Mask project
Essay
Berrigan Kilgo
Flaunting Flaws
Throughout life people are always being changed and shaped by the things and people around them. In the article “Cycle of Socialization” Bobbie Harro says, “We struggle to understand the roles we have been socialized to play”. What does she mean by this? Is she saying that we play these roles due to the way that we have been socialized? Sometimes we are socialized based on the target or agent groups we are in. A target groups is the group that basically had the worse end of the bargain. They are targeted because they were born into difference. An agent group is the group that got the good end of the bargain. The agents have more power because they usually will be given the benefit of the doubt. We are either intentionally or unintentionally taught believe certain things about how to communicate and how to treat people who appear differently. When I was a child my parents were often working and I was in the care of babysitters. As we witness life we are changed in subliminal ways. Neither one of my parents was around more than the other so this acculturated me to believe that men and woman both shared the load and all families had two working parents. These messages in life are affecting me in more ways then it seems. In a famous movie Scarface he say “first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the chicks” I am learning to question this famous quote. I have been taught to believe that only after you physically matured will girls like you, that girls must be skinny and pretty to have success and that without money and power you won’t get anywhere.
I have been socialized to judge people by their looks and not who they truly are. Our society is forming into a place that people are judged based on their looks and their accomplishments instead of who they really are. This is not the kind of society that I want to live in; this is definitely not how I want to be judged. Just the other day I was on the trolley and this man sat down next to me. The first thing that went through my mind was that I was scared of him. I hadn’t even said a word to him and neither had he to me and I was already uncomfortable. Just based on his tattoos and his size. Was I taught to judge like this by my friends and my parents? Who had socialized me to work this way? If I judge this way I can only imagine that people judge me this way. When girls look and they see that I’m a small not very strong kid they rarely look further. Maybe if people took more interest in who others really are apart from looks, our society wouldn’t be plagued with so many unhappy marriages. Maybe these people would have looked deeper in each other and they would have found a more compatible partner. Maybe we have improved a little on this in the past few decades but we still value jocks more than we value nerds. Even if all jocks are going to do is look good and nerds might actually get things done. Maybe if looks weren’t so highly valued men and women wouldn’t always worry about if they weren’t living up to the standards.
In some Men’s eyes they see women as under themselves. My parents socialized me to see women differently than the average man. They have taught me to think of women as my equal. In the video “Fotoshop by ADOBE”, it shows pictures of models and how they look with Photoshop and how they look without. These pictures that they advertise of models with Photoshop makes other women always feel down about themselves because they could never look as good as these models. Photoshop edits out blemishes. Flaws are what spice up life and keep us interesting. At least I know they are what keep me interested. The media has done nothing but encourage this unattainable perfection. In today's commercials these unrealistic pictures of appealing women are flaunted. Young girls are also getting this message. Young women have been known to starve themselves to look this way. Not accepting our own flaws is something that society has taught us to do. Men are also misrepresented in some advertisments. When I see the photos of how I’m supposed to look it sometimes make me feel like I’m not good enough. Even if we are sometimes put down because we don't look this good women are more subject to this horrible feeling. Are we as humans that afraid of breaking away from these standards? Why is it more important for these girls to please the male population? I find it weird that I am relieved to not be women. What does this say about what females have to go through? Ever since I knew, my parents studied and worked equally hard in the same profession, I have thought of women and men as being on the same playing field. Even though my family taught me that woman are crucial parts of the society today sometimes I don't act as if I know this in front of my friends. I wish that I felt secure enough with my friends to act as I truly feel. I think that as a man I should act towards woman as a gentleman so that when I walk in the room they don't feel threatened but instead they feel safer. If these impossible pictures were taken out of paper advertising and video commercials would they stop these outrageous and unnecessary insecurities that some women have?
I was socialized take the class I am in for granted. If you are born into a low class is there any way that you can escape living in this low class your whole life? Are kids in the low class socialized to believe that they can’t be very successful in their life? As a child of two successful professionals will my presumed good fortune make it harder for others to be successful? If I got sick or injured things could change drastically for me and my family. The high classes make it harder for the low classes to change their class by telling them it’s impossible. Maybe it has something to do with ineffective democracy in our time which should address issues of poverty. In a video called “Distribution of wealth in America” it talks about wealth in America. It also talks about how hard it is for the lower classes to move up to the higher classes. I have watched so many inspiring movies telling me that the low born kids can make a name for themselves. Is this just in the movies? Are the higher classes that fearful that if they share the wealth they might lose their standings? Is that why we make it so hard for the lower classes to become successful. There will still be more then enough money to go around. I always wonder if I had all this money would I be so stingy with it?. What is somebody going to do with that kind of money? It would be better helping others get along then sitting in the bank collecting dust. Is it the thought that you need money to get girls? If that’s the case it’s not even true. If you find that you do need money to get girls then take the hint and clean up your act. I sometimes find myself convinced this is true. The media often shows the rich getting the good-looking chicks. In real life this may not be true but the media still has a big influence on us.
