Friendship A Deeper Look Into Relationships Sociology Essay

Friendship A Deeper Look Into Relationships Sociology Essay Like armor, good friends make us almost invincible, capable of warding off the blows life occasionally deals us. The need for social bonding and friendship is established at birth and evolves from then on. Although it is recognized and learned at a very young age, friendship can have a different meaning for everyone. You may choose your friends based on affection, disclosure, or shared values and interests. Since friendship is so common and natural, the variations and types of friendships as well as the different ways we interact within those friendships, are often over-looked and frequently not paid attention to. Within this paper I will examine the main types of friendships human-beings commonly experience, same-sex friendships and cross-sex friendships. I will also be examining how we interact within these friendships, the similarities and differences between them, and will be providing examples to help you gain a better insight on the topics. Since friendship is such a prevalent part of life, it is important to fully understand why we form the relationships we do and what makes these relationships work for us; because by being aware of how different friendships function may help your relationships be more successful in the future. Same-Sex Friendships Friendship in general has been the focus of a considerable amount of studies; however most of these studies have mainly focused on same-sex friendships. A same-sex friendship is a relationship where both individuals have the same sexual origin. This would constitute male-male and female-female friendships. This is the most common type of friendship women and men will usually experience and there are many similarities and differences discussed between the two types of relationships. Differences A variety of differences have been investigated within male-male and female-female friendships, but by far the most prominent difference studied would be that womens friendships tend to be more expressive, emotional, intimate, richer, and include more self-disclosure than mens; whereas mens tend to be more instrumental and are task, goal-, and activity-oriented (Wright Scalon, 1991; Monsour, 1992; Duck Wright, 1993; Brehm, 1992). Womens friendships are represented as intimate relationships in which sharing feelings and talking are the most prevalent activities. Mens friendships are represented as ones in which sharing activities such as sports or work dominate interaction (Walker, 1994). Womens friendships are face to face: they talk, cry together, share secrets, and that is what makes their friendship satisfying. Mens friendships are side by side and almost always revolve around some type of activity. For men, it is the doing, not the talking, that makes a friendship close (Floyd, 2009). The talking that does go on within female-female relationships compared to male-male relationships could not be more different. Women will almost always exchange feelings and talk about problems and men will discuss sports, work, or what is happening in their immediate lives. An important difference between same-sex friendships is that female ones tend to be more oriented towards emotional intimacy than male friendships (Dickens Perlman, 1981). Men will generally be less physically affectionate with other men (hugging, putting arms around each other, kissing) because they know that this behavior goes against cultural norms. While taking gender roles into consideration, women are technically raised to be more open and nurturing, whereas men are raised to be masculine and competitive. Movie Examples One example of media that displays how women interact within female friendships is the hit movie Sex and the City, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon. This movie follows four best friends in Manhattan, who share their travels in life and love and their daily discussions of romance and sexuality. In the movie Sarah Jessica Parker plays Carrie Bradshaw, A New York writer who has a column on sex, love, and relationships. She is finally getting married to her on-again off-again boyfriend of years. When he stands her up the day of her wedding, its her three girlfriends who are left to console and support her, being there for her every step of the way through a long, dramatic recovery process. With the help of her girlfriends, Carries life eventually returns to normality. As they are sitting discussing their hardships and the importance of friendship, Samantha says, We made a deal ages ago. Men, babies, doesnt matter. Were soul mates! Another example of media that displays how men interact within male friendships is the movie Old School, starring Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn. Luke Wilson plays Mitch, a man with a good job, a house, and a healthy intimate relationship; or so he thinks. Until one day Mitch catches an early flight home to find out his girlfriend has not exactly been faithful over the years. When Mitch addresses his friends, Frank and Beanie, they discuss how they have all come to a crossroads in their lives. They can choose to be responsible adults with wives, families and steady jobs; or they can postpone adulthood in favor of returning to college and start a fraternity with all the fun and none of the education. Instead of the three friends addressing their problems head on or helping each other come to terms with the complications in their lives, they closet their feelings and do not find a proper solution. Now, the majority of their time is consumed in the activity of starting a fra ternity together, centered on drinking, women and living a carefree life. As you can see, these movies depict same-sex friendships between females and same-sex friendships between males very differently. Similarities Gender differences that exist between male-male friendships and female-female friendships have clearly been demonstrated in the literature but lately, scholars have questioned its magnitude (Fehr, 2000). Research emphasizes the fact that both men and women look for more or less the same things from their same-sex friendships, they just accomplish getting it in different ways. Male friendships are not inferior to