Reflection One - The Sociological Imagination

The Sociological Imagination

  Private issues are impacted by public issues.  Charles Wright Mills, an American Sociologist, defined sociological imagination as "the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society (Crossman, A. 2012). 

  Mills believed that the most fruitful distinction with which the sociological imagination works is between ‘the personal troubles of milieu’ and the ‘public issues of social structure’ (Mills, 1959, p.8).  “The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society” (Mills, C. 1959,  p. 6).  

An example of social imagination is individual issue, a type of eating disorder known as Anorexia Nervosa, versus the public issue of media. Anorexia is a personal issue as it affects the individual alone. It is a psychological disorder which most often begins by an individual dieting to lose weight.  Over time control takes over and the desire to become thinner is secondary to concerns about control and the fears relating to one’s body.  Other behaviors such as excessive exercise, misuse of diet pills and laxatives, all in order to lose weight, often to the point of starvation, gives the individual as sense of control over her or his body. This cycle becomes an obsession and, in this way, is similar to an addiction (Dryden-Edwards, R., 2012). 
  As well as psychological factors, public issues contribute to Anorexia. Society plays a major role in how individuals view their body.  The emphasis on being “thin” is prevalent in our society, especially for women.  This is largely depicted through the media.  Through television shows, movies or fashion magazines actresses and models are perceived by society as having the perfect body. 

An individual’s private issue of body image can never be resolved until they realize that their issue expands beyond themselves to that of society. C. Wright Mills concludes that “we cannot solve societal conflicts, nor personal turmoil, until we have considered the institutions of society in relation to our own situations” (Mills, 1959, p.13).  

References

Crossman, A. (2012). An Overview of the Book by C. Wright Mills, Retrieved October 8, 2012 from http://sociology.about.com/od/Works/a/Sociological-Imagination.htm

Dryden-Edwards, R. (2012). Anorexia Nervosa, Retrieved October 11, 2012 from http://www.medicinenet.com/anorexia_nervosa/page2.htm#what_is_anorexia_nervosa

Mills, C. W.: 1959, The Sociological Imagination, Oxford University Press, London. The Sociological Imagination, pages 6, 8 and 13.