Maybe the inequality, in our society, isn’t quite as obvious and it has tricked those in power to believe things are more equitable; but the underdogs seem to notice these inequalities. Maybe this is because it is affecting them more. Is there any way that we can remove these moronic inequalities from our society? Is it even possible to totally remove inequality in our society or is the best we can do to just improve on it. I think that we should at least just start by just working on it. A good way to start would be for the media to stop encouraging all of these negative stereotypes. I think that just that would be a major improvement. I think that a good way to start would be to train myself to not fear my flaws but instead love them. I’d like to believe that money and looks aren’t the only traits that get the chicks, unlike in Scarface. I am glad that I was raised to be aware of the fact and recognize the fact that I have all of these abundant privileges and I hope that this will help me stand up for the people who may not have all of these opportunities.
My mask symbolizes how I have been socialized. It is split in half which represents how I am two different people. One half is the characteristics I have in front of others and the other is a sum of who I am on the inside. All of these words represent the way that I have been socialized to be within these two sides of myself. On the side that show how I am seen there is a tear crossed out which symbolizes how it is “wrong” for me to cry when I’m around others. The tear that is not crossed off shows how truly I am crying when know one sees.
Berrigan Kilgo
Flaunting Flaws
Throughout life people are always being changed and shaped by the things and people around them. In the article “Cycle of Socialization” Bobbie Harro says, “We struggle to understand the roles we have been socialized to play”. What does she mean by this? Is she saying that we play these roles due to the way that we have been socialized? Sometimes we are socialized based on the target or agent groups we are in. A target groups is the group that basically had the worse end of the bargain. They are targeted because they were born into difference. An agent group is the group that got the good end of the bargain. The agents have more power because they usually will be given the benefit of the doubt. We are either intentionally or unintentionally taught believe certain things about how to communicate and how to treat people who appear differently. When I was a child my parents were often working and I was in the care of babysitters. As we witness life we are changed in subliminal ways. Neither one of my parents was around more than the other so this acculturated me to believe that men and woman both shared the load and all families had two working parents. These messages in life are affecting me in more ways then it seems. In a famous movie Scarface he say “first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the chicks” I am learning to question this famous quote. I have been taught to believe that only after you physically matured will girls like you, that girls must be skinny and pretty to have success and that without money and power you won’t get anywhere.
I have been socialized to judge people by their looks and not who they truly are. Our society is forming into a place that people are judged based on their looks and their accomplishments instead of who they really are. This is not the kind of society that I want to live in; this is definitely not how I want to be judged. Just the other day I was on the trolley and this man sat down next to me. The first thing that went through my mind was that I was scared of him. I hadn’t even said a word to him and neither had he to me and I was already uncomfortable. Just based on his tattoos and his size. Was I taught to judge like this by my friends and my parents? Who had socialized me to work this way? If I judge this way I can only imagine that people judge me this way. When girls look and they see that I’m a small not very strong kid they rarely look further. Maybe if people took more interest in who others really are apart from looks, our society wouldn’t be plagued with so many unhappy marriages. Maybe these people would have looked deeper in each other and they would have found a more compatible partner. Maybe we have improved a little on this in the past few decades but we still value jocks more than we value nerds. Even if all jocks are going to do is look good and nerds might actually get things done. Maybe if looks weren’t so highly valued men and women wouldn’t always worry about if they weren’t living up to the standards.
In some Men’s eyes they see women as under themselves. My parents socialized me to see women differently than the average man. They have taught me to think of women as my equal. In the video “Fotoshop by ADOBE”, it shows pictures of models and how they look with Photoshop and how they look without. These pictures that they advertise of models with Photoshop makes other women always feel down about themselves because they could never look as good as these models. Photoshop edits out blemishes. Flaws are what spice up life and keep us interesting. At least I know they are what keep me interested. The media has done nothing but encourage this unattainable perfection. In today's commercials these unrealistic pictures of appealing women are flaunted. Young girls are also getting this message. Young women have been known to starve themselves to look this way. Not accepting our own flaws is something that society has taught us to do. Men are also misrepresented in some advertisments. When I see the photos of how I’m supposed to look it sometimes make me feel like I’m not good enough. Even if we are sometimes put down because we don't look this good women are more subject to this horrible feeling. Are we as humans that afraid of breaking away from these standards? Why is it more important for these girls to please the male population? I find it weird that I am relieved to not be women. What does this say about what females have to go through? Ever since I knew, my parents studied and worked equally hard in the same profession, I have thought of women and men as being on the same playing field. Even though my family taught me that woman are crucial parts of the society today sometimes I don't act as if I know this in front of my friends. I wish that I felt secure enough with my friends to act as I truly feel. I think that as a man I should act towards woman as a gentleman so that when I walk in the room they don't feel threatened but instead they feel safer. If these impossible pictures were taken out of paper advertising and video commercials would they stop these outrageous and unnecessary insecurities that some women have?
