WELCOME to this blog that I have set up for this class, Sociology 215: Social Problems. I will be using this blog for a variety of individual and group activities and exercises throughout the semester, such as the first individual exercise described below. Something I often do on this blog is post follow-up comments to a lecture that may not have gone well or I felt was unclear. This blog will also be used to post questions (and answers)that you will make up in preparation for the midterm and final exams. Finally, I may use this space for possible extra credit opportunities. Although I will be sure to remind you in class when you need to be checking this blog, let me also recommend that you get in the habit of checking it at least once or twice a week on your own.
FIRST INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE: In the context of my opening lecture (Thurs., 2/9) about developing a ground or basis for recognizing social problems, I want you to identify some aspect of contemporary American society which you believe is commonly accepted or widely practiced, yet still could be considered harmful or destructive; that is, be considered a social problem, What I mean by "aspect" of contemporary American society is very open-ended: a popular consumer product, government policy, business practice, social ritual, form of media or entertainment, etc. Briefly describe this aspect and tell why you believe it is a problem, despite its wide accpetance. I am looking for NO MORE THAN 2 PARAGRAPHS (no dissertations). Post your response as a comment on this blog post NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, FEB. 17TH. This exercise is worth 5 activity points.
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Mary Katherine Keiser
For centuries the union of marriage has been shared between a man and a woman. The joining of a man and woman in matrimony is only natural according the Bible. However, we live in a twisted society where same sex marriages are being widely accepted in many states. Back in the 1960’s being a homosexual was something one did not talk about. Today in 2012, people are extremely open about their sexuality and are proud of it. In my opinion I believe the reason as to why homosexuals are so proud and have “come out of the closet” because they feel as if they have been oppressed for many years. They remind me almost of a pre teen who is trying to rebel against their parents simply by going against the grain of what is considered normal.
Years ago a woman having a child out of wedlock or an unmarried couple living together was frowned upon. However these issues today seem natural and normal to most Americans, so what has happened to our country over the last 70 years that would cause people to accept gay marriage? Gay marriage is ruining the idea of the family. God did not intend for children to have two mothers or two fathers. Children need both a mother and a father for healthy development. Gay marriage is a sin and is an abomination in the eyes of God. “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with the womankind, it is an abomination. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things.” (Leviticus 18:22,24) “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” (Leviticus 20:13) (NIV)
One issue that I think has become generally accepted in American society but is still a problem is that of contraceptives. Although I know that birth control pills have many benefits aside from preventing unwanted pregnancy, I feel like they have been abused and over-prescribed.
Furthermore, pharmaceuticals such as the day-after pill are used nonchalantly as if it is completely normal to have unprotected sex and incur no consequence. On a more sensitive subject, I strongly disagree with abortion on the basis of my religion. For about half of the country, abortion is generally accepted. I can't help but notice that everyone who is pro-choice has already been born-had their parents been pro-choice, they might not have been able to give that opinion.
In American society today one of the biggest problems I feal that we as a country face is our horrible diet and consumption of mass produced, processed, and generally unhealthy foods.
The population of America at large as well as the American government are providing today's youth with unhealthy meal choices in schools as well as in the home. This has lead to an increase in both childhood and adult obesity rates, as well as to an increase in rates of metabolic and digestive diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease, and heart disease. While these health issues continue to rise we as a country continue to pour more and more support in the form of our hard earned capital into major food corporations such as Tyson Foods and fast food giants such as McDonalds which provide Americans of all ages with remarkably unhealthy and nutritionally devoid food choices.
This trend in support of convenience based foods that have high fat and sodium content and little to no real nutritional value is in effect crippling the American helathcare system with an influx of new patients with diseases and other health problems related to our country's poor diet selection and support of wholesale and processed convenience food corporations.
One problem facing today's social is the lack of privacy. With all of the social media and people wanting to be so involved in other peoples' lives more so than their own. People have taken such utter worship of other people that they have created celebrities who are famous for the sake of being famous. These people have not achieved any accomplishments that should make them worthy of such idolization. Everyone knows at least one person that as soon as they wake up they are on Facebook or twitter, virtually stocking someone. This social networking phenomenon is causing more problems than than the initial intentions were. This obsession has definitely caused problems in teens and adolescent children because they are trying to imitate the people who we are making stars. The problem is seen in all age groups in America and other countries.
A problem facing society today is the power that the beauty product industry exerts over females. Young girls are bombarded with advertisements telling them that makeup is necessary to be beautiful. Makeup in general is not bad, but it becomes a problem when girls use it as a tool to hide what they consider “imperfections.” Girls are being taught that what makes them unique is not considered beautiful. It saddens me to see beautiful girls with makeup caked on, parading around their fake face and believing they look attractive. Excessive makeup is not pretty and there is no reason to completely change your looks. Instead of hiding unwanted parts of the face, girls should use makeup to accentuate their features. When used correctly, makeup can be used as a form of self-expression. Girls can use eye shadow colors to express their personality, lipstick to show their flirty side, or blush to highlight their natural glow. If makeup were advertised in this way, as a means of self-expression, perhaps girls would stop hiding behind their products. Sadly, the beauty industry is so massive that I do not see this coming to an end anytime soon.
America has become so focused on appearence.There are widely accepeted aspects of what is considered the cool or sexy styles. Everyone wants that image of what the celebraties look like because society has deemed these poeple attractive. Young men often try to dress and immulate stlyes they see on tv because they think it is cool. Young women might dress in a certain way because they want to be attractive/sexy.
This is in fact a cultural problem in our society. Too many times young people are judged by their appearence and therefore they are way to concerned about living up to society's expectations. It presents the question why many high school students are more concerned about the latest Jordan sneaker that has came out, but do not show the same concern about their acdemics.we can attribute this problem to mass media and the surroundings in society. Young people see this focus on appearence from tv, posters, etc.. It is clear we have went wrong somewhere. We must show youth that what makes is not their appearence, but the content of their character.
Something in American culture that gets my attention is stereotypes. Even today people judge a book by its cover.Without knowing someone or their circumstances one casts judgement.
We are creatures of habit and this habit doesn't look as if it's going to die down anytime soon. We think because of someone is of a certain race that they are supposed to act a certain way, or that because you wear nice clothes means that you are rich. this is something that we all have to work to stop. I find myself doing this as well, it is something that is all too common.
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