Introduction
In the past few days, I have been able to immensely learn many things from videos on concepts like Gender, stratification, race and ethnicity. On the issue of gender, the video that interested me most was what Disney teaches girls and boys, on the issue of stratification, I chose the video stratification and on race and ethnicity, I was mesmerized by the CNN profile of white privilege vs racial profiling.
Gender
In the video what Disney teaches girls and boys, I learnt a lot concerning morals that princes and princesses in Disney land teaches girls and boys. It is a fact that for modern societies to grow and be effective, all people in society are expected to work hard. However, the message in Disney Land is contrary to this belief, Disney land teaches women that they should not work hard. Popular culture is much emphasized in Disney land as shown in this video, popular culture demands women to rebel against the social conventions without looking at consequences, one major consequence of this moral is that many women are now being profiled as criminals. In the past, socialization played a significant role in training young girls on important issues about womanhood. This was done through social institutions, from an early age girls looked upon their mother’s, aunts, grandmothers for support, social institutions helped women make valid decisions that were morally acceptable, however, popular culture expressed in this video urges women to let people make decisions for them, the video emphasizes on beauty, money and sexuality. Boys are urged to be rich and famous, virtues like humility, adherence to social order are not emphasized in this video, contrary to many people expectations boys are urged to be abusive. Being abusive defies the traditional social patterns that encouraged young men to be respectful.
Stratification
The video stratification compares the concept of stratification with different earth layers; stratification is given more meaning besides its usual theoretical meaning. This video contends that society is made up of different layers. From the video I have learnt that the society can be stratified into several units, for example, social class, gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity. In society every person is different, it is the position that one’s holds in stratification that determines choices that one makes. Different structures in the society determine how we perform in life, though not detrimental it is possible for people to improve their life structures through social mobility.
Overview of race and ethnicity
There is no better video to discuss the issue of race and ethnicity more than the discussion of white privilege vs racial profiling by CNN. This video has helped me develop consciousness of the existence of white privilege in many places. As the video reflects, the issue of white privilege has contributed immensely to racist acts that are prevalent in this country. From the speaker, it is point clear that being white gives a person certain privileges, for example, you are not suspected of being a criminal, cops don’t stop you in traffic; you are not questioned over small issues like your dress code, you are not asked to pay before you eat. It is evident that African Americans have been profiled as criminals and suspects for fact that they are black. The speaker traces the origin of the white privilege to the fact that white people have been in power for a very long time, however, this ultimately leads to the question, are you justified to look down on others because you have been in power for long? Simply no, though on a softer side, this video acts as a campaign against racial profiling motivated by white privilege.