Assignment 5: LGBT & Q Families

1. After listening to the radio show of Dan Savage I think his view about gay people in TV is different. His way of explaining how gays are portrayed is interesting. He goes into detail about two shows and a movie from his childhood and now and depicts the stereotypes that gay men obtain from television. The first television show he discusses is "Barney Miller" about cops who policed a gay neighborhood. A gay man was in the neighborhood with a purse and a pink poodle. This is stereotypical of gay people because many gay men do not portray themselves this way. Television shows make it seem as if all gay people act and behave in this manner. The movie that Savage talked about is "Choir Boys" which also referred to police patrolling a gay neighborhood. Gay men were stereotyped yet again as carrying a purse and walking a pink poodle. When the gay man saw a cop handcuffed to a tree with his pants around his ankles, I got the impression that he wanted to be nice and help the cop. The cop obviously had something against gays and made it seem like he had a disease. This proved the point that many people are in fact homophobic. The cop responded with "If you touch me I will kill you." This hatred is shown toward gays everyday because so many people think there is something wrong with them or they will in fact catch this "disease." Savage also brings up a point with the show "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody." The scene describes shows how at even a young age, kids have a reaction to the thought of being gay. One brother makes a comment about practicing kissing and the other brother gives a look of disgust, as if two guys kissing is awful. I know the point was not about him kissing a guy, but Savage brings up a good point.

2. One show that I feel is stereotypical and portrays gay people is Will and Grace. The main character Will is a gay lawyer who has a woman for a best friend. This is very typical of today's society. There are many women who love to have a gay best friend so they can go shopping together. A friend of theirs is Jack and his careers make him stereotyped. He has been an actor, singer, dancer and at some times a nurse. I feel this is also typical of gay people today. They are constantly stereotyped for what jobs they hold because they are more on the feminine side. Jack and Will also portray themselves in a very gay manner on the show which I think carries into society.

3. The idea of gay men has no effect on me. I think gay couples could be just as good parents as a straight couple. I feel like having two gay parents would bring a different perspective and upbringing into the home. I do not believe that these children are at a higher risk of turning out gay because I do not think that "gayness" can be learned from who you live with. A person does not become gay because of the people they are around. Children who grow up with gay parents are likely to be raised the same way as children who have straight parents. The fact of them being gay has nothing to do with their ability to take care of kids. If anything it will make them more cautious and caring. I think there is a large chance that children who have gay parents could grow up more successful than those who have a mother and father.

Assignment 4: Gender & Paid Work

I think that some characteristics of the way children act are from birth and others come from childhood and adolescence. Boys and girls have some form of knowledge going into Middle School and gain more from other kids. There is a sudden change in image and attitude with some children. It is very common that boys are afraid to act feminine because they will be seen as "gay." As girls grow up they tend to lean either towards the more girly side or towards the tomboy image. As the text states, "there is a focus on clothes, makeup, diet, and bodily presentation for girls." The text also states that the use of homophobic terms as insults increases with adolescence. I do not think that boys and girls are aware of these offensive terms from birth unless they grow up in a very open home.

When it comes to gender, looking to the larger society does have an impact. In general with toys, from a young age it is decided which toys are typically appropriate for boys and which are good for girls. The color plays a large part in determining who can play with it. For example, a parent is more likely to buy a pink bike for a girl and a blue bike for a boy since this is proper based on what society thinks. I do not really think that children like pink and blue based on their own thoughts. They may grow a love for this color because it is what they have played with all through childhood. The main reason they enjoy this color is because of the way toys are made and that is based on what society finds appropriate.

I think it depends on the situation whether or not the child likes playing with gender specific toys. Some parents will reward their kids for being gender appropriate while others will not care. I think some parents do not think that at a young age they have anything to worry about when it comes to gender roles and identity. I certainly think the media has a large impact on the way that children grow up. Seeing the way famous people behave makes children want to be like them. For example, I feel there was a huge increase in teenage pregnancy after Jamie Lynn Spears got pregnant.

I also think that there are children who change who they are to fit what others want them to be. They eventually become so encompassed in this lifestyle that they forget who they are. I do not work in a daycare or school, but I am pretty sure that teachers try to teach gender specific behavior to their kids. There needs to be some form of boundaries that kids have in the classroom. When boys want to play dress up I do not think that they should be reprimanded, but instead shown another activity to do. If girls act in an aggressive manner, I would hope the teacher explains that it is not acceptable.

Overall, I think there are some aspects that can influence how "naturally" children act as boys and girls. The color of toys plays an important role as well as society and children at school. I think a child's conception of how to act can change as the years go on, especially if they are too afraid to act like their real selves.

Assignment 3: Family Sociology and Sociology Theories

1. According to the functionalist theory, an "instrumental" leader was present during the experiments that Robert Bales conducted using small groups. The main objective of the experiment was that each group was observed while discussing how to go about some tasks. The article states that an "instrumental" leader was someone who "led the group discussion about how to accomplish the task they had been assigned." The definition of an "expressive" or "socioemotional" leader is "someone who kept up the group's spirit with warm, supportive remarks and jokes." The reason the group was functional is because two people made efforts to take a leadership role which contributed to better performance. With relation to the family one adult member is seen as an instrumental leader and the other an expressive leader. The husband takes on the role of an instrumental leader because he is the breadwinner and provides financial support. The stay-at-home wife is the expressive leader because she is the homemaker and provides emotional support to all members of the family.

2. During the 1960s and 1970s there was a major demographic change that led theorists to be critical of the functionalist theory. This change was the fact that married women began to move into the workforce. This made the breadwinner-homemaker family lose its dominant position. Women were no longer staying at home and now had some part in the financial support of her family.

3. I believe that the main theme of the conflict theory is overall relationships between people and how domination comes into play. Men are seen as the more dominant figure in the family and women are less powerful. The reason men have more of this dominant power may be because they earn more money for the family. Competition is another main theme of the conflict theory.

4. The social exchange theory is based on ideas similar to those that economists use. Exchange theorists see that husbands have more of a bargaining power when they are the sole money providers in the family leaving the wives with fewer alternate sources for income. When wives earn money on their own they are less dependent on the husbands which means the husband's power over them decreases.

5. The main idea of the feminist theory is the domination of women by men based on the concept of gender. It also discusses the inequalities between women and men. For example, in a breadwinner-homemaker family women's direct access to money through paid employment is restricted in this type of household. This maintains women's dependence on men.

6a.I think the best way for me to get the most accurate information would be to study the family at a micro level. I think using this approach will enable me to look more closely at behavior patterns of the individual or group and how it is impacting their social conditions.

b. The methods that I would use to collect the data would be surveys, general observations and interviews. The general observation will be for me to overlook how the people are in their everyday settings. The surveys will allow me to compare the data of each individual and the interview will give me a one on one feel for the individual.

c. For my study I would like to have small groups of 20. There will be four groups: one of boys, one of girls, two mixed groups based on age.

d. My research question would be "how does age and gender come into play with social life?" My questions would be: 1. What is your age? 2. Are you married? 3. Do you consider your family to have a breadwinner and a homemaker? 4. Do you think that issues with social life can be blamed on the people around you?