Youth is or a culturally constructed category
When looking up the definition of youth I came across several interpretations that try to explain what it means to be an adolescent in today’s ever-changing culture. According to wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn, youth is defined as:
· a young person (a young man or boy) young:
· young people collectively; “rock music appeals to the young”; youth everywhere rises in revolt”
· the time of life between childhood and maturity
· early maturity; the state of being young or immature or inexperienced
· an early period of development; “during the youth of the project”
Impressions of adolescents are constantly changing in today’s culture. As stated in the assumptions of youth and conceptual framework of our syllabus "race, class, ability, gender, sexuality and size intersect and interrupt the category of youth". When discussing intention vs. implication and dominant ideologies in our society during class we talked about how the media portrays certain characteristics as acceptable across various cultures. We conferred about how being a straight, christian, white, able-bodied American male who owns property are individuals with a certain amount of power in today’s culture because those individuals meet the “status quo” so to speak.
Teenagers are not some alien life form
Although I concur and understand that we have all been teenagers at some point in our lives, I don’t necessarily agree that we are the same person we were as teenagers. Granted as we become older our life experiences shape who we are and what journey through life we decide to take but, I do not agree that we remain the same individual. I, for example am not the same shy insecure individual that I once was at the age of thirteen. I am more confident and accepting of who I am. In my experiences in working with adolescents and young adults I am aware of how tough the period of adolescents can be on young adults and therefore, I listen to their concerns without judgment because I understand how these issues affect them in this stage of their lives.
Media Matters
Media is everywhere, influencing various aspects of our life. Television, magazines and advertisements showcase images of incredibly thin women that compel women to feel insecure and dissatisfied with their bodies and or self image. What many individuals, adults and teens alike neglect to consider is that the images portrayed on the front cover of some of America’s most popular magazines have been altered to imitate perfection, even though there is truthfully no such thing as perfection. What would be ideal, however, is for teenagers and young adults to be aware of these technologies and learn to analyze what they perceive in the media and filter what is realistic and what isn’t. I believe that television; magazine and billboard advertisements should display more positive and realistic imagery of beauty and acceptance for who we are regardless of our flaws.
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMxtBL8lHbU
Here is a video I found about how all facets of the media affect women’s body image and their interpretation of beauty in today’s culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUsKIApTewQ
Here is a Dove commercial that encourages our culture to promote positive imagery of beauty and self-esteem within our media.
Bibiliography
Definitions of youth on the Web: Youth. Retrieved February 12, 2010, from wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
0 comments:
Post a Comment