Alcohol and Other Drugs

Alcohol and Drugs have been known to cause a lot of issues for the person involved with it and their friends and family. For example, when a person misuses drugs they are taking themselves down a path that can lead to drug dependency where it is difficult to escape the physical and mental cravings for the substance. Both Alcohol and Drugs have many health issues from liver disease, cancer, loss of brain tissue and other life threatening issues. It also can affect a person in their everyday activities such as work. Many people are fired for being alcoholics and drug addicts because they have a tendency to be late, absent or produce poor work. Using these two dangerous products can really damage a person's life completely.

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cure-alcoholism

In the home, drug and alcohol abuse can lead to many different problems that can be toxic to the family. "Chronic alcohol abuse makes it difficult for a person to maintain social relationships and have a stable family life." (Kendall) There is also a higher risk of domestic abuse in the home when alcohol and drugs are involved. Codependency is also a frequent occurrence in homes with one or more addicted family members. Codependency occurs when another family member takes on the responsibilities of the alcoholic or drug addict and keeps that person from experiencing the major consequences of their actions. 

http://relationshipsrecovery.blogspot.com/

A wonderful article that goes into great detail the sociological perspective of drug abuse is written by sociologist Erich Goode and can be found here. Drug abuse, similarly to alcohol greatly affects a person's social life, their physical health as well as mental and emotional health. These substances reek havok on people's lives but they are so reliant on it's affects on them that they cannot escape the cravings and desires to continue use and abusing it. Another article here entitled, Socially Constructing Drug Users, Dealers, and Convicts goes into detail about how criminals are related to drug and alcohol abuse and how people 'construct' these convicts. 

http://www.feinbergconsulting.com/10-signs-and-symptoms-of-drug-abuse-and-alcohol-addiction/

Alcoholism is something that is seen a lot in the media. There is always news coverage of a celebrity drunk driving or getting caught smoking illegal substances some who get off with a simple warning that is supposed to keep them away from those things the next time. In movies and TV shows they are shown to be a large factor in why families are torn apart, weather the abuse be from alcohol or drugs, parents or children, the use of these materials changes a person completely. Personalities shift, motivation depletes and the only thing they really want is the be free from their self induced prison.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse is a large social problem today and sadly it is a habit that can affect everything and everyone around that person. Today, there are programs designed to help these people to work through their addictions to stay sober and become healthy once again. The video below shows the reality of this sad disease called addiction while also promoting an organization that works to help these people overcome it. There are countless other programs out there and professionals that can assist those in need. Some being the NIH, NAADAC, and SAMHSA

Citation

"Socially Constructing Drug Users, Dealers, and Convicts." Sociology In Focus Socially Constructing Drug Users Dealers and Convicts Comment. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Weinberg, Darin. "Sociological Perspectives on Addiction." Sociological Perspectives on Addiction. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

"Drugs: Shatter the Myths." Drugs: Shatter the Myths. N.p., 01 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation

Inequality based on one's sexual orientation has been an issue for generations. Back in the 1930s with Nazi Germany,  Adolf Hitler did not only murder Jewish people, but many others like the elders, the disabled, the ill and even the homosexuals. However homosexuals were discriminated even further "At least 5,000 gay men were imprisoned, and many more were put in mental institutions. Several hundred other gay men were castrated, and up to 15,000 were placed in concentration camps, where most died of disease, starvation or murder." (Barken; 2011)

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/kansas-house-approves-catholic-backed-bill-that-legalizes-anti-gay-discrimination/question-2549957/

The original attacks on homosexuals was eighty years ago but this idea that they are unequal to others is still around today. Sexual Orientation is defined as "a preference for emotional-sexual relationships with individuals of the same sex (homosexuality), the opposite sex (heterosexuality), or both (bisexuality)." (Kendall; 2013) With this basis, both men and women can be considered homosexual and they both see a large amount of discrimination on a daily basis.

