What are some of the dominant rules and norms around which bodies are socially constructed?

What are some of the most relevant laws and norms that regulate the social construction of bodies? Discuss the subject of feeding, dieting, sleeping, and (un)dressing bodies.
Extensive social science research has developed several social norms and rules on which people's attitudes toward the social construction of their bodies are focused and how social norms affect their acts and behavior. Anthropologists have taken a step forward in demonstrating how social values have influenced different cultures in society, while economists have shown the impact of norms on consumer conduct. Social laws, it is often assumed, should be carefully considered in order to maintain social order. This part of the essay will discuss some of the norms and rules around which bodies are socially constructed in relation to eating or sleeping bodies or (un)dressing bodies (Stanford 2011, p.28-54).
Special construction is a global scenario and it has a great influence on human bodies. It has become a concern to the sociologists to explain with clear understanding better approaches of adapting to norms and rules toward it. This notion can be defined as different ways through which society understands and responds to ideas and expectations in relation to specific situations of their sociological interests. In society people are found of constructing their bodies to adapt to changing cultures in the environment. It is important to realize that bodies are socially constructed in everyday lives of individuals and this fact is globally observable. There are different rules and norms which socially govern body construction, namely eating / diet and sleeping bodies are some of them.
Norms can be defined as behavior towards actions upon which people have control and are supported by common expectations concerning what should or should not be done in a given social circumstance. Rules refer to a set of guidelines and principles that can be applied to govern people’s actions in a given sphere of life. It is worth noting that sleep is generally important for people’s health and improvement of emotional wellbeing. For example, having enough sleep enables proper functioning of the brain, reduces risks of diseases, such as heart attacks and other diseases associated with mental disorders (Ellenbogen 2005, p.27). However, despite the importance of sleep, sometimes people reduce their normal sleeping hours and replacing it with work or doing other social activities (Williams 2011, pp. 21-47).
Lifestyles adapted by students in school are some of the norms which socially lead to construction of their bodies. For example, taking of energy drinks or intoxicated drugs to keep them awake for longer hours in order to read for examinations or do other activities they get involved at school. These drugs change the normal functioning of the body which is a form of body construction. Rules within work patterns also can be looked at as some of the factors that socially construct bodies. For example, if people involved in work shifts are compelled to train their bodies to work during different periods, they will have another form of constructing their bodies. Dieting is a way to control or lose weight has become another norm in today’s world that was created by fashion and design to have what is socially considered as an appropriate figure. Fat ladies have been stigmatized in society and they are forced to look for all the possible ways to grow thin through a number of ways including changing various diets. They are engaged in eating foods such as salmon, leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables among others. Women want to maintain a good look and stay younger in appearance and also to fit in the current fashion of clothes which are termed as “fitting”. Researches show that women and young girls can be able to reduce their sizes as small as they can want it to be. Nevertheless, it becomes a popular trend. In fact, it has been already evident that on social media platforms where fashion designers display clothes for people with model sizes people without conventional standards find it difficult to get fashionable clothes. Consequently, they are forced to work on size reduction, hence constructing their bodies (Sobal, & Maurer, 1999).
In conclusion, sleeping and eating are a routine in human life but problems may rise if people do not use proper foods for dieting or get enough rest. Some people feed on only junk foods which are not healthy for their living and this may cause them to become overweight. In the quest for reducing their body sizes they may use certain methods which can cause different diseases, such as cancer and may end up dying premature deaths. So it is advisable that they should be careful in making their day to day decisions in life concerning their bodies.






References
Ellenbogen, J.M. (2005). Cognitive benefits of sleep and their loss due to sleep deprivation. Neurology, 64(7): E25-E27.
Sobal, J. and Maurer, D. eds. (1999). Weighty issues: Fatness and thinness as social problems. Transaction Publishers.
Stanford., 2011), Social norms, Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy. pp.28-54.
Williams, S., 2011. The politics of sleep: Governing (un) consciousness in the late modern age. Springer. pp. 21-47.











What are the most important social categories around which people from their identity and selves? Gender, race or class?
