Mask Project
Age Discrimination
No matter what people think, the world revolves around stereotypes. Because of the way teens are socialized, they are discriminated against. Socialization is how you are taught to act, dress, look, and think, through family, media, and friends. It may seem silly, but this discrimination has an effect on kid’s looking glass self, or how they see themselves. Some of this discrimination can be rightly placed, but most of it comes from stereotypes.
Being young, people have always looked down on me. Whatever the topic, people have never truly listened to me, just because I’m younger. One day my dad and uncle were discussing a book my dad was writing. When I tried to voice my opinion on the idea my uncle stopped me said something like “Sweetie, I don’t think you understand exactly what were talking about. Maybe you’ll get it in a few years.” Just because I was younger, he didn’t think I understood negative socialization.’ Its like they think that they are better just because they are older. People don’t expect kids to have good ideas. They tell us that we can do anything we want to if we try hard enough, but it’s hard to continue trying when you keep getting push back down. When you are a teenager, people automatically think they know who you are, even other teenagers do this. We are expected to listen to pop music, do drugs, steal, and always want to party. I prefer indie rock, I’m not into drugs, I have never stolen anything, and sometimes I get shy at parties, so I hate it when people just expect me to be like a “normal” teenager. Most of these ideas are incorrect and stereotypical.
There are lots of stereotypes that have to do with age. For example, old people don’t have fun or all kids hate vegetables. Some stereotypes of teenagers are that we drink and party a lot, we are rule breakers, and we are always fighting with parents and siblings. Many people also think that teenagers are always getting stoned, are texting addicts, and that they are people who are horny and impolite, and on top of all this they think we steal. Although, some of these are true, they aren’t for every teen. What an adult might call breaking the rules, I might call having a new perspective on things. It may seem simple, but the effect may be worse than you think.
Stereotypes have a great effect on how people act and kids are socialized to fit stereotypes. Movies tell us to party and be irresponsible. Even parents say “Your being such a teen” when we do something wrong. This tells kids that it’s okay to get drunk, party, or be rude to our parents and siblings. People expect us to be mature young adults when they are actually teaching us how to act the way they don’t want us to act. It keeps going in a vicious circle that is unbreakable. With all of these stereotypes, kids don’t get a chance to find out who they really are.
People always associate teens as being one big group, but really every teen has their own personality. People just need to take the time to see that. Teens can be smart, mean, shy, crazy, socially awkward, rambunctious, and so on, it all depends on the person. My personality is my own. I love music, I’m extremely shy and I’m very giggly. Other traits are I like going on adventures and learning, I’m also a Harry Potter geek. Every thing in this list makes me who I am. If we continue using stereotypes, then people will continue to think they are true and continue to mold themselves to those standards.
I have learned so much about my life through this unit. My mask reflects parts of me. Even if a part doesn’t represent me, it still represents part of my life. For example, the rainbow section of my mask represents gay pride. I myself am not gay, but I still have gay friends so that needed to be represented in my project. My masks are symbols of teenagers and how we live our lives fighting against socialization. The top mask represents what people think about teenagers and stereotypes. The flames in the eyes shows the evil sides of teens that people think about us, like stealing. The phone represents technology. The Words and pictures are also examples of our stereotypes. All of the words are things that are commonly said by humanity about teens. For example, teens are “wild”, they “want” everything, they are “sex” addicts, and they use inappropriate “language.”
The second mask is the activities that are true about kids. The different sections are all examples of what kids can be into. The splatter paint is for the artsy part of kids, and how they choose to express themselves. Dark purple and knifes with death are for the kids who tend to look on the darker side of life. The different selection of sports gear is for all the kids who involve sports in their life. Even though its not favored by most people, there is a section of joints and marijuana leaves that represents the kids who do drugs. The music notes symbolize expression through music. To show a part for the bullies and the bullied, I used a bloody fist as an example of pain. Rainbow is a symbol of gay pride. The lips are an example of how kids also find material objects important. The last section is simple books and pencils. This represents the more shy kids who include school as a big part of their lives.
People tend to categorize or stereotype teens into being something that they are not. It is effecting our perceptions of the world and how we act in our surroundings. If we want this world to be fair then we have to stop stereotyping, because it is affecting our society in a negative way. One way that I am going to stop this is by surprising people and not falling into these categories, and being who I want to be openly and freely. If we all would just accept teens as they come, then we wouldn’t have any age discrimination problems.
