The Primary Socialization Phase Social Policy Essay

The Primary Socialization Phase Social Policy Essay Primary socialization could be more important than secondary socialization as the primary socialization phase is the basic step that an individual takes to enter into society. Socialization has been described as to render social or make someone able to live in society and learn the social norms and customs. Socialization is central to the functioning of any society and is also central to the emergence of modernity. Socialization tends to serve two major functions of preparing an individual to play and develop roles, habits, beliefs and values and evoke appropriate patterns of emotional, social and physical responses helping to communicate contents of culture and its persistence and continuity (Chinoy, 1961). However social rules and social systems should be integrated with the individuals own social experiences. However individual social experiences have become much less important in the study of socialization as the focus is now on identifying functions of institutions and systems in socialization and cultural changes. Socialization is especially true in family and education and has been seen in many family forms and differences in gender roles, in cultural diversity and in occupational standards. However it is important to note the relationship between ethics, norms, values, roles in socialization. Socialization is the means through which social and cultural continuity is attained however socialization itself may not lead to desirable consequences although it is a process and meant to have an impact on all aspects of society and the individual (Chinoy, 1961). Socialization provides partial explanation for the human condition as also the beliefs and behaviour of society although the role of environment may also be significant in any process of socialization (Johnson, 1961). Both socialization and biology could have an impact on how people are shaped by the environment and their genes and behavioural outcomes are also significantly different as the capacity for learning changes throughout a lifetime. Socialization could have many agents such as the family, friends and school, religious institutions and peer groups as also the mass media and work place colleagues. The family establishes basic attitudes whereas schools build ethics and values, religious institutions affect our belief systems and peer groups help in sharing social traits. Socialization is usually seen as a life process and a continued interaction will all agents of society in a manner that is most beneficial to individuals. Socialization could be primary which occurs in a child as the child learns attitudes, values, actions as members of particular societies and cultures. If a child experiences racist attitudes in the family, this could have an effect on the childs attitudes towards minorities and other races. Primary socialization is the first and basic step towards interactions with the outside world and the family is the first agent in primary socialization as the family introduces a child to the world outside, to its beliefs, customs, norms and helps the child in adapting to the new environment (Clausen, 1968). Secondary socialization happens when a child moves out of family and learn how to behave within a small community or social group and teenagers or adolescents are largely influenced by secondary socialization as they may enter a new school. Entering a new profession is also secondary socialization of adults and whereas primary socialization is more generalized, secondary socialization is adap ting to specific environments. Primary socialization happens early in life and is the first socialization in children and adolescents when new attitudes and ideas develop for social interaction. Secondary socialization refers to socialization that takes place through ones life and can occur in children as well as in older adults as it means adapting to new situations and dealing with new encounters (White, 1977). There are other types of socialization such as developmental socialization and anticipatory socialization. Developmental socialization is about developing social skills and learning behaviour within a social institution and anticipatory socialization is about understanding and predicting future situations and relationships and developing social responses or skills to these situations. Re-socialization is another process of socialization in which former behavioural patterns are discarded to learn new values and norms. This could be a new gender role if there is a condition of sex change. Socialization is a fundamental sociological concept and the elements of socialization are generally agreed upon as having specific goals such as impulse control and cultivating new roles, cultivation of meaning sources. Socialization is the process that helps in social functioning and is often considered as culturally relative as people from different cultures socialize differently (White, 1977). Since socialization is an adoption of culture, the process of socialization is different for every culture. Socialization has been described as both a process and an outcome. It has been argued that the core identity of an individual and the basic life beliefs and attitudes develop during primary socialization and the more specific changes through secondary socialization occurs in different structured social situations. Life socialization, especially through social situations as in secondary socialization, the need for later life situations highlights the complexity of society and increase i n varied roles and responsibilities. However there could be several differences between primary and secondary socialization as Mortimer and Simmons (1978) showed how these two types of socialization differ. Content, context