Sociological Analysis Examples

All of a sudden, I found myself thinking sociologically when I went to practice for a week and evaluated the ways that my team falls into sociological trends. I chose to observe the softball team at Rollins College that I am a part of. Although going to practice, playing in games, and going to dinner together are seemingly mundane and habitual tasks, is there a deeper meaning behind the behaviors and conversations that take place throughout these encounters? Being a member of a team means maintaining certain behaviors, relying on others, and most importantly being controlled by a coach or leader. Although all of the members probably think we are in control, there is a different power dynamic at play. How can observations of teammate interaction

Many people on my team identify as lesbian or bisexual, and conversations regarding this topic take place daily. One major conversation that took place was about a girl on my team who everyone believes to be gay despite her having a long-term boyfriend. A specific example was when we traveled on the bus we brought a stereo system and played karaoke, when it was her turn to sing, the person in charge of music played the song Hot N Cold by Katy Perry which alludes to kissing a girl. Although she is a good sport, it is not acceptable behavior to categorize someone for their sexuality in a general setting. It also begs the question as to why there is such a consensus on the team that everyone believes she is a lesbian. According to symbolic interactionism, people are able to “denote [actions] symbolically and treat the actions and those who perform them as symbolic objects” (Hunter & McClelland, 2018). Although in a broader sense this could refer to people understanding that a green light means drive, while a red light means to stop, it also applies in this situation. Because she tends to dress in a masculine way, does not wear makeup, and exhibits “manly behavior” we interpret these symbols to conclude that she is gay. This is due to the fact that we are exposed to some of these behaviors regularly and associate them with a gay