Tough Guise Film Review

1 What is the main thesis of this film? The “Tough Guise” is mainly about understanding violent masculinity in the United Sates. It seems that the film is about men violence in the society and how it is of a huge deal in the film.

2. What were the main arguments in support of this thesis?
Some of the main points that support this claim the men and how are they become the dominance group and why the society don’t do any things about that. It is clear that men do participate in all violence most of the times simply to show their masculinity. For example, one of the men did just punch a man and show all kind of domestic violence. Finally, the individuals in the movie were doing anything it they can to scare those who are not more masculine.
3. How does the thesis of this film relate to the course?
This course is all about social deviance, and how people perceive men as a dominance gender in the society. I think this film is related to the course in way how we construct gender violent in the society. One gender becomes more dominance than other in term of violence.
“Tough Guise” film made me thinks of how the world is rule today. It is really about man power, who is strong and who is not. It also reminds me of the Conflict Theory by Richard Quinney which we talked about in the class lecture.  In the Conflict theory, powerful have influence on how laws are mad. The “Shame, Guilt and Violence” by James Gilligan is related to Tough Guise because young man engaged in a risky behavior. For example, young man shows his masculinity just because someone does not respect him. Because of showing aggressive behavior by pointing a gun to someone for no good reason, he got put in jail. When he was investigated, he said that he wanted people to respect him.  

4. Which arguments/points did you find the most convincing? 
Some of the most convincing points in the film were the attitudes of the gentlemen in the film. I got convince that men show their hegemonic masculinity and nature that help them to survive when they got into a fight or attack. Getting tougher make men to control things such as resources and win many victories all over the globe. For example, Katz asked young men what it meant to be male and they all replies like, strong, physical, and independent, in control, powerful, athletic, tough, tough, tough, stud. I am convincing that “Tough Guise” is about understanding violent masculinity. I also think that violence is a part of life. However, the bad thing about violence is when people in a particular society turn toward one another for no good reason. The article in Reading in Deviant Behavior by Kimmel and Mahler also is related to the film because it about violence of what caused the school shooting; young boys want to show who they are. The authors explain that young boys were causing more violence in the society. Those young boys want to show their masculinity and aggressive to those people who don’ think that they are real men.  

5. Which arguments/points did you find the least convincing?  I am not really convinced when Katz argued that men violent are not serious as of women. I didn’t think of any serious violent that were women got paid more attention. I disagree when he argued that violence harm people and therefore it should be stop at all. Violence is something that exists in human nature that is why we have rules in place.  
6.   What is the point that most stands out for you from the film. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the film to my understanding. This is how men all around the world act. Hegemonic masculinity is accepted by the communities and that is why men committed more crimes than women. According to the film, some people like President Ronald Reagan had supported the idea of masculinity; and John Wayne plays a role in supporting to develop the rise of the tough guy role. It was not a surprise to me to learn that 85% of murders and 99% of rapes and 95% of domestic violence are committed by men. But that doesn’t mean that men are all criminals, murders or rapists, but to understand hegemonic masculinity. Finally, “Tough Guise” reminded me how I used to act when I was a teenager in South Sudan. I remember that time everything was about competition and power in the group. And if you don’t act like a man, peer will consider you as weak, emotional and girly. But in this culture, they call men who did not acquired masculinity as emotional, fag, bitch, and queer. Hegemonic masculinity exists cross-culturally in all societies such as in small scales and larger societies.

Sources: Michael S. Kimmel & Matthew Mahler 2003. “Adolescence Masculinity, Homophobic, and Violence” American Behavioral Science, by Sage publications,Inc.

James Gilligan, 2003 “Shame, Guilt and Violence”. Social research vol. 70. No. 4 (2003)
Calhoun, C. Thomas, Conyers, Addrain & Thio, Alex. 2010. Reading in Deviant Behavior: Boston, MA:  person education, Inc publishing Allyn & Becon print.

