Tavarius L.

Horne
4 December 2014
SYO 3100 Section 5
Florida State University

Sociological Concepts Through the Life of Evelyn Pigg (Born 1940)

Having a chance to detail the stories of her life, Evelyn responded
with an outstanding sense of elation. Starting at the years of her
childhood, Evelyn and her family were very poor, so all the children in her
house worked in order to help support the household, a factor very
indicative of phase two childhood because although most children were
granted a sense of separation from adults, she still had to work. She told
me about the days where she would miss school because her father was
diagnosed with leukemia and they could barely make it by without his
income. Contradictory to how she treated her children, she as a child was
not seen as priceless like most children in phase two, in fact she regaled
me with a story of her walking home and arriving at her house close to
midnight, and not a single person was awaiting her arrival.
Moving on to her late teens, Evelyn had a boyfriend through her last
two years of high school whom she married right after they graduated at
the age of 18. She talked to me a little regarding him as a person, and the
attributes she discussed were very similar to her own; they were the same
race, went to the same school, and lived in the same neighborhood. I
found it particularly interesting because those ideas were very similar to
the post-nuclear concepts of homogamy and propinquity, meaning that
although you can choose anyone, typically you choose someone who is
very similar to you. She detailed to me that she eloped with him, and

never told her parents of his existence until that day. This type of dating
expressed two ideals of the nuclear era; the first being that she and her
spouse had a newfound sense of privacy, the second being that Evelyn
saw no other option, but to marry the person she was dating, highlighting
the nuclear combination of dating and marriage. Moving further into her
marriage, Evelyn laughed as she told me about her naivety at that age,
saying that she assumed that since she loved him it would be easier
financially and emotionally because they had each other, and that by
marrying him she could convince her parents that she was mature and
ready to be on her own. Although it was not easy, she was not wrong; a
widow now, she stayed married to him her entire life. Her story matches
the romantic love script of that era, characterized by personal fulfillment,
defying family, and most of all a love story of triumph. Although he died
before I was born, the memory of him that Evelyn has of him holds a true
sense of happiness, something I hope for in the future.
I began to ask her questions about her family as a whole and her
role in the house and found many interesting things. Despite being in a
relationship with an African-American man where sociology would predict
that the separation of spheres would not apply to her, her life was very
much so indicative of that concept. While she was very fortunate to have
a husband that owned multiple businesses around the city, she took care
of the house, stating, If I ever knew how to do anything, it was how to

clean the house and take care of my babies. The nuclear domesticity
concept was very relevant to her life because she was in charge of the
home life, while her husband was in charge of the public life, especially
since he was a business owner. Evelyn went on to tell me about how
happy she was in this role, saying that she was great at what she did and
that it was always a goal in her life to be with her kids. I asked her if it got
stressful or too demanding for her and she responded as it being stressful
at times just like all other things, but never reached a critical level.
According to psychology, most women in this position developed issues,
or used prescription drugs, but Evelyn contradicted this idea. However,
when I inquired about if her husband ever felt stressed in his position of
taking care of the household financially, she stated that there were many
times when he would not bring home as much money and they had to
cut back on their funds and especially when he was diagnosed, the stress
made his condition even worse, and he was constantly in an inebriated
state. Although Evelyn resisted pressures from her role, her husband
displayed the conditions sociology would have anticipated. Despite of
this, Evelyn states I complained about it every single day, but I will never
forget what that man did for me and my girls. Overall, Evelyn is happy
with her life, and goes on to end our conversation with her thoughts about
my generation, which can be simplified into one word: disappointment.

