Analysis of Socio Autobiography - Assignment Example

Analysis of Socio Autobiography INTRODUCTION This is a socio autobiography paper that combines a biographical account of a challenge that I faced in the form of a narrative that highlights the larger issues of social structure and culture. The autobiographical narrative takes a slice of my life, puts it into context and explores the ways in which the larger issues affect my life. I am single black mother with a full time job who is going back to school and hence I talk about the issues faced by me in the context of the TCO’s that have been discussed as part of the class courses. The paper starts off with a detailed description of the challenges that I face and the issues that I grapple with and then goes on to relate them to the TCO’s one by one. MY CHALLENGES Being a single mother is difficult and being a single black mother is especially touch given the social realities in the US. Further, what exacerbates the situation is that I have a full time job and going back to school means that I have to take on extra load on to myself in my quest for a degree. Raising kids without the other parent i.e. singly is difficult when one considers the fact that the kids need to be raised in such a manner that they have good role models for their development. I do my best to ensure that my kids imbibe the right values and grow up in an environment of love and respect. However, this is easier said than done as the absence of a father shows on the way they pick up life skills. The other aspect of my life challenges is the fact that I am black and this puts me at a natural disadvantage in terms of the discrimination that I face at work and elsewhere. Even if we take the work that I do as part of my job as given, I still need to go the extra mile for my degree as I have to balance my work and my school courses. These are some of the challenges that I face and the subsequent sections relate my life’s story to some of the sociological concepts that have been discussed as part of the course. TCO 5 The TCO 5 explicitly talks about racial and ethnic discrimination and stratification along class and ethnic lines. This is something that I face every day at work and in the larger society. I try not to get into the ghetto mindset and keep my thoughts as open as possible. But, sometimes it becomes difficult not to fall into the trap of a victim complex when faced with outright discrimination that is aimed at me not only for being black and a women but a single mother at that. The issues of racial, ethnic and gender discrimination have been discussed at length for this sociological concept. I face these issues all at once in my daily life. TCO 6 This TCO is about intermingling and mixing of races. I try my best to socialize with members of other ethnic groups and ensure that I do not conform to the stereotype of a single black mother. However, I find that this is a bit of challenge as the contemporary situation in the US is not that conducive for this intermingling given the deeply polarized nature of the political, social and cultural discourse. I try to go to Churches that are not all-black and ensure that I participate in the water cooler discussions at work along with other colleagues. TCO 7 The fact that I am a single mother relates to this TCO as the incidence of single mothers has been growing steadily over the last few decades. I try not to get into discussions about this aspect and generally contribute to the prevailing conversations about parenting. However, whenever I have to admit that I am a single mother, I can see the tone and topic of the conversation change and some discomfort for my interlocutors about the issues. This reflects the larger issues of single mothers in the US and how the government can do more when it relates to the life of someone like me. On another note, I find the lack of support from the state in the form of daycare centers for my kids and social and emotional support for a single black mother disturbing. This situation is compounded by the fact that I have chosen to go back to school while holding a full time job. The financial aspects of this choice have to be considered as well. HOW IT TIES IN I have juxtaposed the narrative of my life with the sociological concepts that have been discussed in class. The important point to note from this narrative is the fact that I find every day a challenge and my life is a microcosm of the many issues that dominate the discourse in the US. For instance, the issues of race, gender and single parenting are all there in my life and the larger context in which these issues are situated have been discussed in this paper. I would certainly welcome support systems that lessen my worries and ensure that I do not need to worry about my kids, income or my job every day. The recession in the US has only added to my insecurities and the prevailing cultural mores here have contributed to my worries. CONCLUSION Though this paper has focused on the aspects of my life that are challenging and may be construed as negative, there is also the silver lining to my life in terms of watching my kids grow and getting a degree in addition to my full time job which is worth the sacrifices on my part. In conclusion, I have learnt to relate my experiences in a lucid manner and place them in the larger context of the sociological constructs that seek to provide us with an understanding of how the world works. Read More