Ashley Carpenter

Its Not You, Its Me

What makes you different from me? What makes us individuals? What creates our
values, our beliefs, the way we think, and the things we do? Socialization. Socialization, as
defined in the article, The Cycle of Socialization is related to our social identities. Social
Identities are categories that we fall under from the day we were born; gender, race, age, sexual
orientation, religion, economic class, and ability/disability status. In the article it explains how
social identities affect us from the moment we are born We are innocents, falling into an already
established system. The system the article refers to is our society and how we are born into a
society where arrangements of oppression and mechanics are already in place based on our
identity categories. As humans caught in society we often dont think about how we have been
socialized and influenced positively and negatively through norms and values. Society has
socialized me and affected me immensely based on my gender and how I perceive myself
because I am female. Messages in the media have socialized me and created the idea that I need
to conform to expectations made for woman in our society, agree with the degrading culture
toward women, and have less of an advantage in our economy and workforce because of my
gender.
Society has taught me to always look for improvements in the way I look, to compare
myself to others, and to conform to what I believe will give me acceptance with my peers and
society. From a very early age I began to question the way I look, I began to see myself as less of
a person and more of a value. What can I change to make me look better, to make me prettier, to
make me more valuable? Girls get the message from very early on that whats most important is
how they look, state's Jean Kilbourne, EdD, filmmaker, author, and senior scholar in the film
Miss Representation, No matter what else a woman does, no matter what else her achievements,
their value still depends on how they look. As a teenager in society this statement reflects my
thought process every day, multiple times. Our society values looks as much as, if not more, than
education, success, and happiness. When I was first exposed to the expectations for teenagers in
our society my priorities immediately changed. The last thought in my mind at night is how I
will look tomorrow, and my first thought in the morning is almost identical. I am constantly
thinking and worrying about how people will see me, how people will judge me, how people will
compare me.
Being surrounded by the media everyday, all the time, I see the degrading culture built in
our society toward women. The advertisements that are almost everywhere, use women's bodies
to sell their product and to get the attention of a consumer, this is so common that it has become
a norm. American teenagers spend 10 hours and 45 minutes consuming media each day, this sets
the ideas that have become planted in our brains, and their not always positive. The exploitation
of womens bodies sells products, magazines, etc. Mentions Lindy Dekoven, Chair, California
Commission, Status of Women Former Exec. VP, NBC Entertainment, also in the film Miss
Representation. The media has so much control over what happens in our society and the
messages sent to everyone, that when such a degrading culture is exposed constantly, this culture
becomes a norm. This culture not only teaches women that the only way to gain power or
success is by exposing their bodies, this also teaches men that this is whats important in our
society and its something they should value. For many women as well this shows them that the
only way for them to become successful is for them to use their bodies as a tool in our modern

society. This affects many teenage girls, it sets a standard for them as they grow up into our
economy. The degrading culture toward women is an endless idea found all throughout our
society, constructing a derogatory and humiliating perception of women.
Growing up as a female I have been socialized by statistics in society and media that as a
woman I have to work harder to find success in our economy. Our society has implanted the idea
that as a woman, I have to work harder in my teenage years and education in order to be as
successful as a male in the economy and workforce. Also in the film Miss Representation
statistics are given that women make up less of the high power jobs on our country. Women
make up 51% of Americas population yet they only make up 17% of congress. These types of
statistics are very discouraging to me as a teenager because they embed the idea that as a woman
I have a lower chance of being successful in our society. Messages like this are also found all
over the media through advertisements, movies, tv shows, and social media where I see women
being stereotyped constantly. Many of these stereotypes include the woman having the
responsibility of cleaning, cooking, and taking care of children, while the male is the one who
provides for the family's income. This does not demonstrate equality in our society and it gives
the idea that men and women have planned roles set for them in the future.
Socialization has created me, built me, influenced me in so many ways, but have I
received the life and the identity I want from being socialized through norms or have I received
the life and identity society makes me believe I want? The article The Cycle of Socialization
sums our society up perfectly We are born into a world where all the mechanics, assumptions,
rules, roles, and structures of oppression are already in place and functioning. But what if we
weren't? What if we were born into a world where there was nothing to control how we value
ourselves, nothing to control how we value each other, no duty or oppression based on your
gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religion, economic class, and ability/disability status? What
if we were born into a world of acceptance? I hope to believe that this may be true one day, that
we wont judge ourselves and judge others based on norms set in our society. But by not doing
anything we are giving our approval to this cycle, we are participating in this cycle, we need to
break this cycle, so that future generations wont have to, so that we can create our own values,
so that we can feel accepted.