of ​medicalization ​as it applies to obesity as an “illness.” How does

obesity demonstrate the concept of the “​social construction of health​?”

Medicalization is the term for when behaviors or symptoms seen as negative become classed as

illnesses that require treatment. Obesity was recently medicalized by being seen as a clinical

disorder whereby a person has an above average amount of body fat that may affect their health.

However, this is a recent change, and before then, obesity was seen as (depending on the place

and time period) a sign of general laziness, gluttony, or even wealth. This demonstrates “social

construction of health” because societies opinion on a physical feature has changed with the

times enough to turn it into a diagnosable illness.

4: How does ​school segregation​, as discussed in the podcast, “The Problem We All Live With,”

demonstrate the idea of ​institutional racism​? Give a specific example from the podcast in your

answer.

School segregation is an example of institutional racism due to it being an impersonal,

informal, and systemic form of prejudice. In “The Problem We All Live With”, Normandy High

School’s student body is nearly entirely made up of black children, and a poorly-funded school

in an impoverished neighborhood. Most of the black parents in the area do not have a lot of

money, so the school is poorly funded and ineffectively managed, with the school being “on

probation” for 15 years due to its low quality of education. The children who grow up and

graduate will not have the same opportunities afforded to their (primarily white) counterparts in

wealthier neighborhoods, and as such will have a harder time finding well-paying jobs and

making important career connections, perpetuating the cycle of poor education and informal

segregation.

5. In a 2001 interview with music website NYRock.com, Eminem (aka Marshall Mathers, aka
Slim Shady) explains his use of the word “faggot” in his music:

NYROCK: ​There has been much controversy over your liberal use of the word “faggot”
and what people perceive as gay bashing. It’s put you right in the line of fire from gay
and lesbian groups the world over...

EMINEM: ​I’m not gay bashing. People just don’t understand where I come from.
“Faggot” to me doesn’t necessarily mean gay people. “Faggot” to me just means... taking
away your manhood. You’re a sissy. You’re a coward. Just like you might sit around in
your living room and say, “Dude, stop, you’re being a fag, dude.”

NYROCK: ​But you can see how it would insult homosexuals?

 EMINEM: ​Yeah, but it does not necessarily mean you’re being a gay person. It just
means you’re being a fag. You’re being an asshole or whatever. That’s the way that the
word was always taught to me. That’s how I learned the word. Battling with somebody,
you do anything you can to strip their manhood away… I come from Detroit where it’s
rough and I’m not a smooth talker. I am who I am and I say what I think. I’m not putting
a face on for the record. When I started saying “faggot” on record, I started getting people
going, “You have something against gay people,” and I thought it was funny. Because I
don’t; I really don’t. I have something against assholes, but I’m not into gay bashing. A
lot of people are too stupid to understand it.
(source:​ ​http://www.nyrock.com/interviews/2001/eminem_int.asp​, Accessed 2/25/2013)

How does the above excerpt demonstrate Pascoe’s idea of ​fag discourse​? Be sure to include at
least one example from the excerpt to support your argument.

The above excerpt has the professional rapper Eminem bring up the notion of the word

“fag” as a derogatory term that certain groups of young straight men use to disparage anothers

masculinity while raising their own. In the interview, Eminem mentions that he does not see the

term as being derogatory to gay people, but rather as another way of saying that somebody is

being a “coward” or a “pussy”. He also mentions that it is a tool to “strip [other rappers’]

manhood away”. This demonstrates the idea that, to some people, terms that are slurs against gay

people have also become synonyms for femininity, which is viewed as a negative trait.

6. How do sociologists define ​racism​ (in contrast to prejudice and discrimination)? Be specific,
and explain in your own words. Give an example from textbook chapter 11.5 (“Race and
Ethnicity in the United States”) that illustrates your answer.

While prejudice is defined as the biased viewpoints caused by opinions on any specific

group of people, and discrimination is the acting upon of those prejudices, racism is specifically
the notion that one race of people is inferior in some way to another race, and all the thoughts,

actions, and feelings that come with such a conviction. For example, during the US’s time as a

British colony, and then later during its independence, any “foreign-born, non-Christian could be

a slave.” Africans became enslaved and were transported to America, where they were seen as

inherently inferior owing to things like the color of their skin, their beliefs, and their culture. As

such, most white people at the time saw themselves as above black people in every conceivable

way, a line of thought that has persisted in many parts of the country to this day.