and response are the three ways in which the differences between primary and secondary socialization could be explained. In childhood socialization involves regulation of biological drives and impulse control which is later replaced by self image and values in adolescence. In adulthood socialization is more about specific norms and behaviors and relates to work roles and personality traits development. Context or the environment in socialization is also important as the person who is socialized seeks to learn within the context of family and school or peer groups. Relationships are also emotional and socialization also takes place as an individual takes the adult role. Formal and informal relationships tend to differ according to situational context and in some cases contexts tend to affect the emotional nature of relationships. As far as responding to situations is concerned, children and adolescents could be more easily moulded than adults as adult socialization is more voluntary and adults could manipulate their own responses considerably. Socialization involves contacts with multiple groups in different contexts and interactions at various levels. Socialization is a social process and in the process of socialization, parents, friends, schools, co workers, family members tend to play a major role (Chinoy, 1961). However socialization could have its positive or negative impact as seen in broad and narrow socialization process as in broad socialization, individualism, and self expression are important whereas in case of narrow socialization conformity is more important. This differentiation was provided by Arnett (1995) who suggested that socialization could result in both broad and narrow social interaction process as broad socialization helps in expansion and narrow socialization is more about conformity and according to Arnett, socialization could be broad or narrow within the socialization forces of friends, family, school, peer group, co workers etc. Socialization type could vary across cultures as in America for instance there is an increased emphasis on individualism whereas in many Asian countries as in India or Japan socialization could be about conformity to religious or social norms (Arnett, 1995). However primary socialization could be more significant than secondary socialization as primary socialization is about forming a basic attitude towards people and society and this in turn helps in shaping the identity of individuals as a child. Primary socialization is social learning process in childhood whereas secondary socialization is social learning in adulthood or social learning added to already existing basic learning process so secondary socialization is about added learning and in some cases substitute learning where changes in the socialization process takes place due to new environments such as change of workplace or entering new work environments or new schools (Johnson, 1961). Primary socialization is more basic as in primary socialization the child learns the very first social responses and develops the first social beliefs and attitudes. Based on primary socialization process, secondary socialization is about using the primary socially learned responses to adapt them to new environments through secondary socialization. Since primary socialization occurs in childhood and in the childs immediate environment as through home or family, it is more significant and has a greater impact on the childs attitudes and beliefs as well as social and emotional development. Primary socialization could be said to have a direct impact on the child and shapes the future of the child and how he grows up with certain beliefs as in case of children who see racial hatred in the family is more prone to develop their own hatred towards other races as a result of direct conditioning in the family environment. In fact the young people in later years are peculiarly shaped by what t hey learnt and experienced in childhood and how they were conditioned to react to situations and people and thus primary socialization is of greater significance in later years than secondary socialization (Clausen, 1968). Within this context, families and schools are of prime importance and are considered as the first agents that implement the processes of social control. Youth crime and anti social behavior could be explained with the aid of direct primary socialization as what the individual learns at home is of major importance and shapes his later life and could also explain any kind of deviance (Pitts, 2001). Young people enter crime possibly through racial hatred or lack of social inclusion and these attitudes such as against other races are formed in childhood or adolescence and the child usually learns from the family members, school peers and direct social environment (Muncie, 2004). Social inclusion is one of the major issues of socialization as emphasized by the government as minority communities and individuals from different races and religions may feel excluded and this exclusion leads to a sense of frustration and crime among the youth of the excluded groups (McAuley, 2007). In order to overcome this sense of exclusion, minority groups and especially the young people of minority groups have been given special support through various social services of inclusion and inclusion is also part of the socialization process and could be considered as secondary as individuals go through social inclusion adaptive processes and behavior after they have been already brought up and undergone primary socialization in their family homes or schools that were not too conducive to inclusion. In fact the making of responsible citizens include adaptive processes at home, family and school, work or general community and the young people develop knowledge of cultures at home