It is important for us to question if what we do is a part of our lifestyle or have we been so socialized that it eventually becomes a part of who we are as a person. In Bourdieu’s theory he brings up the notion of the habitus and the fields in which we are a part of in society. The habitus is composed of five provisions. One is that it is a durable, transposable disposition meaning that the way people feel or act is highly shared amongst different people. It acts as a structured structure, meaning, it is something that is instilled you from outside factors and there are external constraints placed on you. Thirdly, it is a structuring structure which means you structure your experiments through reinforcement and you continue to construct yourself as well as others. The habitus also produces behaviors in a non-reflexive way. This means that when you act a certain way, you do not think about it consciously because it has become a part of who you are as a person. Lastly, it has the capacity to create change. In all, the habitus means that we have to change the ways people act and behavior rather than focus on the differences that exist in our world.
Bourdieu also talks about the notion of practices in his piece. Practices are what give meaning to action. You can categorize thoughts or actions and are the basis of how we take action. They are also a form of practical knowledge. In other words, they help us navigate through social action and help you to figure out what is acceptable in society. These are permanent “morals” that are embedded in you. Most of what happens in practice helps to figure out how to properly play the “game” and once we know how to play, we can manipulate the rules of the game in order for us to win.
Take for example, the issue of gender that is present throughout the society in which we live. Gender is an issue because it gives meaning to how people of different genders act and it is shared among those of the same gender. Also, the idea that someone was born a different gender is instilled in them from the minute they are born. Once you are born, they immediately get pink for a girl and blue for boy. Children do not know if they are a boy or a girl until society itself begins to stigmatize them into that gender and make them perform those gender specific roles. Gender is a structuring structure because we continue to show our gender well into our adolescence and adulthood based on how we were socialized into that gender as a child. Gender is a part of the habitus because we do it a non-reflexive way. Females put on a dress not per se thinking that they are showing their gender. It also has the ability to create change. It can create change because people of different genders can manipulate how gender is performed and therefore, change the way people view gender as a whole.
Gender is also a practice because we give meaning to our gender specific roles. Take for example, the idea that girls are supposed to wear pink and boys are supposed to wear blue. They become a practice when children become older because they start to put meaning to their actions and how they are dressed. This notion is embedded in us because of the morals and ideas that we were raised with. Do you think it is possible for us to be able to dismantle how society socializes our young children? Is it something that’s going to need to take years to change? Can you think of any ways in which we as a society could accomplish this?
Bourdieu also talks about the notion of practices in his piece. Practices are what give meaning to action. You can categorize thoughts or actions and are the basis of how we take action. They are also a form of practical knowledge. In other words, they help us navigate through social action and help you to figure out what is acceptable in society. These are permanent “morals” that are embedded in you. Most of what happens in practice helps to figure out how to properly play the “game” and once we know how to play, we can manipulate the rules of the game in order for us to win.
Take for example, the issue of gender that is present throughout the society in which we live. Gender is an issue because it gives meaning to how people of different genders act and it is shared among those of the same gender. Also, the idea that someone was born a different gender is instilled in them from the minute they are born. Once you are born, they immediately get pink for a girl and blue for boy. Children do not know if they are a boy or a girl until society itself begins to stigmatize them into that gender and make them perform those gender specific roles. Gender is a structuring structure because we continue to show our gender well into our adolescence and adulthood based on how we were socialized into that gender as a child. Gender is a part of the habitus because we do it a non-reflexive way. Females put on a dress not per se thinking that they are showing their gender. It also has the ability to create change. It can create change because people of different genders can manipulate how gender is performed and therefore, change the way people view gender as a whole.
Gender is also a practice because we give meaning to our gender specific roles. Take for example, the idea that girls are supposed to wear pink and boys are supposed to wear blue. They become a practice when children become older because they start to put meaning to their actions and how they are dressed. This notion is embedded in us because of the morals and ideas that we were raised with. Do you think it is possible for us to be able to dismantle how society socializes our young children? Is it something that’s going to need to take years to change? Can you think of any ways in which we as a society could accomplish this?