Blog three

            The word that I am going to write my blog about is not proper to call someone with. I think some Americans use or have used this word in their lives to describe overweigh or obese individuals, but I sometimes hear people using it in different which I don’t know how to spell it. Since I don’t even know how spell it, I will use the word Fat. It is a bad word that I never call anyone. Fat is a store energy in an individual‘s body according to the scientific description. Fat is of overweight or obese person. Now a day American called people who are either overweight or obese as fat.  Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of a body fat in an individual. It is having too much fat in the body. People construct that individual that is too fat may die sooner; and are said to be greedy people. People also come up with some negative words that are associated with fat. For instance, body weight is related obesity and that can cause an increasing risk of illness and disability and death. Eating too much is said to be what causes obesity. They are considered as people who lack physical exercise and activities to help them reduce and burn fat. They are considered as people who love to eat junk food most of their time.

The Stigma of Obesity” by Erich Goode in chapter 24 of Reading in Deviant Behavior, is the clear example of Bertha and how folks make fun of her because she weighed more than 400 pounds. “The Stigma of Obesity” by Goode has shown that people make fun of fat people. When Bertha has trapped in the booth, all eyes on the restaurant were focused on her and many people were laughing because she was so fat she could not get out.  Another social construction about fat individuals who are overweight and obese is that an excessive weight will result in many serious life threatening health problems, which include hypertension, increasing risk of coronary disease, increased unexplained heart attack, and a higher prevalence of colon and breast cancer. Obesity is said to be the second cause of death in the United States. It is however a preventable cause of death worldwide. People still have the idea in mind that fat people are always from the minorities such as African American and Latinos American. As social construction goes, women are the common among the obese or overweight people. As discussed in the class lecture, obese or overweight people are being made fun of dehumanized, stigmatized as well as devalue in the society. 

People who are skinny are the one most likely to use the world “Fat or obese” but other negative slang words that are not in the dictionary. The underlying social construction about obese or overweight people is that they are lazy can’t do anything like sport and work. They are said to be difficult to understand people who may give them care. Another underlying social construction of the overweight or obese individuals is because they are considered less than thin people. The community that is affected by the word fat or obese in the United States is the overweight or obese individuals. Meanwhile the word is used in reference to the fat people. People use in a negative way to make them feel ashamed of themselves.

The communities that are being impacted the most are the overweight or obese ones.  However, the word is use lot because they are overweight than most people in the society. In addition, they are considered as stupid simply. How could that be possible that every overweight or obese individual is stupid?  I don’t think that it is true. The negative connotations about overweight or obese individuals make them form their community knowing that people in a society have negative attitude toward them. I think it impacts not only their communities, but some those who date overweight people. Dating obese people makes those who date them feel deviant in the society.

This is related to an article that I read online by Fierce “In defense of Fat” “In defense of Fat”, Tasha was trying to stop people making fan at the overweight or obese or obese people. She also blames the government, food industries, and the media for just making more profits and not doing anything that help to stop obesity problem in the United States.  The data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey shows that two-thirds of adult men and women in the U.S. diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes have a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or greater, which is classified as overweight and unhealthy. The obese folks feel really bad about being call fat and obese most of the times. The overweight or obese word results in isolation of the community and always making fun of overweight individuals may bring suicide in the community. The overweight or obese people are view as bad or immoral supposedly they do not want to change the errors of their ways (Allon 1982). The author conveys that being fat is something that is not considered a choice.  Stigmatization of overweight or obese people makes them think that they deserve it. I think the discrimination against overweight or obese people is everywhere in all societies but people have different ways of treating those individuals who are overweight or obese. For instance, Sudanese and some part of Africa don’t treat overweight or obese people as bad and less human like U.S. Americans do. I think we can try our best to stop judging fat or obese people though the world we live in it doesn’t do anything about discriminating of the overweight individuals.

Word count 1033

Sources Allon, Natalie 1973. The Stigma of overweight in every day life. In G.A. Bray (ed.), Obesity In perspective. Washington DC. U.S. Government printing office.

Erich Goode, 1996 “The Stigma of Obesity” Erich Goode, ed., Social Deviance. Boston: Ally and Bacon Pearson Education, Inc.

Hiller, Dona V. 1982 Overweight as master status: A replication. Journal of psychology.

Tasha , fierce 2011 “In defense of Fat” in Clutch magazine.

