Mask Essay: "The GPS Mindset"
When the mask project was first introduced, I thought I knew exactly what I was going to do. My original plan was to incorporate multiple masks, each representing a piece of my identity. However, I realized that in doing so I would completely invalidate the very basis of my message and my personal interpretation of socialization. I am a citizen of America, after all, a culture that values realistic insight, convenience, and efficiency over much else. No, if my mask were to truly serve my purposes, it would need to house many parties under one roof, if you will. Somehow, I needed to illustrate that no matter how varied someone’s social identity categories are, they can never be in parallel universes, separate from each other. Even the most distinct aspects of the self are almost irrefutably intertwined, one magnifying or diminishing the significance of the other.
Unfortunately, it isn’t very often that oppressed parts of identity are silenced easily, causing a form of internal sociological warfare (e.g. being mature for a young age or being a jock who likes to bake- one must reign supreme). I bring in the term sociological here because these pieces of identity are not self-empowered, as one might hope- at least not originally. It is society that promotes and demotes specific qualities and values, all essential in the definition and individuality of identity. While we think that we do the job of determining which part of ourselves assumes dominance, in actuality it is out of our control until we learn to recognize one crucial influence on this sometimes life-altering choice. Realistically, we choose what society considers the ideal, so as to obey the norms of our culture, and unless we can identify this as a factor, we will play no true part in our own self-identification. This concept is widely referred to as “the looking-glass self” because our own identities reflect society’s predetermined versions of us, good or bad. It, as you will soon discover, is a key theme throughout my project.
The most challenging part of the mask planning process was representing all aspects of myself equally, so as to remove any barriers of oppression society has preset in me to diminish one aspect in favor of another. The only way to have any influence over your own identity is to accept society as the GPS, and yourself as the driver. Society’s guidelines are generally followed, but above all it is your choice to change your route. In order to provide equality as an element in my mask, I had to come to this realization. My mask is primarily a GPS itself- the routes are still present (society’s norms and expectations are still represented), but which direction they took me was my choice. This choice resulted in a focus on battling aspects of the self and socializing factors present in my day-to-day life.
The explanation behind the silver color of my mask is somewhat complex. Silver seems a phenomenon of a color, almost in conflict with itself, because it is a shiny grey. To me, grey is one of the most indistinguishable colors around- not the statement that black is, nor the stark brilliance that white is; it lies somewhere in the middle. To give grey, of all colors, a radiance and an exclusive name seems strange, when there is no name for a shiny red, for instance. There is an odd, if not subtle contradiction at play here, which I believe depicts society’s expectations of me perfectly. While in some circumstances (with my peers, for example) I am more appreciated for remaining in “the grey area,” or following social norms, in other circumstances (in sports or school) I am revered for “shining,” or exceeding in a certain area. Thus, silver captures this idea perfectly.
Hidden by the hat on my mask is a brain, representing my natural drive for an intellectual advantage being stifled by my peers and their sometimes alternative values, such as clothing choice and social status. That the brain is not visible all the time shows my reaction to the treatment I sometimes receive when I do well in school differing from the treatment I would receive if I didn’t try as diligently.
My mask wears glasses with light shining through to show that I have been socialized into a positive outlook on life in general by my family. The existence of the lights contrasts, or “battles with” what is depicted on the lenses of the glasses, which are my aspirations. This is because one lens exhibits the negative perspective of an oppressed aspect of myself -my female gender- and the other exhibits my society’s value of competition woven into my own dream. The first lens is a shattered National Hockey League symbol, the cause of the breakage being a pink heart. I intended this to convey that my gender identity restrains my future athletic opportunities, because there is no professional hockey equivalent for women, regardless of talent. The second lens is much less formidable, with a city skyline stretched across it. This represents my dreams of living and working in a city when I am older and have graduated college. Over the course of this unit, I came to realize that this dream is not wholly mine. Since school, family, and my overall culture implicitly send the message that this future is the ideal for American citizens, I must recognize it as exactly that. I have learned to embrace this norm that society has compelled me into picturing for myself, as its true nature has been exposed by this project. One of the reasons I chose glasses for this portion was to emphasize the effect of the looking-glass self, to show that my goals are reflections of society’s ideals for me.
The bottom portion of my mask also incorporates an inner-identity conflict I regularly experience. In this section, a hockey puck appears to be fragmented. The culprit, it seems, is a snippet of Shakespeare’s famous quote, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” This battle of identity categories is between my athletic side and my intellectual side, rather than my social and intellectual sides (as was the case with the hat and the brain). I often find myself in a position in which I need to choose between sports and academics, whether it be how much time I spend at hockey practice versus the time I spend on my homework, or if I hang out with my hockey friends or my studious friends at school. In my opinion, “To be or not to be...” is an exemplary representation of the inevitable dominance of one side over the other.
