Social Location: the Determinant of who you Are
One's social location is a key element to really understand who a person is. Nearly every aspect of one's life is preordained by the choices that one will or will not have, depending upon one's environment and being. I feel that my life is no different, and who I have become is directly related to the environment that I was born into, as well as my predetermined characteristics. My grandparents are from the Midwest, and grew up with the classic close-minded attitudes that are common there. My dad, on the other hand, is very open-minded, and I was raised under the same principles. Because I grew up with these values, I am, in turn, open-minded. However, growing up in an open-minded household is not the only reason that I have become who I am. Many factors, including my ethnicity, gender, and family have contributed and even decided who I have become today.Regardless of ethnicity, be it a minority or otherwise, everyone is affected by their genetical and cultural backgrounds. Caucasian-Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latin-Americans, and every other ethnicity have their own traits. The types of neighborhoods we live in, the values that our families and friends have, and even the opportunity to find employ
Most children also look to their parents actions as "what is appropriate" or "how the world works. My environment and personal characteristics are responsible for who I am, what I value, and what concerns me in life. However, I do think that this creates more distant relationships between white Americans than Americans of other ethnicities who value "brotherhood" more. White families, in general, do not value this idea as strongly as other ethnicities. Growing up as a Caucasian-American in America, I inherited many of the concepts that white families teach their children. While this is only one example of the victimization of men in our society, it shows that although we are making steps towards equal rights and opportunities in all fields for women, many "privileges" are still being held by women that are geared towards a male-dominated culture, and this causes an unbalance. The only way our society can keep from oppressing one gender or the other, is to give us truly equal rights, and an equal chance in the face of the law. ment are all determined in part by our ethnicity. Men are still seen as oppressive, sex-hungry chauvinists, when in truth this is not the case. Many ethnicities, minorities especially, teach their children a sense of community, a sense of helping one another. The only solution is to eliminate the sexism oppressing both genders. Because we have been taught to distrust one another, and that we are all looking to take advantage of the situation, in an "ends justify the means" sort of way, very close friendships are more difficult to create and maintain than between two people who grew up with the values of friendship and community more prominent in their lives. Women and men see the same world through very different eyes. This serves as an example of how a family value, be it intentional or not, can and will have an effect on how a person reacts in society. Until this happens, our "equality" will simply be a facade that masks the fact that we are still not equal, but instead have swung to the other side of the spectrum.
Common topics in this essay:
Americans Americans,
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Caucasian-American America,
Asian-Americans Latin-Americans,
one's social,
teach children,
women seen,
grew values,
white families,
equal rights,
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Acceptance Essays