Regarding a religious opinion, many people see homosexuality as a sin and that it goes against the words of the Bible. In both the book of Matthews and Genesis a passage talks about marriage but does not specify any alternatives to the marriage of a man and a woman. Due to this many religiously affiliated people view gays and lesbians as evil and have been seen to be greatly opposed to them. 

http://www.debate.org/opinions/archbishop-of-canterbury-christians-must-repent-for-their-homophobia-do-you-agree

In recent years a community of people have joined to help stop this discrimination. New stories of abuse and discrimination to homosexuals go viral constantly and new campaign ads work to encourage equality. Many well known celebrities like Morgan Freeman, Ellen Page, Ellen Degeneres and Kate Winslet have become advocates to people around the world to support people regardless of their sexual orientation. 

http://cristianaziraldo.altervista.org/taking-stand-against-homophobia-schools/

Websites and charitable organizations have been created to assist these people in their fight for equal rights for things like same-sex marriage. One very large campaign called "NOH8" has created an online resources for anyone interested in helping them and can be found here. Their mission statements is "The NOH8 Campaign is a charitable organization whose mission is to promote marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media, and visual protest."

Another well known organization is the Human Rights Campaign. They fight for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights in all different circumstances. They have special organizations for athletes, parents, teens and many other specialized groups that struggle with discrimination because of sexual orientation. Similarly, the Advocates for Youth are specifically designed to assist young people looking for help and encouragement to live the life they choose for themselves.  

The World has truly evolved in the last few years and have been much more accepting to people regardless of sexual orientation. One video I found that truly captures the change that people have made today is a social experiment where a gay couple asks people to translate a message they received from someone helping them book a hotel. It is amazing to see how far society has come with being more open to others not only with the LGBT community but with other minorities as well. 

Citation:

"Combating Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity." Combating Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

"Sexual Orientation and Social Inequality." -My Sociologist.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015

"Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Workplace Issues." Catalyst. N.p., 01 Nov. 2012. Web.19 Nov. 2015

Gender Socialization

Gender Socialization describes a process where people are pushed into what appears to be appropriate masculine or feminine behaviors.  This process follows people throughout their lives from the toys they play with as children to the career they choose in adulthood. Some of the most notable ways people are exposed to this gender socialization fis through parents, peers and media. Gender socialization forces people to act in a certain manner that they otherwise wouldn't and because of this, many people feel trapped or limited by their gender.  Isabella Crepsi, a professor at the University of Milan, Italy, describes gender socialization as, "...the process through which the child becomes an individual respecting his or her environment laws, norms and customs." (Crespi).

This article writes a brief overview of gender socialization of the contrast of gender vs sex.

Photo: https://blog.udemy.com/gender-socialization/

Beginning at a young age, children learn that certain genders are expected to like things related to that stereotype. Little girls are taught to enjoy the color pink, play with barbie dolls and love princesses, while young boys are expected to like the color blue, play with action figures and engage in more physical activities.  Parents even dress their children according to their gender and give them chores that are gender distinctive. There is a very obvious segregation between genders and children learn from an early age how to reach the expectations given by their nature. A video by Study.com briefly overviews the topics discussed here. 

Photo: https://storify.com/kae_boykin/history-of-gender-sterotypes-in-children-s-adverst

From birth, people are taught how to behave with statements like, "It isn't ladylike!" and "Suck it up and be a man!". It is this kind of upbringing that stunts a person's individuality. Many people feel disturbed when they see people acting without regards to their labeled gender, which leads to people feeling lonely, or misunderstood. The extent to which we force children into their gender stereotypical behavior is at an extreme. In this video by Buzzfeed it shows what life would be like if the amount of stress we place on children and their gender follows them into adulthood. 

As stressed in the video, it seems very controlling to force people into what society deems as 'socially correct'. Even though in adulthood we do not experience this, we do however see it everyday. Media plays a large role in the world today and it impacts our opinions greatly. Television shows, magazines and advertisements are now a part of everyday life and they all have a very similar view on gender. In this article written by Huffington Post writes about the media's effects on gender socialization. 

Media often depicts the "perfect American family" as consisting of a mother, father, and 2 or more children. The father will be the main discipliner and provider of the family, while the mother is shown to be much more loving and be the care-taker for the family. For years the advertising world has depicted that "perfect family" and shaped what should be considered the appropriate behavior of each member. A mother should stay home to clean the house and cook while the father goes off to work. The children are expected to play with their gender specific toys and work on their gender distinctive chores, this idea is what shaped the basic American families for generations. This article contains a timeline of gender stereotyping and its effect on society. "History of Gender Stereotypes in Advertising"

Photo: https://russellbuchanan.wordpress.com/category/political-life/

There is a lot of criticism that comes with breaking the status quo and deciding to follow what they want instead of what is expected of them. Today we see a much larger group that decide to not let their gender define them; more men are joining in once female-dominant fields such as teachers, nurses and social workers. Women have begun to take control of their education and their lives and because of this children are beginning to learn that individuality is not to be feared. Although there is still a lot of gender stereotyping in today's society there is a noticeable change to a more modern way of thinking. 

