SOCS 185N Week 2 discussion Essay

Adriana, great illustration of the symbolic interactionist perspective and its effect on society as a whole and not only on individuals. I do agree that toys we played with contributed in preparing us to assume certain gender roles and responsibilities which in turn affect our understanding of societal norms, identity development and behavioral values we choose to live by. These differences are especially obvious to someone like me as I compare my childhood in Africa with what I have seen children experience here. The available agents of socialization here in the USA (the types of toys and games) are completely different from those available in Africa. Hi Emily, I answered option 1 as well. Growing up as a little girl in Africa, there wasn’t a wide variety of barbies to choose from and I was considered fortunate to have barbies to play with in the first place. It seems to me like you didn’t mind sharing your barbies with your sisters and that is great as you guys were able to experience each others perspective when it came to the different play roles you guys chose meanwhile I didn’t like sharing mainly for fear that my barbies would be ruined since it was a bit of a prized possession due to extremely limited availability. However playing with them helped me develop nurturing skills which translated into being the mother figure to my younger siblings. Sociological Imagination Essay A SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE ON OBESITY Definition: “I would like a big mac, large french fries and large coke”. This is a common meal order off the McDonalds menu. Quick service restaurants and Fast food chains of this caliber have contributed to the rise of obesity cases in the USA. The average american thinks of Obesity as being over a certain weight threshold. This is easily achieved because of increased intake of energy dense foods like the Big Mac and decreased physical activity however Obesity as defined by the World Health Organization is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to an extent that it may have a negative effect on an individuals health. It also is a measure of body fat based not only on an individual's weight but height as well, known as the Body Mass Index (BMI). A BMI greater that 25 is considered overweight and a BMI greater than 30 is considered obesity. P1 Sociological imagination is the ability to identify connections between our experiences as individuals and how they relate to the society in which we live in as well as the influence of the society as a whole on our individual experiences. It is the ability to observe the social aspect of problems and how they influence one another in worsening or potentially improving the situation. Our text describes the indirect relationship between level of education and suicide rates in New Delhi India with the highly educated and more affluent having a higher rate of suicide. This seems to be the opposite with obesity where it is the low income earners that are prone to obesity and the unhealthy habits that come with it mean while the affluent of course have the means to combat this medical condition