Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Chapter 2 Discussion Question 1
The social constructionist perspective is the idea that communication is something that surrounds people and holds their world together. Through communication, social groups create collective ideas of themselves, of one another and of the world they inhabit. With that being said, the ways in which we build worlds through communication is through our social networks, family, employer, hobbies, etc… For a few years I was a member of an animal rescue group. During this time I tended to take on their beliefs about who was the right or wrong home for any of our fostered animals. A lot of the people in the group were older and quite set in their ways. I grew up with outdoor pets. We didn’t keep them inside because my grandmother who lived with us thought they were dirty, that was the cultural perspective she had been raised to believe. Our animals always had a good home and were well taken care of. If I would have approached the group as a potential adopter I would have been turned away because in their eyes I was a bad home. After fostering for some time I found that I took on their belief system. I frowned upon potential adopters who checked off the indoor outdoor answer on the questioner, when I myself had never seen anything wrong with an animal staying outside for all these years. This rescue groups social construct was something I adapted to because at the time it was the right thing to do if I wanted to be a member of their group and an animal foster home. Yet I found after time that their way of thinking was backwards because they placed more of an emphasis on judging the individual and the individual’s knowledge rather than focusing on what was the right thing for the animal. The best interest for the animal is to be placed in a regular home where it is not exposed to 30 other foster cats and is able to get the attention it deserves. I stopped fostering quite a while ago and have since changed my perspective. I have an outdoor cat and he loves being outside. The social constructionist perspective can contribute to our success because it allows us to seek out other representations in a broader form should what we are currently working with not be the correct fit.
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Your post is really interesting to me because I just adopted a cat from the HSSV and I felt so uncomfortable about the indoor/outdoor question that I ended up lying on the paperwork! I could tell that they thought that allowing your cat to play outside was akin to torture and I didn’t want to get denied. My new cat is extremely happy here and loves sleeping outside in the sun. In no way was I not a good fit for her, and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I can really see how you would feel pressure to change your perspective on an issue like this. I was only there for two hours and was already trying to hide the fact that I would allow my cat outside every now and then. While this is just a cultural aspect of a small organization, it can really be applied to any social setting under the social constructionist perspective idea that communication is something that surrounds people and holds their world together. In your case, your world involved the animal shelter so you began to take on their roles. In other cases, an American family may move to Japan and begin to take on the ideas of that culture.
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ReplyDeleteHi Capone's Mom--
ReplyDeleteI found your answer to be very insightful and also interesting because I am currently doing a debate on why animal testing is inhumane so it was nice to read something along the lines of animals and their rights.
Anyways, going back on topic--when you were talking about working at an animal rescue center and having different opinions of how owners of pets would check off indoor/outdoor. According to the social constructionist perspective, we rely heavily on cultures, and within my culture, animals are not allowed inside a home unless absolutely necessary because of the debris. As that may seem to rude to other cultures, to my culture, it seems perfectly normal to own a pet and have it live primarily outdoors. It really does amaze me when other cultures come together and the differences each one has...our world is so unique!
who doesn't love a pet!
ReplyDeletei find your application of the social constructionist model helpful. i think that our cultural perspective on the role of animals in society is impacted by one's upbringing and the set of roles and rules we may later develop in life. i have many friends who are vegan (god love 'em) who were raised eating meat but whose cognitive customs and cultural traditions were transformed as a result of learning about the conditions most livestock live in and developing an alternative culture that places greater emphasis on the rights of animals.
on the issue of veganism and animal rights i find it interesting that outside of jamaica and maybe india, places where religion defines what foods may be consumed, veganism and animals rights doesn't carry the same weight as in G8 countries.
Hi Capone's Mom! I quite enjoyed reading your posts this week. As an avid animal lover, I can relate. My question to you is this: what are the advantages/disadvantages of taking on the perspective of a group you are a part of?
ReplyDeleteGood posts overall. :)