Emile Durkheim, French sociologist, defines the term social facts as “ways of acting, thinking, and feeling, external to the individual, and endowed with a power of coercion, by reason of which they control him” (Durkheim, 42). What does this mean? From what I understood social facts exist before an individual is born. In the Rules of Sociological Method reading, Durkheim uses the example of religion. He describes how the believer from the day he is born takes upon the religion practiced by his family as “ready-made” (Durkheim, 58). Basically, they are things that force individuals to do certain behaviors and roles. The individual’s acts or decisions are being influenced not only by their family but as well as society.
A good example to use to explain what a social fact is to use the concept of roles that we play throughout society. Each of us occupy more than one status and each status has several roles. Statuses and roles provide us an understanding of how we are to perform based on our cultural and social norms. Certain qualities are assigned to an individual solely on the basis of her or his social category. We can discuss about our understanding of what it is meant to be feminine or masculine. Before an individual is born society tends to ask what the gender of the baby is. From there on the child is raised and taught to “act their gender”. In order to distinguish the gender of a child we use colors, objects, behaviors, and characteristics. The color pink is strongly used on girls while the color blue is used on boys. Boys are taught to be tough, competitive, and rebellious. Girls are portrayed to be compassionate, emotional, and weak. Boys are dressed in T-shirts and pants. Girls are affiliated with cute little dresses and bows in their hair.
Children learn gender roles from an early age from their parents and family as well as the outside world, including television, magazines, and other media. Television has played an important role upon shaping gender identity among women and men. By manipulating what we see, the representations of both genders have altered the way we perceive things in reality. In the YouTube video provided above, a little girl named Riley makes a fuss about how companies trick little girls into buying pink stuff such as princesses and all boys buy blue stuff and superheroes. She questions why all girls have to buy pink stuff while the boys have to pick other color stuff. (Riley On Marketing) Clearly, one is able to identify how society and the media influence others. By the age of three, children have usually learned to prefer toys and clothes that are “appropriate” to their gender.
Society has played an important role upon shaping who we are either as a man or woman. It determines how one should think, speak, dress, and interact within society. Gender roles exist before an individual is born and later on we are trained to perform these roles. To sum everything up, social fact forces individuals to do certain behaviors. Society has collectively accepted these norms. Gender roles are presented in everyday life. When we do break these roles, we go against the idea that women are different than men in every form. Reality is that we are different, yet very similar. Society has an influence on its people, but it is entirely for the people in their individual capacities to decide to either be a conformist or to be the exception.
A good example to use to explain what a social fact is to use the concept of roles that we play throughout society. Each of us occupy more than one status and each status has several roles. Statuses and roles provide us an understanding of how we are to perform based on our cultural and social norms. Certain qualities are assigned to an individual solely on the basis of her or his social category. We can discuss about our understanding of what it is meant to be feminine or masculine. Before an individual is born society tends to ask what the gender of the baby is. From there on the child is raised and taught to “act their gender”. In order to distinguish the gender of a child we use colors, objects, behaviors, and characteristics. The color pink is strongly used on girls while the color blue is used on boys. Boys are taught to be tough, competitive, and rebellious. Girls are portrayed to be compassionate, emotional, and weak. Boys are dressed in T-shirts and pants. Girls are affiliated with cute little dresses and bows in their hair.
Children learn gender roles from an early age from their parents and family as well as the outside world, including television, magazines, and other media. Television has played an important role upon shaping gender identity among women and men. By manipulating what we see, the representations of both genders have altered the way we perceive things in reality. In the YouTube video provided above, a little girl named Riley makes a fuss about how companies trick little girls into buying pink stuff such as princesses and all boys buy blue stuff and superheroes. She questions why all girls have to buy pink stuff while the boys have to pick other color stuff. (Riley On Marketing) Clearly, one is able to identify how society and the media influence others. By the age of three, children have usually learned to prefer toys and clothes that are “appropriate” to their gender.
Society has played an important role upon shaping who we are either as a man or woman. It determines how one should think, speak, dress, and interact within society. Gender roles exist before an individual is born and later on we are trained to perform these roles. To sum everything up, social fact forces individuals to do certain behaviors. Society has collectively accepted these norms. Gender roles are presented in everyday life. When we do break these roles, we go against the idea that women are different than men in every form. Reality is that we are different, yet very similar. Society has an influence on its people, but it is entirely for the people in their individual capacities to decide to either be a conformist or to be the exception.