Martin Lynch
10/28/2013
SOC 3200

Getting Society Inside The culture that was instilled in me since I was born was two families, my mother’s and father’s. My father’s family is of Irish Catholic descent and my mother’s family is of Italian Catholic descent. I was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago and I do still refer to that beautiful city as home. All of my beliefs and values are a result of these two families, but as I have grown up it is amazing how similar they could be and how different they can be.
I know for an absolute fact there are two values that are agreed on by the Irish and the Italians. Those would be an undying work ethic and a strong Christian foundation. I remember being five years old and my father saying, “You are either working hard or hardly working.” It was not just expected by my family to work hard, it was demanded. If you wanted money, you went out and got it. I was a golf caddy for about eight years and still to this day go when I need some extra cash and also worked at a Chili’s restaurant throughout high school while playing two sports and a member of the Honor Roll. My siblings and I were never allowed to leave the house until our homework and chores were done. It was an expectation by not just my parents but my family as a whole to be hard working productive members of society who respected their elders and treated people with the utmost respect.
Growing up it was expected to go to church every Sunday and thank God for what he has provided for you. There was no getting out of that, no way at all. I look back to when I was younger and just remember thinking how I thought church was stupid and meaningless. I now realize that I’m so grateful those beliefs of Christianity were instilled in me by my family. I can honestly say that it has helped me in tough spots and will continue to help me. Although I do feel that the Irish and Italian heritages are similar, I have seen some major differences as well. Just growing up with an Irish father and observing the way his family interacts compared to how my mother’s family interacts it truly is night and day. The Irish do not show affection or open up about anything, it’s just the way it goes with them. My grandfather, who is off the boat as they say, always quotes Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Irish are the only people who are impervious to psychoanalysis.” It’s so true, when it comes to emotion the Irish truly are a closed book. As I mentioned earlier the difference between how Irish and Italian interact truly is night and day. I appreciate and love my mother’s family but they are not shy by any means. They are loud, wear they wear their heart on their sleeve, and will tell you exactly how they feel. I absolutely love it. I appreciate the fact that they can hug you and tell you how much they mean to them. I feel that as humans we need that reassurance, it’s good for the soul. As I continue to grow older, I feel that it absolutely necessary to have a deep connection with your family. Furthermore, the only norm I feel that I have rejected is the idea that Irish people should not show emotion. The more examples I see it just makes me realize that showing emotion is not weakness but strength. The toy store I visited to do my research for this paper was Toys’ “R” Us. I realized that through the types of toys and the pictures on the packaging these are tools of socialization. I honestly feel that to a point the way these toy companies market their products it can be viewed as sexist. Since Halloween is right around the corner there were many different types of costumes up and down the aisles. For example, all the firefighter and police costumes had pictures of little boys on them. With that being said, I know of many strong and determined women who are members of the Chicago Fire Department and the Chicago Police Department. What if a little girl has ambitions to be a member of a police or fire department? There were no options for little girls of those types of costumes. Furthermore, the types of toys that had to do with sports were also very male dominated. The picture the company used to market the product would have a few boys playing together in what looked like a backyard. Even if there was a picture of a girl, she would be the only one in the group of children. I honestly feel that those marketing pictures unconsciously show girls that they should not be involved or participate in playing with that toy. The only toys that were female dominated I saw were dolls, plastic houses, stuffed animals, and make-up kits. I am not going to disagree that majority of girls do play with those types of toys but there should still be options for them. I also feel that the same should go for boys, such as the case that was mentioned in class with only the pink easy bake ovens. The toy companies use socialization to limit us to the expectations our society sees as the norm and the only way it can change is if they change the way they market.