Murderbell Film Review

The main theme of Murder ball film is about disabled game such as basketball. I think the main argument here is that disabled people can succeed in sports like others spot players. Disabled do good in all social activities and doesn’t matter even though they are seen as weak and deviant by the society. I think the thesis of the film is related to this course because it is about social and deviant behavior in human.  This course is also about deviant bodies and how media treat people.  The construction of deviant and how it is defined is what sociology is about.  People who are seen as deviant in the society have the same level when it comes to way of life. We see handicap people in different ways because there are policies that give them some special accommodation due to their weakness. 

The most convincing thing that I found is that disabled people play good like other games or spot if they committed themselves.  This was my first time to see disabled people playing basketball or any kind of game or sport. I always watched some games or spots but not the disabled on. I think it was interesting to me. I thought it was something good when the United States Paralympic team of disable became the leading in the world. Some of the star of the team like Mark Zupan and others make me feel good watching the sport when playing against Canada team and the Great Britain.  I did know that there are five hundred disable players in the United States. Rules of the game at the time they play was not convincing to me because I got confused.  From the sociology and anthropological perspective, people who are disabled are viewed as that they can accomplished anything in their lives but that was not the case as I know today. The labeling refers to handicap as their mater status because that is what they do have in common.  We have discussed lot of theories which address of the way society labeled such as Howard Becker and many others. Disability can serve as a master status and can carry with a stigma according to Becker 1963 & Schur 1971 in reading deviant behavior.  This authors are saying that stigma is not a difference but a characteristic that deeply discredits a person‘s moral character. I think there are many studies have shown how people with disabilities are stigmatized and depersonalized because of their master status.

This brings us to the story of disability, social identity, and family networks in chapter 26 of our text book. This is an article by Taylor which is related to chapter 26 in Reading Deviant Behavior. His study examines the social meaning of disability and the construction of social identity in a family whose members have been officially defined as handicapped, disabled, or mentally retarded. He briefly reviews the text on disability and stigma. In contrast to current theories, the family in this study has constructed a life world in which disability is not stigmatizing for their identities. I think this article examines, in depth, how family members and their broader social network construct the meaning of disability define themselves and each other in terms of their personal characteristics and family relationships. The conclusion of this article considers some factors that seem to account for the family's ability to avoid the stigma and stained identities associated with mental retardation and other disabilities.

I think film touched on how society feels about being disables. I felt that when people took this course they could see how this couldn't be true. This video we watched for class can show all of us that society needs to reconsider disable people as people who have ambitions. It would be better if we could stop more assumptions about handicap people.  Finally, if I had to research about the film I would like to look more into the many levels of disability that had been discussed at the time the film start.  

Word count 723

Citation: Calhoun, C. Thomas, Conyers, Addrain & Thio, Alex. 2010. Reading in Deviant Behavior: Boston, MA:  person education, Inc publishing Allyn & Becon print.

Taylor, Steven “You are Not a Retard, You are just Wise”. Journal of Contemporary  Ethnography  vol 28: (March 2010), by reprint Sage publications, Inc.

Film Review of Middle Sexes

   Transgender/Intersex identity is the main thesis here in the film. Middle gender is ubiquitous but most do not realized it. The existent of middle sex make people feeling that it will ruin their reputation by just being silence for not saying it out loud. According the film, there are many countries around the world who found themselves to be in wrong gender. I think the thesis of the film related to sociology because it is about social problem and how people explore social deviance. I believe society constructs transgender as a deviance social problem that is not the case today. Humans construct things and make it complicated for no reason by just denying others.

The convening argument is that some people are born without gender that they belong to. However, doctors do not their gender at the time of birth. The example is Mark‘s story. Mark had a story on the film that the doctor did not know what his gender was. But Mark realizes his gender at the age of 21.  He was brought up as a girl instead of a boy. So I think Mark‘s story was convincing to me. It is convincing because people in industrialized and non-industrialized nations realized and wanted to pass the message that middle gender is exiting. I think it’s true that human beings can either be a male, female and intersex. The point that the video was telling us is the existence of more than one sexuality identities not only in the United States but in most part of the world.    

