Brainwashing...

You know I've always been interested in society. Guess it's the main reason why I took up sociology and psychology. Wanted to learn more about people and why they are the way they are. What causes em to act a certain way. Well, after about 2years of such education I've found that groups of people (society) play a big part in a person's life (upbringing as well). We are the way we are because someone influenced us in some way to act that way. It may be conscious or sub-conscious. Influence can have a great effect or a very little one (but may increase with constant influence).

One interesting point I studied was gender roles. Take for example someone who's grown up in a family totally made up of the opposite sex. Lets say a boy is brought up by a group of women (girls included), he will grow up to act just like them. Vice versa for girls in a family totally made up of boys and men. It's not something that's certain 100% but you get what I mean right? Our whole lives... we've been brainwashed into literally almost everything related to social relations. I am the way I am because society made me this way. Even your sexual orientation can be influenced by others.

What makes a man like this


Over this?


I can think of many other things like... the perception of beauty. In the more developing countries, thin is beautiful. In less developing countries especially ones that go through poverty, being thin is the last thing anyone wants to be. Coz it signifies malnutrition and sickness. So all the women (especially those who wanna get married) try to get as fat as possible. Coz that's whats beautiful there.

You see how much impact a society can have on a person? It starts with family, moves on to friends, then society at large... heck, the random person on the street can have an influence on you. It's just that you don't realize it @_@

Anyways, I know my friends have had a HUGE influence on me in the past few years =P Appearance wise, i've changed a heck lots since I left secondary school and I'm in to a lot of different things now thanks to them lols! For the good and for the worst I guess XP