Analysis Of 'But Mom, Crop Tops Are Cute !'

Chapter three explains different theories that help us understand how we perceive, judge, explain, and our expectations matter of our social worlds. How we use our thinking and how it impacts the judgments we make. How our beliefs, attitudes, and values affects our roles and perceptions in the society. We perceive our social worlds on how people form impressions of and make inferences about other people. For instance, we interpret things differently saying someone is “okay” can be a good for one or bad for another.

Cultural and societal norms are based on aspects such as differences in opinion, beliefs, and backgrounds. New norms are constantly created as generations come and go, with societal changes taking place daily. Norms are shaped based on the way people are raised, the individuals we surround ourselves with, and the transformations that occur in our lives. Although groups identify and set norms, these can change in our personal lives based on the social groups we interact with as we grow through life, such as groups of friends from childhood that may be different from groups of friends we make as we enter adulthood. As we change from one group to another and transition through life, the result of social norms can be seen through new behavior. For example, an individual who did not grow up regularly attending church or practicing a religion, but later in life decided to start attending religious services and practicing, behavior changes would be evident based on guidelines set by that religion That individual may stop

“ A social fact is every way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exercising on the individual an external constraint; or again, every way of acting which is general throughout a given society, while at the same time existing in its own right independent of its individual manifestations. (Durkheim,1895/1982;13) (Ritzer, pg 76)

Perceptions of a Girl in Childlike vs. Sexualizing Clothing” written by the authors Kaitlin Graff, Sarah K. Murnen, and Linda Smolak, they do a study on how girls are perceived in societies eyes when dressed in a more sexual manner. In the study there are pictures of a fifth-grade girl dressed in either childlike clothing or super sexualized clothing. A group of diverse students are presented with three different types of pictures and they define whether the girl is average or above average in her achievements. Concluding in their study it presents that wearing more sexualized clothes do affect how they are looked upon and they don’t regard their achievements throughout life. In the study it states, “sexualization of women in advertisements increased significantly in the U.S. between 1983 and 2003” (Graff, Murnen, & Smolak 765) proving that sexualized advertisements have drastically been impacting societies ideal

Now-a-days, you can’t find appropriate clothing for your children because all stores are selling short-shorts and crop tops for 12-year-olds. This issue is contradicting; girls are being sexualized by being told not to wear clothes that show their skin, yet the only clothes that are currently being sold are clothes that only sexualize girls even more by showing too much skin that doesn’t fit their age group. Orenstein also argues that, “ For today’s girls, sexy appearance has been firmly conflated with strong womanhood.” Meaning, instead of having a princess birthday party at the park, preschoolers are now having mani-pedi spa birthday parties; or how the Elementary school cheer dance routine is more provocative; or when 9-year-olds are taught “all the ticks of beauty.” In our defence, when society depicts young women as sexual objects, they make young girls think that their beauty is more important than their brains(hence the reason why you can easily mistake a 13-year-old for a

Hanes addresses many specific issues in her article. The first topic she discusses is how Disney refuses to admit that the way they portray their female characters is often sexist and stereotypical. Parents worry that the Disney princess phase is only the beginning of girls adopting an unhealthy body image and self-objectivation. However, the negative effects of Disney princesses is still controversial because some parents claim that the princesses teach girls to be kind, love animals, and to persevere. Another worriment is that many studies show exposure to unwanted sexual material is happening at a younger age. The fear is that early exposure will cause girls to grow up too fast and lead them to have erroneous views of sexualization. Since Disney and other media emphasizes that girls should be ultimately feminine girls are now dropping out of sports because they think it brands them as unsexy. To make matters worse, marketers are now playing a role in the hypersexualization of women. The marketers target little girls by using the sexualization of women to persuade little girls into buying their products at an even younger age. There is now a new challenge to face- the internet. Along with the internet and social media; social media is now the hub for self-objectification. Girls are now posting scandalous pictures of themselves on social media, and are receiving praise as a result. However, adults cannot blame girls completely for their actions because they do not know any better because they are growing up in a culture that celebrates superficiality. The author stated that there is no realistic way to avoid sexualization that the only way to get rid of the

 This is somewhat prevalent in the present as well, as certain components of society funnel citizens into a uniform way of thought.   For instance, the political party system in government somewhat encourages people into a similar way of thought, as if someone were to fall into a certain political party, a generalized uniform thought is put around that group.  Personal opinions on subjects such as politics, different laws, etc. are restricted to further execute the complete uniform way of life.  As explained through Captain Beatty’s speech, “‘If you don’t want a man happy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one.