and in the community and also endorse their own subcultures of social attitudes and behavior that are influenced by primary rather than secondary socialization (Hall and Jefferson, 1976). Considering that primary socialization and what we learn from the immediate environment in childhood is more important than secondary socialization and what we learn at the workplace or in new environments, primary socialization still remains the basic socialization process and secondary socialization only implies a change or an addition to what has been already learnt in childhood. Bibliography Arnett, Jeffrey J. 1995. Broad and Narrow Socialization: The Family in the Context of a Cultural Theory. Journal of Marriage and the Family 57( 3):617-28. Buckingham, D. The making of citizens. Young people, news and politics. London: Routledge. Byrne, D (2001) Understanding the Urban, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan Chinoy, Ely (1961) Society: An Introduction to Sociology, New York: Random House. Clausen, John A. (ed.) (1968) Socialization and Society, Boston: Little Brown and Company Fyfe, N (ed) (1998) Images of the Street: Representation, Experience and Control in Public Space, London: Routledge Foucault, M. (1977) Discipline and Punish London: Penguin Hall, S. and Jefferson, T. (1976) Resistance through rituals, youth subcultures in post-war Britain. . Johnson, Harry M. (1961) Sociology: A Systematic Introduction, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. McAuley, R (2007) Out of Sight: Crime, Youth and Social Exclusion in modern Britain, Cullompton: Willan McLaughlin, E; J Muncie G Hughes (eds) 2003) Criminological Perspectives: Essential Readings, London: Sage (2nd Edition) Mortimer, Jeylan T. and Roberta G. Simmons. 1978. Adult Socialization. Annual Review of Sociology 4:421-54. Muncie J (2004) Youth and Crime, London: Sage (2nd Edition) Pitts, J (2001) The New Politics of Youth Crime, London: Palgrave Macmillan. White, Graham (1977) Socialisation, London: Longman

High School Start Times

Abstract The debate of what time should high school start has been at large over the past couple decades. Some schools are willing to try the later start time and some are not. Research and studies of schools that start later have proven many positive opportunities for high school students. The later start times will help reduce the risk of sleep deprivation, depression, and other health concerns amongst teens. It will also help reduce absences, increase their school performance, and allow students to get the recommended amount of sleep that their bodies need.My sources include case studies of schools that have tried the later time and research of teenager sleep patterns. As children get older their school time starts earlier every few years. Elementary school’s average a start time around 9:45 a. m. , middle school at 8:00 a. m. , and high school at 7:30 a. m. However, as children get older they usually stay up later because if technology and their bodies being capable of sta ying awake longer resulting in a lesser amount of sleep than is required.With delaying the start time for high school students there is the opportunity to improve grades, reduce the risk of depression, and reduce the risk of sleep deprivation. The issue of school start times has been moiled over for many years now. Schools that have always started early may be skeptical to switching their start time even though research has proved that later start times can be beneficial to the students. Once schools try a later start time for a period of time many keep it because it has so many positive opportunities for the high school students.The later start time not only has proved positive amongst the students, but also among the parents. One study conducted in the Minneapolis School district surveyed and found that, after one year, 92% of parents indicated that they preferred the later start times (2004). Many people are skeptical at first of the switch but if you look at the research and stu dies done, it is obvious that the benefits far outweigh the negatives of a later start time. As stated, when children get older they tend to stay awake longer however they do not understand that they are at risk of sleep deprivation.Sleep deprivation is an overall lack of the necessary amount of sleep. When kids have sleep deprivation they have symptoms that include but are not limited to impairments in mood, attention and memory, behavior control, quality of life, lower academic performances and decreased motivation to learn (2010). Children don’t understand the results of staying up the extra hour to watch a television show or play a video game. The effects are potentially much worse than just everyday mood and academic performance. Sleep deprivation can also cause kids to become unhealthier.This results in an increased risk of weight gain, lack of exercise, and lack of stimulants. Overall, sleep deprivation could cause children to potentially ruin their school career which could affect their future chances of getting into college. The easy argument to avoid sleep deprivation is to make kids go to bed earlier. However, today children have more video games, televisions, and phones in their bedrooms than prior years making it much harder for kids to go to sleep once in their room. The average teenager will stay up for an additional hour every night causing them to lose a total of one night’s sleep over a period of a week (2012).Telling your children to go to bed earlier and even making them get into their beds won’t force them to go to sleep due to modern technology. Also, studies on adolescent sleep patterns show that for biological reasons, teenagers generally cannot go to sleep earlier than 11 p. m. (1999). This also makes it quite difficult for teens to get in bed early enough to sleep the required