My Observation

 My Observation at the Park

While I took my daily run around the park with my friend I decided to do my observation there. First, I was concentrating who was running the track if there was or males or females however there were not too many people running today. While I observed these women with their children taking them to play and watching having fun. They became my target watching mother’s behaviors with their children. In the area in which I found myself there was more African American Women and some Hispanic women. As I sat there something called my attention throughout the hour that I observed their behaviors. I did not find one male figure with their family one young mother was dealing with three young children on her own. She seem tired and in desperate need of help. She had a nurse outfit but seem to still make time for her children after work. On the other side there were three African American women between all three of them they had a total of seven children with them. They sat there watching them play and talk for a while then left the park. As I continue to watch I saw a couple of males running track and playing basketball but none of them had children with them nor brought a friend alone to keep company. Then the question came to my head how many women here are actually married or living with the guy, how many are single mothers.

            Comparing my observation with the reading assigned this past week was interesting. It made me look at the world in a different way. I always believe that us women had overcome the trend of being the perfect house wife and have become a bit more liberal. However, I concluded that much has not changed for women. Both Simon Beauvoir and Chris Barker mentioned how the male figure has more power than the female figure. It toke an hour for me to come to a clear understanding that women are still seen as the one who has to work around the house take care of the children and things around the house. Enough though most of us might think times have changed they really haven’t. If the situation was different why aren’t both parents taking care of the child and having the talk among each other and not with others. Most women here seem to be the working class in other words culture from below, still trying to make time for their children. Going back to the article I saw so many young mothers with more than 1 child and I thought to myself are they also seen as a sex objects as it was mentioned in our pervious readings (Sex Comedy). Even if they are married or single now I had a different thought. No matter how independent women may prove to be they will always have the same prospective. Females will maybe always be seen as the weak ones, the ones that want to be married and be the perfect wife with the perfect looks (Sex Comedy). And possibly with dealing with economical situation and having to put up with being seen as the sex objects.

            In chapter 7 from the Cultural Studies book I came across the identity section. Personally I felt it did fall into my observation. I saw how important language was for our society (Barker Pg 224). That is one way to understand each other as individuals. Even the children talked among each other in the playground. That was one way to get to know each other and somehow identify their personalities (Chris Barker). In the Culture Studies book it was it mentions how identity is our own creation and we change it as time goes. It is easily agreeable we are taught certain traits with our families and as we grow up we decided what we want to follow (Barker  Pg 221). As for these women having two jobs is part of their life they work to be providers for their families and be known as independent women and on the other hand they still take care of their duties at home. We are intentionally taught certain standards without asking ourselves if they are completely right to follow or where they come from. After I read this particular chapter I asked myself if being a real women meant to be a mother and get married and follow what society itself have taken care of making us believe (Barker Pg 217). I have concluded that even though time has changed we are still seen the same way and that is something that will never change. Men and women will always be identified the same way one being the powerful one and the other being the weaker person.

Work Cited Page

Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2008. Print.

De Beauvoir, Simone. "The Second Sex Introduction Woman as Other." Print.

"The Sex Comedy." 38-59. Print.