female friendships. Men may not be physically or emotionally expressive, but they also derive great support from their friendships (Zaslow, 2010). The fact that womens and mens relationships differ does not mean that friendships are more important to one sex than the other. It is believed that because women share and express feelings more openly with each other, womens friendships are more satisfying than mens are. Research has demonstrated that women and men report equal levels of closeness in their same-sex friendships (Floyd, 1995). What do differ between the male-male and female-female relationships are simply the characteristics that make those specific friendships close. For women, the key characteristic is shared conversation; for men, its shared activity (Floyd, 2009). Movie Examples Two movies that express similar female-female friendships and male-male friendships is The Sandlot and Now and Then. The Sandlot, starring Tom Guiry as Scotty Smalls and Mike Vitar as Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, is about the summer escapades of a group of local baseball buddies. These small town baseball players are young neighborhood friends who grew up together. They also all have one common interest that keeps their friendships thriving, their love of baseball, which is what their summer adventures are mainly focused around. These boys are all very different, and throughout the movie are not physically or emotionally expressive towards one another, but remain friends through the years simply because of the shared activities they enjoy doing with one another. Later on in the movie, after the boys made the transition into adulthood, Benny Rodriguez becomes a professional baseball player and Scotty Smalls is a sports commentator for one of his games. After Benny hits a home run ball to win the game he looks up at Scotty and gives him a wave and Scotty looks back at him smiling and nods with approval. These shows the men are still friends from childhood, and their friendship is still mainly focused around the shared activity and the memories they have playing together many years ago. The movie Now and Then, starring Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Gabby Hoffman and Ashley Aston Moore, is about four inseparable childhood friends who experience one of the most eventful and dramatic summers of their lives together. They are also neighborhood friends who grew up together in the same area. Their summer started out normal with attempting to save up money to buy a tree house and tell-all truth or dare sessions, and then suddenly their not-so-innocent world of childhood adventure was cracked by the reality of divorce and a death in one of their families. Although they are young, they are there for each other in overcoming these tragedies together and giving each other a shoulder to lean on through it all. Experiencing these hardships together makes their bonds stronger than ever and leads them to make a pact one summer day stating that they would always be there for each other, no matter what happened in life, all for one and one for all. They stayed true to their pact lat er in life, and remained in contact. They met back in their hometown whenever necessary to talk, to cry, or just share laughs and reminisce about old memories when they needed a friend. These girls remained friends later in life not because of the activities they shared together, but mainly because of the emotional bond they developed with one another. These two movies depict similar same-sex relationships because they are both focused on childhood friends in which a strong bond still remains throughout adulthood, but the reasons of why the bonds still remain later in life differ from the female friendships to the male friendships. Cross-Sex Friendships A cross-sex friendship is where one individual in the relationship is a man and one individual in the relationship is a woman. Cross-sex friendships are a relatively new concept and have only existed for about 100 years (Swain, 1992). Changes in our society have made the existence of cross-sex friendships possible. These friendships can be difficult to establish, and pose a number of different challenges than same-sex friendships. Problems Cross-sex friendships can be difficult at times. OMeara (1989) presented four challenges that occur at some point during a friendship between two individuals of the opposite sex. First, the individuals need to confront the emotional bond that exists between them. They need to address the bond, and clearly distinguish between each other what it is. The feelings that exist between two cross-sex friends can be confusing and hard to establish between romantic or non-romantic feelings. This is important to address in the beginning of your relationship due to the fact if it goes ignored, it can complicate your relationship in the future. The second challenge is the added concern of sexual attraction (OMeara 1989). Sexuality becomes an issue in cross-sex friendships. Added sexual dimension in a friendship can cause problems, for this reason many make the decision not to involve sexuality in their friendship in order to preserve the relationship. The third challenge that OMeara (1989) presents is inequality and power. He states that men are often seen as dominant in our society. This can often pose problems in cross-sex friendships because the tw o individuals must find a way to feel as though they are equal. The fourth challenge described by OMeara (1989) is public relationships. He states that cross-sex friends often have to deal with how they are viewed by others, which results in them often having to defend the status of their friendship. Many find it difficult to accept the fact that a man and woman can have a platonic relationship. Movie Example A movie that accurately describes some of the problems that arise from cross-sex friendships is My Best Friends Wedding, starring Julia Roberts, Dermont Mulroney and Cameron Diaz. In this film Julia Roberts plays Julianne Porter a New York food critic who has a longtime male friend Michael ONeil (Dermont Mulroney). They have remained friends since college and lead what seemed to be a very normal platonic relationship. They talked often about relationships, family, and enjoyed doing