I was socialized take the class I am in for granted. If you are born into a low class is there any way that you can escape living in this low class your whole life? Are kids in the low class socialized to believe that they can’t be very successful in their life? As a child of two successful professionals will my presumed good fortune make it harder for others to be successful? If I got sick or injured things could change drastically for me and my family. The high classes make it harder for the low classes to change their class by telling them it’s impossible. Maybe it has something to do with ineffective democracy in our time which should address issues of poverty. In a video called “Distribution of wealth in America” it talks about wealth in America. It also talks about how hard it is for the lower classes to move up to the higher classes. I have watched so many inspiring movies telling me that the low born kids can make a name for themselves. Is this just in the movies? Are the higher classes that fearful that if they share the wealth they might lose their standings? Is that why we make it so hard for the lower classes to become successful. There will still be more then enough money to go around. I always wonder if I had all this money would I be so stingy with it?. What is somebody going to do with that kind of money? It would be better helping others get along then sitting in the bank collecting dust. Is it the thought that you need money to get girls? If that’s the case it’s not even true. If you find that you do need money to get girls then take the hint and clean up your act. I sometimes find myself convinced this is true. The media often shows the rich getting the good-looking chicks. In real life this may not be true but the media still has a big influence on us.
Maybe the inequality, in our society, isn’t quite as obvious and it has tricked those in power to believe things are more equitable; but the underdogs seem to notice these inequalities. Maybe this is because it is affecting them more. Is there any way that we can remove these moronic inequalities from our society? Is it even possible to totally remove inequality in our society or is the best we can do to just improve on it. I think that we should at least just start by just working on it. A good way to start would be for the media to stop encouraging all of these negative stereotypes. I think that just that would be a major improvement. I think that a good way to start would be to train myself to not fear my flaws but instead love them. I’d like to believe that money and looks aren’t the only traits that get the chicks, unlike in Scarface. I am glad that I was raised to be aware of the fact and recognize the fact that I have all of these abundant privileges and I hope that this will help me stand up for the people who may not have all of these opportunities.
My mask symbolizes how I have been socialized. It is split in half which represents how I am two different people. One half is the characteristics I have in front of others and the other is a sum of who I am on the inside. All of these words represent the way that I have been socialized to be within these two sides of myself. On the side that show how I am seen there is a tear crossed out which symbolizes how it is “wrong” for me to cry when I’m around others. The tear that is not crossed off shows how truly I am crying when know one sees.
Reflection
Mask- What are you most proud of about your mask? Why
The thing that I like most about my mast is its simplicity and cleanliness. Although my mask is simple it is also really symbolic. Almost everything on the mask has a deeper meaning. Like the crossed out tear represents what is expected of me as a man. Everything represent something which I really liked.
Quote- Quote the section of that you are most proud of and describe in detail why you were proud of it?
"I think that as a man I should act towards woman as a gentleman so that when I walk in the room they don't feel threatened but instead they feel safer.." I like this sentence because it articulates well how I want to change. It says exactly how I want to be seen and how to reach this goal. I also like the way that I use this sentence in my paper
Biggest takeaway- What will you remember from this project? Why
I think that the main thing that I will remember is my essay. I will remember my essay most because I put so much hard work into it. Since I put so much work into it is very meaningful to me. I edited it so much and really just tried to do make it my best work. I was also really proud of the final result. I think that in total I spent at least 8 hours on just writing the essay.
Habit of heart and mind- Which habit of heart and mind do you need to work on in your next project to get better at project based learning? Why do you need to improve on this habit and how will this help you?
I think that the main thing that I need to work on the use of my evidence. I did have some on there but I do think that I need to work on where it is placed. Also when I use evidence I really need to make it more obvious why I am using this evidence.
Mask- What are you most proud of about your mask? Why
The thing that I like most about my mast is its simplicity and cleanliness. Although my mask is simple it is also really symbolic. Almost everything on the mask has a deeper meaning. Like the crossed out tear represents what is expected of me as a man. Everything represent something which I really liked.
Quote- Quote the section of that you are most proud of and describe in detail why you were proud of it?
"I think that as a man I should act towards woman as a gentleman so that when I walk in the room they don't feel threatened but instead they feel safer.." I like this sentence because it articulates well how I want to change. It says exactly how I want to be seen and how to reach this goal. I also like the way that I use this sentence in my paper
Biggest takeaway- What will you remember from this project? Why
I think that the main thing that I will remember is my essay. I will remember my essay most because I put so much hard work into it. Since I put so much work into it is very meaningful to me. I edited it so much and really just tried to do make it my best work. I was also really proud of the final result. I think that in total I spent at least 8 hours on just writing the essay.
Habit of heart and mind- Which habit of heart and mind do you need to work on in your next project to get better at project based learning? Why do you need to improve on this habit and how will this help you?
I think that the main thing that I need to work on the use of my evidence. I did have some on there but I do think that I need to work on where it is placed. Also when I use evidence I really need to make it more obvious why I am using this evidence.