Thing did not convinced me was about the eight year old boy Noah who likes to wear a girl cloth on the film. He wanted to be a girl but I did not saw him changing as a girl on the film. On the other hands, young boys do sometimes like women and men clothes at the time they are young, which does not make them as girls. When I was about the age of eight or seven, I sometimes wear my elder sister cloth but both mother and my sister said she said no. I had no idea which cloth is for which gender.  I think wearing female clothes happen in some cultures however, it does not make someone to be a girl. That did not make me a girl or middle sex.  I was not a girl at that time, but it maybe depends on a person. This was all about social construction of gender issue.

 Five Sex article is related to the Middle Sex film. Social construction and how people structured things in the society come to this following story. A twenty three years old man name Suydam, who is from Connecticut, had been denied to vote because he was considered as female. This was a terrible story when I read it. It considered some people less human than other. The articles say more about how Western society and culture has been to only two genders and ignore other.  According to Fausto Sterling in his article, five sexes “Why Male and Female are not enough”, he explained that intersexuality itself is old new thing. Intersex had been there since the beginning of the human history. According to Plato, “there were three sexes and these are male, female and hermaphrodite but the third was lost with time”.  This I think may be true because we have more than just two genders. However, people get confused because they do not look back into the history of humans. Here is the film Intersex and Hermaphrodite; and how many people in the world are born with intersex.

             http://www.videojug.com/interview/intersex-and-hermaphrodite-2#.Tzg4jxiyMLo.blogger

Here is an example that I see via the CNN news in 2008 of how society construct social problem. Caster a long distance runner, who is also from South Africa, was forced to undergo genetic testing by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IIAF) in 2008  simply because her look does not conform to what is popularly understood as “classically” feminine. In 2008, after the Beijing Olympic, people have hotly debated her musculature and facial hair. While in her defense, Caster states that she was born as and lives as a woman.

However, the reality is that there are really five sexes, but we try to force people representing all five into two gender-identities. As Anne fausto-sterling explains in her outstanding article “the Five Sexes,” the five sexes are male; female; true hermaphrodite; and two kinds of pseudo-hermaphrodites. In the article, it is mention that a true hermaphrodite has one male gonad and one female gonad. Finally, there are not only two sexes  but more as I understood via reading and watching video along with lecture in this course.

 Word count 777

Citation:

The five sexes:  Why male and female are Not Enough science April 1993. Anne Fausto-Sterling

            

Why I am a Deviant

Part one

On the weekend after the Marriage and Domestic Partnership Bill 6239 got passed in Washington State, I went to visit my uncle and friends in Federal Way. On my way, I pick up my former classmate and a gay man James at Tacoma. James was going to South Center Mall for shopping. While in Federal Way and the Mall, I introduced James as my best friend to friends. We spend three hours hanging out with him after he had done shopping. We went to some places such as the Youth Center for the event and visiting some of my friends in their apartments. Wherever we go, he looked odd that everyone know who James is. This was because the way James dressed. I saw some people did not even feel comfortable at that time. I felt so deviance because my society and culture do not think that gay is something normal. They structure things like how people structure here in the United States.  Being a friend with James me look deviance to most my South Sudanese friends and uncle simply because way people structure. I saw some of my friends feeling although no one say anything bad about him and me. After spending three hours with, I gave James a ride to Tacoma. When I came back to my uncle apartment, some started to ask me some serious questions such as where we meet, how long had I been friend with him, and is James also majoring in criminal justice in WSU, Vancouver. I told them that James was my classmate at Highline Community College in 2009.  I knew that friends were not going to be happy about me. However, I did that because I am an easy going person who likes to learn more about others cultures though my friends and uncle see me like a deviant.

Personally I was considered being totally a deviant because all of my friends and uncle sometimes making fun at me for supporting same sex agendas. I try to explain the reason some people change their gender but they still don’t get it. On the day that they see me with Mr. James they freak out about what I am doing with a gay man. I learned on that day being a deviant in the society is totally misunderstood and considered as a devil. I think the labeling theory explain that stigmatizing people in the society result into a negative attitudes toward those who are being labeled.

As Becker stated “the assumption that those who broken the rules are considered as a homogenous group because they committed the same deviance act (Reading in Deviant Behavior p. 39).”  I was also considered as a deviant by my friends because I hang out with James. I think we cannot label deviant people as an outsiders just because they not following the rule of a society. But it happened to me and James while we were in Federal Way. In my research, I ignored the fact about the deviance because it is just created by people. I think the way friends had constructed social deviance last time will be different than next time when James and I visit them simply because social construction is varying by time. Finally, I enjoyed my sociology class and the research I have done and be continues doing.

