Socialization is the very thing that makes us human. It is the act of adapting to the culture you are put into. There are 2 types of people there are agents and targets. The difference between agents and targets is that agents are usually more privileged but also have a lot of more social power and targets are always the target of the social power. Is your freedom an illusion? Are you a member of an invisible tribe?I personally had to adapt to my culture such as gender because I had to act manly and not show emotion, race because I am white and have been stereotyped that way, and economic class because I am middle class and I am more lucky than some people but also a lot less privileged than a lot of my friends.
Males are usually the agents of society. Females are usually the targets of society. Males can become the targets if they show emotion for example. It is weird that the males are viewed the strong, manly boss. It should not be like that because both genders should be treated equally and be able to speak there mind and show emotion. Some of the ways males are socialized are the pay scale and being the main source of income of a household. Men get paid 25.6% better than females for the same job (from wikipedia). I have been socialized by gender because I have had to act tough and not show emotion otherwise I would not be treated the same.”This issue can directly hurt men in our country by making them feel stuck inside their head and all alone leading to depression and more things. I remember as a little kid in elementary school and even middle school I would get sad or want to cry but I felt like if I did everyone would make fun of me or people would look at me weird. In the article The Cycle of Socialization the author Bobbie Harro says Why can't we all just get along?. It should be that simple but it isn't. ”Bobbie Harro also says in The Cycle of Socialization “We are told things like boys don't cry” All in all the main point of this paragraph is to show that there are bad things about being either gender that socialization controls.
Race is a big category of socialization. I have personally been socialized by race because I am caucasian and I am overprivileged some people could say but I don't know what it would be like to be black. Education, crime, and opportunity are just some thing affected by this. In my town Durango, Colorado there is not much diversity compared to big cities. The incarceration rate with different races varies. Think about all the white people in jail. Then double that amount and that's how many latinos are in jail. Double the amount of latinos and that is the number of blacks in jail. Even though white people are committing the same amount of crime the other races get blamed more. What this can do to people is this can change the way they look at them self and the way they look at other people. There are a lot of kids such as in Chicago that are feeling like they're useless or don't have any role models so they turn to gang violence and they have lost so many friends and family that way that they feel it is ok to die and they feel like it is there time. It can also affect the community by making the community think that there are so many colored people so colored people are committing more because there are a lot more colored people in prison. There are different amounts of privilege that come with different races. The main idea of this paragraph is to show how complicated race is and that the only difference is skin color.
The economic differential in America is very high and one of the largest differentials of any country. I have been socialized by economic class because I am a lot more lucky to be in the middle class and have a lot of thing a lot of other people don't have. I have also been socialized by economic class because I can't have some things other people have like when I was a kid I didn't get a xbox or such as right now I don't have a phone. The bottom 40% Americans own close to NOTHING of america's wealth. The top 1% owns more than the top 20% of Americans would have in an ideal situation. Some people think that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In the article The cycle of socialization the author Bobbie Harro says “Don't worry if you break your toy. We can always buy a new one” That is not something everyone gets to hear. The economic differential in america is crushing the economy and ruining america.
The cycle of socialization starts with first socialization that is when we are born. First socialization is when you are taught by your parents, school, religion and more. The next step is institutional and cultural socialization this is churches, schools, practices, media, and more. Next step is enforcements and this is when you get privilege, rewards and punishments. Next is the results that is when you get results for everything. Then there is either direction for change or actions. One direction for change with gender is to understand that not all men have to be big buff and manly and that the gender you are born with doesn't have to be the one you choose to portray. All the time when you look on the news you see black people getting shot by white cops and the point with this is that just because your skin color is different does not mean you should be treated differently. Social class is always going to be different but the main thing is that it is not fair because the people that are working the hardest are the people that aren't making the most money. All in all some of the ways I as an individual can break the harmful cycles of socialization is understanding how it works and trying to spreading the word and being fair and smart.
My mask shows lots of symbols and my identity.First, the symbol my mask shows is on the outside it looks like a regularly socialized human being would look like and on the inside it represents what would happen if we did not go through such hard socialization. Second, I will have a skateboard on my mask because I have been socialized that way and because I wish I could skate all day. Third, I have a Rasta flag because to me that represents peace and happiness. Last, I Will have some puzzle pieces on the inside to represent how every piece of socialization makes all of you.