Sociology in Everyday Life How is structure and power shaped by everyday objects

Question

Sociology in Everyday Life

How is structure and power shaped by everyday objects, media, and experiences? This is the question you will primarily address in this paper.

Visit a local department store’s toy and greeting card aisles, looking specifically at birthday cards designed for women and men. What trends do you find in relation to gender? How are they interrelated? How is gender maintained throughout the life course?

In your paper you should:

Describe the activity you chose. Why did you choose this? What did you expect to find?

Describe what you experienced in detail. What did you do? What did people around you do? Did this match what you expected, or not?

Describe which theories best explain your observations.

please I need 3-5 pages

Explanation / Answer

Gender norms, presented by society, are everywhere. You can find them in television shows, ads, music, sports, and even simple things like greeting cards.One card I saw,had a title "You’re A Gem Thank You Card”. Like a majority of the cards in this section, this card is geared towards the female buyer or the female recipient. The word gem on the front is one of the few words on the front of the card and is written in pink, purple, yellow, and light blue gem stones. The inside of the card says “have a day that’s as fabulous as you are” written in gold letters with a cursive font. This card reflects the gender norms we set on woman in our society. We expect woman to always be in the best mood, always be happy, take care of others, and be dainty and put together. When calling someone a gem, one is referring to that person being precious, beautiful, radiant, and/or special. Words typically used to describe a female instead of a male. If the card was gender neutral, it would have a saying such as “You’re strong” or “You’re unique” and the inside would say “have a great day” or “have a day that is as important as you”. Instead, the card exemplifies gender norms of women and feminine qualities. Many cards had wine bottles, flowers, pink writing, hearts, and other symbols that society would label as “girly”. Cards in generally are geared towards females because gender norms make it typical for woman to buy cards and not typical for men. Gender norms dictate what we as a society think is right and wrong for both genders. We have an expectation as society for woman and men to behave in certain ways and to stay within those limits and boundaries. And because of it, items in society such as a simple greeting card, are gender based. Even toys are gender based,a prent would buy a "pink"doll for their daughter and a "blue" car,truck etc. for boys since girls are more sensitive and boys need to be strong.Parents themselves instill these gender roles in their children by treating them differently.Its not just the media,or school which keeps harbouring these differences. Parents tell their girls,that its ok to cry,be sensitive and caring,whereas boys are told not to cry as they have take care of the family when they grow old and be the "man of the house".Though this trend is changing but its a long way to go. Women are also often portrayed as unintelligent or frivolous individuals who are there more for their looks than for anything else. Television commercials reinforce this image. Cosmetics ads abound, suggesting not only that a major task for women is to look good but also that their sense of self-worth stems from looking good. Other commercials show women becoming ecstatic over achieving a clean floor or sparkling laundry. Judging from the world of television commercials, then, women’s chief goals in life are to look good and to have a clean house. At the same time, men’s chief goals, judging from many commercials, are to drink beer and drive cars. At all grade levels, many textbooks and other books still portray people in gender-stereotyped ways. It is true that the newer books do less of this than older ones, but the newer books still contain some stereotypes, and the older books are still used in many schools. Boys tend to play sports and other competitive team games governed by inflexible rules and relatively large numbers of roles, while girls tend to play smaller, cooperative games such as hopscotch and jumping rope with fewer and more flexible rules. Although girls are much more involved in sports now than a generation ago, these gender differences in their play persist and continue to reinforce gender roles. Due to time limit,remaining questions can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation

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