Just Another Creation of Society

Analise Gates
Humans are social creatures of nature, we have a demand for interaction with others.
What makes a person different than a human? Socialization. Socialization is the process by
which children and adults learn from others. It is simply what makes us people. Much of what
we are was created by society. Many norms and values we have formed are created by society. I
often think as myself as an independent individual with thoughts and ideas that I invent. In
reality, this is not entirely true. . The ideas and opinions I uphold are mostly created by society.
My surroundings define my personality. I have been socialized by my peers to believe that my
religion is something I have to conceal; by my family, that I have a very naive understanding of
other races besides my own; and by the media, and my worth as a woman is based upon my
appearance.
Although 32% of the world's population is Christian, I have been taught to conceal my
belief and emotions about my religion. As an American, I have the right to practice any religion I
want, especially Christianity, but I have learned to not speak of my faith, particularly in school.
Many people argue that talking about religion is acceptable in our culture, mainly because
Christianity is an agent group,but I have experienced that the opposite is true. When I do talk
about my religion, I find that my peers have very different opinions and I almost feel
discriminated. I have had to conceal my faith to the point that naming what religion I am is lifethreatening. A mass shooting in Oregon took place on October 1, 2015. Surviving witnesses said
that the shooter asked his victims if they were Christian and if they were he then executed them.
Yet this is only the beginning of Christian discrimination. Across the world, Christians are being
targeted and murdered because of their faith. I have grown up in a society that doesn't even let
me accept who I really am and forces me to conceal my beliefs. As Jonathan Swift says We
have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.
Because I have been raised in a sheltered environment, socialization has isolated me from
experiencing different races. I have limited personal experience of other races and cultures other
than my own. The media has personally shown me many blurred images of what other races are
like. Living in America, where 63% of our population is white, I have little experience with
different cultures. I have been blindfolded from several races other than white. In alpine skiing, I
have sadly seen an overwhelming number of participants that are white. This gave me the image
that ski racing was a sport for white people. But why do I think this? Clearly the color of our skin
does not affect our ability to participate in activities. Our society has come up with the image that
the color of our skin determines how we are as people. If anything, I have been socialized to
question why we as people have come up with norms such as these. Why have I been taught that
white people have a white privilege just because the color of their skin? I question everything
there is about race because in the end we are all equal, regardless of the color of our skin. In the
Ted Talk Black Men Ski by Stew, he articulates stereotypes about race differences and cultural
differences; instead of shining the light on how we are the same. The very well written song tells

about the stereotype that black men dont ski. I have been socialized in my race to be so nave of
what other races are like, other than my own. We are clearly not born with racism, but we are
taught it by society.
As a woman in this society, the media has given me a huge message of how I should look
and act. I often ask myself: is a woman's appearance determine her self-worth? Although this
accusation is in no means true, society has taught me to believe that. Afton times, woman in the
media are portrayed as prizes that men can win.. As Alice Walker said The most common way
people give up their power is by thinking they dont have any. Media has corrupted the minds of
young women to believe that their worth is based upon how they look. At a young age, I knew
the so called norms of being a girl, but I never took them into consideration until lately. The high
standards of woman in our society have transformed me into to someone obsessed about my
looks. I focus on the way I look and how other people see me much more than the important
things in life. Beauty is a curse on the world, it keeps us from seeing who the real monsters
are. Said the Carver from Nip/Tuck. In our society, girls have been taught that if they are
desirable , it will affect their character and how they are accepted by our society. The
overwhelming amount of Hyper- sexualization that occurs in Hollywood, its toxic, theres no
question. It affects all of us including young girls trying to seek an identity. Says Jane Fonda in
Missrepresentation. We live in a culture where woman are brought up to be fundamentally
insecure, and our worth is only based off of our looks. Society pressures women with
unattainable standards. We try so hard to be perfect. To be everything society wants us to be, but
we didnt notice by the time we were changing we lost our selves. We end up as just another
creation of society. z.a.

Much of what we know as people is created by society. I personally have been socialized
by my peers, my family and the media about my religion, my race and my gender. My religion
has been something that I have to completely conceal to fit in to society. My race has been turned
into a confusing subject that has divided us as people. Lastly my gender has corrupted me into
someone unsatisfied with their self-image, striving to live up to the unrealistic standards of our
society, and basing my self-worth as a woman on my appearance. All of these components have
made me who I am and have created the mask that I wear. To break this harmful cycle is all is
one of will power. Our society has taught us to not be who we really are, but who society wants
us to be. We are just another creation of society. We are blaming society, but we are society. To
make a better society, we must change ourselves first. We do not need magic to change the
world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine
better. J.K. Rowling

Mask Paragraph
My mask represents many of the ways I have been socialized and
how society has affected me personally. I portray three topics on my
mask, the objects that have relevance to each topic. First, my race is
portrayed as a blindfold made of pictures representing race. This
represents the concept that I have been isolated from different races,
almost blindfolded. Next I have a cross covering up my lips. This
represents how I have been socialized to not talk about my religion. The
small cross acts as a shushing finger telling me to stay quiet. Lastly, for
my gender, I painted a mask with makeup representing how I have to
paint my face every day to reach the high expectations of being a
woman. I then bound the mask on to a mannequin head, the head
represents my own, and the straps representing society. I show how as a
woman, society attempts to form this mask of unattainable standards that
are bound to me making this difficult to be who I really am. I also have a
choker around the neck with a lock that says society. This shows that I
feel as if society is choking me with all of its norms and high
expectations. Last, but certainly not least, I have an exposed brain on top
of my head. Unlike the rest of my mask, the brain represents positivity.
The exposed brain represents that all we need to change society is
change the way we think, and all the power we need to make the world a
better comes from a creative mind.
We do not need magic to change the world. We carry all the
power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine
better. J.K. Rowling