Divisions in Society

Why is it that as an American society certain type of divisions or groups are created? These different types of divisions create ideologies or acceptable ways that a person needs to look like or act. It also creates a hierarchical system where one group will be more dominant and have more control than the other.

For example, there is a division between people that are thin, fit, and slim and people that are obese or overweight. What does society think about the people who are thin? Society creates these ideas that make thin, slim, and fit people more acceptable. We see this in the magazines, TV, commercials, the mass media, where thin, slim, and fit bodies come out all the time to sell the image and the product. For instance, when are we going to see an overweight man on commercial selling Polo underwear? Most likely we will not because they will not look good and will not sell the product. Who knows?

Also thin, slim, and fit people are perceived as being healthy. It makes people think that in order for them to be healthy they need to have this thin, slim, and fit body. Like we discussed in the women in sport class, these ideas create what’s called fat phobia, the fear of being fat, obese, or overweight. This makes people go to extreme limits to fit these norms in whatever possible way. In either way this creates stress on that person because they can’t meet the criteria of that perfect body image.

So if we see an overweight person, assumptions are already made that this person is lazy, and that they don't care about their bodies. We make the assumption that an overweight person cannot run because he is too heavy, he is not athletic enough. In one of the articles discussed in class, “Unbearable Lessons: Contesting Fat Phobia in Physical Education” it mentions that these obese and overweight bodies lack the discipline and control over their bodies. This is not true; it’s a matter of shaping the body in the way you want it to perform through practice, conditioning, and dedication.

Overall, the way I see it is that if these divisions or groups in society continue to exist there is always going to be that group that would be seen as greater or more important than the other. Then again creating this hierarchical system and this makes it hard for people who go out of the norm to not be seen differently. It becomes hard for that person that steps out of the box because they will be criticized. Also, there are more divisions in society such as gender, racial, and sexual preference that we also need to think about. So the question is what can we do to eliminate or change these ideas?

Andres A.
Kin 338I t/th 9:30