Citation:

Blumenfeld, W. (2013, August 8). Examining Media's Socialization of Gender Roles. Retrieved September 29, 2015.

McSorely, B. (2014, May 12). Gender Socialization. Retrieved September 29, 2015.

Early Childhood: Early Gender Socialization. (2009, August 7). Retrieved October 3, 2015.

Blaming the Victim

Blaming the victim is described as a practice used by people who view a social problem as emanating from within the individual who exhibits the problem. This is a very broad topic that can be applied to many different situations in today's society, but the one most notably seen today is pertaining to the sexual assault of civilians. Most people are familiar with the ever growing topic of rape today. In recent years the number of rape victims in America is estimated to be 293,066, and of those numbers 68% don't report to the police. This is a very large number considering that approximately every 107 seconds, another sexual assault is committed. However, one may question why these people do not report this abuse. The reason behind their silence leads back to the topic of 'blaming the victim', many people here the phrases and questions, "They were asking for it", "Where you wearing revealing clothing?", "Did you initial the exchange?", "You shouldn't have been there anyway. ". It is statements like these that lead the victim to believe that it was their fault that there were sexually assaulted.

Photo: http://teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com/2015/01/attribution-of-responsibility-blaming.html#sthash.nOVCP33G.dpbs

One real world example of this issue comes from a very famous pop culture icon, Ke$ha. She filed a claim against Dr. Luke and Sony Music claiming that she was drugged and raped multiple times during their acquaintanceship. She was then countersued with the claim that she was trying to get out of a contract signing. Although this fight is still ongoing we see that the accused is trying to turn the tables to make the women feel like she is in the wrong. Whether this is justified or not, stories like these are becoming much more common in today's issues. 

In my opinion this idea that the victim did something wrong instead of the person that actually completed the crime is extremely upsetting. The criticism that people receive after having been taken advantage of leads to so many psychological issues such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. No one should ever have to feel that the reason they were abused was because they were wrong. In a similar situation, children are never blamed for the abuse of their parents, even if they were possibly doing something wrong. There is a line that, if crossed, can be considered physical, mental, or emotional abuse. So if children are not blamed for their abuse, why should anyone else be made to feel shameful?

Another issue that 'blaming the victim' can apply to is described in Chapter 2 of the textbook. Chapter 2 is entitled "Wealth and Poverty: U.S. and Global Economic Inequality" and this chapter describes the social issues in the American economic system and the sociological perspectives of them. Here the concept of 'blaming the victim' is used as an explanation of poverty. In today's media one can often hear about the poor. We see it anywhere from the news to comedy shows and they are very poorly displayed in these places. The stereotypical American poor person is either a lazy bum that won't get a job or they are a drug addict/ alcoholic who lost their jobs due to poor behavior. Although this is a possibility, many Americans forget that some of these people are struggling single parents, war veterans, or even disabled/ill people that have all been left with little to nothing. An article written on readerssupportednews.com by Tom Adams reiderates this theory here.

Photo: http://www.meta-activism.org/2015/09/derailment-handbook/

As stated in this chapter, "Individual explanations for poverty view poverty as the result of either attitudinal and motivational problems that cause individuals to be poor." This topic has become such a huge part of today's society. We see reminence of this action in movies, written in books and websites. Everyone today has used the internet at some point and many people go to it as a place to display their feelings or learn about new topics. Websites are popping up everywhere from social media to learning tools, and they have a lot to say about 'blaming the victim'. Numerous websites can be found all over the internet, one I discovered is entitled Everyday Victim Blaming. This website acts as a bridge for those who have experienced blaming or want to take a stand against it. Even just searching 'blaming the victim' brings thousands of court cases, interviews and activist sites. 

Photo: http://thepowerofreality.blogspot.com/2014/05/victim-blaming.html

No matter where a person stands in this conflict, it is easy to see that this topic causes a big issue in the world and causing many debates across the country. I stand against 'Blaming the Victim' because it causes issues on both ends, the 'victims' feel demoralized and the people are misguiding their anger on the very group they should be helping. 

Citation: 

Ehrenreich, B. (2014, January 13). Time to Wake Up: Stop Blaming Poverty on the Poor. Retrieved September 28, 2015.

Weiss, Suzannah. "Why Do We Blame Rape Victims?" Bustle. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Women 'to blame' for being raped. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2015.