Description
This photo is of a receipt from a Smitty’s restaurant in Moose Jaw.
Sociological Interpretation
The simple act of receiving a receipt after dining at a restaurant shows us a lot about the norms and roles in our society. After eating at Smitty’s one day with a friend, I noticed that the waiter placed the cheque right in front of him at the end of our meal. Such a straightforward thing, the waiter probably did not even think twice before doing it. It seems that it has become custom in our society, even expected, that the man pay for a meal.
As Knuttila states, “It is not the excitement of coming upon the totally unfamiliar, but rather the excitement of finding the familiar becoming transformed in its meaning” (Berger, Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective.) Something so simple as receiving a cheque at the end of a meal can have a much deeper meaning than it would appear to. Whether he thought consciously before doing this or was unaware of his actions, the waiter had expectations of the male. Rather than placing the receipt in the middle of the table, he expected the man to provide and pay for the meal. This tells us a lot about the deeply engrained gender roles in our society. We are expected to behave a certain way based on gender. It may seem like this is just how it is, but that is only because society has complex expectations and roles for men and women.
A person’s gender plays a huge role in how they develop as a person, act, think, and live their life. Society pushes specific roles on men and women, giving each of them a set of expectations based solely on their gender. We learn these rules and roles from other men and women, who unconsciously reflect how we are expected to behave. As girls and boys we learn through observation, we see our parents and society acting in a certain way and work to imitate these images. Unknowingly we are shaped and take on the roles of our gender. Knuttila explains, “It is the society’s value system that defines sex and gender roles, and these are passed on via socialization” (205.)
In the past, a part of the male role was the provider. Men were expected to provide for their wives and family. This example is only a remnant of this past expectation. The role of a provider may not be as prominent as it once was, but we can still see that it is one we impose on males in our society.
This photo is of a receipt from a Smitty’s restaurant in Moose Jaw.
Sociological Interpretation
The simple act of receiving a receipt after dining at a restaurant shows us a lot about the norms and roles in our society. After eating at Smitty’s one day with a friend, I noticed that the waiter placed the cheque right in front of him at the end of our meal. Such a straightforward thing, the waiter probably did not even think twice before doing it. It seems that it has become custom in our society, even expected, that the man pay for a meal.
As Knuttila states, “It is not the excitement of coming upon the totally unfamiliar, but rather the excitement of finding the familiar becoming transformed in its meaning” (Berger, Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective.) Something so simple as receiving a cheque at the end of a meal can have a much deeper meaning than it would appear to. Whether he thought consciously before doing this or was unaware of his actions, the waiter had expectations of the male. Rather than placing the receipt in the middle of the table, he expected the man to provide and pay for the meal. This tells us a lot about the deeply engrained gender roles in our society. We are expected to behave a certain way based on gender. It may seem like this is just how it is, but that is only because society has complex expectations and roles for men and women.
A person’s gender plays a huge role in how they develop as a person, act, think, and live their life. Society pushes specific roles on men and women, giving each of them a set of expectations based solely on their gender. We learn these rules and roles from other men and women, who unconsciously reflect how we are expected to behave. As girls and boys we learn through observation, we see our parents and society acting in a certain way and work to imitate these images. Unknowingly we are shaped and take on the roles of our gender. Knuttila explains, “It is the society’s value system that defines sex and gender roles, and these are passed on via socialization” (205.)
In the past, a part of the male role was the provider. Men were expected to provide for their wives and family. This example is only a remnant of this past expectation. The role of a provider may not be as prominent as it once was, but we can still see that it is one we impose on males in our society.
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