Chapter 1: A Day In The Life Of Your Jeans

Who would have that there could be possibly so much effort and thought put into a whole chapter talking about jeans to give us insight on what Sociologsts do and how they view our world with a different lens than we do.? I have learned that there will be 3 thinking frames that in society we must learn to use to better view the world. The first is the material and cultural frame To me, this means taking into consideration not only how this item was made but also who made it, where did it come from and sometimes we must go as far as gaining knowledge about our consumption choices to ensure the possible safety of others. In my lifetime, I never gave it a second thought as to the conditions of the factory workers where my jeans are coming from now. The second thinking frame is that of social structures and individual agency (the ability to make your own decisions and be responsible for the choices you make in your life.). It is clear that your social location determines maybe not all of who you are but definitely the obstacles you must endure depending on where you stand in your social structure. This reminded me of when I was in middle school and I wanted so badly to fit in with all of the cheerleaders. They wore the best clothes and were all so beautiful but I was pretty poor and growing up my parents couldn’t purchase new clothes or any of the basic necessities that to others based on their social location were just commodities. I felt completely out of place. I recall having girlfriends who would just give me their used jeans because they had used them already 3 times and here I was in my older sister’s larger clothing. It was quite embarassing, actually, but it is definitely a great example of economic constrainst that some endure and others just don’t have to. The last frame is focusing on the micro/macro approach which in part makes you separate your one on one interactions from larger instituiton interactions and how society is different viewing it from each different lens. Interestingly, I am intrigued to learn more about how I have been shaped without ever even giving it a second thought in this sociocultural world.