amount for optimal health and wellness, which is between 8 to 10 hours, especially when the students have to wake up and be at school so ea rly.By pushing school back an hour would allow students to have a better chance of decreasing their chance of getting sleep deprivation. Starting an hour or two later than the average start time would allow high school students to get a full night sleep, thus affecting their overall performance in school and enabling them to make better grades. Evidence has shown that adequate sleep improves performance on a variety of tests of memory, concentration, problem solving and attention, as well as reducing depression and irritability (2004).When allowing children to have a full night sleep it sets them up for future endeavors and is more realistic of a schedule compared to the average adult having a nine to five job. This would be an ideal way to get them in a routine for life outside of school and provide ample opportunity to do better in school. When making the change from starting school from the original start time to an hour later there would be several changes a family could have to make to their everyday schedule.While kids who have the opportunity to take the bus to school should not be inconvenienced by the time change it would affect those who live outside the school district. For these children who have to get a ride to school every day may need to find an alternate mode of transportation due to their parents work schedule. Also parents with non-regular schedules may have to find alternative modes of transportation for their kids. This could also become an inconvenience if there are no friends or family available to help to transport.Changing the start time may become a hassle for the parents and making it almost impossible to get their kids to school on time. While most kids do well in school, generally it is those who study harder that have the better grades. While studying harder could be an answer to getting better grades, as it has been proven, studying harder won’t make kids focus and concentrate better in school. If students could take in mo re information during class, it would result in a better understanding of school lessons and conclude to a better academic performance.Being late to the first class of the day or even missing it completely is something that occurs frequently amongst high school students. Missing that first class can hurt a child’s grade and GPA which is very important during high school. Starting school later, even a half hour later, will allow students an adequate amount of time to get themselves ready and be at school on time. Teachers from a Rhode Island school who tried the later school time reported a 36% decrease in absences or tardiness for the first class of the day (2010).Dr. Robert Vorona said â€Å"Beyond the impact on driving, early start times probably affect other areas calling for research on how they affect teenagers’ moods, tardiness, and academic performance (Holohan, 2013). † Many studies and researchers have proved that having early school start times increas es the amount of absences and tardiness amongst the students. Thus by delaying the start time will reduce the number of students tardy or absent and also allow them to have a better chance of passing their early morning classes.Some people might think that being absent or late is the fault of the student or their parent. They may think that students should still be able to wake up and get to school on time even with an early school time. Many factors play into this though. Students could have fallen asleep late making it difficult to wake up, missed their alarm, or even missed the bus because of waking up late. Some students have parents who are already at work when they wake up to get ready in the morning. Not having a parent at home in the morning can be ough on a child and make it difficult for them to get out of bed. This makes it very easy for a child to sleep in and miss class. It is easy to say that students should get to school on time but there are many different factors th at go into a morning routine that allow, or don’t allow, students to make it to school on time. During high school, students are more likely to experience some type of depression due to relationships, athletics, schoolwork, etc. A major contributor to depression would be having a lack of sleep.A school in Providence Rhode Island tested students when they started school at 8:00 and when they started at 8:30. They found that by having an extra half hour of sleep the number of students that had depression decreased a significant amount from 66% to 45%. Judy Owens, who conducted the study, stated â€Å"A modest start time delay was associated with a significant increase in self-reported sleep duration and a decrease in a number of daytime sleepiness. Perhaps more importantly, students rated themselves as less depressed and more motivated to participate in a variety of activities† (2010).Depression can weigh a kid down and not allow them to do well in school. It is importan t for high school students to get their sleep because about 50% of high school students can drive. A study was done between two high schools that had an hour and twenty minute difference in start time. The school that started later had 41% less crashes than the school that started earlier. The researchers concluded that the students from the school which started earlier were sleep deprived and resulted in them driving more recklessly than the students who started school later.When looking at driving compared to sleep it becomes a more serious issue and this is because there are other people’s lives at risk other than the person who is sleep deprived. Not only does this issue of school start time greatly influence a student’s education but more importantly it plays