SOC 2 final

Commodity Fetishism

Process by which we act toward things as if they are imbued with magic-like qualities, external to and coercive over us, masking alienation.

Microcelebrity

The commitment to deploying and maintaining one's online identity as if it were a branded good.

Labeling Theory

Deviance is not inherent in an act, but a result of the labels applied by society, leading to internalization.

Hegemonic Masculinity

The culturally exalted expression of masculinity; the most dominant and valued form of masculinity.

Patriarchal Dividend

The material and symbolic advantages that men gain from the domination of women in patriarchal society; also a bonus for being a man or aligning with masculinity

Heteronormativity

The assumption that heterosexuality is the only natural and normal sexual orientation.

functionalist view of media

educational tool, teaches and promotes norms, entertainment, news source, encourages social connectivity and networking, creative outlet, etc.

functionalist perspective of Lasswell

emphasized the importance of understanding the role of communication in maintaining social order and stability

functionalist perspective of Parsons

argued the media serve as a mechanism for social integration and consensus, promoting shared values and norms among members of society

critical perspectives

interested in the relationship btw. media and power, assumes: media is not a neutral force, media can shape our understanding of the world, and media can reflect and contribute to inequality

critical perspective of Chomsky

argues media can shape public opinion where it is heavily influenced by interests of those who own and control them

critical perspective of Adorno

argued culture and media are instruments of social domination and control

Culture Industry (Adorno and Horkheimer)

argued popular culture is like an industry that produces standardized cultural goods; produces standardization and pseudo-individualism (products are predictable and uniform, thus easier to mass produce)

autonomous art

resists societal constraints and commodification trends

heteronormous art

tool of oppression; not “true” art

one-dimensional society

critical thought and dissent are suppressed in modern capitalist societies

encoding/decoding

Hall argues there’s a difference between how messages are put out into the world and how they are received by audiences

consumption

the desire for, purchase, use, display, sharing, exchange, and disposal or products and services

The American Dream

the idea that any individual can achieve success and wealth if they work hard enough; assumes meritocracy and prioritizes the role of the individual

creation of false needs

companies generate false needs for new goods/services and consumers get temporary pleasure from these products

class (weber’s definition)

market position

status (weber)

social honor/prestige

stigma (Goffman)

an attribute or reputation that is deeply discrediting, reduces an individual from a whole usual person to a tainted disregarded one

branded self

selling yourself as a product with your best pictures, carefully cultivating what is liked and is professional online to suit other’s expectations

Internet as a stage

a place for people to communicate or “hang out”, how internet users portray their identity online, and how people use the internet itself

discreditable

vulnerable to stigma; everyone is potentially at risk

discredited

difference is revealed or identity is spoiled where any undesired different-ness is portrayed from what is anticipated

spoiled identity

the degradation of an individual’s social identity due to the presence of stigma (tarnished in the eyes of society)

virtual social identity

how others expect an individual to be

social control

ways that society try to influence members behavior

hegemony

the ability to project one’s own way of seeing the world so that those who are subordinated by it accept it as “Common sense” or “natural” (achieved through consent)

moral panics

overheated, short lived periods of intense concern on an issue

moral entrepreneurs

people who try to influence society toward increased awareness and concern of the violation of social norms

social problem

issue that affects significant number of people and is recognized as harmful/undesirable (health, addiction, illness, etc.)

moral outrage

strong emotional response of anger or indignation towards actions or events

functionalist view on moral panics

boundary maintenance and social realignment

conflict view on moral panics

serve to distract us from sources of inequality and exploitation

secondary deviance

arises when the individual is publicly labeled as deviant and internalizes this identity

primary deviance

the initial act of rule-breaking that can shape future behavior

master status

once labeled, the stigma becomes the dominant identity (ex-con, addict, etc.)

folk devils

a person or group blamed for societal problems, acting as a scapegoat to amplify deviant categories

resistance to labeling and stigma

pass, cover, or reframe the stigma into something positive (Goffman) or challenge through group activism to challenge dominant narratives (Link and Phelan)

Doing gender

types of clothing, forms of speech, gendered items (deodorant, shampoo, etc.), etc.

central premise of the sociological study of gender

biological differences are meaningless outside of a social context

gender binary

the idea that there is only two genders: male and female, nothing in-between

forms of socialization

intimate face-to face (family, friends), cultural influences (school, media), specific contexts (religious institutes, ethnic groups, etc.)

anticipatory socialization

looking ahead to roles we anticipate playing in the future

formal socialization

learning in schools or in formalized learning environments (explicit focus on teaching and learning)

informal socialization

casual learning in everyday interactions

resocialization

unlearning and relearning; voluntary (gaining new knowledge) and involuntary (prison)

gender accountability

doing gender as seeable in context as gender-appropriate or gender-inappropriate in an accountable manner

subordinated masculinity

marginalized/oppressed due to race, sexuality, or class but still have same traits as hegemonic

complicit

men who benefit from hegemonic masculinity, BUT don’t necessarily identify with it and could gain privilege if they conform to hegemonic standards

marginalized

men excluded from both hegemonic and subordinated masculinities

transgender

an umbrella term for those whose gender differs from the gender assigned at birth

“fag discourse”

the term does not mean anything sexual but it is a form of dominance that is expressed through “sexualized discourse” and harassment of other boys is part of gender formation

sexuality as a social construction

we come to make meaning of what “gay” and “straight” are in comparison to other labels which are influenced by media, family, schools, and workplace

Garcia reading

heteronormativity, racism, and sexism intersect in sex education which the gender binary is forced especially towards people of color

Sandstrom, Van Den Scott, and Fine reading

identify need to focus on virtual selves and market-driven self-construction, emotion and embodiment, media influencing discourses of fear, and propose a shift toward “critical interactionism”

Sumerau reading

symbolic interactionism has reinforced binary thinking, and it must evolve to account for identities outside the binary

trickle-down consumption

trends adopted by wealthy/elites that lower classes aspire to emulate

conspicuous consumption

acquisition of luxury goods and public display of such effort to enhance of project one’s prestige