Part two

I will be a deviant person because I want to married two wives in the United States. First, Americans do not marry more than one wife because of the reasons such as economic reason, Gender equality, religion belief, and merging political ideology with religious and population increases. First of all Americans may think that it is very difficult to support two families, which I do not believe is true for me.  But I think I can afford two families even though American views it as impossible. But in term of Religious, some American believes that bible stated that one man marriage one woman. I am a Christian but I do not believe that more than one wife is a sin. I believe it is good for me to have more than one wife as long as one can afford them and not simply a crime.  However, I will not be allow being a polygyny since the society had already structure the way they want marriage to be.  This may result into a class struggle and conflict can rise.

When it comes to gender equality, women may want to a debate why men marry more than one husband while everyone is equal. This debate might bring a conflict between two gender if it happens that men are allows being polygyny. Government may talked about increasing population in the country if there more polygamy in the country. But I do not think that I will stop having many children because the population increases.  I will be considered a deviant person in America if I came with the idea of polygyny which does not exist.

Powerful interest would construct polygyny as a crime. They will also consider it as a deviant and illegal to married more than one wife.  I will consider that as a deviant if I am not being allowed to marriage two wives and have lot of children. On the other hand, I may have different views of the matter. I might not accept the rule by which I being judge and will not regard those who judge me as legitimate to do so. However, the case is going to be a conflict because the construction of an ideology of Americans will fit me into a crime. They will do that because this how social reality of crime is constructed in their society. As a result, I will be in a big trouble or may be put in a prison because of violating their rules. Believing in the ideology of one wife could bring a hug tension between and the interest of the dominant groups will intervene because they may thing that I will not able to support two families alone. As a result, they will try to protect government resources. This may come with what we had learned about in conflict theory, control and learning or differential association theory.  

Conflict theory will play some role here in this situation. They theory is going to come with the explanation that will fit me into a capitalist society definition of a criminal according to Richard Quinney. As Richard Quinney stated “definitions of crime are composed of behavior that conflict with the interest of the dominant class (Reading in Deviant Behavior. p 45)” I think this will come to the idea of Marx’s conflict theory and explanation. According to the class lecture, Karl Marx is the inventor of conflict theory and he believed here two categories of people such as elite and working class. In the system, elite are the one who set the laws and rules for the general population. Therefore, they will not allow the marriage of more than one wife to happen. Most laws and rules of the land usually benefit those that have already been in power unless the elite support the idea of polygyny. As discussed in the class, the definitions of crime are applied by the classes who have power to shape the application of the organization. As a result, I will be considered as a deviant and at the sometime a criminal. I am going to be labeled as a deviant but in fact not broken a rule.  Americans will share me as an outsider who broke upon the agree rule.  As a result, the interest or elite group may come with deportation laws that may be either deported me to South Sudan or spent long time in prison.  

Control theory will also play some role in my case because it assumes that delinquent acts result when someone link to the society is weak and doesn’t want to follow the rule and law. This theory assumes the existence of a common value within the society who is being violated must not be allowed. All of these theories may come up via the powerful elite. My deviant will not be the act I commit but how Americans are going to label my act as a deviant. I think it’s also clear when Howard Becker talk about who is labeled as a deviant in a society. Finally, I will be in a big trouble whether I believe it or not.  

Work cited:

  Becker, Howard (1963) Outsiders defining Deviance.  Boundaries readings in Deviance, crime And Criminal justice, P 1-18.

Calhoun, C. Thomas, Conyers, Addrain & Thio, Alex. 2010. Reading in Deviant Behavior: Boston, MA:  person education, Inc publishing Allyn & Becon

Jensen, Gary F. 2003. Social Control Theories in. Encyclopedia of Criminology. Richard A. Wright (Editor). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.

sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/files/l/l3Bguk/soccon.pdf

Tirop, Zippora and Madi Sawyer 4/27/2011 Conflict Theory with Jane Addams and Karl Marx

Word count: 1474