Youth Subcultures Multimedia Project

Growing up Jewish, I was always taught to include the Jewish traditions and beliefs into my daily life. It was important to my parents that I carry on the tradition with my future family. They encouraged me to join a Jewish fraternity to make sure I was following my religion. It was tough to constantly live up to my parents expectations for me. I can relate to the teens in Desi Land because I understand the struggles of wanting to please your parents and culture, while still establishing an identity.

Recently, an Oregon hospital has removed the gender designation from patient ID bracelets. These is a huge win for transgender patients or patients who choose not to be classified by one gender. The hospital staff has also been trained on when and how to ask the patient’s gender. This relates to the reading this week about the LGBTQ youth movement and the promotion of LGBTQ inclusivity among immigrants because it represents the progressive steps to help promote the movement and inclusivity. 

Growing up as Jewish, I also wondered where my place was in my religion. It was hard establishing my own identity in it because I was always told how to act and how not to act. It was encouraged of me to have friends sharing the same religion, which led me to joining a Jewish fraternity. Based off my own experiences, I can relate to young adults with the challenge of trying to find their own identity within their religion.

Now more than ever society is encouraging young women to receive an education and focus on their careers instead of dedicating their life to having a family. Young female teens go against these gender stereotypes by being vocal about their future goals and aspirations. For example, Schilt discusses how young women like to stand out by rejecting traditional female stereotypes and reintroducing their own version of femininity. They do this by wearing the clothing they want and not giving into proper female roles.

I remember when I was a child, I would always see the ad for the latest Star Wars Lego set on TV. I was also so envious of watching the other kids get to play with the Legos. I would immediately jump out of my chair and beg my mom for the set. This experience got me thinking about the power of marketing. Do company’s take advantage of young, naive people to buy its products?

Everywhere you go, there are ads posted everywhere to persuade its targeted demographic to buy the desired product. I believe this takes advantage of young teens because these companies know how impressionable teens are. Also, they trick teens into buying its products by using celebrities, such as having athletes sell for sports brands. It is common for teens to be easily persuaded by celebrities. For example, Wright discusses the power of pop music, and the strong influence Marilyn Manson has over his fans. Corporations know how much teens want to idolize their favorite celebrities, and they use that to their advantage.