Long Answer Section

1. Explore the #metoo hashtag and recent discussion about sexual harassment and assault in the

workplace (specifically, in Hollywood and among politicians, journalists, and other

professionals).

a. First, explain whether these events count as a ​social movement​, given the

discussion of collective behavior and social movements in the textbook. Why or

why not? (5 points)

b. Then, explain whether you would consider this moment an example of a

successful​ social movement. Use at least one of the theoretical perspectives on

social movements as discussed in the textbook (and also in class) to fully explain

your answer. (10 points)

I would say that these events do, in fact, count as a social movement. It is a large group of

people, who are united by an issue that they wish to change in society at large. In the textbook,

social movements need a substantial amount of people who have come together with a common

goal, which the #MeToo movement has. They also have to have the members of that movement

work in tandem to promote social change, which the #MeToo movement has done multiple times

with things like protests.

I would also say that, thus far, the movement has been a successful one. In specific, I

think that the #MeToo movement is a reform movement that seeks to assist women who have

been sexually assaulted and harassed, and to force those events into the public consciousness and

remove abusers from positions of power. The most notable example is likely the issue of Harvey

Weinstein, the producer of many successful films who had been sexually abusing women in

Hollywood for years. Until the #MeToo movement began, the public had no idea that Weinstein

was a serial abuser, and once the movement brought his crimes to light he lost his job as a

producer. That, coupled with the fall from grace of other well-known figures like Bill Cosby,

Louis C.K., and Bill O’Reilly, means that it is no longer easy for rapists and abusers to silence

their victims, which is the whole purpose of the #MeToo movement.

3. West and Zimmerman argue that gender is “done” in interactions. In this question, examine

whether you think race is “done” in interactions in similar ways.

a. First, explain what ​interactional theory ​is, in your own words. (5 points)

b. Then, using West and Zimmerman’s “doing gender” theory, explain whether

you would argue that race is “done” in interactions similarly. (10 points)
 Interactional theory is the idea that most human socialization comes down to the way

people act and react on an individual level, and that the way people behave can be explained

primarily through the personal interactions that they have had in their life. For example, when

West and Zimmerman argue that gender is “done” in interactions, that means that the way we

define gender is based on how the people we have interacted with expressed gender to us, and

how we processed that interaction. For example, if a young boy sees his father and other men

wear specific clothes, talk in specific turns of phrase, and treat people in a specific way, that boy

will grow up with an idea of masculinity that directly reflects how his father acted, even if it is

not his personal view on the matter.

I believe that race can be “done” in society the way gender is. I think the best example of

that is code-switching; when two people of the same race are put together, they will act

differently based on how they view each other. For example, if two black men were together in

the same room alone, they would speak to each other differently than if the room also included

asian or white people. Another example is the issue surrounding cultural appropriation. To take

one specific issue, many people are divided on whether or not it is appropriate for non-Mexicans

to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos, a Mexican holiday celebrating the lives of departed loved ones.

To some people who grew up with the holiday, it is an integral part of their identity as a

Mexican, and do not want non-Mexicans to push in on a day that is for them, while other

Mexicans want to spread the tradition as they believe it is for everyone. Conversely, some

non-Mexicans see no compelling reason why they should not be allowed to celebrate the holiday

respectfully, while others feel uncomfortable inserting themselves into a foreign custom.
4. In the game “Playspent,” you were asked to work in “family” groups to make choices about

work, housing, transportation, healthcare, and everyday life as you navigated a month of

expenses (expected and unexpected). Think about your expectations for your future careers,

lives, and possible families as you answer the following questions:

a. “Playspent” only minimally addresses how families manage ​unpaid labor ​(as

discussed in class and in the textbook). Thinking about your future life, who do

you expect to prepare meals, do laundry, keep your home and yard neat and clean,

and take care of children (if any) or aging family members? How might those

choices either challenge or reinforce gender inequality? Think carefully about this

question, as even outsourcing this work still may relate to gender inequality. (10

points)

b. Thinking about your future job, how will it demonstrate ​intragenerational

mobility​ as discussed in class and in the textbook? (5 points)

Realistically, I can’t envision any possible outcome for myself wherein I have a partner

and the unpaid labor is not divided evenly between us, unless my potential significant other

makes substantially more money than I do, in which case I would probably take on a domestic

role. Given the current economic climate for lower-and-middle-class Americans, I do not think it

would be feasible for me or my hypothetical partner to take on more unpaid labor than the other.
If I was to own my own house, rather than rent, I imagine that any work to keep the house in

order would be evenly distributed, with simple chores being rotated and payment being shared.

