I took English 3 winter quarter of freshman year. It was the one requirement that I was really sure about wanting to get out of the way as soon as possible. A horrifying event in my life led to an almost complete dismissal of school, though I stupidly chose to stay enrolled. Two years later, I did a retroactive withdrawal of that quarter. It was as if that quarter never happened. My grades, the classes, etc. While it didn't help with the pain, my GPA (a number now so important to me) was raised a bit . After that though, I was pretty bad about staying on top of my graduation requirements. It has been a combination of my not checking in too often with letters and sciences, [amazing] procrastinating abilities, and overwhelming desire to stay as far away as possible from any class that strives to teach me which side of the paper my name goes on and shockingly, how many paragraphs actually make up a "good" essay. I've been writing a tremendous amount for four years now and am probably not going to want to do so meaninglessly on uninteresting and unimaginative topics.
I'm graduating soon though, realizing that I had to take both the lower and upper division English requirements before I receive my diploma. I reluctantly signed up for UWP 1, I chose it really because I liked the time and the building was pretty close to my apartment. To be perfectly honest, when I first read the syllabus, I was kind of intimidated. I've never written a blog and had always been weary of doing things online as my computer tends to well, suck. On top of that I wasn't sure how interested I'd be in delving into concepts of technology, especially in front of such an audience. I decided to attend class anyway, and I could not be happier that I did.
I don't know how many classes (let alone writting classes) I've enjoyed more than this one. The ubiquitous and seemingly simple subject matter has definitely furthered my ability and desire to look at and question the society in which we live. The class discussions have been wonderful, I thought the diversity of the group really added to them. I've never had an instructor take such interest in what her students had to say. Unlike many courses I've taken here, there were no ideologies imposed on us. We were asked to read further, dig deeper, understand how sociocultural and historical mechanisms are all intertwined. I do feel that my writing has improved over the course of this class, I have made sure to fill in the blanks. Not to present thoughts without really linking them or presenting another question. I've realized that I can always go a bit further, there are so many complex and unanswered questions yet to be explored and quite frankly I cannot wait to deal with them.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Keyword: Institution
The term Institution is derived from the Classical Latin institutionem, and the 1551 Old French institution, defined as an "established law or practice." The stem of the word in modern English is intitute, its definition revisited and revised throughout history and across societies from the early 1600s to today. The earliest definition deals with "purpose, design, plan, ordinance", while its later one (18th century) defines the term as "A society or organization intituted to promote some literacy, scientific, artistic, professional, or educational object." The OED has several definitions for the term Institution, the first being "The action of instituting or establishing; setting on foot or in operation; foundation; ordainment; the fact of being instituted." The second definition of the word is "The establishment or ordination of Sacrament of the Christian Church, esp. of the Eucharist, by Christ." As you move through the definitions we get a more "modern" explanation of the term: "The established order by which anything is regulated; system; constitution."
The constantly evolving term now encompasses a broader social context, but still has many of the implications it did in its origins. To institute, to create and maintain order through ideological definitions of it (it, being that order and organization). Ideologies are hegemonic ideas/beliefs utilized by very specific individuals to create the social frame in which we all live. An institution is the way in which those ideologies may be enforced to keep us from defying not only societal laws, rules, and regulations, but beliefs and expectations. Because we are social beings, we participate and interact in society each day throughout our lives. In these societies we consciously and unconsciously participate in various institutions. In fact, the term institution is used most commonly as social institution: the economic, educational, familial, medical, political, religious structures which "guide" our lives.
I will focus on the institution of education in America. In one definition, the OED cites education as "The systematic instruction, schooling or training given to the young in preparation for the work of life." The "work of life"; the ability to live actively in ones particular society. Without the very basic education (development of language) one cannot interact with others. This education usually begins at home, it is the duty of a parent to introduce language to their child. With the basics being reinforced, that child can attend preschool ("pre" perhaps because the basic teachings include how/how not to act towards others). The lessons learned in these schools may be taught in the home but as we move "up", parents cannot necessarily replace teachers. Teachers are trained in the educational system and are hired by educational institutions to pass on their knowledge. It seems unquestionable that these instructors of "life" be recognized and compensated accordingly, yet they are still greatly undermined by the political institutions who support them financially. This may be a deterrent for many desiring going into education, which is a great problem considering the importance we as a society put on formal educational training.
