This last week i learned a lot about the importance of gender roles in families. each gender has its own strengths and weaknesses. after learning about societies new confusion concerning these roles, the biggest lesson I have learned comes from elder John Groberg, " You can never get enough of what you don't need, because what you don't need can not satisfy you." The statistics show overwhelmingly that same gender couples tend not to build lasting relationships, choosing instead many short meaningless sexual encounters.

It saddens me to think that so many people have been so confused about who they are and what they want. name calling and stereotyping can have a great impact on children and yield deep damage. studies have shown that young boys who tend to lean towards creative behavior become separated from their more masculine peers and start to internalize the names they are given, especially if they are sexualized at a young age. this cycle is sad and tends to end in a desperate search for intimacy in places that will never bring satisfaction.

Symbolic Interaction

This week I learned a lesson about symbols. In our society we communicate with various symbols, we have language as a common symbol in each country. we use hand gestures as symbols to communicate both positive and negative messages. we generally view these symbols to be useful and helpful, but what happens when we don't share the same symbols? Symbols can only communicate so far as they are commonly understood between individuals. Greater levels of communication are possible when individuals share many of symbols such as word choice, and and other cultural factors. On the opposite end of the spectrum symbols can create hindrances in communication if there is not a common understanding of what certain symbols mean. so example some words are perfectly acceptable for us in this country and very inappropriate in others.

With all of this talk about symbols, one might ask "What does this have to do with the family?" the answer is communication. There is no greater forum for communication than within the bounds of a family. and there is no greater building block of society than a family unit. Successful communication of symbols within families and among families Means successful communication within a society. successful communication can mean the difference between function and dysfunction in a society, between understanding and chaos.