Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The power of conformity
Boxes of Life
There are many factors that contribute to what society thinks of us. The way we dress, the music we listen to, and the activities that we participate in are a few that really “allow” society to put us into these boxes of conformity. And while these things we do are representations of ourselves, they don’t always mean the same to us as they do to society.
The ways I dress and act have always been hard for me to “box-up.” I think that I fall into a couple of different categories, and do things in all of the different categories with all types of people. For example, when talking about one’s attire, there are a couple of major groups that you can stereotype together. There are, of course, the “preppy” styles, the “I don’t care” looks, and the “gothic” looks. Now I think there are different bits and pieces of all of these groups that I can put myself in. But this doesn’t just apply to the clothes that you choose to wear. It also groups you into what activities you normally partake in, and the different things you like. And, no matter what “group” you fall into, you are going to be perceived, in a way that you might not always like, by society.
First, there is the “preppy” group. This is the group, for guys, that usually consists of faded or ripped-up jeans, a button-up shirt, usually tucked-in in the front, and spiked and frosted hair. And for girls, it’s all about the tight-fitting clothes. Usually a short skirt or tight jeans, accompanied by a smaller than normal shirt, and hair that’s been died or highlighted so many times that you can’t even tell what color it originally was supposed to be; but over everything, there is usually some bright, blonde highlights over the color of the month. As for the activities that “these people” partake in…they are usually more of the athletic types, you know…the stars of the football or track team. If this whole stereotype is at all “correct”, then there is a lot of that that I fall into. In high school (which, actually, is what I’m relating most of this to), I played a couple of different sports, and wasn’t too bad either. I wasn’t ever the “star”, but I started on the baseball team, and got plenty of minutes on the basketball team.
Individualism and conformity—two very commonly used terms to describe anyone in today’s times. In comparison to the article “The Sociology of Leopard Man,” written by Logan Feys, one of the most notable quotes that relates to individualism and conformity is “to be a human is to be an individual human, with individual tastes [.][and]talents [.] that are distinct from those of others. Living in society, we are under constant pressure to surrender our individuality to the will of the majority, the school, the workplace, the family,.” (Feys Par. 6.)
There are many aspects of society that help shape who we become; such as, race, ethnicity, and status. Although, in the end, it is ultimately the choices we make that define us. As individuals we make certain choices, and as a society we label those individuals by their choices. One boy decided his achieved status would be of respect, while the other conceded to the fact that he could not do any better, with his life, than dealing. Someone once said “[We] are a product of our environment…” and to a certain extent this is completely agreeable. However, it can also be said that our environment is a product of society.
All members of society are subject to sociological rules and regulations that are often hypocritical. These hypocrisies, both concrete and unspoken, are the subject of criticism by authors the world over, utilizing various methods and styles to ridicule society's many fables.
The search for one’s identity can be a constant process and battle, especially for teenagers and young adults. Many people have a natural tendency to want to fit in and be accepted by others, whether it be with family, friends or even strangers. They may try to change who they are, how they act, or how they dress in order to fit in. As one gets older, society can influence one’s view on what they should look like, how they should act, or how they should think. If society tells us that a certain body type or hair color is beautiful, that is what some people strive for and want to become in order to be more liked. This was especially true with Avery as she longed for the proper clothes to fit into a social group and began to change the way she spoke to match those around her. As a young and impressionable sixth grader, she allowed herself to become somewhat whitewashed in an attempt to fit in with the other girls. However, Avery did not really become friends with any of those girls; her only real friend was
We live our entire lives caring about other people 's opinions of ourselves where they seem to become our own but they don’t have to. While most of us as we grow up will realize how foolish this was and be themselves anyway; It takes too long, as children we are not shown to be ourselves but shown to follow the crowd, the safe route. The younger generations need to see that risks can change your life for the better and let each of us live a happier more fulfilled
In life you will be faced with the challenge of fitting in many times, but you should not let the people around you define who you are. At school there are lots of trends and I see it here at collegiate where people wear certain clothes or shoes because it’s a fad. In third and fourth grade the largest fad by far was “Silly Bandz” and everyone had them and everyone wanted to have them. It may seem to be an unsophisticated example, but it is very relevant to the topic. Everyone should be individual and not just what other people are pressuring them to be, but truly themselves. Be a leader not a
Everybody wants to be accepted, yet society is not so forgiving. It bends you and changes you until you are like everyone else. Society depends on conformity and it forces it upon people. In Emerson's Self Reliance, he says "Society is a joint stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater." People are willing to sacrifice their own hopes and freedoms just to get the bread to survive. Although the society that we are living in is different than the one the Emerson's essay, the idea of fitting in still exists today. Although society and our minds make us think a certain way, we should always trust our better judgment instead of just conforming to society.