Beginning with preschool (which includes three and four year olds), a school may be public or private. Because education is so highly valued in this country, the state provides it to citizens free of charge. Elementary schools are buildings with classrooms including desks, books, writing utensils, all paid for by the state; unless one attends private school. In this case, everything is paid for through donations by wealthy parents, family friends and companies. Thousands of dollars in tuition and a rigorous application process ensures not only a smaller, more intimate learning environment, but exposure to "superior" networks in the form of class homogeneity. Because of their class position, these students learn in finer facilities. Because of their parents class position, these students are often given other great advantages not available to those who cannot afford this form of education. As we move towards higher education (college, undergraduate and graduate), these inequalities become magnified because the state starts cutting its already shockingly low funding. Private schools are unattainable for many simply because of financial reasons. In many private schools, legacies are given priority, often overriding applicants' educational achievements.
Much like the economic principle of supply and demand, as education becomes more difficult to attain, its value goes up. The one who can afford college then, will be given priority over the one who cannot. In this way each societal institution is intertwined. In order to survive, we must participate in the economic system completely out of our control. And according to the American Dream, individuals control their own destinies. The harder one works, the more benefits they will see. Sadly, this philosophy is widely untrue. It is not simple meritocracy that governs our success, it is the strategic work of our country's institutions. If one cannot attain a "desirable" level of education for whatever reason, they are at a disadvantage.
The word institution has a root in the idea of regulation, control, instruction. As its definition expanded to include forms of public utility, it still remains that these systems maintain specific ideologies. Individuals will continue institutions unconsciously as they are all around us and so much a part of our socialization processes, and consciously (in the case of education) so as to be able to make money to survive and not be sanctioned against by the rest of society.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The Restroom and Gender Identity
We encounter instructions each day. Instructions to remain law abiding by following quick, recognizable signs: "Stop", "Yield", "Don't smoke","Don't park", "Walk" "Don't Walk", etc. Specific colors, shapes and symbols are so commonly used to represent an action that they are automatically associated with that action (or refraining from it). Red automatically provokes a sort of danger: alerting an individual to stop for fear of an accident (or, at least that inevitable traffic ticket), be aware of high fire danger, and possibly the worst: the terrorists are coming! Yellow=yield. Be very aware. Move through the light with caution. Don't necessarily stop, but know that at any moment we may be at severe risk of terrorist attacks. Or someone may cross the street. Green seems to bring a bit of ease, we are good to go. It is safe to move forward.
I wondered for a while what I would explore for my semiotic analysis. I thought of street signs, advertisements, I noticed myself becoming hyper aware of signs I had not really questioned before our class discussions. Before I started my analysis though I had to continue the dreadful moving process. My apartment was finally ready, and so was I, to get all my things out of my boyfriends (very cluttered) room, kitchen, bathroom (etc). I went down to an equally cluttered leasing office thinking it would be a quick process including a sublease agreement a background check fee. I was so wrong. Tons of people flooded a kind of mean woman in a tiny room. I decided I would go in, take my form, and leave (for fear of getting yelled at). I saw my sign: the men and womens bathroom instantly caught my attention. I knew immediately that I wanted to explore these seemingly simple, yet actually immensely complex signs. Sadly, my camera and cord are still packed away with all other stuff. I thought I would have no trouble finding pictures of these signs online, we see them on almost every public bathroom door. I knew there were variations of the signs, but was surprised to find that pictures of the "standard" signs were actually not too common.
There are two bathrooms right next to each other in the leasing office. On each bathroom door are two blue placards with white writing. On the door to the left is a circular placard with a stick figure of a person wearing a dress in the middle of it. The word "women" is written in capital letters beneath the figure. Directly left of the door is a smaller rectangular placard. This one has a line down the middle of it, with the same stick figure on the left side, and a figure of a person in a wheel chair on the right. Like the circle, this placard had the word "women" written in capital letters underneath the figures. The other door has a triangular placard (tip facing upwards) with a stick figure of a person presumably wearing pants in the middle of it. The word "men" is written in capital letters beneath the figure. Like the first door, this one also has a smaller rectangular placard with a line down the middle of it. The man figure is on the left side of this line, while the wheelchair figure, identical to the one on the womens placard, is on the right. The word "men" is written underneath these figures.
I will begin with the colors in these signs. They are a pretty neutral (not neon, light, dark, or shiny) blue with plain white writing. I take the use of white and blue as a sort of direction. They are not using cautionary reds or yellows, or green which is recognized as a "go" color. They are simply distinguishing the gendered rooms for you, so that you will not walk into the "wrong" one. Initially, I wanted to say that these colors were not warnings but simply direction to the bathroom specifically designed for you and people of your same sex. In the mens bathroom you find urinals and stalls, and in the womens you only find stalls, as it is difficult for a woman to use a urinal. I noticed though that the colors used for bathrooms parallel those of handicap parking spots, which if ignored, entail a great fine. While there is no fine for using the "wrong" bathroom, there are definite social norms discouraging individuals from doing so. The simplicity and directory implication of the color have made it another that we take for granted, a law to follow so as to not get sanctioned by our peers.
