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I thought that the idea of “Panopticon” was an interesting form of handling disobedient behavior as rather than locking prisoners in a private cell, it forces them to constantly feel watched and judged. When we feel like we’re under surveillance, we’re less likely to make disobedient choices and constantly feel the need to act in good behavior. Even if people weren’t being watched at all times, the circular shape of the Panopticon and the constant exposure of self gives the illusion that they are being watched. This is represented in the quote from the reading, “In short, it reverses the principle of the dungeon; or rather of its three functions—to enclose, to deprive of light and to hide—it preserves only the first and eliminates the other two. Full lighting and the eye of a supervisor capture better than darkness, which ultimately protected. Visibility is a trap.” The term “visibility is a trap” shows how keeping prisoners visible to guards and each other at all times maintains good behavior and less reckless decisions, as well as gives an idea that it is impossible to get away with crime without being seen. I find it interesting how this idea has been implemented in many aspects of everyday life, such as schools, malls, restaurants, and even homes. Security cameras are a normalized part of any business now, giving the idea that you’re always watched when you don’t even realize it’s happening. It keeps our communities safe from theft and other crimes when presenting the illusion to everyone that disobedient behavior will be seen.

Word Count: 260

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I felt that the reading of "Performances" demonstrates the idea that there are certain gender norms that everyone is expected to follow in society. In every culture, gender norms vary, and as the years go on they constantly change. Gender rules begin being taught in early childhood, and as children grow up, they’re reminded of these rules in school by their peers as well as by their parents. Parents often reinforce these norms to ensure their kids won’t get bullied at school which furthers the false ideology that we must be confined to one gender and certain stereotypes. It makes it so difficult for someone who doesn’t feel that they fit into their specific gender rules or any to feel included in society. Gender policing represents the aggressive ways that people put these standards onto others regarding how one dresses, how one eats, and how one acts. This completely ignores the fact that throughout childhood development, it’s completely normal for children to rebel against gender stereotypes whereas some girls may be “tomboys” and dress more masculine, as well as boys dressing and acting more feminine. Gender policing forces people to adhere to the norms to avoid getting bullied and ridiculed. In my personal life, when I was growing up, I was a complete tomboy. I was raised by my dad so my influence was to dress more masculine and be really into sports. I remember being constantly ridiculed by the guys at my school when I wanted to play soccer during recess instead of chatting with the other girls. This shows that gender rules are implemented everywhere, and it forces us into one section where if we move out of the stereotype, we will be made fun of.

Word Count: 288

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The reading “The Problem With a Fight Against Toxic Masculinity” represents the societal issue of expectations formed around how a man should act. It shows that aggression is a form of power, and that men should be competitive amongst each other and constantly fight to get to the top. This is represented in the quote from the reading, “Connell and others theorized that common masculine ideals such as social respect, physical strength, and sexual potency become problematic when they set unattainable standards. Falling short can make boys and men insecure and anxious, which might prompt them to use force in order to feel, and be seen as, dominant and in control. Male violence in this scenario doesn’t emanate from something bad or toxic that has crept into the nature of masculinity itself. Rather, it comes from these men’s social and political settings, the particularities of which set them up for inner conflicts over social expectations and male entitlement”. This shows that the ways that society has viewed masculinity puts a lot of emphasis on being strong, physically and mentally, and overbearing. Those who don’t align with these stereotypes are often ridiculed and are compared to girls, who in society are expected to be weaker than men, less outspoken, and more nurturing. I’ve personally witnessed toxic masculinity in a college setting. When I attended Chico State, the members of fraternities were expected to binge drink, hit on women, and be loud and obnoxious. This was the norm in order to assert power and dominance over the women as well as other guys around.

