Tremendous shopping centers, malls, even those little corner shops became an icon of American culture and its society. We are constantly manipulated by these so called convenient public places where escaping from it would be almost impossible. There are probably a 50% of chances that we will start our day with a cup of coffee in one, buy our afternoon lunch in the other one, or end up just walking around one. Shopping centers are everywhere; we cannot escape from it. Moreover, we do not want to escape from it as we are constantly underestimating the power and the real impact these places have on our society. Thus these places play a huge role in the process of socialization and are largely influencing the development of our society as a whole. In order to understand the way these places are emphasizing the gender differences and inequalities between the sexes, I decided to visit the local store Walmart and through an observation of its environment and its settings try to record its power of gendering. I was looking for a proof that gender is not merely an element of individual identity, but a socially constructed institutional phenomenon which is even imposed in our shopping centers and local stores.
My visit to Walmart required a camera and notebook, because this equipment is crucial for my way of doing, comparing, and understanding sociological theories. While I was walking between Walmart shelves, I noticed that every section was telling an interesting story about gender stereotyping in the United States. All products are shaped and customized to attract different profilea of the customers. The story about development, shape, and presentation of every product has important story which contributes to understanding of our socie...
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...ole is to take care of the house, the décor, kitchen, clothes and that they are not meant to be strong, powerful and independent, driving cars or even considering to be pilots, soldiers or similar. Parents are so much affected by what the market imposes that they get lost in bringing up their kids for the sake of their kids happiness not for the sake of the society’s happiness. (Kane, 2006)
Realizing all this, I was once again mad at what we have created in our society and how much we have shaped our views on genders wrongly. However, I was also happy to become aware of the stereotypes imposed and hence able to cope with them better. Knowing all this and keeping it in mind I feel more confident for being who I am. Considering myself a feminist, I also feel more inspired to change the views and help the society to neutralize the impact that the market has on us.
There was a lot of facts that supported the authors’ thesis which was that there has been changes for women over time but there is still room for progress and I completely agree. I believe that the authors were also feminist because in parts of the article were they explained inequality there were sarcastic tones towards the opposing arguments. Overall this paper has made me reevaluate my life and my thoughts on feminism honestly. Honestly, I was ignorant and did not have a well understanding of how hard life was for women and I am thankful that I am informed now. I have different view on feminism
In his article, “The Gender Gap at School,” David Brooks scrutinizes common gender roles and introduces the idea that biological factors may play a role in human development. He begins his essay by analyzing the three gender segregated sections in any airport, which include the restrooms, security pat-down areas, and the bookstore. He goes on to explain that the same separation occurs in the home. Brooks includes a study given to nine hundred men and women who were asked to name their favorite novel. The study determined that men preferred novels written by fellow men, whereas women favored books written woman.
Inside Toyland, written by Christine L. Williams, is a look into toy stores and the race, class, and gender issues. Williams worked about six weeks at two toy stores, Diamond Toys and Toy Warehouse, long enough to be able to detect patterns in store operations and the interactions between the workers and the costumers. She wanted to attempt to describe and analyze the rules that govern giant toy stores. Her main goal was to understand how shopping was socially organized and how it might be transformed to enhance the lives of workers. During the twentieth century, toy stores became bigger and helped suburbanization and deregulation. Specialty toy stores existed but sold mainly to adults, not to children. Men used to be the workers at toy stores until it changed and became feminized, racially mixed, part time, and temporary. As box stores came and conquered the land, toy stores started catering to children and offering larger selections at low prices. The box stores became powerful in the flip-flop of the power going from manufacturers to the retailers. Now, the retail giants determine what they will sell and at what price they will sell it.
Society stereotypes women in almost all social situations, including in the family, media, and the workplace. Women are often regarded as being in, “Second place” behind men. However, these stereotypes are not typically met by the modern day woman....
...ts set for them. Children are constantly aware of adults’ choices, and they begin to formulate their own understanding of general values at a young age. When adults are hypocritical of their pre-set standards, it sends children into a state of discombobulation. Staying true to one’s values as an example for children will be beneficial to them as they travel along the highway of childhood and come upon the exit necessary to reach the interstate of adulthood.