a factor in their physical wellbeing as they drive to school each morning. A small private high school in Providence, Rhode Island conducted a pilot study that confirms many of the benefits of delayed school start times. A study conducted by Judy Owens, MD, a sleep expert with Hasbro Children’s Hospital had the school delay their normal start time, 8 a. . , to a new start time of 8:30 a. m. The study also had students, with parent permission, participate in an e-mail survey that would help to measure the sleep patterns and behaviors of the students. The study showed that students across all grades (9 to 12) had an average increase of 45 minutes of sleep per night. It also showed significant decreases in the students who felt that they â€Å"rarely/never† got enough sleep, which was 69% to 34%, and significant decreases in the students who felt that they â€Å"never† were satisfied with their sleep, which was 37% to 9%.The study also found other health related issues and how a later start time can decrease those problems. The school had a significant decrease from 66% to 45% of students who felt depressed. The health center at the school reported a drop from 15% to 5 % of fatigued-related complaints and a 56% decrease in requests for â€Å"rest passes. † The teachers also reported that there was a 36% reduction in absences or tardiness for the first class of the day. This Rhode Island study is one of many that have found many benefits to a later school start time for high school students (2010).If you agree that school start times should be later then you can, and should, get involved. There is a website call Start School Later (www. startschoollater. net) that is all about how to get schools to start later and why they should start later. Their mission is â€Å"Start School Later is a coalition of health professionals, sleep scientists, educators, parents, students, and other concerned citizens dedicated to increasing public awareness about the relationship between sleep and school hours and to ensuring school start times compatible with health, safety, education, and equity. They have an immediate goal of trying to present our national petition to legislate a minimum earliest start time to decision-makers in Washington, DC. The Start School Later group also has four long term goals: Advocate for legislation to ensure evidence-based school hours at the national, state and local level. Provide support and guidance to local communities working for later school start times. Serve as an information clearinghouse by collecting and consolidating information and data about school start times and efforts to change them.Build public understanding about the relationship between sleep, school start times, and physical, psychological, and educational well-being. To get involved with the Start School Later campaign, go to their website and sign the petition or donate to the cause. If you would like to become more knowledgeable about the effects of school start times on students and how later times are beneficial, you may also visit their page and read facts and statistics that researchers have found and read success stories of schools that have already started their schools at a later time.There are many positive opportunities that can occur from starting school later. Students have the opportunities to improve their grades, reduce their risk of depression, reduce their risk of sleep deprivation, and many other positive outcomes that will be a result of the extra amount of sleep students may get because of the later school start time. Many schools have switched to a later start time and have found many benefits for the students because of it. If this growing number of schools have already pushed back their start times and experienced the numerous benefits from it, then why hasn’t this become a standard on a national level yet?References â€Å"All About Sleep. † KidsHealth – the Web's most visited site about children's health. N. p. , n. d. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. . Build our school schedules on sleep. (2004, Feb 22). Lansing State Journal. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com. prox y. davenport. edu/docview/438903324? accountid=40195 Dubocovich, Margarita L. , et al. â€Å"The impact of school daily schedule on adolescent sleep. † Pediatrics June 2005: 1555+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. Holohan, Ellin. â€Å"Earlier School Start Times Endanger Teen Drivers. † Teen Driving. Ed.Michele Siuda Jacques. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from â€Å"Early School Start Times May Raise Risk of Teen Car Crashes. † 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. â€Å"Insufficient sleep and early school start times contribute to teenage health issues. † Chattanooga Times/Free Press [Chattanooga, TN] 30 Mar. 2012. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. â€Å"Later School Start Times May Foster Better Students; High school pushed back start of day by 30 minutes, with good results. † Consumer Health News [English] 5 July 2010.Health Reference Center Academic. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. â€Å"L ater school start times may improve sleep in adolescents and decrease risk of auto accidents. †   NewsRx Health  (Jan 4, 2009):   164. Nursing Resource Center. Gale. Davenport University. 28 Oct. 2012 Moon, Mary Ann. â€Å"More data back value of later school start times. (CHILD/ADOLESCENT)(Report). †   Clinical Psychiatry News  38. 10   (Oct 2010):   23(1). Nursing Resource Center. Gale. Davenport University. 28 Oct. 2012 â€Å"New study confirms positive effects of delayed school start times. † Health & Medicine Weekly 19 July 2010: 1.Print. â€Å"Physician continues to push for later school start times. †Ã‚  Northwest Florida Daily News  [Fort Walton Beach, FL] 18 Nov. 2010. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. â€Å"Research Finds High School Students May Get Better Grades If They Get More Sleep†¦ † Health and Wellness 1 (1999): n. pag. Davenport University. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. â€Å"Start School Later – About Us. †Ã‚  Start School Later – About Us. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. Teen sleep: Why is your teen so tired? – MayoClinic. com. † Mayo Clinic. N. p. , n. d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

