Introduction
A family is the fundamental building block of any society. Another translation of the same is that it plays a huge functional role in the determination of our personalities and the values we hold dear in our lives. It plays the nurturing role for a child so that he or she can learn of the society and how to survive it. The family is my choice of a social institution that I will use to create my sociological portrait. The reason for this choice is because of the relationship the members of my family bear. The most interesting thing about my family is how we unite when faced with problems that affect our family. The freedom to be able to reach out to one another to work together to avert a crisis is a phenomenon in my family. It is no wonder we are very free with each other so that we communicate any issues we have freely.
My family is a good choice for this task because they are the people I have grown amidst the whole of my life. My family lacks the habit of shipping me off to one of my relatives during the holidays. Instead, most if not all my holidays are family time. We take this time to do activities that strengthen our bonds. It is amazing just how little things can create so much change in our lives. We go picnics, road trips, and even camping. Sometimes, when my dad has to go for a business trip or something, we get to tag along, and it becomes a vacation for us. The closeness that I have with my family is one factor that can create a picture of how my family has influenced my identity.
According to social identity theory (Pandeyet al, 2014), a social identity refers to the way someone perceives himself or herself to a relevant social group. In a family, the two most important people are the parents and they have a profound impact on a child’s social identity. As a child, the parents are all the child has. He or she has to learn from them first before growing up and being able to meet other people. The mere fact that the parents are the first people a child interacts with imply without denial that they are a factor that cannot be ignored in a child’s social identity formation. Sociologists refer to this as the formation of identity through the mimicking of behavior. The child emulates whatever the parents give off regarding behavior. According to Erik Erikson’s eight-stage theory of social identity, the third stage where the child is between three and five years, he or she mimics what the parents do. At this stage, a child will play with dolls to mimic the nurturing care that he receives from the parents.
My parents were and still are the most caring people especially with the fact that I was the last born child. They would never want to see me cry in any way. My mother ensured that she was the one that gave me all my meals. She always claimed she never wanted me to play with my food. My siblings were never ignored because of me. Instead, they felt the same love and care for me. A memory that I can recall is a time my dad used to be so busy with work. At home, he was always on the phone making endless calls. My mom always reminds me of the time because as a child, the phone became my most favorite toy. Anyone who took it away from me was my enemy. Probably, it was an emulation of the behaviors that my dad exhibited.
Another way that my family affected my social identity is through the stability that they have regarding the marriage between my parents. It is common for marriages to have problems and some problems end up tearing a family apart. The marital harmony that a family displays impacts a child’s behavior and identity. A study shows the impact of marital stability which was a survey conducted by Mr. Berkeley which analyzed students about to start school. The students were tailed for about four years, and the results tabled. The children whose parents underwent marital counseling were less aggressive in their behaviors in general while those whose parents had marital issues displayed aggression habits. In a nut shell, a happy marriage translates to happy kids. My family, it is all the same (Lin, Zhijun and Chunna, 2015).
If I said that my parents have had a smooth sailing in his marriage will be a lie. There was a time that my dad was more engrossed in his work and could keep up with the family schedules. He was more concerned with meeting his targets at work at the expense of his family, and my mom never gave him a moment’s peace about that. They had arguments at night and in the morning; the air around the house would not be friendly. I remember, that same month, I had a fight with one of the neighbor’s kids and broke his nose. The aggression I had was unexplainable but, it was the because of the marital state of my family. Because of the instability, the anger that my parents were showing trickled down to me. At that time, I was always depressed and kept to myself. However, my parents were able to make up and returned the family back on track. The fights were left as a bad stain in our past.
My family is a respected one because of the help we provide to the social institutions in our community. Despite having a family, my parents find time to contribute to community projects that help around there. In the same sense, I am always ready to lend a hand whenever am needed. Concerning status, I am a respectable member of the society. Concerning roles, I play vital roles among the youth of my community. I lead the youth at our local church and participate in the choir as well. People respect me and can approach me to help them solve problems. As far as I can tell many parents in my community always refer to me when they want to show a good example of character to their children. My family has helped greatly in showing that I am a capable leader by providing me with the opportunity to practice the skill.
Gender is a societal force that shapes many societies all around the world. In the pre-modern world, the male gender overpowered the female gender so much that the female gender never participated in anything important concerning the society. However, as technology revolutionized the world, women earned their place so that it was no longer at the kitchen. Gender affects society in that if a society holds one gender as unequal to another, then they can be locked out of the main functioning of the society. Take, for instance, a society that looks down upon the female gender like the Muslim culture. Decisions will be made by the men to suit the men, and the women can do nothing about it. Women are seen as instruments of generating children and fortifying families. Individual agency refers to the ability that individuals possess to make a free choice as opposed to a structure where the influence of class, gender, customs, ethnicity and customs limit them (Pecukonis, 2014).
Race and ethnicity also affect how society functions. Consider a society that comprises rival communities. These communities will look at each other with spite instead of working together to make their society better for their children (Pecukonis, 2014). My community consists of people from different origins ranging from Asians to even a handful of black Americans. Therefore, living around them has helped me appreciate everyone without having to look at race or ethnic background of the person. My community being peaceful with each other has enabled me to ignore these basic judgments and appreciate a person for the contribution he brings to the table for the society. Instead of fighting amongst each other, we work hard to ensure that there is progress in our society.
Conclusion
My family indeed ha a great influence on my personality, behavior and social identity. Ever since I was a child, they have influenced me positively despite a few hiccups here and there. It I also important to note that my family by itself could not bring me up to the way I am today. Certain societal forces are at play such as race, ethnicity and gender also determine my identity. However, to a great extent, I embody the value that I learned from my family members. The family fortifies the future for the society by raising their children to be perfect members of that society.
References
LIN, W., ZHIJUN, L., & CHUNNA, H. (2015). SOCIAL IDENTITY: THE CAUSE OF DISTINCTION BETWEEN GROUP-REFERENCE AND SELF-REFERENCE EFFECTS. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 43(9), 1409-1418. doi:10.2224/sbp.2015.43.9.1409
Pandey, K., Stevenson, C., Shankar, S., Hopkins, N. P., & Reicher, S. D. (2014). Cold comfort at the Magh Mela: Social identity processes and physical hardship. British Journal Of Social Psychology, 53(4), 675-690. doi:10.1111/bjso.12054
Pecukonis, E. (2014). Interprofessional Education: A Theoretical Orientation Incorporating Profession-Centrism and Social Identity Theory. Journal Of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 4260-64. doi:10.1111/jlme.12189
