Mya Oyler

The Mask Project was about uncovering how we've been socialized to conform to societal norms. The overall objectives for this project were to create a mask that we feel we have to wear and to write an essay about the ways we’ve been socialized.  In order to obtain background information, we dove into Bobbie Harro’s The Cycle of Socialization. This article interpreted the different stages of socialization that we go through which ultimately affects our character and our beliefs. It also explained how the cycle is also a cycle of oppression that continues unless people take a serious direction for change. This can oppression occur through discrimination and stereotyping of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. It talked about different minorities and how they are all individually oppressed by the majority. As I looked further into the text, I started to notice oppression in my everyday life; particularly the extreme stereotyping of women. I recognized how our society constantly reinforces ideals like women having the “perfect body” and being more submissive. I noticed these stereotypes becoming more prevalent in my life so I chose to write about how mainstream media reinforces female stereotypes.

 

This project not only intrigued me but also forced me to responsibly manage my time in order to meet my deadlines. I had to balance my time between working on my essay and working on my mask. Overall, I think I did a fairly good job of managing my time, but I did feel the pressure as we approached the exhibition. One of the skills I thrived in the extent of this project was my advocacy. I asked for help on my essay and mask when I needed it which lead to me having a very refined final product. At the exhibition, I was very proud displaying my work because of the effort I put into refining it. Between the mask and the essay, perseverance was very important in order to create quality work on time. I did a pretty good job of persevering, but I did procrastinate working on my essay a bit.

 

My biggest takeaway from this project was not the concepts I learned, but rather how much my eyes were opened to the oppression in our society. Now I constantly notice stereotypes in movies, music, and advertisements. One of the skills I developed in this project was advocacy. In the past, it has been really hard for me to ask for help in my school work because it has made me feel like I am not self-proficient enough. I recognize that this is not the case whatsoever and my work has hugely benefited from the refinement I put into it by getting help. It has become easier for me to ask for help on my projects because I realize that it heightens the quality of my work.