Based on my observation, Walmart is one of the toy retailers labeled and categorized toys by gender. They placed “Girls” and “Boys” signs over their toy aisles. Initially, I studied the toys under
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer and private employer, has established a highly profitable business centered on a low-cost strategy that utilizes logistical efficiencies to create a competitive advantage. Yet, to maintain this low-cost strategy, Walmart has engaged in ethically questionable practices, including gender discrimination in promotion and pay. While the Supreme Court recently ruled against class certification of 1.5 million women in the Dukes v. Walmart case due to a lack of proof that Walmart operated under a “general policy of discrimination”, overwhelming evidence demonstrates that gender discrimination is a persistent problem rooted in the culture of Walmart, despite gender-neutral policies (Biskupic, 2011).
Toy stores are perfect places for a sociologist to use their sociological imagination. Gendering and racism is thought to be something that is socially constructed as opposed to biologically constructed. Gendering starts during infancy, and around 2 years old children start to internalize these gender differences. I argue that children’s toys help socialize children into gender specific roles. Toy stores, like Target and Toys R Us help us understand what types of toys help to gender children. I will explain how the toys in the toy aisles differ and compare. Not all toys are either male or female, some toys are gender neutral.
Don, Libby, Chelsea, Cheryl and Jesse all had at least one parent that encouraged them to pursue a grander goal for a marvelous future; whereas David had no adult figure in his life that was willing to mentor him to take actions that was best for his future. Justified by Don’s, Libby’s, Cheryl’s, and Jesse’s account, it seems as though family-oriented households have an impressive amount of support for each other, which subsequently pushes the children to work harder to find the right place in their community that will satisfy their desired economic and social status as well as their
Pahl, Jon. (2003). The Mall as Sacred Space. In Behrens Laurence & Rosen Leonard (Eds.),
Before the second wave of feminism, women have been put through many difficult situations such as, discrimination within the workforce, sexual and emotional violence, and not being able to achieve rights for themselves. They almost, never had a say in a decision which should be their choice. The second wave of feminism was necessary for women because they achieved personal and voting rights, the percentage of violence significantly decreased and it help bring equality among men and women. After many decades, people decided to treat women equally and legalize rights for an individual’s personal life. After years and years of fighting for equal rights and to demolish all stereotypes, did the world actually change their view of women?
In the case of Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Dukes), the court found that there was a lack of significant proof that Wal-Mart had a general policy of discrimination (Schipani, 2013). The plaintiffs needed commonality to establish uniformed disparity within the Wal-Mart organization, and statistical evidence was deemed unworthy of proving this commonality (Schipani, 2013). The numbers were astounding; seventy-two percent of the hourly workforce of Wal-Mart are women, yet only 10% are store managers, and a mere 4% of female Wal-Mart employees are district managers (Bernardin & Russell, 2013). The numbers seem to reflect a painfully obvious presence of discrimination, and with Wal-Mart’s market power within its industry, it can be frightening to evaluate the impact their practices have on the American employment culture.
In Inequality in the Toy Store, by Christine L Williams, she explains the different “gender segregation, racial stereotyping, and social class” she sees in two different toy stores while she worked there. The two stores were called Toy Warehouse and the Diamond Toys. The Toy Warehouse was in a low income area where they offered popular toys at a reduced rate. While for the a Diamond Toys, it was in a downtown area where it had limited high quality toys. Some of the inequality that Williams observed had to do with gender, racial and class. There is gender segregation, racial stereotyping, and social class everywhere you look whether it's at work or even at a
Today more than ever one can hear people boast about the importance of developing the future generations adequately. Parents typically have the child’s best interest at heart, however humans are made imperfect and mistakes towards child development are inevitable. My parents based most of their parenting, like most parents on the way they were raised. They would choose what they felt appropriate and what would be harmful to a child. Although, this may sound like a purifying system one cannot disregard the fact that this choosing on what is good and bad is mainly opinionated. Huge misconceptions typically lie on the authoritarian and permissive roles as
Goss argues that developers and designers of the built environment, specifically shopping centers and malls, use the power of place and understanding the structural layout of the space to boost consumption of the retail profits. Shopping centers are separated from the downtown area of shopping, either by distance and/or design. These establishments emerge for many to be the new heart and location for public and social life. In his article The "Magic of the Mall": An Analysis of Form, Function, and Meaning in the Contemporary Retail Built Environment, Goss also argues that the regulation of the spaces within the mall creates an atmosphere of "community" rather than one that is "public". This article’s main argument is that developers manufacture an illusion of doing more than just shopping when designing malls and shopping centers.