People In Groups example essay topic

Boxes of Life There are many factors that contribute to what society thinks of us. The way we dress, the music we listen to, and the activities that we participate in are a few that really "allow" society to put us into these boxes of conformity. And while these things we do are representations of ourselves, they don't always mean the same to us as they do to society. The ways I dress and act have always been hard for me to "box-up".

I think that I fall into a couple of different categories, and do things in all of the different categories with all types of people. For example, when talking about one's attire, there are a couple of major groups that you can stereotype together. There are, of course, the "preppy" styles, the "I don't care" looks, and the "gothic" looks. Now I think there are different bits and pieces of all of these groups that I can put myself in. But this doesn't just apply to the clothes that you choose to wear.

It also groups you into what activities you normally partake in, and the different things you like. And, no matter what "group" you fall into, you are going to be perceived, in a way that you might not always like, by society. First, there is the "preppy" group. This is the group, for guys, that usually consists of faded or ripped-up jeans, a button-up shirt, usually tucked-in in the front, and spiked and frosted hair. And for girls, it's all about the tight-fitting clothes. Usually a short skirt or tight jeans, accompanied by a smaller than normal shirt, and hair that's been died or highlighted so many times that you can't even tell what color it originally was supposed to be; but over everything, there is usually some bright, blonde highlights over the color of the month.

As for the activities that "these people" partake in... they are usually more of the athletic types, you know... the stars of the football or track team. If this whole stereotype is at all "correct", then there is a lot of that that I fall into. In high school (which, actually, is what I'm relating most of this to), I played a couple of different sports, and wasn't too bad either. I wasn't ever the "star", but I started on the baseball team, and got plenty of minutes on the basketball team. But I don't think I ever felt 100% comfortable with all of those kids.

I think that most of them are, overall, pretty dumb! They also had an awful sense of humor... and not to think to highly of myself, but I might have only thought that because my sense of humor is way above most! But I think that style is nice sometimes, and I do wear some of those clothes every now and then. Another "box" that we tend to put people in is the "I don't care" box.

These are the people that, for the most part, are either against the whole "preppy movement" or honestly could care less about what they wear... just whatever they have that they " ve gotten as gifts and what not. In my experiences, these are for the most part, the band kids. These people usually wear like, for those that like sports (me), shirts with logos of their favorite teams, favorite bands, or those shirts that have a funny, usually dark humor, sayings on them. I would day that most of all, I fall into this category. I did participate in band for four years, and I really enjoyed it. I think that, while people actually do care, they convey this attitude that they don't, and that they don't want to go along with the so-called standards of, in this case, high school.

Another group that quickly gets labeled are the "Goths". These are the kids that dress in pretty much all black, die there hair black, wear black make-up, and wear jewelry that has spikes on it. Of course, this is one of the biggest stereotypes, but I guess that's what this is about. I can't really say that I was in this so-called group, except for maybe some of the stretched feelings I had on some things. This group was really against everything it seemed like.

There have been TV shows that have really played out this stereotype... when you think of them, you think of anti-conformity! Anything that the government does, it seems that they " re against... and while that isn't always such a stretch these days (! ), there are instances where you should just go along with what's being done, and support your country or school. These are, of course, well with the previous reasoning, the kids that don't participate in an school events, and just try and get noticed and stand out, even when it's not necessary. Now, this all helps explain how society portrays these "groups" of people. Now, coming from a group myself that had friends from all of the groups, I think it's safe to say that these stereotypes really aren't very accurate.

I know plenty of "preps" that aren't as stuck-up as some think, and not all of them are always big sports fans. There are also many of the "I don't care kids" that play sports, or that like to participate in other activities than band or art. I guess, it is hard for me to really see these groups as their own individual groups since I interacted with everyone. I did the sports, I did the band, I did the art, and I even did the whole intellectual thing, by taking part in advanced classes.

I think that there are clear groups that society puts us in, and all I think this does is make people feel bad about themselves. There are cases where it is helpful to put people in groups, but in these cases, it isn't. Within this, everyone else thinks there better than everyone else, and they always point out the things that are wrong with the other groups. I don't think that when it comes to putting stereotypes on subcultures in our own society, it's helpful at all. I think we need to drop our stereotypes, and just accept everyone for who they are.