For example, in one paragraph, speculation as to why “thong underwear is sold to 7 year olds,” or “ padded bras showing up on the racks for 5 year olds,” can raise many opposing views (514). By giving this example, Hanes probably hoped to make readers angry at the marketing establishments and make them reconsider their own assumptions about the morality of the sexualization of young girls. On another note, regarding to gender divisions, Professor Brown, mentioned by Hanes, gives her theory as, “there being no equivalent ‘pink’ for boys” (514). This opens up the concept of, “boys having far more options of how to define themselves,” and ultimately defends the fact that a girl conforms easily to standards - liking pink, wearing makeup, and being skinny (514). This and other similar examples are used by Hanes to elicit emotional responses from her readers, the most likely being anger and

“They look like prostiTots!” Christi Lukasiak, famous mother on Dance Moms, exclaims as her 8 year old daughter struts across the room in her bright blue bra. Lukasiak, and the other eccentric moms of the hit TV show, dress their daughters every week in little bikini sets and have them dance on television for thousands of viewers. The moms, like many others in the media, recognize that girls in skimpy clothing sells. But this sexualization of kids is very dangerous. Studies have shown that girls as young as six believe their value comes from how sexy they are. And where else do they learn this than from the hundreds of advertisements, TV shows, and movies featuring girls their age in proactive attire (Davis). The impact of this sexualization

The predetermined ideals of how humans should act and think limits the impact of the individual, and even discourages individuals from thinking or acting outside of the mainstream, creating a “dignified homogeneity” amongst people in society (Fitzgerald 44). If one is not part of the majority, they are naturally outcasted to the point where they feel “purposeless and alone” (Fitzgerald 42). This causes people to “wear the mask that grins and lies,” which is the mark of conformity (Dunbar 1). The mask is worn to hide people’s true beliefs and desires in order to appear “normal” or as part of the majority. Conforming with a group against one’s own beliefs has become engrained in the American way of life, which is particularly evident in Asch’s experiment.

As humans, we all conform to one idea or another. These ideas can have positive and negative effects on the people and world around us. We are unable to avoid conformity, but we can show our individuality. Norman Shpancer’s article states that all humans conform to ideas that might not necessarily cause problems, but there are instances where the choices they make cause immense harm to others around them. Logan Feys’ biography on Leopard Man claims that people who act out of the ordinary, or looked at as freaks by society, live a happier life than the “slaves of society.” [Thesis].

Quotes from those who feel they have been personally victimized cause the reader to feel angry towards the school administration or officials who are enforcing such a strict dress code. When Bates gives account after account of the dress codes in schools being unfairly carried out or too strict all together, the reader begins to feel sorry for the girls who fall victim to their administrators’ discrimination. Bates says “I can’t help feeling there is a powerful irony in accusing a girl of being ‘provocative’ – in projecting that societal assumption onto her adolescent body – before she is even old enough to have learned how to correctly spell the word.” By stating this, she is arguing that high school girls are too young to already be faced with sexual assault or discrimination from a culture that tells women to cover up because boys can not control themselves. The personal accounts in Bates’ article give the reader an emotional connection to the victims mentioned, thus building

Which in an interview presented in the article authors, Kim K. P. Johnson, Sharron J. Lennon, and Theresa Lennon Schulz, Hegland and Johnson (1995) mad an interview with 41 rape survivors to determine how many women were actually assaulted for wearing sexy clothing. In which the majority stated, the outfit they were wearing the day they were rape had nothing to do with the fact of being raped. As well as mentioning that these women did not choose the outfit they were going to wear that day as a means of sexual consent or sexual advances. With these results it demonstrates that in reality all the assumptions and myths created by society in particular women does not affect if a women’s particular attire will cause sexual harassment. It is the assumptions that society has created within themselves to maintain a justification for women who wear sexy clothing. A women who wears tight fitted clothing, or “sexy” attire does not make her a potential target for sexual harassment, nor does it make her responsible because there is no prove to show that this is the case in every myth a stereotype. It is just assumptions like many others society creates within to establish a justification for why a person expresses their own free will.

In our society, there are norms of what is considered to be feminine and what is to be considered masculine, but how are these norms constructed? Through the use of toys, books, and clothing, children are socialized into their “appropriate” gender. These objects provide influence over behavior and appearance, showing boys and girls what is appropriate for each gender. After some investigation it was found that the toys, books, and clothing that children use not only foster the norms of gender behavior and appearance, but also construct gender roles in their young minds.

For instance, facial expressions are universal. No matter where you're from, you smile and you frown. This has been tested using the scientific method on patients that have been blind since birth. The patients smiled and they frowned, just like anyone else would have. This proves that facial expressions are not learned from society, but are by nature part of us. Studies have also shown that we innately triumph after winning. We're all happy and often celebrate with obvious gestures such as raising our fists into the air. However, when psychologists studied this in the Olympics, they found that Olympians from some societies tried to suppress their excitement, while others decided to show it as clearly as they could. This is an example of society shaping the customs of individuals. This type of observation would be impossible if we used the sociological perspective alone.