many of the same activities together. That all changed one day when Michael called Julianne to tell her he had recently become engaged. While taking this information in she realizes she loves Michael herself and sets out to sabotage his wedding with only days before the ceremony. Her tactics fail and Julianne finally has to accept she has lost her love and longtime friend to another woman. Successes There are also reasons that cross-sex friendships are successful and rewarding relationships for both parties, although it is not as common as the problems and challenges that can arise from these friendships. Some researchers have proposed that male individuals initiate cross-sex friendships to have access to sex and females initiate cross-sex friendships for protection (Bleske-Rechek Buss, 2001). Some cross-sex friends invite sexuality into the friendship. The added sexual dimension in a friendship can be a pleasant aspect within the relationship, but can also cause many problems if you are not careful. Cross-sex relationships are valued because they provide a chance for men to develop friendships with women because they are looking for more emotional and physical closeness. They may want to develop a friendship in search for more self-disclosure and more conversation about personal subjects. Chances are they do not experience this within their male friendships because they assume their male friends will be of little assistance or they fear seeming effeminate. Women, on the other hand, might be looking to form friendships with men in order to have a relationship that requires less intimacy, less personal talk, and more of an activity-based friendship. Movie Example Although I am sure examples of successful cross-sex friendships exist in reality, the majority of cross-sex friendships displayed in the media almost always end in a problematic situation. Usually one member of a platonic friendship ends up wanting to be romantically involved with the other. Therefore it was challenging to find a valid example of a successful cross-sex friendship, and I did not succeed in uncovering one. Conclusion After discussing the similarities and differences within same-sex friendships, as well as cross-sex friendships and how they can be rewarding or problematic; I hope that you have gained a broader understanding within the complicated subject of friendship. It is inevitable that we all need and strive for friendship, and by looking deeper into a certain area of friendship you may find it can actually answer many commonly asked questions or help resolve a problem you may be having within one of your own personal relationships. This should assist you in constructing your meaning of friendship as well as determining exactly how you are influenced by your friendships and how your friendships are influenced by you.

Science vs. Religion: How were we created? Essays -- essays research p

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The idea of creation is one of the most controversial issues we have today. Your age, background, religion, and beliefs are the main characters that effect what you believe created the world. Science believes several theories on the creation but the most accepted is the Big Bang Theory. Religion has their own views on creation, Christians believe that God created the world, Islamic believe that Allah created man but in steps, and Mayans believe that the Heart of Sky created man. I plan on discussing each view in detail and then you the reader may make your decision on what you feel are true.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Big Bang Theory is the scientific theory to explain the beginning of the world and of man. Scientists have discovered that there was a beginning of time, nothing before and what we call our universe after. According to the theory the universe started as small, dense, and extremely hot. After what they call the Big Bang, the universe cooled and expanded. An example that many scientists use is a balloon. The say that is starts with the popping of a balloon, releasing all its contents. Then the balloon continues to inflate. I would compare it to a raw noodle turning into a cooled, cooked noodle. The noodle was dense and extremely hot into an expanded, cool noodle. There are several evidences that support this theory, the first is that there was a beginning, second according to Hubble’s law the galaxies and stars are moving away from us. Hubble’s law would support the theory of expansion and that the universe was once compact. Another piece of eviden ce is the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation that would support that the universe was very hot at one time. The last piece of evidence would be that large quantities of Hydrogen and Helium are found in the universe and supports the models of Big Bang. The Big Bang Theory is the most popular and possible theory for creation, it is not the only one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Christians view creation as clear and simple, God created the world in six days. According to the bible, â€Å"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,† (Genesis 1:1). â€Å"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day,† (Genesis 1:31). The main evidence to support this theory is the Bible. If you believe i... ...ases the animals into the wooden people’s homes. The animals decide they were abused by the wooden people and are going to do the same to them. They were chased off into the forest after their faces being crushed and then turned into monkeys. Heart-of-Sky eventually creates humans from corn, maize. This story speaks many truths but does not explain the in detail how the universe was created, as the theories I spoke of earlier do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are millions of theories traveling around our world today. It is hard to say which ones are true and which are not. It is too hard to say about a time when there was no life. I don’t believe we will ever really know how we were created; we can only discover more evidence and more theories. I hope that you are more knowledgeable about creation now after reading this paper. Works Cited Holy Bible, King James version. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc: 1979. Lederman, Leon. The God Particle : If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? Delta Publishing; 1994. Tedlock, Dennis. Popol Vuh, a translation. www.jaguar-sun.com/popolvuh.html Shah, Zia. The Islamic view of Creation. www.ldolphin.org/islamcreat.html

