Blog #2 – Structural Factors and Generalizations
Childhood as we know in today’s society can be described as a time of innocence, fun, and carefree. However, after reading Karen Sterheimer’s take on childhood, my perspective of this word and the meaning behind it completely changed. She states that “childhood is constantly shifting and changing, and it becomes defined based on the needs of society” (27) meaning that what we know of what childhood is now may have not been the same during a different time in America. Jazmine touched on a key point about childhood when she mentioned that different factors such as social status, living environment, ethnicity, and immigration status are predictors into determining different childhood experiences. Thus, as a society we cannot truly blame popular culture for its “negatively effect” on changing childhood. Rather, Sternheimer explains that structural forces is what influences change within childhood.
Further, generalizations, stereotypes, and labels are what our society utilizes to communicate with one another, however, learning how to properly utilize them can be confusing and difficult not only for children but also for adults. The article states that “we need, use, and draw upon generalizations to make sense of the world around us” which is true, however, when generalizations are used in a negative way to make assumptions about individuals who may not necessarily fit that specific generalization, then that becomes an issue. As Alexa stated, it is in our human nature to make generalizations about certain groups, institutions, topics, etc., to helps us understand how the world around us works. Often times, however, the media tends to make generalizations/stereotypes about certain groups without specifically targeting them which in turn creates a misunderstanding on how society sees them.
With that being said, I wanted to ask if you all were convinced by Sterheimer’s argument on structural factors as being the means for negatively affecting childhood as well as what are your thoughts on generalizations being utilized by the media.