The last significant feature of my mask is a set of earbuds, because the influence of the media on my identity is too key a part to neglect. While yes, the presence of the earbuds also represents my peers’ impact on what I wear in public to look “cool,” they are integrated for an entirely different purpose. Music, whether we know it or not, is a constant in most American lives- in the car on the radio, with a sports team before a game, or even at schools when there are dances and other celebratory events. It plays an especially important role in my identity, since it acts as a sort of peace offering, an alliance between battling opponents. This is because in the hockey locker room, I listen to music with my teammates. In doing so, three major socializing forces are brought together in the duration of just fifteen minutes- my sport, my media, and my peers. Thus, the earbuds and the implied music seemed pleasant notes (if you’ll pardon the pun) to finalize my mask with.
Had I tackled this project without some of the concepts I have learned in the back of my mind, I believe I would have gone through with my multiple mask idea without a second thought. It wasn’t until further into the unit that my perspective changed. The root of human complexity is all that we can fit within the parameters of a single person, and in capturing such complicated material, I would overcome the actual challenge.
Above all, when I first confronted these topics face to face, I was a bit overwhelmed. I thought: Is there even a such thing as choice at all? It took much contemplating to come to the conclusion that society is only the GPS, and it is you with the fingers to push the buttons. Whether you follow the programming to get to your destination or you choose to take the scenic route instead, with knowledge of the controls, the choice is yours and yours alone.
Unfortunately, it isn’t very often that oppressed parts of identity are silenced easily, causing a form of internal sociological warfare (e.g. being mature for a young age or being a jock who likes to bake- one must reign supreme). I bring in the term sociological here because these pieces of identity are not self-empowered, as one might hope- at least not originally. It is society that promotes and demotes specific qualities and values, all essential in the definition and individuality of identity. While we think that we do the job of determining which part of ourselves assumes dominance, in actuality it is out of our control until we learn to recognize one crucial influence on this sometimes life-altering choice. Realistically, we choose what society considers the ideal, so as to obey the norms of our culture, and unless we can identify this as a factor, we will play no true part in our own self-identification. This concept is widely referred to as “the looking-glass self” because our own identities reflect society’s predetermined versions of us, good or bad. It, as you will soon discover, is a key theme throughout my project.
The most challenging part of the mask planning process was representing all aspects of myself equally, so as to remove any barriers of oppression society has preset in me to diminish one aspect in favor of another. The only way to have any influence over your own identity is to accept society as the GPS, and yourself as the driver. Society’s guidelines are generally followed, but above all it is your choice to change your route. In order to provide equality as an element in my mask, I had to come to this realization. My mask is primarily a GPS itself- the routes are still present (society’s norms and expectations are still represented), but which direction they took me was my choice. This choice resulted in a focus on battling aspects of the self and socializing factors present in my day-to-day life.
The explanation behind the silver color of my mask is somewhat complex. Silver seems a phenomenon of a color, almost in conflict with itself, because it is a shiny grey. To me, grey is one of the most indistinguishable colors around- not the statement that black is, nor the stark brilliance that white is; it lies somewhere in the middle. To give grey, of all colors, a radiance and an exclusive name seems strange, when there is no name for a shiny red, for instance. There is an odd, if not subtle contradiction at play here, which I believe depicts society’s expectations of me perfectly. While in some circumstances (with my peers, for example) I am more appreciated for remaining in “the grey area,” or following social norms, in other circumstances (in sports or school) I am revered for “shining,” or exceeding in a certain area. Thus, silver captures this idea perfectly.
Hidden by the hat on my mask is a brain, representing my natural drive for an intellectual advantage being stifled by my peers and their sometimes alternative values, such as clothing choice and social status. That the brain is not visible all the time shows my reaction to the treatment I sometimes receive when I do well in school differing from the treatment I would receive if I didn’t try as diligently.
My mask wears glasses with light shining through to show that I have been socialized into a positive outlook on life in general by my family. The existence of the lights contrasts, or “battles with” what is depicted on the lenses of the glasses, which are my aspirations. This is because one lens exhibits the negative perspective of an oppressed aspect of myself -my female gender- and the other exhibits my society’s value of competition woven into my own dream. The first lens is a shattered National Hockey League symbol, the cause of the breakage being a pink heart. I intended this to convey that my gender identity restrains my future athletic opportunities, because there is no professional hockey equivalent for women, regardless of talent. The second lens is much less formidable, with a city skyline stretched across it. This represents my dreams of living and working in a city when I am older and have graduated college. Over the course of this unit, I came to realize that this dream is not wholly mine. Since school, family, and my overall culture implicitly send the message that this future is the ideal for American citizens, I must recognize it as exactly that. I have learned to embrace this norm that society has compelled me into picturing for myself, as its true nature has been exposed by this project. One of the reasons I chose glasses for this portion was to emphasize the effect of the looking-glass self, to show that my goals are reflections of society’s ideals for me.
The bottom portion of my mask also incorporates an inner-identity conflict I regularly experience. In this section, a hockey puck appears to be fragmented. The culprit, it seems, is a snippet of Shakespeare’s famous quote, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” This battle of identity categories is between my athletic side and my intellectual side, rather than my social and intellectual sides (as was the case with the hat and the brain). I often find myself in a position in which I need to choose between sports and academics, whether it be how much time I spend at hockey practice versus the time I spend on my homework, or if I hang out with my hockey friends or my studious friends at school. In my opinion, “To be or not to be...” is an exemplary representation of the inevitable dominance of one side over the other.
