The Conferralist Framework

Using the conferralist framework to understand social properties among people in society is an ongoing theme that I am starting to understand through different texts in this course. Specifically in this weeks reading of Categories we Live By: The Construction of Sex, Gender, Race and other Social Categories by Asta. I am coming to understand the role of society in placing these properties on everyone whether it be sex, gender, popularity, beauty, and more. We live in a world where we are constantly seeking the attention and approval of those around us because they are the ones who ultimately shape the perception of who we are. It isn't an ideal situation and one that really flies under the radar, but by looking at the root causes we can come to further understand these social properties. 

Asta believes that we are put into social categories institutionally through examples of student, citizen, legally married and so on. But we can also find ourselves thrown into categories by no one in authority and this would be labeled as communal properties. I was able to understand this further when Asta discussed popularity. She states, "The popular kids are popular because other kids like them. On the conferralist story, it is the other kids' liking them that confers the property of being popular onto the popular kids, and constraints and especially enablements come with it. This is power"(20). The popular kids aren't popular because they automatically are. It is perceptions that others have of them giving them this approval to feel popular. And once you feel popular you are able to become popular. So, who has the power to push these social properties onto one another? It is a collective act based upon the standing of others in society. I cannot stray away from the my thinking that this is all a hierarchical society. Asta sums this concept up by stating, "Some properties are conferred by subjects in authority, some by subjects citing authority"(21).  

This conferralist framework is a great way to further understand social properties. They are put upon us every day through our actions and how everyone around us truly perceives us. It is in my belief that everyone has a different perception of us and this only strengthens the conferralist algorithm. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Art of Manliness - 100 Skills

 August 26th, 2020 The list of 100 Skills Every Man Should Know by the Art of Manliness is a very interesting read. It is of course based on someone's opinion and while some of the skills are very valuable, most of the skills provided I believe are not necessary to know, but just cool to know. They aren't necessary but they might impress a couple of people along the way. For example, whistling with your fingers, riding a horse, and riding a motorcycle, are among some of the more unnecessary skills on the list. The list does have some important skills such as jumpstarting a car, changing a car's oil and shaking hands.  The skill that I decided to demonstrate was No. 45: Shuffling a Deck of Cards. In the description it states, "you should be able to do your part and shuffle the deck, and do it with some flair too." Below I have an awesome video of me shuffling cards. I wouldn't say that I did it with any flair, but I guess I shuffled the cards. Honestly, when I ...
Read more