However, assuming that by my adulthood the gender wage gap still exists, and I am

heterosexual, I would most likely be making more money than my partner, which would imly

that I should put in slightly more for payments. Any caretaking of elderly family members would

most likely fall to me, being the eldest sibling in my immediate family.

Hopefully, my future profession, whatever it may be, will exemplify intragenerational

mobility by paying for a better quality of life than that of my parents and grandparents. My

parents are all firmly in the lower working class of American society due to many factors, not

least of which being a lack of any higher education. As I am aiming for a profession that requires

a Master’s degree (Librarian), I would hope this means I can pay for a better quality of life than

my parents. However, it is possible that I will not succeed on this path, and exhibit no

intragenerational mobility.

5. Define the concept of ​intersectionality​ as you understand it. Then, find a song that

discusses an issue intersectionality. Identify the specific lyrics to the song that illustrate its

intersectional approach, and include a link to the song below your answer. Note: you ​cannot​ use

the “song on intersectionality” on YouTube, although feel free to watch it to help you understand

intersectionality, if you like. (15 points)

As I understand it, Intersectionality is the concept of multiple separate issues converging

at a point in society to impact one subset of people. When someone is the victim of
intersectionality, it means that they are in some way disadvantaged by more than one issue. A

song that could provide an example of intersectionality is Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”. “9 to 5” is a

classic pop-country song that deals with the twin difficulties of being a working-class citizen,

and a woman. Throughout the song, the genders of the singer’s fellow workers is left ambiguous,

with Parton singing that there are “folks like me/on the job from 9 to 5” showing how both men

and women are taken advantage of by the wealthy ruling class of modern capitalist America.

However, any references to said ruling class is exclusively male, with the lyrics explaining

“You’re just a step on the boss-man’s ladder/But you’ve got dreams he’ll never take away” and

“It’s a rich man’s game/No matter what they call it/And you spend your life putting money in his

wallet”. Here, Parton is saying that if you are a working-class woman, most, if not all of your

bosses will be men who see women as beneath them, and will not treat them as equals or allow

them to have corporate power.

Link to “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbxUSsFXYo4

6. Below is the “offer of the college” for an elite, private, liberal arts college in Maine. First,
identify ​Khan’s 3 lessons of privilege ​elite students learn and define them in your own words.
After each lesson, copy and paste a line from the “offer of the college” that demonstrates the
lesson, and explain how the line illustrates the lesson of privilege. (15 points)

The Offer of the College (Bowdoin College)

To be at home in all lands and all ages;

To count Nature a familiar acquaintance,
And Art an intimate friend;
To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
And the criticism of your own;
 To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
And feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake;
To make hosts of friends . . .
Who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms
And cooperate with others for common ends—
This is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.

Khan’s first lesson of privilege is that people naturally form a pecking order, and that one
can learn to use that pecking order to one’s advantage. “To gain a standard for the appreciation
of others’ work/And the criticism of your own” is the line that conveys that: if someone knows
their place relative to others, and also knows the merit of other people and their position, they
can maneuver through the life of the elite.
Khan’s second lesson is that your familial origins or personality don’t really matter in
elite society, and what matters most is your experience: what you’ve done, and where you’ve
been have a larger effect on your social standing then what job your parents’ had or whether
you’re cross-eyed. “To count Nature a familiar acquaintance/And Art an intimate friend”
illustrates this point, as things like travelling to exotic locales or being well-versed in the arts will
prove to others that you belong in elite society.
Khan’s third lesson is that the best way to cement yourself as a member of the elite is to
always be confident and open, no matter the social situation. “To make hosts of friends . . ./Who
are to be leaders in all walks of life” means that if you can be a charming, friendly figure to
every important person you meet, those people will see you as one of them, and treat you as a
compatriot in their patrician system.

Bonus: What are two ​specific​ ways you, personally, can combat racial, gender, sexuality, or class

inequality ​in your future career?​ Connect to any (any!) course concepts, examples, or discussion

in your answer. Please note that general comments (like “I will try really hard not to

discriminate” or “I will treat everyone the way I want to be treated”) will not generate bonus

points, so be specific, and connect to class material. (up to 5 points)