Project Discription
In the beginning of this project, we were assigned only to create an essay about how we were socialized and make a mask after that. We made our essays and masks, but then we decided to dig deeper than a gallery walk exhibition, instead. We decided on Exhibition by Social Action. When we decided on this we wanted it to be hands on, so we split up into groups based on we wanted the exhibition to look like, I wanted ours to be an escape room, but we decided on a maze to show the cycle of socialization.
How have you grown as a writer during this project
I believe I have grown as learner with quotes. The example I have of this is in my Socialization essay : The dictionary describes socialization as “A continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position.” See this wasn’t just a quote, It was also in my introduction paragraph. Another way I have grown as a writer would be in TEA paragraphs, before this project, I didn’t know what they are but now I can write better paragraphs because of them.
What is your largest take away from this project?
My largest take away from this project would be the exhibition prep, particularly during the last couple of days. I saw all of the groups working together to make beautiful work, I saw the entire project blooming in the last two days, an example I have for these were in stephen's room, from the very beginning, that group was on track and they were excited. The whole room was transformed, and they had a solid plan. After all the exhibition prep, I even got to be in that room and it was an amazing experience.
What were your goals for this project (refer to blog #2)
My goal for this project was to excite all the other groups into getting the job done. Since the very beginning, I was super excited for this exhibition, I signed up to be a project manager and was stoked when I got the part. I was working with a group of peers that really fit the role of manager, so I knew that we could excite. In the end when I look back at what I personally could have done better in the case of excitement, I think I did a good job.
Essay:
Cloe Ulshafer
Socialization and Identity
Fighting Gender Stereotypes
The dictionary describes socialization as “A continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position.” Basically this is the process of learning one's culture and learning to live within it. When we as humans are born we are oblivious to the world around us, we have no idea that everything that defines us socially has already been decided for us. We don’t get to control the genetics that make us who we are. I don’t think it’s fair to see women like me put down because they want to be more than a housewife. I believe That women, are just as equal to men we are smart and we get less credit than we should. The “United Nations of Human Rights” claims “Gender equality is essential for the achievement of human rights for all.” Throughout my life I have been socialized in different ways, my parents, the media extracurriculars, etc. I have heard what everybody has to say about women's role in society.
I was taught that no matter what I wanted to be when I grow up I could be. that’s what my parents think is true, so that’s what they taught me. Even though I grew up in a house where I had just as much potential as my brother, I was learning other things through the media. Through The media I was taught that Cinderella cooks cleans and waits for a man to take care of her, Snow White, Cooks cleans and waits for a man. Affin Amen in “Women” admits “In most parts of the world, women are looked at as less worth than men.” It’s not fair to treat human beings with organs different than you would treat someone with the same. Growing up I was lead to believe that I couldn’t wear green because I was a girl, in a sense this is a true but if you swap out green and replace it with say, doctor or lawyer, Same thing happens if you take the color pink and replace it with, Mother or cook. We get used to these stereotypes to a point that we absorb it into our everyday life. Though our parents can try to teach us that we are all equal, the media pushes us into thinking that we will never get past the dishes or children just because of the organs we are born with. Our parent shield us from the reality we live in because they taught us differently than what the world expects.
From a very young age, women are taught, socially, that beauty and appearance was more important than talent. When I was five years old I participated in figure skating. I would go after school and skate in little leotards, it was cute one those little kid classed all parents sign their kids up for. After a few months of doing it I started practicing for a recital with my group, it was still cute, anyway right before the recital we all got matching costumes. When I put my outfit on my parents jaws dropped. I was dressed in basically a bathings suit with fishnet tights. My mother years later explained to me that my talent didn’t matter, my outfit and face was what mattered. We as women think about wearing clothes, not for their comfort but, for fashion and appearance. We are all we wear and that's who we are. As a young woman I am aware that we live in a world where men feel and act superior to women. We as women are judged, not by what we know, or our success, we are judged based on how we look.
Since I was eleven I have wanted to go to the air force academy, this is an Ivy League college a great school, now lucky for women, we have just as much as a chance to get into college as men do in fact there are 3 million more women in college than men, that is 30% percent of college students. Even though there are more women in college, since 2014, 72% of companies are made up of men. After men take up 72 percent of jobs there are 27 percent more jobs for women to take but even if a women gets a job, the same job as the average man a women gets paid about 25 percent less. According to Hajirah Mahmood “Women are more educated, Men are more employed, men make more money.” These aren’t just things that the media tries to feed us, these are facts, facts that can lower a woman's worth. In my opinion we as women are given less of an opportunity just because of genetics. I don’t think that our futures are based on our gender, but I do think that our genders have some effect on the jobs we can and can not get. Just in the past few years the military has drafted the first females as generals, this is a great breakthrough for women, with this it also means in a war, women would be drafted as well as men. When we think of equality we don’t understand the risks we taking while taking action
Throughout my life I have been socialized in different ways, my parent, the media extracurriculars, etc. I have heard what everybody has to say about women's role in society.
Though the media has taught me everything I feel about being less than because I am a girl, the media also taught me that, I , a white girl am just as equal as a man. Though I am a woman I have just as much opportunity and promise that a man does. If we all see each other as equal we will see the world in a better way.
My Mask
Besides writing our essays, we also made mask to display how we were socialized. I made my mask to be the words that make or break a woman's future. I painted my mask pink as a representation of gender and words that hurt people and encouraging words from loved ones. I came a long way from my original idea to have half be be beautiful and half be emotional. I chose that to have it be what society expects of women. After I decided on that, I figured out that a lot of people were doing the exact same thing so I chose words. I am proud of my mask and how far I have came.