Advertising does not affect me or other people, so they should always be allowed Essay

A husband comes home from work earlier than usual and finds his wife in bed. He finds it awkward so he thinks she is sick and then suddenly a phone with the same ring tone as his starts ringing. A naked man strangely comes out of the closet and answers his phone ignoring them and then goes back to the closet and of course the husband is shocked and frustrated with his wife. This is a funny TV commercial for Comviq company. But as hilarious, stupid and entertaining as it seems, it stills sends a message to the viewers about the Scandinavian mobile phone operator Comviq showing why they invented the silent mode on your cell phone. I disagree with the statement in that adverts have large impact on affecting the viewers in both positive and negative ways, therefore I am going to discuss why it should be allowed sometimes to and to some extent restricted. Ads are mainly known for promoting products, marketing goods and selling new products. Some advertising techniques used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues, such as political ideology, energy conservation and others. Take for example Guinness, it is one of the most successful beer brands in the world, being exported worldwide. It has a long history of marketing campaigns from award winning television commercials to beer mats and posters. Some advertisements also promote â€Å"images† for companies for example most cigarette companies for example Marlboro Man has the message: â€Å"smoking cause lung cancer† written on its packet. Smirnoff a brand of Vodka also has advertisements informing viewers of the risk of drinking too much while driving. Both of these companies in a way are trying to show a positive side of them in showing that they care about the lives of their customers even though their products are more of a menace. Educating and entertaining viewers are also the affairs of adverts. Some adverts that are used to sell products for example condoms are used to motivate people to buy them by informing about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. While some ads’ main purpose is just to educate the viewers, for example opposing of selling of drugs to youth and informing why it is dangerous to their health. To capture the viewers’ attention the ads must be entertaining. Entertaining in the sense that they are funny, thrilling or captivating. These ads helps viewers a lot for example in spicing up their lives, daily conversations and humorous ones provides them with lots of laughs. Therefore helps us to fight stress. However there are times when ads should be banned for every good thing has a negative side of it. In the process of advertising some ads should be alert of who they are broadcasting to. They should be prudent to their gender, class, age and should also consider time, when the ads should be shot out. Personally I get irritated when I am watching the most fascinating part of the movie and commercial emerges on the screen or during meal times disgusting ads show up and you suddenly loose your appetite. Like I mentioned earlier the class of the viewers should also be reflected on in that some ads makes some unhappy wanting what they don’t have. This is especially the poor because of course the upper class will be happy with new products or fashion that they can afford. Some people may also be disheartened or depressed by some ads for example ads featuring beautiful or handsome models make many people who feel they are not good looking enough or beautiful bodied discouraged and they end up turning to dangerous things like drugs especially the youth for comfort. In spite of that some ads pollute our eyes and ears everywhere we go. They pollute our eyes in the sense that they show obscene pictures and videos in the course of advertising. People who have corrupted minds don’t really mind but some do especially parents who don’t want their children to be brought up in a â€Å"contaminated† manner. These ads don’t usually come a long way because some people are sued and therefore they end up getting banned from being broadcasted on t.v, internet, e.t.c. Commercials on radio may also end up getting banned especially when a lot of irritating vulgar language is used. Some ads let us realize that the world is full of lies and teaches us to be careful. Many people do watch and read ads but most of them do not believe them maybe because of an awful past experience. There are some cases when ads have been sued because of manipulating the viewers for example The Dr. James slimming pills, an American product was banned, the company was fined and the buyers of the product were refunded. Exaggeration is also another thing that is unpleasant to viewers because of the way it influences them especially small children who cannot judge lies and will only beg for things. They are simply brainwashed and end up disturbing their parents by crying and pleading for the things that they have just seen even whether they are manipulating or not. They might even try to do what their role models in the ads are doing which is very dangerous for example like dinking â€Å"red bull†, an energy drink which contains alcohol just to fly like superman. I must conclude that ads have much more positive than negative influences. Ads make many people’s life easier in that it reduces stress, entertains. They also help people with various different business firms to sell their products, market goods and also promote their organizations. However there are some special cases when ads should be careful for example who, when and why they are targeting. I belief that in this world, we cannot do without advertisements. It plays a major role in communicating between many different groups e.g a retailer and a consumer. For that reason I would call to action that instead of banning ads we should improve them by excluding exaggeration or manipulation, and vulgar language or obscene videos featuring in ads and all would be well.