Another, and perhaps not so blatant, gender "sign" is the shape of the placards. The womens bathroom is always signified by a circle, while the mens is a triangle. A woman's sign has no corners, while the man's has three sharp ones. Women are "softer", a continuous orbit rarely diverging from its usual path. Not to say that ciclical patterns are not complex, I actually think that the movement away from, but the inevitable return to the beginning all along creating a perfect path is fascinating. That perfect path though, is hard to achieve. It is very difficult to draw a perfect circle, let alone live a perfectly balanced life. Men (triangles) seem to have more power here. The corners may be where they command attention, where they may make their own rules. While triangles do always have three corners, their degrees vary and there are thousands of shapes and sizes that come about from them. It may seem to be "reading too much into it", but one would be surprised at the way we unconciously attach shapes and colors to each gender.
I began to think of the sex and gender implications of these signs. My initial concern is the lack of distinction between these two concepts. Sex is biological and gender is socially constructed. Over time, the physical differences (notably hormonal differences) between the two sexes have manifested themselves socioculturally into normative patterns of behavior distinguishing the two sexes. We have an incessant desire to identify and group individuals in clean cut social categories. That is gender. It is also race, and class. We use these socially constructed groups to understand people. By grouping the sexes, we can sanction against "bad" behavior. Women have children, wear dresses, cook and clean while men wear pants and act as the breadwinner, supporting his family given his "inherent" strength mentally and physically. Gender roles are "taught" almost as soon as one enters the world. Boys' rooms are made masculine with shades of blue while girls' rooms are pink and fluffy, assuming the "soft" nature of women. Throughout our lives gender differentiation is greatly encouraged. These differentiations are not biologically based, but like all social manifestations have been taken to be unquestionable truth. Those who do not adhere to traditional gender roles are discriminated against.
The distinction between the mens and womens rooms is one of the ways that gender is played out in our particular society. The words "men" and "women" are written on the door in English, which unlike the stick figure, is not universal. Those who cannot read the language simply look to the figures to see which bathroom is the right one for them. It is understood that the woman wears a dress, while the man wears pants. The problem here: many women do not wear dresses, many men do. Under "Gender", New Keywords discusses the conflict between gender identity and biological sex. Transsexuals are often said to feel as though they were "born in the wrong body". There is a disconnect between the definition of who they should be based on the socially assigned roles of their sex (gender), and how they feel they truly identify. Which bathroom should these individuals use? Physically, each sex can easily use either bathroom. It is the social implications that keep us from doing so. We are directed to one of two groups, if one cannot define themselves in such terms they are greatly discriminated against.
The last part of these signs I found interesting was the smaller, rectangular handicap sign next to each door. I found a third group here, the disabled individual. The rectangular shape appears identically beside each bathroom door. I wondered why this shape is not gendered, and began to think again about discrimination and movement from societal norms. Don't get me wrong, those signs are important, they announce that there is a stall easily accessible to individuals in wheelchairs. I wondered though, don't all bathrooms have that larger stall? If not, shouldn't they? If we can take the time to differentiate by putting urinals in one restroom and only toilets in another, shouldn't it be assumed that those rooms will accommodate to all individuals of that specific gender (at least)? I saw these signs as another way to divide and group "like" people in our endless attempt to understand (in a wildly stereotypical way) each and every individual.
I wondered for a while what I would explore for my semiotic analysis. I thought of street signs, advertisements, I noticed myself becoming hyper aware of signs I had not really questioned before our class discussions. Before I started my analysis though I had to continue the dreadful moving process. My apartment was finally ready, and so was I, to get all my things out of my boyfriends (very cluttered) room, kitchen, bathroom (etc). I went down to an equally cluttered leasing office thinking it would be a quick process including a sublease agreement a background check fee. I was so wrong. Tons of people flooded a kind of mean woman in a tiny room. I decided I would go in, take my form, and leave (for fear of getting yelled at). I saw my sign: the men and womens bathroom instantly caught my attention. I knew immediately that I wanted to explore these seemingly simple, yet actually immensely complex signs. Sadly, my camera and cord are still packed away with all other stuff. I thought I would have no trouble finding pictures of these signs online, we see them on almost every public bathroom door. I knew there were variations of the signs, but was surprised to find that pictures of the "standard" signs were actually not too common.
