SOC 202 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Semiotics, Social Constructivism, Oedipus Complex
Document Summary
* essentialist theories say identity is a fundamental, unchanging core of meaning, grounded in history. * social constructivist theories emphasize cultural/political circumstances in which identities are produced socially. * gender theories emphasize the mythological characteristics of gender and sex. * identity is an expression of a mix of culture and materiality in the form of a body. * drive theory says we are born as pleasure seeking individuals, but after resolving the oedipus complex and through socialization from parents, peers, defense mechanisms and taboos we come to accept social demands, especially at a young age. * we push these desires to our unconscious so that we don"t act them out, but they are still present. * by meeting the social demands of society, we are shaping our personalities/identities. * seen in popular culture in the exclusion of sex and homosexuality in children"s shows, desexualizing in kids movies, boys and girls activities being separated (ex. soccer for boys, dance for girls)