“Deadly Unna?” By Phillip Gwynne Essay

Deadly Unna? By Phillip Gwynne is a novel based on the fictional one year life of a fourteen year old boy named Gary ‘Blacky’ Black. The story shows a developing friendship between Gary, an Anglo-Saxon boy and Dumby Red, an Aboriginal boy. With this friendship Gary begins to understand his own morality with lessons of human dignity, racism, justice, death, courage, family and most importantly friendship. The story is structured around AFL and shows how sport can bring a divided community together every winter. One of the main structural themes in this novel is racism, discrimination and stereotyping of Aboriginal Australians in society. Indigenous Australians are one of the most disadvantaged communities in Australia and they are subject to many racist stereotypes in everyday life. A stereotype is a trait of one or more people that is attributed to a social or racial group. In the novel an example of a stereotype is when Gary is talking about how he and Pickles had never been to the Point before because they both had heard stories that there were ‘Abo’s’ with spears and boomerangs being thrown everywhere. This story scared them both – in effect making them and others think that ALL Aboriginals are like this. Racism is the belief that one race is superior to another (better then another). Many examples of racism can be seen throughout the story such as the comment from the character Mad Dog ‘I don’t shake hands with boongs’ on page twenty nine. Boong being a defamatory term used against Aboriginal people, referring to their race. The term was also used again in the novel on page one hundred and twenty one when Gary and Clarence (Dumby Reds sister) were together and Clarence sat directly under graffiti on a wall exclaiming ‘Boongs Piss Off’ in big black letters. Gary felt uncomfortable with this being on the wall and hoped that Clarence did not see it. Discrimination is the action of treating another person differently based on their race, sex or other illogical reason. From the change rooms on page twenty one to Big Mac’s service toward Tommy Red (Dumby Reds Father) at the pub on page one hundred and sixty, discrimination was present in most chapters of this book. In fact discrimination in the port was a big eye  opener for Gary Black. The novel itself is a great example on how Australia is changing from a disgusting racist lifestyle to a country that respects people of all cultural backgrounds. Since what is said to be the invasion of white settlers, Aboriginal Australians have become one of Australia’s most disadvantaged communities according to statistics. In modern times Australian Governments together with Australians individually and as a society, are attempting to take action to turn around the statistics. Racism, discrimination and stereotyping against Indigenous Australians in Australia is everywhere from small town communities to large city school yards, but why? People are racist for many reasons: Upbringing, ignorance, power, personal experiences, own cultural beliefs, fear, influence of friends and family etc†¦ but that is no excuse to do it. From European settlement (1770) into the 20th century Aboriginal people have been considered by most as a sub-human race, therefore, they did not receive the same rights as Anglo-Saxon people in Australia. Stemming from that belief they were put into missions, separated from communities, denied access to their own spoken language and access to land, suffered high numbers of abuse and sexual assault. Children at young ages were stolen from their families and were essentially taught how to clean and made to forget about their families, culture and way of life. All that stemmed from one cultural group believing that they were superior to another group – therefore entrenching racists’ belief that ‘Aboriginals are an inferior race’. Whilst we understand in modern society that this belief is wrong, it is difficult to change the thought process of all people who see others that are different and believe that their cultural beliefs are better or more right than others. After all it is our own cultural beliefs that tell us what is right and wrong, what is beautiful or ugly. Aboriginal people are not inferior nor are other cultural groups inferior. As Australians we need to recognise and respect our differences to be a true peaceful multicultural society. Bibliography: Smartcom-Library/Image Source/Australia FlagDate Accessed: Monday 24th, Augusthttp://library.smartcom.vn/upload/1201173161413australia-flag.gifDeadly Unna? By Phillip GwynnePublished by the Penguin Group – Penguin Books Ltd, London England, 1998Indigenous Disadvantage Edited by Justin HealyPublished by the Spinney Press, Thirroul NSW, 2008

Essay Just A little Gay - 1629 Words

