Symbolic interactionism functions with three main ideas, the first being: “Humans act towards things on the basis of the meanings that these things have for them” (Blumer, 1969, p.2). People will react to different types of things based on their own experiences with them. It is completely objective, depending on the person’s own personal feelings. Everyone’s meaning attached to a symbol can be different. The example of different symbol meanings that Blumer provides the reader with is a tree. For example a tree means something different to an arborist than to a child. To an arborist the tree would be a symbol of money, because it is how they make their living, whereas to a child it could be seen as a playhouse for climbing. (Blumer, 1969).
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When I see the sign with a stick figure wearing a dress I know that this is the rest room that I am meant to use. This is the symbol representing the Women’s bathroom that I personally have known my entire life. When I enter the women’s restroom I do not expect to see urinals or anyone standing in the open peeing. There will be stalls that the ladies will use and inside of the stalls there will be feminine hygiene product disposal areas. This is the typical experience someone has while using the Women’s bathroom, and a female is able to expect all of this simply by seeing the symbol on the door. I assume that males have the same type of recognition and association with the Men’s bathroom sign. These anticipations that we have by just looking at the bathroom signs are an example of symbolic interactionism, because the way that I, personally learned what to expect when entering the women’s bathroom was through my interactions with the symbol posted on the door. Which represents Blumer’s(1969) key concept that we learn how to react and what to expect from a symbol from our experiences and teachings about that …show more content…
Females are expected to be over talkative and are not expected to behave in hyperactive activities. (Miller and Taylor, 1997). Females are expected to want to start families and act as a caretaker for their families. They are anticipated to be overly emotional and soft spoken. As a female you are expected to be small and delicate, these are typical famine traits, which are expected within the symbol of a woman. (Kirschner, 2014). Women are expected to look feminine with longer hair, jewelry, and makeup. This is the symbol that we as Americans are taught growing up represents a woman. Due to these symbols this is what we expect to find in the women’s restrooms. Even the symbol found on a women’s bathroom door depicts a stick figure in a dress with longer hair. This is the gender norms and symbols of a woman that are engrained in us from the time we are small
When I see the sign with a stick figure wearing a dress I know that this is the rest room that I am meant to use. This is the symbol representing the Women’s bathroom that I personally have known my entire life. When I enter the women’s restroom I do not expect to see urinals or anyone standing in the open peeing. There will be stalls that the ladies will use and inside of the stalls there will be feminine hygiene product disposal areas. This is the typical experience someone has while using the Women’s bathroom, and a female is able to expect all of this simply by seeing the symbol on the door. I assume that males have the same type of recognition and association with the Men’s bathroom sign. These anticipations that we have by just looking at the bathroom signs are an example of symbolic interactionism, because the way that I, personally learned what to expect when entering the women’s bathroom was through my interactions with the symbol posted on the door. Which represents Blumer’s(1969) key concept that we learn how to react and what to expect from a symbol from our experiences and teachings about that …show more content…
Females are expected to be over talkative and are not expected to behave in hyperactive activities. (Miller and Taylor, 1997). Females are expected to want to start families and act as a caretaker for their families. They are anticipated to be overly emotional and soft spoken. As a female you are expected to be small and delicate, these are typical famine traits, which are expected within the symbol of a woman. (Kirschner, 2014). Women are expected to look feminine with longer hair, jewelry, and makeup. This is the symbol that we as Americans are taught growing up represents a woman. Due to these symbols this is what we expect to find in the women’s restrooms. Even the symbol found on a women’s bathroom door depicts a stick figure in a dress with longer hair. This is the gender norms and symbols of a woman that are engrained in us from the time we are small