There are two bathrooms right next to each other in the leasing office. On each bathroom door are two blue placards with white writing. On the door to the left is a circular placard with a stick figure of a person wearing a dress in the middle of it. The word "women" is written in capital letters beneath the figure. Directly left of the door is a smaller rectangular placard. This one has a line down the middle of it, with the same stick figure on the left side, and a figure of a person in a wheel chair on the right. Like the circle, this placard had the word "women" written in capital letters underneath the figures. The other door has a triangular placard (tip facing upwards) with a stick figure of a person presumably wearing pants in the middle of it. The word "men" is written in capital letters beneath the figure. Like the first door, this one also has a smaller rectangular placard with a line down the middle of it. The man figure is on the left side of this line, while the wheelchair figure, identical to the one on the womens placard, is on the right. The word "men" is written underneath these figures.
I will begin with the colors in these signs. They are a pretty neutral (not neon, light, dark, or shiny) blue with plain white writing. I take the use of white and blue as a sort of direction. They are not using cautionary reds or yellows, or green which is recognized as a "go" color. They are simply distinguishing the gendered rooms for you, so that you will not walk into the "wrong" one. Initially, I wanted to say that these colors were not warnings but simply direction to the bathroom specifically designed for you and people of your same sex. In the mens bathroom you find urinals and stalls, and in the womens you only find stalls, as it is difficult for a woman to use a urinal. I noticed though that the colors used for bathrooms parallel those of handicap parking spots, which if ignored, entail a great fine. While there is no fine for using the "wrong" bathroom, there are definite social norms discouraging individuals from doing so. The simplicity and directory implication of the color have made it another that we take for granted, a law to follow so as to not get sanctioned by our peers.
Another, and perhaps not so blatant, gender "sign" is the shape of the placards. The womens bathroom is always signified by a circle, while the mens is a triangle. A woman's sign has no corners, while the man's has three sharp ones. Women are "softer", a continuous orbit rarely diverging from its usual path. Not to say that ciclical patterns are not complex, I actually think that the movement away from, but the inevitable return to the beginning all along creating a perfect path is fascinating. That perfect path though, is hard to achieve. It is very difficult to draw a perfect circle, let alone live a perfectly balanced life. Men (triangles) seem to have more power here. The corners may be where they command attention, where they may make their own rules. While triangles do always have three corners, their degrees vary and there are thousands of shapes and sizes that come about from them. It may seem to be "reading too much into it", but one would be surprised at the way we unconciously attach shapes and colors to each gender.
I began to think of the sex and gender implications of these signs. My initial concern is the lack of distinction between these two concepts. Sex is biological and gender is socially constructed. Over time, the physical differences (notably hormonal differences) between the two sexes have manifested themselves socioculturally into normative patterns of behavior distinguishing the two sexes. We have an incessant desire to identify and group individuals in clean cut social categories. That is gender. It is also race, and class. We use these socially constructed groups to understand people. By grouping the sexes, we can sanction against "bad" behavior. Women have children, wear dresses, cook and clean while men wear pants and act as the breadwinner, supporting his family given his "inherent" strength mentally and physically. Gender roles are "taught" almost as soon as one enters the world. Boys' rooms are made masculine with shades of blue while girls' rooms are pink and fluffy, assuming the "soft" nature of women. Throughout our lives gender differentiation is greatly encouraged. These differentiations are not biologically based, but like all social manifestations have been taken to be unquestionable truth. Those who do not adhere to traditional gender roles are discriminated against.
The distinction between the mens and womens rooms is one of the ways that gender is played out in our particular society. The words "men" and "women" are written on the door in English, which unlike the stick figure, is not universal. Those who cannot read the language simply look to the figures to see which bathroom is the right one for them. It is understood that the woman wears a dress, while the man wears pants. The problem here: many women do not wear dresses, many men do. Under "Gender", New Keywords discusses the conflict between gender identity and biological sex. Transsexuals are often said to feel as though they were "born in the wrong body". There is a disconnect between the definition of who they should be based on the socially assigned roles of their sex (gender), and how they feel they truly identify. Which bathroom should these individuals use? Physically, each sex can easily use either bathroom. It is the social implications that keep us from doing so. We are directed to one of two groups, if one cannot define themselves in such terms they are greatly discriminated against.
The last part of these signs I found interesting was the smaller, rectangular handicap sign next to each door. I found a third group here, the disabled individual. The rectangular shape appears identically beside each bathroom door. I wondered why this shape is not gendered, and began to think again about discrimination and movement from societal norms. Don't get me wrong, those signs are important, they announce that there is a stall easily accessible to individuals in wheelchairs. I wondered though, don't all bathrooms have that larger stall? If not, shouldn't they? If we can take the time to differentiate by putting urinals in one restroom and only toilets in another, shouldn't it be assumed that those rooms will accommodate to all individuals of that specific gender (at least)? I saw these signs as another way to divide and group "like" people in our endless attempt to understand (in a wildly stereotypical way) each and every individual.
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