By Alex Sanchez, “The God Box” tackles the issue of Christianity and homosexuality. The story is told through Paul/Pedro, a devoted high school senior who has dated his best friend Angie since middle school, and they're good together. They like singing in their church choir, and go to Bible club together. But enter Manuel, a charismatic and openly gay transfer student with a charming dose of humor. As they became friends, Manuel challenged traditional Christian beliefs and Paul’s views about himself by presenting a new but warmer perspective. A take that makes Paul struggle to suppress his “not so Christian” feelings, and begins to question his own sexuality: “How could I choose between my sexuality and my spirituality, two of the most important parts that made me whole?” (Sanchez 64).
How you act and how you represent yourself to the world is how people look at you ,for this point leads to the way ,how people treat each other in the world today.in the world today , people tend to judge ,you on just about anything thing you do. People look at a person and judge them on what they do,just cause they do it.we never ask ourselves does he or she like what they're doing or why does he or she act how they act. There are reasons for this.
The relationship between society and a person really depends on that particular person. I feel Emerson believes in not conforming to society. The things you do everyday, the passion you feel in your heart, your virtues, these are all characteristics that you should not alter. Society labels all people, whether rich man or poor man, we are all equal inside. “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members.“ In other words, in order to be a part of something, particularly in this case the society, man has lost his individual identity. Thus, concludes Emerson, man is dependent on others for his own identity.
Society in general has a way of naturally assigning men and women with individual roles that need to be complied with. To clarify, in the 1950s and 1960s, American women were required to maintain their homes while raising their children and making sure the husbands were happy. On the other hand, American men had to provide for the family and protect them. Displaying characteristics not parallel to one’s gender is rarely unobserved and almost always has negative consequences because society seeks to maintain order. In reality, the people cannot conform to society’s “norms” because people have the right to be independent of society, yet be a part of it without sacrifice. An example would be how American society views masculinity as a man who
Conformity is vital to people’s life. Humans, being compound animals, live in a culture that works as a whole. Therefore, if there is a fault, the whole system might disintegrate. So, people are obligated to respect the affairs of others so that they can stay together as a whole. On the other hand Individuality, just like conformity, is necessary to life even despite the fact that modern person may not understand its worth. At one point people may want to be special from all the rest in one way or the other. As a result individuals might dress a bit in a different way as well as choose to do things we actually like. And, for on one occasion, we might create the opinions based on what we actually feel. However, earlier or later we are required to curb our impulsive desires so that society or culture does not tag us as eccentric or else weird, simply for the reason that people fear being alone.
The second group, known campus-wide, is the nerds because they are obsessed with books, constantly studying and learning about their interests. The nerds are usually annoying with their obnoxious laughter regarding a really stupid joke. The nerds wear a nice shirt with a bow tie, or a tie and a nicely ironed dress pants and always has a pocket protector to prevent ink stains from their pens. The nerd spends their school night with a tight schedule for recreation, school homework, and learning new things that captures their interests. Computer programming, calculator programming, the biology of their pet frog are some of the common things that interests the nerds.
The most important aspect through which the society perceives a personality is connected with the cultural upbringing of a person. Very often the society tends to view the person through the prism of being identical. They acknowledge the people who
the drive to excel in school and be one who stands out of the crowd instead of fading into it did not approach until my last few years of my high school career. In my single digits and my pre-teen years I was lucky to not to have been submerged in pink as some girls are, and my favorite things were frogs and dirt. Pressures to “dress like a girl” and to live up to all that society’s vision saw for me was annoying and near-damaging. I am proudly a girl, and I am proudly everything else I am, so why should I have to try to be so? The fact that I dodged that bullet and maintained my individuality as best I could is one of my finer achievements. However I’ve seen all over that so many others are not allowed to be themselves because of these pressures. We are all children with so much to offer and so much individual spirit and talent, and then as we get older some of us are told we are abnormal or wrong for being who we are. In this we all lose. These dimmed spirits lose confidence, the critic misses out on the value of his victim, and society loses what may have been a strong unique perspective. You cannot be self-actualized without being