Assignment 4

I believe that children naturally act like boys and girls but society also enforces gender roles. Society, impacts how girls and boys should act before they are even born. At a baby shower if the women knows the sex of the baby, everyone buys pink for girls and blue for boys. Girls are always told to act lady-like when they sit in the classroom or when they are acting rough on the playground. Girls are expected to always carry themselves properly and dress appropriately.

Children’s toys are gender made as well as their clothes are. Girls are expected to play with Barbie, and in the kitchen or the house playing with dolls, while boys play with sand, dirt, trucks, and blocks. Girls get told not to play with boys’ toys and not to get dirty, and if a boy plays house or with a doll, it is assumed he is gay, and he is redirected to the boys play area. From my own experiences, I don’t think it matters what children are playing with as long as they are using their imagination. As a child I was sporty and what some would call a tomboy. A was a cheerleader and a soccer player, but I loved both equally. Although I used to slide in the mud at soccer that didn’t mean I was a boy, or would turn out a lesbian. I’m the total opposite now. I love to shop and get my nails done, and hate to get dirty. I don’t think making me play with girls toy or boys toy would of changed who I am today, I think kids need many experiences to decide what they like and enjoy and what they want to peruse in the future.

Assignment 5

1.Savage describes the stereotypes of how gay men are portrayed on TV. He recalls the detectives on Barnie Miller, these New York detectives were acting very swishy. He mentioned that they carried a purse and had a poodle. He then talks about The Choir Boys, a movie taking place in LA, during the 1970’s. These characters could be related to the gay men in NY. They too were detectives and they had a poodle too, except their poodle was died pink.

2. A tv show that I think of that can relate to this question, would be Will & Grace. It was the story of four friends, Will a gay man, Grace a straight woman, Jack another gay man, and Karen a straight women. Although both of the men were gay they were definitely portrayed differently. Jack was the more flamboyant of the two gay men. He was an actor and always between jobs and loved to shop at Barney’s with Karen. Will the other gay man was a lawyer who lives with Grace. Some people would even think he was straight and married to Grace, because he didn’t act as flamboyant or gay as Jack.

3.I think that gay men should have the right to adopt children. They are people in relationships trying to start families too. Whether gay or straight I think that anyone who is deemed fit to be a parent, and wants to be a parent should be able to be one. I think that children growing up with two gay parents have the same likelihood of being gay of that of a child with two straight parents. Ultimately it’s the child’s choice and the parents’ sexual orientation shouldn’t make a difference. The children growing up with two gay parents, will most likely, be looked at differently from their peers and their friends, just because it’s not what most people are used to. It is not a common thing for two men to have a child, but in today’s ever changing society it is something that we are going to see more and more of. I think regardless of sexual orientation as long as a child’s parents are loving the child will succeed in whatever or whomever they want to be in the future.

4. I wasn’t sure where the readings were for this assignment?

Assignment 3

1. According to Functionalist Theory the ‘expressive leader’ is the person in the group that keeps everyone on task and connected, which can be compared to a mom in the household. An ‘instrumental leader’ tends to lead the group and work toward the goals of completing tasks, like the father would do in the home setting.

2. The main demographic change during the 1960's and 1970's that led theorist to be critical of the functionalist perspective, was women entering the business world and work force. Women were becoming more and more independent and they had more opportunities in the world.

3. In contrast to functionalist theorists, the main theme of the conflict theory was to place the focus on the conflict between groups or families. The conflict theory talked about how men are dominant in the world and women are submissive to their male counterparts.

4. Exchange theorists say that husbands usually have more bargaining power versus that of their wives, because they are the head of the household. Exchange theorists say that there is always going to be something of someone else’s that you want. ex. The grass is always greener on the other side. The bargaining of power is usually in the mans hands, unless the wife has a job and contributes to the household income, giving them more say and pull in the bargaining of power.

5. The feminist theory is based on the inequality of men and women and it focuses on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women’s rights, interest and issues.

6. How should parents balance their parenting styles and if their styles are different, do they try and mix them, or chose one?

A. I would want to study on the macro level and learn about all different kind of families.

B. I would use the survey method, because it would be the most accurate in its findings

C. I would try to get between 100-200 households to have a good amount of information to compare and contrast.

D. 1.How many children do you have?

2.Which parent primarily takes care of the children?

