| Subject: Re: Popularity Discussion |
Author:
Jaclyn Suffel
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Date Posted: 20:55:29 01/20/08 Sun
In reply to:
LaFrance Hunt
's message, "Popularity Discussion" on 14:47:07 01/20/08 Sun
>I definitely found class to be entertaining and
>enjoyable. I found the discussion on popularity to be
>especially interesting. During class, I could not
>think of who the two most popular people were. At my
>high school, I can’t really say that there was any one
>person who was the most popular but maybe a few
>popular people. Due to some segregation at times(by
>classmates), popularity was divided by race. The
>blacks who were popular were those who had expensive
>material possessions (i.e. the nicest car, clothes,
>house, shoes, etc…). Also for black females you were
>popular if you were neat, outgoing, and had nice hair
>and body. For black males you were popular if you were
>an athlete. For white females, those who were popular
>had well developed bodies, considered pretty by
>others, thin, and either on the cheerleading squad or
>dance squad. For males, the most popular people were
>the athletes. All in all, it is interesting to note
>that each culture has different values and ideals that
>shape the way they view things, things as simple as
>popularity.
La France's response made me think back to our discussion on popularity and how it might have been formulated socially by the pace of development and peer response to that. One thing we did not discuss that I realized in La France's response is the criteria of what makes "popular" varies from race to race, class to class, and gender to gender. I notice in my children at Craigmont that what makes popular for young African American students is perhaps very different (especially physically, including manner of dress) than perhaps what makes white, hispanic, or asian children be considered popular by their peers. La France mentioned having "nice hair" as one of the criteria for young Black women to be considered attractive and therefore popular. It took me a minute to understand what this might mean because in my world and with my experience, this ment nothing to me. Once I actually computed this statement I realized that hair is very much so an attractiveness issue with many African American women whereas it was not as much of a gauge in my white world. In the end, I realized that no matter what race, attractiveness (no matter how it is measured) is a HUGE (and perhaps the most important)aspect to being accepted and liked in the adolescent psych. Whether it is nice hair, a well developed or built body, or the clothes you wear, no matter what race children are, attractiveness is an overwhelming and incredibly important aspect.
As a teacher, I realize that my sensitivity to that is imperative. If children attack other children by challenging their attractiveness, I have always interviened. Now with this understanding, I find it even more critical. If I let rude quips and snide remarks about appearance slide, I would be contributing to negative self image that might last a life time.
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