The History of Mr. Potato Head

Did you know that the original Mr. Potato Head was missing a head? The original model didnt come with the familiar brown plastic potato. Inventing Mr. Potato Head In 1949, Brooklyn inventor and designer George Lerner (1922–1995) came up with a revolutionary idea: a toy that children could design themselves. His toy came bundled as a set of plastic body parts—noses, mouths, eyes—and accessories—hats, eyeglasses, a pipe—that were attached to pins. Children would then decorate a potato or other vegetable with the pieces, inventing as they went along.   Lerner shopped his toy idea around for a year but met with resistance. During World War II, the U.S. had suffered through food rationing and somehow using a potato as a toy seemed like a waste. So, instead, Lerner sold his idea to a cereal company for US$5,000, who would distribute his plastic parts as prizes in cereal.   Mr. Potato Head Meets Hasbro In 1951, the Rhode Island Hassenfeld Brothers company was primarily a toy manufacturing and distributing company, making modeling clay and doctor and nurse kits. When they met George Lerner, they saw great potential and paid the cereal company to stop production, buying the rights to Mr. Potato Head for $7,000. They gave Lerner $500 in advance and 5 percent royalties for every set sold.   Girl playing with Mr. Potato Head in 1953. Picture Post / Getty Images Those first sets had hands, feet, ears, two mouths, two pairs of eyes, and four noses; three hats, eyeglasses, a pipe, and eight pieces of felt suitable for beards and mustaches. They came with a styrofoam head that children could use, but instructions suggested a potato or other vegetable would do as well.   In 2002, Mr. Potato Head celebrated his 50th birthday, with these retro examples of the old spud. Spencer Platt / Getty Images The First TV Ad for Children The first television advertisement directed to children, rather than adults, was by the Hassenfeld Brothers for Mr. Potato Head, with the toy riding in a wagon and playing with kids; it premiered on April 30, 1952. The kits sold like hotcakes: the Hassenfelds earned more than $1 million in the first year; in 1968, they changed their name to Hasbro, and today they are the third largest toy company in the world.  Ã‚   Mrs. Potato Head and the Kids By 1953, it became clear that Mr. Potato Head needed a family. Mrs. Potato Head, their children Yam and Spud, and the childrens friends Kate the Carrot, Pete the Pepper, Oscar the Orange, and Cookie Cucumber soon joined the family. A Mr. Potato Head car, boat, and kitchen were soon marketed, and eventually, the brand expanded into puzzles, creative play sets, and electronic hand-held board and video games.   Hasbros later successes include Monopoly, Scrabble, Play-Doh, Tonka trucks, G.I. Joe, Tinker Toys, and Lincoln Logs; but the first and most influential was the famous spud.   Safety Issues The United States was changing rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and by the late sixties, the first child safety laws were passed, the Child Protection Act of 1966, and the 1969 Child Protection and Toy Safety Act. The gave the Federal Drug and Safety administration the ability to ban unsafe toys: the Consumer Product Safety Administration wasnt  formed until 1973.   Mr. Potato Heads small pieces of plastic with sharp pins on them were considered unsafe for small children. At the same time, parents complained that they kept finding moldy potatoes under their kids beds. In 1964, Hasbro began making hard plastic bodies, and eventually larger body and part sizes for its plastic potato.   Kylo Ren Mr. Potato Head. Hasbro The Modern Mr. Potato Head Hasbro has developed a reputation for responding to cultural changes, or perhaps taking advantage of them. In 1986, Mr. Potato Head became the official spokespud of the Great American Smokeout, surrendering his pipe to then-surgeon general C. Everett Koop. In 1992, Mr. Potato Head starred in an early Public Service Announcement for the Presidents Council for Physical Fitness, renouncing his role as couch potato.  In 1996, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head joined the League of Women Voters in an advertising campaign to get out the vote, and in 2002 when he turned 50, he joined the AARP.   Mr. Potato Head has become a staple of American culture over the years. In 1985, he received four write-in votes in the mayoral election in the potato hotbed of Boise, Idaho. He also had a starring role in all three Toy Story  movies, where he was voiced by veteran character actor Don Rickles.  Today, Hasbro, Inc. still manufactures Mr. Potato Head, still responding to cultural changes with special Mr. Potato Head kits for Optimash Prime, Tony Starch, Luke Frywalker, Darth Tater, and Taters of the Lost Ark. Sources Everhart, Michelle. Even at 50, Mr. Potato Head still all smiles. Quad City Times. August 22, 2002.   Miller, G. Wayne. Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies That Make Them. New York: Times Books 1998.   Mr. Potato Head. Western Pennsylvania History Spring 2016:10.   Swann, John P. Clacker Balls and the Early Days of Federal Toy Safety. FDA Voice. U.S. Food and Drug Association 2016. Web.