This means it is not ‘universal’. Stephen Wagg said ‘childhood is socially constructed, it is in other words what members of particular societies at particular times and in particular places, and say it is. There is no single universal childhood isn’t “natural” and should be distinguished from mere biological immaturity’ this basically means that even though we all go through the same stages of development throughout our lives different cultures all have their own outlook on what childhood is. In the western cultures children are seen as vulnerable and unable to look after themselves, but other cultures do not see these differences between children and adults. Sociologists say that the best way to look at how childhood differs across different societies they take a comparative approach, which means they look at how differently children are seen in other cultures and in the past and compare them to the way we see
Examine the ways in which childhood can be said to be socially constructed. (24 marks) Some sociologists see childhood as socially constructed, which means that it is something created and defined by society. They argue that the positions children occupy in society are not fixed, but differ with regards to cultures, places and times. It is generally accepted today that children are different from adults. There is a belief that children’s lack of knowledge, experience and skills call for them to be nurtured and socialised for a protected time before they are ready for adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it.
They argue that the position that children occupy in society is not fixed, but differs between times, places and cultures. Childhood is not fixed but socially constructed, we know this as there are many laws out there which have been put there to construct the way childhood should be. It is generally accepted in our society today that childhood is a very special time of life, and that children are fundamentally different from adults. Sociologist such as Jane Pilcher sees it that children have a certain lack of skills, knowledge and experience and need a long time before they mature into adults and are responsible to understand the responsibilities that come with adulthood. As Jane Pilcher (1995) believes the most important feature of the modern idea of childhood is separateness.
Dehumanization in Brave New World The topic is my response to the chapter included in the text book from Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, which tells us about how people are born and how they are “conditioned” in various methods in the fictional world in the future. My response is that people in the story are dehumanized since they do not behave like human beings, nor are they treated as human beings. One of reasons why I would think that is that they do not behave like human beings. First of all, people do not give birth to children or establish their own families any more. As human beings, even other animals, it is our nature to start a family, conceive babies, give birth to them and then nurture them in our own family.
And the global economy is evolving in a way that is eroding the historical preference for male children, worldwide.” Rosin’s article is well documented and forceful in argument. The bottom line is the claim that the trend and trajectory of the global economy have for some time now been headed toward female skills and talents. At the most basic level, this means a shift from physical strength to intellectual energies and education. At the next level, it also means a shift from leadership models more associated with males toward the nurturing leadership more associated with women. In any event, the changes are colossal.
In addition, in the past and in some countries today children such as Africa and India the children are apart of adult society which shows that childhood is social construction. However, some sociologist such as functionalists might oppose against childhood being socially and biologically constructed as there might be sociological explanations whether it’s historically or culturally constructed. Since the medieval times, the status of childhood has drastically changed as the introduction of laws stopped children being treated like adults. Sociologist Philippe Aries suggested that what we experience today as childhood is a recent social invention. He claimed that the idea of childhood ‘did not exist’ until the industrialization in the 19th century which changed the position of children.
The industrial revolution introduced mass production and greater markets. The world was slowly transpiring into a global village, with all the new machinery and technology being produced. Ultimately, the industrial revolution was a turning point in history that paved the way for technological, scientific, and cultural advancements. However, with all these advancements, there are negative consequences to be faced. This can be demonstrated through the examination of urbanization, the rise of new classes, theories (by Smith, Malthus and Ricardo), and factory conditions.
It is a separate and distinct phase of life and that children should be treated separately from adults. Before the 1600 the idea of childhood didn’t exist. Children dressed like adults, mixed with adults and played an economic role as soon as they were physically able. They were regarded as economic assets rather than a symbol of people’s love for one another. Aries’s work has been criticized because of material he used to develop his ideas.
IS CHILDHOOD ‘SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED’? Most sociologists argue that the idea of childhood is not something natural and given How we treat children – how we expect them to look, behave and develop – is decided by the kind of society you live in. This is what ‘socially constructed’ means. • Different societies have treated children very differently • Different historical periods have varied a lot in the way children are regarded and treated. HOW WE ‘CONSTRUCT’ CHILDHOOD TODAY (western societies).
Another reason why is people who leave home will not be able to work full time so will not be able to get somewhere to live or be able to buy food and clothes. A lot of people will want to leave school and start earning money because they have enough GCSE’s to get a good job. Also will schools be able to discipline 17/18 year olds who can drive and get married etc, for example in class a teacher would feel a tad silly and weird telling a 18 year old to get outside and think twice before chewing