In life people have to be with a sense of belonging or any form of attachment to friends, family or people around them if they want to be happy and spend sensible live in this world. Social identity can be understood as a person’s sense of who they are and what they mean to the social group to which they belong. Due to this, in the real world people need to have a sense of belonging in order to enhance their image and esteem. People can be categorized in different way, such as according to gender, race or social class. The division of people helps to find and understand their identity. Humans also can be able to discover who they are and their abilities through being categorized. People find it easy to be associated with people who belong to their social classes or gender. For example, females form their social groups where they can discuss issues concerning them as women and the rich form groups through which they can discuss issues relating to the development of their businesses (McLeod, 2008). This part of the essay will discuss three social categories, namely gender, race and class around which people form their identity and themselves.
Gender
Gender means being either male or female. Gender differences become a big strife in social science and psychology. There are several gender diversity in terms of activities, beliefs or responsibilities depending on whether it is male or female. People can be categorized according to physical characteristics, such as their features, their physical sizes, physical strength and others. Most of these differences have caused some forms of inequality treatments for females because of which females in different parts of the world have come up with groups that advocate for gender equality, such as Women Emancipation as an effort to secure equal right for women and eliminate gender discrimination in laws and institutions. Gender categories have identified females as being communal and expressive. This is because females are found of getting together and being much involved in community, for example, they organize mothers union, helping orphans and street children since they are mothers. The traditional stereotypes of gender diversity has classified different roles to belong to males and others to females, for instance, females are known to do office works while males get involved in works that need a lot of energy, such as engineering works.
Social categories help people to know their roles and responsibilities as individuals and what society expects from them. For example, the gender categorization have identified males as instrumental which make them to grow up knowing that they have to be creative and industrious. With this mentality, young men are forced to associate with their fathers or other men whom they know can help them learn and improve themselves in order to prove themselves (Echabe & Castro 1999, pp.287-304).
Race
Race can easily be understood as a group of people that share similar characteristic upon which they can be identified. In America there are a number of racial groups including Asian American, White, African Americans and others. People’s races can be determined using their language, skin colour, countries of origin, the foods they eat and other cultural features. People having the same language find it easy to associate and work together as brothers and sisters. This creates unit and togetherness as a family as they work to develop their identity through forming groups and movements to protect their dignity. In these movements and social groups, people of the same race are educated about their values and rights to prevent them from being exploited by other racial groups. These racial groups give people a sense of belonging and pride. Knowing that someone is part of a certain group improves their self-esteem and confidence. Therefore, racial identification is important even in schools because it is one of the ways through which students can be taught their cultures and morals that can enable them to comfortably fit in society (Frable 1997, pp.139-162).
Class
Social classes of people can be categorized according to financial status, activities done by individuals and other social identifications. People are most likely to associate with those who they share the same status or class. People in the middle class may find it difficult to communicate with the white class people. Class is a social category of identification that can change as someone’s status changes over time. Someone who is in the lower class of people may work hard and in few years’ time joins the middle class people. Classes are important in society because they act as a form of motivation for people to work hard. Even in countries, especially developing countries, social classes can motivate them to work hard in order to become middle class, income earners instead of keeping less developed. In schools and communities first-generation peers associate with themselves quite often than being with fellow peers who are second or third-generation. Existence of different classes make it easy for individuals to intermingle with people, however, such distinctions may increase discrimination among people which may lead to inferiority complex, especially for those who are considered to be lower than others (Frable 1997, pp.139-162).
In conclusion, people need to have a sense of belonging to a certain group of people with whom they share similar features. But it is important for someone to associate with people who can add values to them. In social groups people learn cultures which enable them to be easily incorporated in society. Gender as a social category of identification has brought about differences between males and females; however, it creates segregation and discrimination, especially in workplaces. Such discriminations cause inferiority for the females and may affect their effectiveness at work. Therefore, favorable policies and laws should be put up to protect females.

References
Echabe, A.E. and Castro, J.L.G. (1999). The impact of context on gender social identities. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29(2-3): 287-304.
Frable, D.E., 1997. Gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities. Annual review of psychology, 48(1): 139-162.
McLeod, S. (2008). Social identity theory. Simply Psychology.







Final Essay
Define Weber’s notion of the protestant Ethic. How does it attempt to explain the origins of modern capitalism? Is it still relevant today?
