Conflict Theory: Symbolic Interactionalist Theory

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Symbolic interaction or interactionalist theory is on a small scale perspective of interactions between individuals or objects, it suggests that our identity or self-awareness is shaped by social interactions. Symbolic interactionalism states that our behavior changes by interactions with others and objects. According to the video we watched its basis has 3 theories: one that our actions depend on meanings, two that different people assign different meaning to things and three that our meaning of something can change. A kind of self-reflection or looking-glass theory that is based on social interactions and what society thinks of us and how we view ourselves based on this. For Example Bob is a smoker but he started a new job and at his new …show more content…

These men get pressured into finding a bride and if there family can’t afford to buy one they kidnap them. The women are forced into a home and convinced to give in. Once they do so they are married and they family relies on them to help support them by milking cows or making bread for example. They are then wanted to make babies and raise a family. To them this is a better way of life for them and sometimes the women believe it also. It is tradition to these people and part of their way of life as the norm. A Conflict theorist would describe this type of social tradition in one of two ways. One being that since the sons are being pressured into finding a bride they go out and kidnap women and families make them accept to get them to stop hounding and harassing them. Two, is that these women feel they have no choice in the matter and the ones that are able to resist and get away are the ones that want something better for themselves and fight for it even though it is not the norm for the women there. The girl Ainagul was one that got away, she stated the she didn’t want to “be a sheep” and that she didn’t want to waste her life but wanted to build her own for herself. This also caused conflict with Fatima and her mother, she wanted Fatima to be kidnapped because she was herself when she was younger. It was all part of the norm and Fatima didn’t want to do it, luckily she married who she wanted