Sociological Concepts Through the Life of Lisa (Born 1967)

Beginning in her childhood, Lisa surprisingly regaled me with a story
that contradicted the typical phase four childhood concepts expected of
someone born during this time period. Highlighting a sense of censorship,
she told me of how her mother would not allow her to watch television out
of fear that she may be revealed to content inappropriate for her age.
Similar to the ideals of phase two childhood, she recounted multiple times
her mother would send her out of the room, stating that the adults are
talking, showing a very high distinction in her household between the role
and character of a child compared to an adult. Similarly, her mother
expressed other ideas representative of phase two, treating her as a
anne doll, Lisa states. In the later years of Lisas childhood, she did
display some phase four attributes, as she reveals her mothers relentless,
attempts to make her think about her future, sending her to guidance
counselors on a regular basis to plan for her future both financially and
academically.
Leading to her life as a young adult, Lisa held strong oppositions
against children, detailing her constant wish to never have a house full of
kids, which goes against the average pro-natalist nature that most
African-Americans tend to have. However, she indulged in common postnuclear trends as she had her first child unmarried at the age of 18, and
cohabitated with her partner before getting married. Having a very post-

nuclear view, she gains her reasoning behind cohabitation from the
phrase how do you know if you can marry someone, especially a black
man, without seeing how it feels to live with them? That was Lisas first
marriage, which ended in divorce, but her reasoning was very indicative
of the ego-centered love script, stating people change. The idea that it
takes two independent people to make a relationship work, and the
likelihood of divorce, are major elements to the ego-centered live script,
both of which Lisa has demonstrated.
Furthermore, as I inquired about events in Lisas life that led to
marriage, she mentioned that a child was not a part of the plan for her
life, but she was having unprotected sex, coinciding directly to the post
nuclear concept we discussed in class about the rise of premarital sex.
Obviously, she did not marry as a virgin, and although data discussed in
class proves that the teen birth rate has gone down in this period, Lisa
contradicts this ideology, and has ultimately lived an extremely postnuclear life. She goes on to humorously state, It would turn me off to see
a man with a child, but Im a woman so I have to keep mine, which is
very indicated of the double standard concept in post-nuclear intimacy.
However, following her divorce, Lisa regarded it as a hard time,
detailing her constantly changing living situation, staying with various
relatives between Florida and Michigan, an idea that directly coincides
from the Cherlin reading on what he calls a cultural tool kit. When in a

place of hard times, Lisa, similar to a majority of African-Americans,

leaned on her family of cousins and other extended members to help her
back to a place of solitude.
I was able to quickly discuss how she dealt with financial burden in
relation to her children and her response included almost all of the
individual solutions in the post-nuclear division of labor. She discussed how
she rarely cooked because she did not have the time, nor the financial
means to, so she ordered food or picked up fast food on the way home.
She also passed housework onto her children, expecting the entire house,
even her own bedroom at times, to be spotless by the time she came
home from work.
Sociological Concepts Through the Life of Malyk (Born 2001)
Being of such a young age, Malyk was unable to provide
information that resembled much of any era, but he was able to show the
effect of gender roles or in other words, social construction. He discussed
with me how important for him it is to be a man, to avoid all things that
proved him otherwise. He told me of a moment where he pulled out a
mechanical pencil that was purple, and even his closest friends discussed
the gayness, of then pen, and therefore of how he was a fag, for
having it, and he responded by switching to a red one. This directly
represents the information discussed in the reading Betwixt and
Between as it discussed the coercive nature of masculinity, causing boys

to refrain from doing anything that may be considered gay. When I

moved on to inquire of what he believes about himself, he tells me about
his wishes of a more defined chest, and a more Caucasian-based hair
texture. When asked why, he laughed as he said thats what all the guys
have that get girls. I found this very interesting because although the
majority of the reading Reallity Bites was about the view of women on
television, the way men are displayed on television is affecting someone
of only 13 years of age.
Conclusion
I had never truly realized the degree that these sociological
concepts played in the life of family. Ultimately, the main concept that all
of these accounts were able to provide is that families adapt to their
circumstances, not vice versa. Revealing these things from my own
family, and hearing their differing opinions about even the same subjects,
showed me how the time period changed the family life, instead of
families staying constant in spite of circumstances. I enjoyed, both as a
student and family member, hearing about what led to me, and the
happiness that could be created no matter the beliefs, which truly
inspired me for my future financially and emotionally.