The notion of protestant Ethic was developed by a famous sociologist, Max Weber, who thought of the idea of how religion would be a significant factor in determining levels of wealth. Max Weber considered the levels of education and positions held by Protestants and found out that there were more well-educated and business leaders who were Protestants than Catholics in Germany during his time. Weber also mentions that during the16th and 17th centuries also most places and towns in German were no longer under catholic leadership and because of the freedom attained; people were able to chase their business interests which made them become prosperous. Weber noted that the relaxation of church concerning morals made the convention of the middle class become against it. The conventions in Germany warmly welcomed protestant’s governance that would strongly control their behaviors and attitudes. Weber’s aim was to find out whether richer classes of people from various part of the world such as Scotland, Netherlands and Geneva that wee in German wanted to be governed by Protestants in order to understand the relationship between freedom and prosperity brought about by religious influence. Weber’s notion of protestant Ethic demonstrated how moral habits of the religious foundation could play a significant role in wealth creation. These moral habits have been witnessed in certain countries such as Asia where its economy has experienced a remarkable rise in the last twenty years with a small population of industrious Protestants who contributed to its development (Weber 1905, pp. 129-156).
Max Weber came up with the notion of the protestant Ethic to answer the queries concerning religious affiliations about the coming up of worldly modernity, the meaning of modernity and the part played by religion in its structuring. He invented two forms of thoughts based on religion, namely Protestantism and capitalism to explain the above queries that were running in people’s minds. The sociologist compared religious practices, forms of authority and ideas of leadership against economic and political processes. Weber’s new idea of approach was appreciated by most anthropologists due to the fact that he was looking at social transitions to modernity and capitalism. This theory was highly estimated because Weber labored to show that different religious groups have features based on to make practical decisions in life together with those features which distinguish one religion from another through comparison of different religious characteristics and abilities. Weber was particularly interested in promoting worldly self-denial in form of a calling for work ethic for the protestant religion, and demonstrating its association with economic processes and political affairs. Weber also used significant and professional actions to approach particular fundamental values of religious movements. He explained and gave clear interpretations of culture deviations in his theory.
How does it attempt to explain the origins of modern Capitalism?
Weber wrote an essay about the economic sociology and investment in trade for capital accumulation and trade. Engaging in trade was the idea of the Protestants and this forced Weber to write an essay that will help in trade and how the Protestants are going to gain from it. The scholar talked about how Protestants can achieve wealth from investing in trade and improve their families. The Protestants bought Weber’s idea of investment and developed it to the industrialized way. Most people engaged in agriculture to feed their own industries. Protestants valued time in all they were doing; they took it in a way that all the money earned is from the time spent, thus, saying that time is money. They worked tirelessly in order to earn more money and become wealthy and increase on their possessions.
The protestant Ethic urges people to always praise God if they get their wealth out of the time spent because they believe He is the provider. The capitalist countries believed that laborers that spend more time working or harvesting earn higher wages than laborers who work for less hours. Laborers are paid in wages depending on the time worked. The motivations by the protestant ethic lead to the development in trade, agriculture and industrialization. The spirit of capitalism led to divisionism in the protestant church where some people did not support his idea. Some people were too religious that they could not do things separate from the work of church. The Roman Catholic Church was in contradiction with him and assured people of salvation when they become submissive to their leaders and respect them (Weber, 1904).
In the United States, work is always divided according to ethnicity and the immigrants are given tiring jobs and are at the same time over worked. People who worked in the United States were mostly Afro-American and Chinese who used to work in the firms of the nationals. The working hours were always exceeded and they were paid low wages after working for long hours. These people had no freedom of speech and were segregated from places like markets, places of worship, shops, places of residence and places of work. The immigrants’ human rights were violated in all ways and they were taken as slaves, were isolated because of their ethnicity and color. In terms of leadership, they were not allowed to lead not even in the church. The protestant ethic developed the lives of these people by encouraging them to invest in agriculture and trade (Chow 2002, p.33).
Some religions like Calvinism did not follow that Weber’s argument that to have a successful competitive commercial world and one that is not bankrupt. People in the religion of Calvinism believed that buying luxuries using money is a sin therefore they did not need money for luxuries and so did not support Weber. These people did not want to practice agriculture in order to earn money that will lead them into sin since Calvin told his followers that they are people who were sent by God to do agriculture and assured the followers of heaven (Weber 1978, p.119).