The last significant feature of my mask is a set of earbuds, because the influence of the media on my identity is too key a part to neglect. While yes, the presence of the earbuds also represents my peers’ impact on what I wear in public to look “cool,” they are integrated for an entirely different purpose. Music, whether we know it or not, is a constant in most American lives- in the car on the radio, with a sports team before a game, or even at schools when there are dances and other celebratory events. It plays an especially important role in my identity, since it acts as a sort of peace offering, an alliance between battling opponents. This is because in the hockey locker room, I listen to music with my teammates. In doing so, three major socializing forces are brought together in the duration of just fifteen minutes- my sport, my media, and my peers. Thus, the earbuds and the implied music seemed pleasant notes (if you’ll pardon the pun) to finalize my mask with.
Had I tackled this project without some of the concepts I have learned in the back of my mind, I believe I would have gone through with my multiple mask idea without a second thought. It wasn’t until further into the unit that my perspective changed. The root of human complexity is all that we can fit within the parameters of a single person, and in capturing such complicated material, I would overcome the actual challenge.
Above all, when I first confronted these topics face to face, I was a bit overwhelmed. I thought: Is there even a such thing as choice at all? It took much contemplating to come to the conclusion that society is only the GPS, and it is you with the fingers to push the buttons. Whether you follow the programming to get to your destination or you choose to take the scenic route instead, with knowledge of the controls, the choice is yours and yours alone.
Mask Project Reflection
The mask project was mainly about our personal socialization, or the process by which we become competent members of society. A large focus was on agent groups (or the groups who oppress others) and target groups (the groups who are regularly oppressed and discriminated against). Among the groups we discussed were race, gender, age, and sexual orientation. Once we had a full understanding of a variety of sociology concepts, we applied them to the Mask Project. The main objective with these masks was to express how we have been socialized and the different socializing factors we have been socialized by.
By far, the most important lesson I learned about human society and the world I am living in is that the cycle of societal oppression is perpetuated by even those who do the minimum society requires. Even if we don’t deliberately go against the norms of our society, just by following them without any doubts lengthens the extent of oppression. Only when we become aware of this can we change our perspective and our actions.
The most prominent fact I learned about myself is that my goals are not truly mine. They are society’s ideal for my culture being meshed with my family-learned value of accomplishment. Both implicitly and explicitly, I was socialized into aspiring to go to an Ivy League school when I am older. Implicitly, because my culture generally has an attitude of approval towards those who have accomplished a similar feat, and explicitly, because my educators and family members tell me that this is the key to a successful future.
What I was most proud of in this project was the revising process I guided my essay through. In previous years, this was always thrown to the wayside in my mind because I never took it as seriously as I did with the Mask Project. I feel that I have grown tremendously as a writer by taking the time to scour my essay for even the slightest improvement that could be made. Therefore, my Refinement, a Habit of Heart and Mind, has been a major piece of this project for me.
The Habit of Heart and Mind I could most use to my advantage to improve my project-making skills is Perspective. If I use a larger perspective to look at the big picture, then I will be able to plan ahead and get pieces done ahead of time so I will have a less stressful project experience. By mapping out each step of my project, I will improve my mentality, therefore increase the quality of my performance. Another Habit of Heart and Mind that is essential to my growth as a “projecteer” is Advocacy. I would have really liked to have more people critique my essay, because I feel that the critiques I received were extremely influential in my revising process. I now know that if I advocate for more peer feedback, I will benefit from it.
By far, the most important lesson I learned about human society and the world I am living in is that the cycle of societal oppression is perpetuated by even those who do the minimum society requires. Even if we don’t deliberately go against the norms of our society, just by following them without any doubts lengthens the extent of oppression. Only when we become aware of this can we change our perspective and our actions.
The most prominent fact I learned about myself is that my goals are not truly mine. They are society’s ideal for my culture being meshed with my family-learned value of accomplishment. Both implicitly and explicitly, I was socialized into aspiring to go to an Ivy League school when I am older. Implicitly, because my culture generally has an attitude of approval towards those who have accomplished a similar feat, and explicitly, because my educators and family members tell me that this is the key to a successful future.
What I was most proud of in this project was the revising process I guided my essay through. In previous years, this was always thrown to the wayside in my mind because I never took it as seriously as I did with the Mask Project. I feel that I have grown tremendously as a writer by taking the time to scour my essay for even the slightest improvement that could be made. Therefore, my Refinement, a Habit of Heart and Mind, has been a major piece of this project for me.
The Habit of Heart and Mind I could most use to my advantage to improve my project-making skills is Perspective. If I use a larger perspective to look at the big picture, then I will be able to plan ahead and get pieces done ahead of time so I will have a less stressful project experience. By mapping out each step of my project, I will improve my mentality, therefore increase the quality of my performance. Another Habit of Heart and Mind that is essential to my growth as a “projecteer” is Advocacy. I would have really liked to have more people critique my essay, because I feel that the critiques I received were extremely influential in my revising process. I now know that if I advocate for more peer feedback, I will benefit from it.