Over the past years, mainstream advertising campaigns have shifted their rhetoric to include a focus on non-heterosexual identities, working toward normalizing these within the mass consumer audience. Yet these campaigns propagate representations that are not entirely consistent with how members of non-heterosexual communities identify and define themselves. In this paper, I will argue that mainstream advertising campaigns work to shift the mass consumer audiences perception of non-heterosexual identities from one that is stigmatized to one that is inherently stereotypical and not entirely representative of these communities at large, creating acceptance at the expense of understanding. Thus, by consuming these media images, mainstream†¦show more content†¦Just as with standard representation of heterosexual identities in mainstream advertising is one forever focused on youthfulness, glamour, fitness, and always perfect skin, the representation of non-heterosexual individual s is caught up in a similar rhetoric that spouts a white, well-muscled, handsome, well-educated, and white-collar professional identity: Gay marketing not only promotes a minoritized view of gayness but also, with other media practices, further differentiates privileged, sexually discreet, gender-normative gays from everyone else. This limited view of the ideal gay consumer is in part a product of the norms of marketing in which†¦ older people, poor and working-class people, and a host of other less privileged sectors of society are unrepresented or invisible. The life worth emulating in mainstream marketing is the affluent life, irrespective of sexuality (Sender, 2013, p.237). Thus, it is only those non-heterosexual that fit within this mass media sanctioned mold that are acknowledged within advertising campaigns. This trend is corroborated in a 2008 study by Saucier and Caron (2008), which showcases the continuance of non-heterosexual advertising rhetoric focusing on appearance perfection and above-average wealth, standards that are not the norm in the widespread non-heterosexual community: [In mainstream advertising], men’s bodies are objectified and made into a superficial image. Much of what being a gay man is relates to travelling and whatShow MoreRelatedcultural experience1547 Words   |  7 Pagesthis assignment I chose to go to a gay bar. The reason I chose to do this was because I have been raised as a Christian, I grew up in a very conservative town and while I support gay rights being around gay people is still something that is foreign and a little bit uncomfortable for me. 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The song also tells the story of a gay couple and the struggles they had and not just the problems around the subject of being gay. â€Å"No one disputes that biological difference, exists between men and women. However, what we make of those differences does not inevitably ariseRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1437 W ords   |  6 PagesHomosexuals are disrespected and treated unfairly, such as a look from a person who isn’t gay or called names such as â€Å"faggot,† simply because their sexual orientation, why? If homosexuals pay their taxes, help build roads and pay public schools just like heterosexual couples then gay couple should have the same rights as opposite sex couples do. In the case of Baker v. Vermont, in the year 2000, â€Å"Vermont’s groundbreaking law establishing civil unions took effect, providing families of samesex couplesRead MoreHomosexuality and Human Rights Essay1383 Words   |  6 PagesHave you ever been treated so unfairly, but knew there was very little you could do to change it? If so, then you know exactly how many of the homosexuals in the world feel about the right to marry. Many homosexuals feel that this right has been kept just out of reach for them, due to others who despise them. These individuals believe that being gay is wrong, immoral and disgusting; but this is definitely not the case. Gay marriage should be allowed in the United States because this decisionRead MoreEssay on Should Homosexual Couples Be Allowed to Adopt Children?702 Words   |  3 Pagestoday is whether gay or lesbian couples should be allowed to adopt children. People have different opinions on this kind of issue because some may think, for instance, that child who is raised by gay parents will turn out gay, and so on. However, people forget about childrens happiness although they believe that children will be happier with straight and normal people. Who said so? Why do people decide for a kid? Also, how are straight couples are normal and gay couples are notRead MoreShould Gay Be A Racist?1320 Words   |  6 PagesIf you think that by merely not agreeing with the gay lifestyle it s bigotry comparable to racism think again. You do realize that s a slap in the face of all those cultures you re referencing calling all they fought for frivolous right? There is definitely a smear agenda going on. As soon as the whole gays-getting-equal-rights thing came into the spotlight all of a sudden christians are being called bigots because we don t support being gay. the funny thing is, homosexuality is not genetic inRead More`` Some Thoughts On Mercy ``1607 Words   |  7 Pagesdifference is the groups represented in each party. Police, skepticism, and fear are all still prevalent factors in today’s society, just the people being oppressed are not colonists, but minorities living fairly in this country. I personally feel disgusted by the fact that individuals have to live their lives consistently looking behind their backs, but I’m not the only one. Ross Gay, an African-American professor at Indiana University and author of â€Å"Some Thoughts on Mercy†, knows firsthand this feeling ofRead MoreTony Kushner s Angels Of Americ A Gay Fantasia On National Themes Essay816 Words   |  4 PagesTony Kushner’s Angels in America Set in the late 1980s, a period of regression and tragedy for the homosexual community, Tony Kushner’s play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, explores the lives of four gay men living in New York. Kushner’s two part drama expounds some of the many difficulties encountered by gays during this time period. While two of his characters, Joe Pitt and Roy Cohn, both struggle significantly with their sexual orientation and identity, their troubles