It is difficult to try to understand the beliefs and the rituals that come with cultures from across the world. This one is definitely barbaric. The visciousness with which these rituals are performed by these men is mind boggling. A reference was made to the fact that it was necessary long ago to find a way to believe in something such as witchcraft and medicine men and that it was their way of surviving and advancing to higher stages of civilization but I just have to think there must have been other ways to survive, that did not brutalize so fiercely their own people. I mean, where in the world do these rituals come from? Who came up with these ideas and why are they so worshipped? Why throughout 100’s of years do cultures continue to do such horrible things to themselves and why have they not adapted and changed with present times?

In my family, tamales have always served as a totem in our lives. For years, we have planned a day to get together with all 5 siblings. Since both my parents passed away, it has always been our way of coming together. Most Mexican families do this during Thanksgiving or Christmas but we do it every few months to ensure that we have a sense of connection and it brings us close together with all of the siblings and all of our children, nieces and nephews. It is so nice to belong to such a wonderful family that unites in honor of remembering our parents. It is important for us to stay connected. It is what they would have wanted not to mention we have always been close anyways so it’s an easy choice.

I believe based on Marx’s “Food as “Fetish” I think he is definitely correct. We don’t ever realize what goes into making the food we eat, who made it and who suffered for us to eat it plus we live in an entitled world where everything we want is basically at our fingertips. If we were able to pull back the curtains and see the reality of of the prices paid for us to have these commodities we might be in complete shock. Such practices as child endangerment and the exploitation that is involved is all concealed. According to the Marxist perspective, “the sometimes exploitative and alienating interaction between workers and employers are generally not known to consumers purchasing products.” We don’t appreciate the work them goes into “fetishizing” our products for our convenience.

In contrast, Durkheimian perspective “Food as Totem, ” which is what I related my family experience to is also relatable. Understanding how society comes together and how food unites different social groups and acts as a social glue is a a perspective that I can understand and agree with. For example, sushi has become the “thing” of social groups. It represents an unspoken social context that makes you feel good. It unites you with coworkers during lunch or after hours and has a cool feeling attached to it, These are the perceptions that go with this perspective.

If I had to be like Liz, the Chinese-Canadian on pg. 32 I would best describe myself as a Spicy Mexican Taco. That perfectly describes my taste preferences and who I am and what I eat. My culture norms, we eat all things spicy and so of course my biasly favorite food to eat is Mexican food. I indulge it, I crave it, I want it . Sadly, I never bothered to put my sociological imagination to work. I don’t stop to think about the ecological processes that are associated with factory farming and the implications that come with producing the meat that we eat. There are many social factors that we are unaware of or possibly just don’t take the time to think about or even care. This definitely opens my eyes to how much meat I eat and the impact that the antibiotics and hormones can have on my children. It is important to consider possibly restricting our children’s diets for their own health. Also, it is important to find a way to fight against our Food and Drug Administrations so that we actually know what ingredients are truly in our food because the example with the horse meat at Ikea’s in 2013 is just disgusting. They need to present legit food guides to the public and stop concealing all of the harmful chemicals.

I am currently enrolled in an Anthropology class. I am finding that these clasees seem to coincide with each other. I learned there something that I found so interesting: Polyandry. Polyandry is not to be confused with Polygyny, in which a man has multiple wives. In this case, the rolls are reversed where the woman has multiple husbands and by multiple I mean she can have up to 3-4 shared brothers. When I heard this it was like culture shock. Trying to understand and wrap my head around something that is so frowned upon and illegal, by the way, was difficult. My professor did a great job explaining how Polyandry is actually a way of life for these groups along the Himalayan Foothills. Although rare, it is still something being practiced and an example of holism in regards to kinship and sexuality. These patrilineal groups accomplish many things by sharing a wife. They live in one home, and having many brothers allows them to keep the land in tact using full scale farming. I do like that she does have a choice in the matter. It is an agreement that she “marries” all of the brothers. This allows for population control since many men can only get the woman pregnant so many times. It basically removes these men from reproduction. This was incredible to me. They also do all of the domestic work which kind of led me to the question, well what does the wife do, except get plenty of sex by a different husband/brother every night! Good for her!