Word Count: 262

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In reading “Bathroom Battlegrounds and Penis Panics,” I learned a lot more about the severity of the bathroom bills debate and how isolated it’s made the transgender community. I had known and heard about the debate, but didn’t fully grasp the amount of negative stereotyping that went into the opponents’ arguments. I found it especially interesting that in this debate where the opponents often believe that men are above women in society would be so quick to label all men as rapists and predators to push that narrative onto transgender women. Along with this, I found it fascinating that throughout history, bathrooms were never segregated until way later on. With having a transphobe like Donald Trump as our president who constantly states “Make America Great Again”, it’s funny to me as bathrooms were not historically segregated.  The arguments that the opponents’ use to deny the bathroom bills debate stereotype transgender women as predators who will ruin the safety of a women’s restroom and make cisgender women uncomfortable and feel violated. This is shown in the quote from the reading, “Transgender people, along with gay men and lesbian women, have a long history of being conflated with pedophiles and other sexual predators. Within the articles we analyzed, opponents worried about what transgender women, who they assume have penises, might do if allowed access to women-only spaces.” This argument of assuming transgender women are predators is completely false as the reasoning behind them using women’s restrooms is because they want to use the bathroom that matches their gender, and it’s as simple as that.

Word Count: 262

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The reading “The Making of “Modern” Sexuality” describes the different factors that go into one’s sexuality. The family system and morals that come from it all impact sexuality as well as gender norms, as every family has different ideologies about the topic. Economic and social changes also impact sexuality as the changes in the economy can alter the dominance and subordination between men and women. Along with this, regulations of sexuality are between the Church and state on what is right and what is wrong. This is shown in the quote from the reading, “But we must not forget also the changing role of the state. The growth of social intervention and the emergence of a welfare state have all profoundly affected the patterns of sexual behaviour. Informal methods of control can be as important. Peer-group regulation of adolescent courtship can substantially affect the patterns of sexuality, keeping the illegitimacy rates low, for instance, regulating the timing of marriage and the importance given to celibacy and restraint. Traditional rituals of public shaming (such as the "charivari") can regulate unorthodox or socially undesired behaviour. We must be sensitive to all forms of what can loosely be termed "social control." The quote represents how social control plays a huge factor in how sexuality is managed in a society, and if the societal norms go against a sexual act, public shaming becomes involved. Politics also play a role in modern sexuality as every political group has their own opinions on sexuality, which ultimately regulate the different forms of sexuality. Lastly, cultures of resistance are a deciding factor when it comes to abortion or birth control. These all show the different factors that go into making sexuality in modern society.

Word Count: 286

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The reading “What it Means to Be Gendered Me: Life on the Boundaries of a Dichotomous System” represents the idea of “doing gender” and how important gender displays are in an interaction. Doing gender is part of our everyday lives, and comes out in the way we dress, the way we act, the way we talk, and the things we do. Any woman who wants to express her femininity may keep her hair long, dress more aligned with feminine standards, and wear makeup. On the contrary, any man who wants to show his masculinity may have shorter hair, dress more masculine, and not prioritize wearing makeup or having their nails done as much as an identifying woman would. This is a process we all are a part of whether we realize it or not. However, it does single out those who do not identify with being either a man or woman, and this is represented in the quote, “Given our cultural rules for identifying gender (i.e., that there are only two and that masculinity is assumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary), a person who does not do gender appropriately is placed not into a third category but rather into the one with which her or his gender display seems most closely to fit; that is, if a man appears to be a woman, then he will be categorized as "woman," not as something else. Even if a person does not want to do gender or would like to do a gender other than the two recognized by our society, other people will, in effect, do gender for that person by placing her or him in one and only one of the two available categories. We cannot escape doing gender or, more specifically, doing one of two genders.” This represents how doing gender is always a part of our lives, but it should be a more diverse way of being rather than having to choose between one side or another.

Word Count: 333

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The reading “The Medicalization of Deviance” represents how in society, doctors often medicalize those who show disobedience to get them back on the right track. This altered the public opinion that disobedience was not a sinful act, rather caused by an illness. For example, those struggling with ADHD were often punished as others believed they were just goofing off and not paying attention. But with the medicalization of deviance, those with ADHD are not only able to receive medicine to help them focus, but also are humanized rather than shunned for a problem they cannot control. This idea is represented in the quote, “What is significant, however, is the expansion of this sphere where medicine functions in a social control capacity. In the wake of a general humanitarian trend, the success and prestige of modern biomedicine, the technological growth of the 20th century, and the diminution of religion as a viable agent of control, more and more deviant behavior has come into the province of medicine. In short, the particular, dominant designation of deviance has changed; much of what was badness (i.e., sinful or criminal) is now sickness.” Along with this, those who are found guilty for doing heinous crimes are viewed in a psychiatric setting and determined if they would be better off in prison or in a mental institution. This also acknowledges that even those who commit some of the worst possible crimes can still be humanized in the sense that there are uncontrollable factors that prohibit some from knowing right from wrong.

Word Count: 257

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I felt that the reading “Millennials, Sex, and the Economy: The Sociological Imagination in Action” represents how the importance of having frequent sex has diminished for millennials as a group, and the majority are more likely to remain virgins into adulthood. On the other hand, more millennials are likely to identify as LGBTQ+ than other generations, which represents how recent movements and the legalization of gay marriage has impacted these statistics. The reasoning for the lack of frequent sex is not due to hookup culture, however are burdened by economic monstrosities such as high student debts and the skyrocketing of pricing in the housing market. This limits the ideal of wanting to get married and start a family as many do not have the funds to solely support themselves. This is represented in the quote from the reading, “Another way the economy has impacted the dating and relationship patterns of millennials is that they are more likely to live at home with their parents than on their own or with roommates, thus possibly hampering opportunities to bring people home or engage in sexual activity. Last year I wrote that millennials are returning home to live with their parents at higher rates compared to any other generation. On average, almost a quarter of millennials are returning home after college because of the high cost of living and student loan debt.” This represents how along with not having the funds to start a family, many have the only option of living at home with parents or roommates which ultimately limits sexual activity.

Word Count: 260

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The reading “New Racism," Color-Blind Racism, and the Future of Whiteness in America” represents the idea of “new racism,” which describes the altered ways one is racist to another in modern America. Although oftentimes less dangerous and obvious, racism is still completely present, but just comes across through color-blindness. Color-blindness is often seen from the claim that white people experience “reverse racism” and are given less opportunities as their counterparts who are people of color in order to be more inclusive. Along with this, it’s shown through accepting some as “safe minorities” to try and make up for the exclusion of other minorities. A huge part of new racism is the stereotype that certain minorities are more dangerous and likely to commit crimes than others, and that police have a right to automatically assume those who appear to be said race are doing something unlawful. This is shown in the quote, “For instance, one study found that 38 percent of blacks report discrimination as a result of being unfairly fired or denied a promotion, 37 percent report harassment by the police, and 32 percent report not being hired for a job. Similar to other studies, the rates of discrimination reported by blacks on any single item were quite modest. However, a shift to the question of how many blacks have experienced at least one form of discrimination in their lifetime provides some intriguing results (they were asked about six different types): 70 percent of blacks report experiencing at least one form of major discrimination in their lifetime. Students of color on predominantly white college campuses have also reported extensive patterns of daily discrimination.” These statistics represent the amount of discrimination that is still present despite society’s “efforts” to become more inclusive.

Word Count: 291

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The reading “Racial Formation” describes this term as “ the sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created, inhabited, transformed, and destroyed.” This represents the historical shift between segregating those of another race and practicing color-blindness. Both create harm and are racist acts, but one is more encouraged as it’s the way society has learned to sweep racism under the rug and keep it more hidden. However, in society, we cannot be blind to race, and we must accept the fact that there are differences in everyone’s ancestral backgrounds. This is represented in the quote from the reading, “If the concept of race is so nebulous, can we not dispense with it? Can we not "do without" race, at least in the "enlightened" present? This question has been posed often, and with greater frequency in recent years ... An affirmative answer would of course present obvious practical difficulties: it is rather difficult to jettison widely held beliefs, beliefs which moreover are central to everyone's identity and understanding of the social world. So the attempt to banish the concept as an archaism is at best counterintuitive. But a deeper difficulty, we believe, is inherent in the very formulation of this schema, in its way of posing race as a problem, a misconception left over from the past, and suitable now only for the dustbin of history.” This represents how society does not embrace race, rather views it as a problem that needs to be fixed. In viewing race this way, it limits the celebration of other races to be blended together in society, and still encourages the idea of segregation and color-blindness.

Word Count: 269