No matter what people think, the world revolves around stereotypes. Because of the way teens are socialized, they are discriminated against. Socialization is how you are taught to act, dress, look, and think, through family, media, and friends. It may seem silly, but this discrimination has an effect on kid’s looking glass self, or how they see themselves. Some of this discrimination can be rightly placed, but most of it comes from stereotypes.
Being young, people have always looked down on me. Whatever the topic, people have never truly listened to me, just because I’m younger. One day my dad and uncle were discussing a book my dad was writing. When I tried to voice my opinion on the idea my uncle stopped me said something like “Sweetie, I don’t think you understand exactly what were talking about. Maybe you’ll get it in a few years.” Just because I was younger, he didn’t think I understood negative socialization.’ Its like they think that they are better just because they are older. People don’t expect kids to have good ideas. They tell us that we can do anything we want to if we try hard enough, but it’s hard to continue trying when you keep getting push back down. When you are a teenager, people automatically think they know who you are, even other teenagers do this. We are expected to listen to pop music, do drugs, steal, and always want to party. I prefer indie rock, I’m not into drugs, I have never stolen anything, and sometimes I get shy at parties, so I hate it when people just expect me to be like a “normal” teenager. Most of these ideas are incorrect and stereotypical.
There are lots of stereotypes that have to do with age. For example, old people don’t have fun or all kids hate vegetables. Some stereotypes of teenagers are that we drink and party a lot, we are rule breakers, and we are always fighting with parents and siblings. Many people also think that teenagers are always getting stoned, are texting addicts, and that they are people who are horny and impolite, and on top of all this they think we steal. Although, some of these are true, they aren’t for every teen. What an adult might call breaking the rules, I might call having a new perspective on things. It may seem simple, but the effect may be worse than you think.
Stereotypes have a great effect on how people act and kids are socialized to fit stereotypes. Movies tell us to party and be irresponsible. Even parents say “Your being such a teen” when we do something wrong. This tells kids that it’s okay to get drunk, party, or be rude to our parents and siblings. People expect us to be mature young adults when they are actually teaching us how to act the way they don’t want us to act. It keeps going in a vicious circle that is unbreakable. With all of these stereotypes, kids don’t get a chance to find out who they really are.
People always associate teens as being one big group, but really every teen has their own personality. People just need to take the time to see that. Teens can be smart, mean, shy, crazy, socially awkward, rambunctious, and so on, it all depends on the person. My personality is my own. I love music, I’m extremely shy and I’m very giggly. Other traits are I like going on adventures and learning, I’m also a Harry Potter geek. Every thing in this list makes me who I am. If we continue using stereotypes, then people will continue to think they are true and continue to mold themselves to those standards.
I have learned so much about my life through this unit. My mask reflects parts of me. Even if a part doesn’t represent me, it still represents part of my life. For example, the rainbow section of my mask represents gay pride. I myself am not gay, but I still have gay friends so that needed to be represented in my project. My masks are symbols of teenagers and how we live our lives fighting against socialization. The top mask represents what people think about teenagers and stereotypes. The flames in the eyes shows the evil sides of teens that people think about us, like stealing. The phone represents technology. The Words and pictures are also examples of our stereotypes. All of the words are things that are commonly said by humanity about teens. For example, teens are “wild”, they “want” everything, they are “sex” addicts, and they use inappropriate “language.”
The second mask is the activities that are true about kids. The different sections are all examples of what kids can be into. The splatter paint is for the artsy part of kids, and how they choose to express themselves. Dark purple and knifes with death are for the kids who tend to look on the darker side of life. The different selection of sports gear is for all the kids who involve sports in their life. Even though its not favored by most people, there is a section of joints and marijuana leaves that represents the kids who do drugs. The music notes symbolize expression through music. To show a part for the bullies and the bullied, I used a bloody fist as an example of pain. Rainbow is a symbol of gay pride. The lips are an example of how kids also find material objects important. The last section is simple books and pencils. This represents the more shy kids who include school as a big part of their lives.
People tend to categorize or stereotype teens into being something that they are not. It is effecting our perceptions of the world and how we act in our surroundings. If we want this world to be fair then we have to stop stereotyping, because it is affecting our society in a negative way. One way that I am going to stop this is by surprising people and not falling into these categories, and being who I want to be openly and freely. If we all would just accept teens as they come, then we wouldn’t have any age discrimination problems.