Relevance of Weber’s Notion of Protestant Ethics
According to Becker & Woessmann (2009, p. 532), Weber’s notion of protestant ethic was one of the accelerators of the basic economic freedom in most of the European countries amongst the protestant denomination and his basis was on the general ethical behavior of this phenomena as the best variable to guarantee industrial capitalism. From Max Weber’s perspective based on the general protestant ethic and the strong spirit of capitalism, he argued that the nature of Europe’s rise to industrialization was entirely based on its foundation attached to the general protestant reformation where by his arguments Weber maintained his stand that the current protestant theoretical concepts pioneered the creation the basic knowledge needed for economic transformation and that this knowledge was received from God and it was believed to be the main accelerator of a strong working ethical character in the general protestant formation of that time to pioneer the development of the general European capitalism (Becker and Woessmann 2009, p. 533). Weber generally contested that the protestant format of reformation introduced a spirit of God calling that there was the main accelerator of the ethical work behavior that he believed to be a perquisite to industrial development.
However, the Weber’s notion of protestant ethics has remained debatable because of the contrast between the protestant ethic and the historical materialism in the economic perspective; hence different scholars argue that there is relatively no relationship between the protestant ethics and the rate of economic growth (Delacroixa and Nielsen 2001, p.511). Various economical studies by strong economic analysts have found out that there is no vivid correlation between the two variables of protestant ethics and economic growth, hence, there is no basis for the Weber’s notion of protestant ethics in the current modern world while other economic studies by a strong economic analyst, Andre Van Hoorn, suggesting that it would be realistic to compare Weber’s notion of protestant ethic with the general behavioral values of laborers or workers at a work place than the general outcomes of the works performed. Various empirical studies in the European countries relying on strong quantitative method and based on the current economical circumstances with relation to the Weber’s e type notion of protestant ethic have showed that the rate of unemployment cuts across all denominations Protestants inclusive hence unemployment does not depend on type of religion one subscribes or is attached to. There studies further revealed that the unemployment level was high among Protestants compared to non Protestants in that region sampled. The negative results being obtained by the different research studies that test the relevance of the Weber’s notion of protestant ethic have continuously made it irrelevant in the current economic perspectives of the global economic world
According to Delacroix a& Nielsen (2001, p.511), the Weber’s notion of protest ethic faces yet another contest where its debated on whether Weber main intention in his notion was to discuss and explain the economic barriers and problems at the time of his existence or whether the aim of the notion was to discuss and assess the true genesis of the industrial capitalism in the European countries with basis on the protestant denomination backed by Luther’s theoretic teachings of God’s calling and all these controversies have remained in contestation which has forced most scholars to do a common interpretation of the Weber’s notion in the current perspective of the modern world (Delacroix and Nielsen 2001, p.513). Among other criticisms of the Weber’s notion in the current world are the contestations between his notion and the catholic and Protestants believer’s doctrines as well as the emergence of the different of capitalism as well as the idea that work ethics of different workers depend on their religious denominations.
According to Iannaccone (1998, p. 1475), Weber’s ideas of economic transformation being derived from the religious perspective of the protestant denomination are strongly contested that the Economic transformation is not correlated with the religious denominations. Basing on the various studies in Europe by different scholars like Delacroix and Nielsen, it has been believed that the Weber’s perspective of relating protestant ethics to economic transformation is not realistic and simply a theoretical myth which is entirely based on non factual vivid evidence to be based on in the current modern world.
In conclusion, the Weber’s notion of protestant ethic was very influential for the protestant denomination in the 19th century where Protestants were relatively more well off than Catholics however the basis of his observations are rendered wrong and not applicable in the present world due to their originality and the form in which it arises. It can also be concluded that Weber’s knowledge of work ethic is only applicable in creating and adding value to workers not the entire present economic growth hence its relevance in the current economic perspective is relatively negligible.
References
Becker, S.O. and Woessmann, L. (2009). Was Weber wrong? A human capital theory of Protestant economic history. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(2): 531-596.
Burns, C.D. (1930). The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Max Weber.
Chow, R. (2002). The protestant ethnic and the spirit of capitalism. Columbia University Press.
Delacroix, Jacques, Francois Nielsen (2001). The beloved myth: Protestantism and the rise of industrial capitalism in nineteenth-century Europe. Social Forces, 80(2): 509-553.
Iannaccone, Laurence R. (1998). Introduction to the economics of religion. Journal of Economic Literature, 36(3): 1465-1496.
Weber, M. (1905). The protestant ethic and the “spirit” of capitalism and other writings, pp.129-156
Weber, M. (1904). Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus.
Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology (Vol. 1). Univ of California Press.

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