3.How do you separate household chores?

4.Do you have similar or different ideas on parenting?

Assignment 2

Part 1.

1. The first highlight that struck me was there will be an increase in people living by themselves in their household. I wouldn’t think that people would be living alone in this tough economy because it’s economically smarter to live with a roommate and have a dual or multi income.

The second highlight that struck me was that there will be a large increase in the number of married couples not having children, or like you say “baron.” I see this as a surprise because having children has always seemed like part of the times and future for me. I understand that it is expensive to have children and I guess in the economy some people rather not struggle for money and rather live more comfortable without children.

2. I was not surprised with the data/graphs for households with children and without children. Households with children decreased and households without children increased because a lot of married couples want to focus on their career. Having children costs money and their time. Married couples might not have enough money at the early point in their marriage and careers so they may put off having a child to later in life. The longer they wait the less of a chance they have of having children which may also explain them having less children.

3. The chart showed that each household with or without children from 1995-2010 did not change any more than 5.1 percent.

a. Compared to 1995, the families that are most typical are married couples without children.

b. The families that are becoming less common in the future are two parent households with children.

4. In 5 years I expect to possibly be living with a fiancé or husband. In 10 years hopefully still married to the same man, and we will have had between 2-3 children by then. When I am 70 years old I hope to be retired and living with my husband getting visits from my children and grandchildren.

Part 2.

1. In the reading the “New Girl Order,” I learned that there has been a big lifestyle shift. In the late 1960’s and 1970’s, women were typically homemakers. They didn’t focus on college or schooling, and were primarily concerned with finding a husband and starting a family. Women were married at a much younger age then they are today. Marriage was something that occurred in the late teens and early 20’s and they had a full family by the age of 25. Women didn’t have to worry about working because men were primarily the breadwinners and their financials supported the whole family.

2. In today’s ever changing society, norms are always changing. It is usually expected that a young women will attend college or go to school for some sort of training. Women used to go to college to meet a man, but today instead they are going to college to better themselves and come out with a degree. Women are more career oriented then they used to be. After college a woman likes to become established in their career before starting a family. Women are becoming more independent, which is another factor of acquiring an education rather than getting married right away. Since this lifestyle switch for women has occurred, women have become leaders in the work world, and I believe they have received more respect for the work they have done.

3. I think women work more now than they did in the past. In today’s economy it is necessary for everyone to work. If married its difficult to live on one income, and its important that if able a women can help in making life a little easier.

My plan which is obviously not written in stone and it is open to interpretation would be to first graduate college. I will graduate one week before I turn 22,and I hope to get a job by 23 or 24. I would like to work for a year or two and then get married. I want to have my first child by 27, because I want to be a young mom. I would like to stay home while my children are young because I feel children develop strong bonds with there caregivers at a young age, and I don’t want that to be with a nanny or day care worker.

If I had to choose a character from Sex and the City that I most relate to it would be Charlotte York. Charlotte is upbeat and always looks for the silver lining. She unlike the other girls believes in love and marriage, and that everyone has a soul mate and deserves to be happy. Charlotte is easy going but has a temper at times, which describes me well. Something funny that Charlotte has done that I relate to; is in the movie when they go to Mexico Charlotte refuses to eat any of the food because she is afraid of getting sick. The first time I was in Mexico I refused to drink anything besides bottled water or something from a can, and I ordered things without ice. A male character that I would date or maybe marry would be Aiden. He seems nice and was always willing to help Carrie.

Assignment 1

Hayy!! I'm Alyse; I'm an FCST major with a concentration k - 5. There are many funny things about me because I tend to be a little clumsy. There isn’t really one thing that sticks out, but there are usually many funny or embarrassing parts to my day. I commute here from Paramus NJ. I live with my mom, dad, younger brother and my Maltese Peanut. My older sister recently moved out of the house, but we work together so I still usually see her on a daily basis, which is a good thing because were close.

When looking at the syllabus the topic that caught my attention was definitely the wiki. The wiki scared me a lot. I use facebook and usually I’m pretty tech savvy but for some reason I feared the wiki. As you can see I’m posting very late because I couldn’t get into my wiki after setting it up. After working with some people in the class and tech support I have somehow logged in and I am trying my best to familiarize myself with the system.