In this chapter, it would seem that the intent is to make us understand what is sociological imagination and how can we relate it to real world life. Sociological imagination is having the ability and understanding to comprehend the difference between having private troubles or public issues. It is having the ability to distinguish between large social environments and the environment of an individual. and what are the aspects of the social structure and social phenomenom. They want us to be able to see the interactions from different levels. The goal is to study human societies and allow yourselves to see the strange in the familiar, and the general in the particular.

In this introduction, I am trying to grasp the different examples of Sociology as it pertains to real life. I am understanding that there is a social world, a world view about how we see things from one lens but there is so much more that we can see if we actually switch to a different lens. Sociology seems that it can be exciting and fullfilling for those interested and passionate about world discoveries and different cultures. I personally fear what I don’t know. Unfortunately, I am the type of person that doesn’t travel too much in fear of just all of the bad things that happen to tourists in different countries. I know that I shouldn’t feel this way but I can’t help it and so Sociology, in the sense of traveling and discovering new places, although interesting will be something I prefer to read about and not actually experience. Like Henslin said, “people who feel no temptation before closed doors, who have no curiosity about human beings, who are content to admire scenery without wondering about th epeople who live in those houses on the other side of that river, should stay away from sociology.” I agree.

I remember this day like it was yesterday. My first real purchase with my OWN money. No more scraggly hand me downs from my sister who was 3 years older than me and about 6 inches taller (I’m only 5″). I was 14 years old. I applied for my worker’s permit and headed straight to Mc Donald’s where I was immediately hired. I recount waiting for those 2 weeks to be up, so that I could receive my very first check. I remember all the plans I had for it. I wanted to go shopping and buy some new clothes and shoes because God knows I needed it. When I finally received my check my mom took me to cash it. I recall getting home that evening and I could hear my dad voicing quietly in his bedroom his financial burdens to my mom. I remember for a moment feeling burdened with sadness. I’m not sure if it was for selfish reasons or not but I walked into my parents room and gave them my first whole check. Of course my dad did not want to take my money but I told him to please take it as a token of my appreciation for all of the things they tried to do for me and my siblings. My parents came from Mexico so I am a first generation Mexican-American. Was this a memorable purchase? Absolutely. With tears in their eyes and pretty much unwillingly, I forcefully gave them the money and walked away. Our society teaches us a consumer culture that we almost feel is biological. We have that need engrained in our body but we don’t stop to think that we have made this type of society for ourselves. I first hand know that people stand on many different social locations and based on that, you are perceived separately within social classes, but it’s ok. I believe you can still hold your head up high no matter where you perceive yourself or others perceive you but always stay true to yourself regardless of the social forces that do surround you and the pressures you face.

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.

I have never blogged before so this will be my first attempt. Having read the preface to JCB, I believe the point that these authors are trying to get across is that when reading this book we should have an open mind and allow ourselves to view things from a perspective, other than what we are accustomed to, which is usually our own. They would like us to step outside the box and view our lives through the social lens and how society affects the decisions we make in not only our personal lives but as consumers as well. We tend to want things but we never stop to think why do we want those things? Who is encouraging us to need these items? We seem to indulge in instant gratification, especially the new generations. It seems that we want everything and we want it now, but the question is why is everyone so entitled? Does everyone also look forward to their future dreams and expect the same outcome in the same manner or are consumer dreams short term mostly because they are easily attained? I know that personally, I was not raised like most of these kids now and days. My family was strict and I did not have much. When I yearned for something, that’s because I probably needed it and I would work hard to satisfy my needs. I’m excited to take this class and learn the different ideologies of why we do and behave the way we do, especially differently across generations and what is happening to today’s youth in our society.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton