Body Watching Observations Roshani Joshi (4196131) Deborah Boutilier F13 SOCL1104 November 26th, 2013

Joshi, 2

Subject 1: The first subject I observed was a middle-aged woman with an average build body with very bold hair and makeup. She was wearing bright coloured clothing that was tightly fitted. Ive seen this individual a few times on the subway from Toronto going to the bus terminal on Kipling. This particular female seemed socially deviant to me simply by the way her appearance was. Her eyes were covered in black eyeliner and looked menacing (Halloween make up). Her face had sparkles all over it and her hair was tied in a high ponytail but still seemed messy. She appeared extremely rebellious. The fact that she looked so bold made her seem divergent and not like the rest of the crowd. I had assumed she was some sort of a dancer or performer from the city or some sort of an artist. When it comes to the social typing process (Bereska, 2011) the stage I chose to label this subject is description. This is because I simply observed this individual and assumed the type of lifestyle she could be living. As mentioned in the textbook this stage occurs when someone is being labeled for theyre appearance or characteristics and a label is then applied based just on appearance or characteristics. People often looked twice at this woman and seemed shocked and bothered by her presence as she stood out compared to the rest of us. I feel that this is because the women looked dirty and suspicious. There was an overall awkward and unsure vibe every time someone new had arrived. There are Factors of both voluntary and involuntary deviance styles present with the subject. This is due to the fact that I applied the description stage of the social typing process. I was unable to be certain and exact about the subjects appearance and

Joshi, 3 characteristics. Voluntary deviance can be present as the subjects style could be a personal choice. In most cases, as adults we choose how we dress and do our hair and are responsible for our own appearances. In some cases due to ones job or standard of living they may be forced to dress or look a certain way and they may not have a choice or be able to make these decisions for themselves. This is where the involuntary deviance may take place. My observation is mainly based on the subjective dichotomy style of deviance because it was based upon the reaction of others in reference to ones appearance and reaction of the generalized others (Bereska, 2011). This is because on the bus I had made my assumptions, which were established by the first impression I got of the subject through their appearance. I noticed how they behaved towards others and how others behaved towards them. The theoretical explanation for this situation is the Cultural Conflict Theory. This is because the subject was different from the dominant culture (on the bus) and seemed deviant to the rest of us based on the norms of our different cultures. Personally my reaction to this individual (subject 1) was unlike the other people on the bus. As a make-up enthusiast I love bold make-up looks and think they are beautiful. I thought the individual was brave for being out in public dressed and looking like this. I try not to judge people based on their appearance but sometimes we can all make that mistake. Although I understand that in social situations being such a intrepid individual can cause some uproars and make you stand out in a negative way. This subject was a victim of subjective dichotomy and the cultural conflict theory. I personally believe this is unfair and I disagree and feel saddened for the individual who

Joshi, 4 was being judged for simply expressing herself. As a society we can sometimes be closed off and narrow minded to people who are different from what we are used to. Subject 2: For my second observation an individual the stood out to me was female at Niagara College. She was a middle-aged woman who had blue hair and was dressed like a pre-teen girl. She had short hair, was wearing a happy bunny backpack and a matching t-shirt. She stood out to me because of the way she was talking to the secretary in the finical aid office. She seemed to be asking questions that made no sense and seemed deviant to me because I found that she was giving the lady attitude and came off as a very rebellious and rude personality. She intrigued me because of the way she was dressed and acted. I would not expect that behavior form an adult and thought she was dressed immaturely. She seemed careless and I felt the people in the office were not taking her seriously because of this. The social typing process as mentioned before is a 3-stage process. The stage in particular I felt applied most to this subject is evaluation. I feel this way because the textbook states that this occurs when a judgment is attached to the individual by virtue of a label that was previously attached (Bereska, 2011). I felt this was applicable because this individual was judged not only by me but by the office worker as well. The both of us had assumed she was deviant because of her actions and attitude towards the situation. I had noticed the office worker and I were on the same page when she looked over at me and rolled her eyes while the individual was talking. Not only did I think she was deviant by her outer appearance but once I had observed her for some time I then realized I had negatively judged her twice just like in the evaluation stage of the social typing process.

Joshi, 5 In this specific situation the deviance had seemed voluntary because of her actions. She simply could have been kinder to those around her and behaved in a mannerly and polite manner. I feel the subject purposely chose to react to the situation this way because she was angry (seemed like an angry individual). I also feel the deviance was voluntary because even after the office worker continued to be kind to her the subject was showing the same type of rude behaviors and lead the office worker to feel negatively towards her. Both subjective and objective dichotomy was present in this situation but Objective dichotomy is more applicable because, the deviant characteristics were what affected their position in society (Bereska, 2011). The critical theoretical explanation that would apply best to this situation is the Conflict Theory (group conflict stage). This is because there was a power struggle and the subject did carry out a deviant behavior throughout the conversation to support herself. Personally my reaction to Subject 2 was similar to all of the other persons. I thought of her to be someone who had a very negative attitude and to be very bitter. I felt she lacked manners and common social skills. Unfortunately, I found myself very annoyed and impatient for having to wait behind this subject in line and I thought to myself why does she keep repeating the same questions and not listen to the lady trying to help her? Everyone in the line seemed they did not want to deal with this subject. I often noticed people sighing and checking their watches. The subject created a negative impression and I feel that we had all judged her and believe if she was a kinder person maybe we could have had a positive reaction to her and been able to further assist her.

Joshi, 6 Subject 3: For my third subject I observed a male Forever 21 employee. He was a teenager and seemed abnormally thin with a great sense of style. The subject had a huge smile on his face when I had walked in and he welcomed my friends and I into the store. He stood out to me because of his outfit and vibrant personality. He was wearing very fitted skinny jeans and a pink button up shirt with a fedora (hat). He spoke to us in a high pitch tone and a few of my friends and said things like oh my god he is so gay and could he get any more girly? my peers were amused by him as he continued to speak to us and help us find items we were interested in, we had thought he was a very helpful person (who was very good at his job).

I then continued to observe this individual through interacting with him and watching my friends socializing with him. I also noticed many other customers and their reactions towards him. I noticed that the female customers would greet him with a smile and kind words whereas the males would look at him funny or ignore his greetings. I noticed that the male customers had treated the subject negatively because they assumed by his appearance that he was a homosexual and said rude stereotypical things like what a faggot and they would often laugh and walk by the employee or simply just roll their eyes as they entered the store. Forever 21 is typically a store for teenage females and males often come in with their sisters, girlfriends, or friends. Therefore I feel that is one of the main reasons this individual was judged and stereotyped due to his appearance and character.

Joshi, 7 When it comes to the social typing process the stage that I feel best applies to this is the description process. I feel this process applies best because like stated before it is when a label is placed on an individual because of an observed behavior or characteristic (Bereska, 2011). I made this connection by observing others interact with the subject and realized most people generally reacted the same way. The subject often went out of their way to help customers, I understand that is his job and maybe thats why he was trying to be helpful but I also thought he had a positive attitude and seemed like a king person. Therefore I feel the description aspect of the social typing theory best applies because the subject was being judged based on her looks and characteristics, which seemed quite feminine. My observation for subject 3 was mainly based on the subjective dichotomy because of how the generalized others reacted towards the subjects appearance (Bereska, 2011). Even though I had personally interacted with the subject I still managed to somewhat judge his appearance and characteristics but as I watched him interact with other peers I had realized that this was a case of the theoretical explanation of Postmodern Theories from my understanding this theory connects with subject 3 because this theory is best correlated with rejection and individuals often rejected this individual immediately.

My personal reaction to subject 3 at first was similar to everyone elses reaction but after observing and interacting with the individual I had realized I just rejected him and gave in to all the stereotypes and other individuals opinions about the subject. I realized that this was wrong and continued to watch his interactions with others and

Joshi, 8 realized that although his deviance was voluntary and seemed like his own choice it could also be involuntary because sometimes we can give into our personal beliefs and characteristics and just need to be ourselves. I believe this individual was deviant but in a positive way and supported himself and his beliefs no mater what anyone thought of him and he did not allow other people negative reactions to hurt or change him. I felt that I came around and thought differently bout this individual then I did immediately after the first impression that I had received. Would you judge someone based on his or her appearance? Or would you allow them to happily be themselves and not let that get in the way with how you treat them? I feel that although most of us do the first option we should try to come around to the second one and give everyone a chance because something that we may consider deviant can be considered the norm in another culture and we should accept everyone for whom they are.

Joshi, 9 Work Cited: Bereska, T. M. (2011). Deviance, Conformity, and Social Control in Canada. Toronto: Pearson.