American Doll Sociology

I have to agree with the social constructionist perspective that society uses each and every one of us to project their ideology of gender on us like a blank screen. Things that we take for granted and seem natural are actually culturally defined or socially construed. For instance beauty, our text gives several examples of how beauty is projected on us through magazines, TV, movies and artifacts like a child’s doll. To illustrate this Ryle (2015, p.262) uses the introduction of Barbie, an American doll to Brazil. Barbie was a contradiction to the native doll Susi, which was a reflection of the indigenous population. As the doll gained popularity it changed how Brazilian girls imagined what constitute beauty. The Barbie became a social construct, a culture creation or interpretation of a

The study took place in Pearl Harbor base gym. I wanted to see how many members were exercising to improve outer appearance or for the advancement of their health. The survey included 16 respondents and consisted of three basic questions. The first question, “what is your main purpose for coming to the gym?” The number one generic answer was to stay in shape. This led to a follow-up question, define staying in shape, 12 respondents said not to become fat. Only a four responded with identifying staying in shape in terms of increasing their health benefits like a stronger heart, mobility, or a way of lowering stress. These four members appeared to be much older. Finally when ask were do you get your vision of fitness? The number one response was magazines like Muscle Fitness, Shape, Flex, FitnessRX and Women’s Health. In his article Health And Beauty Magazine Reading And Body Shape Concerns Among a Group of College Women, Steven Thomsen (2002, p.1001) found that health and fitness magazines had a correlation to how people view their body in a negative