Social Role of a Son
The Social Role Of Being A Good Son
Introduction:
In my family I am expected to play two very different social roles as a son. Both my mother and father hold two different expectations of me. My mother would like me to play the role of model student by consistently achieving good grades and receiving a good education. However my father would have a lesser academic approach to the social role I should play as a son and would argue that my education should come second to moral attributes such as being a good brother to my sister and obeying my parents. These are both very understandable and fair expectations of parents but trying to play both social roles at once often has its difficulties. In the following essay I will discuss various different aspects of my chosen social role. These include why the social position I have chosen should be considered to be associated with a set of social expectations, why I believe this social role is constructed not formed naturally, the agents of socialization who were core to my acquisition of a social role and finally my ability to exercise agency in filling the social role of ‘the perfect son’in the eyes of my parents.
Social Roles: The definition of a social role is ‘the expected behaviour associated with a social position.’ (G. Duncan 1990). As a son, I could disobey my parents on every one of their rulings. I could also drop out of college and forget about my education completely, but in reality this would never even be considered an option for me. This is because of the social roles I am expected to play as a son. I fear the shame of letting my family down. Even though there are no written laws preventing me from doing this, societal expectations can be just as authoritative as law even without any legal implications. The societal expectations of a son on a universal basis are as simple as obeying your parents and taking care of your siblings. There are no legal or physical constraints making us play these roles but to
Introduction:
In my family I am expected to play two very different social roles as a son. Both my mother and father hold two different expectations of me. My mother would like me to play the role of model student by consistently achieving good grades and receiving a good education. However my father would have a lesser academic approach to the social role I should play as a son and would argue that my education should come second to moral attributes such as being a good brother to my sister and obeying my parents. These are both very understandable and fair expectations of parents but trying to play both social roles at once often has its difficulties. In the following essay I will discuss various different aspects of my chosen social role. These include why the social position I have chosen should be considered to be associated with a set of social expectations, why I believe this social role is constructed not formed naturally, the agents of socialization who were core to my acquisition of a social role and finally my ability to exercise agency in filling the social role of ‘the perfect son’in the eyes of my parents.
Social Roles: The definition of a social role is ‘the expected behaviour associated with a social position.’ (G. Duncan 1990). As a son, I could disobey my parents on every one of their rulings. I could also drop out of college and forget about my education completely, but in reality this would never even be considered an option for me. This is because of the social roles I am expected to play as a son. I fear the shame of letting my family down. Even though there are no written laws preventing me from doing this, societal expectations can be just as authoritative as law even without any legal implications. The societal expectations of a son on a universal basis are as simple as obeying your parents and taking care of your siblings. There are no legal or physical constraints making us play these roles but to