A Call for Public Sociology: Inspiration and Insights from Sociological Images

Doing Public Sociology:

Notes from a Practitioner

Lisa Wade, PhDSociological Images

Overview

Sociological Images encourages people to exercise and develop their sociological imaginations with discussions of compelling visuals that span the breadth of sociological inquiry.

Mission

abortion/reproduction ● academia ● activism ● age/aging ● alcohol animals ● art/literature ● biology ● bodies ● capitalism ● cars ● celebrity children/youth ● citizenship/immigration ● class clothes/fashion ● color

commodification ● communism/socialism ● consumption ● cosmetic surgery ● crime/law ● cultural imperialism ● culture ● dating ● democracy

● demography ● deviance ● diet/exercise ● disability ● disaster discourse/language ● economics ● education ● emotion ● energy environment/nature ● facism/totalitarianism ● fat ● food/agriculture

gadgets ● gender ● genocide ● globalization ● guns ● hair health/medicine ● height(ism) ● history ● holidays ● housing/residential

segregation ● human rights ● humor ● hygiene ● internet intersectionality ● knowledge/intelligence ● leisure ● marketing

marriage/family ● media ● mental illness ● methods ● modern/primitive multiculturalism ● music ● nationalism/patriotism ● objectification ● opinion

● organizations/institutions ● politics ● pornography prejudice/discrimination ● psychology ● public service announcements

race/ethnicity ● re-touching ● religion ● residential segregation resistance ● science/technology ● sex ● sex work sexual orientation

smoking/tobacco ● social construction ● social networks ● social psychology ● social structure ● socialization ● sports ● terrorism ● the

state ● toys/games ● travel/tourism ● violence ● war/military ● work

reading, browsing, and searchingpinterest boardscourse guidessample assignmentsContexts essaysinvitation to guest post

For Instructors

reading, browsing, and searchingpinterest boardscourse guides sample assignmentsContexts essaysinvitation to guest post

Introduction to sociologygenderfamilyasian americans sportworksexualityresearch methodswomen and history

For Instructors

reading, browsing, and searchingpinterest boardscourse guidessample assignmentsContexts essaysinvitation to guest post

For Instructors

For Instructorsreading, browsing, and searchingpinterest boardscourse guidessample assignmentsContexts essaysinvitation to guest post

Basics:• social construction• comics and cartoons• vintage stuff

For Instructors

reading, browsing, and searchingpinterest boardscourse guidessample assignmentsContexts essaysinvitation to guest post

~ 15 boards:• sexual orientation• race• gender

For Instructors

reading, browsing, and searchingpinterest boardscourse guidessample assignmentsContexts essaysinvitation to guest post

Marketing and the media:• sexy toy make-overs• re-touching/photoshop• deconstructing Disney• marketing feminism• weird things sold with sex

For Instructors

ReachSocImages: 4,771,031 visits in 2014TSP: 14,858th most popular website in

the U.S. out of

644,275,754 active websites

Reach

ReachSocImages: 4,771,031 visits in 2014TSP: 14,858th most popular website in

the U.S. out of

644,275,754 active websites

Pew Research 18,166 Color Lines 14,497 Feministing 13,002Cute overload 12,640Freakonomics 12,489

Reach

ReachReach

ReachOrganic searches:

Reach

blurred lines (rape) 3,364 aspic 275

porn (various) 2,261 tough guise 2 275

ice cream truck song 983 framing child deviance 243wate on 584 Down Syndrome lifemarginalization 523 …expectancy 237(history of) high heels 517 straight pride Halloween 234sexual objectification 401 sad white babies with meanfemale hysteria 394 …feminist mommies 231Piaget experiments 348 pointlessly gendered products 225Irish stereotypes 337 androcentrism 183

ReachDirect links:

Reach

huffington post 53,229 pacific standard 7,664feedly 35,727 wonderzine

7,321bitch 12,186 skepchick 5,958cracked 12,026 slate 5,217TV tropes 9,450 already pretty

4,673NPR 9,178 GQ 4,453jezebel 9,110 insider higher ed 3,910feministing 8,690 business insider 3,524buzzfeed 8,346 cosmopolitan

3,333everyday feminism 7,756

ReachSocial media:

Reach

facebook 1,436,533 quora 952

twitter 106,372 weebly 927

reddit 70,223 netvibes 413

pinterest 65,126 linkedin 403tumblr 53,699 vkontakte

395stumbleupon 51,936 stack exchange 301digg 20,531 yahoo answers

295disqus 10,573 plurk

255google+ 3,894 scoop.it 231pocket 1,092

ReachPinterest: 14,500+ followers, 597

visits/dayTwitter: 11,800+ followers, 71

tweets/postTumblr: 22,500+ followers, 1,083

notes/postFacebook: 70,500+ followers, 296

likes/post138 shares/post

27,219 views/post

Reach

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?It meets people where they already are.

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?It meets people where they already are.Posts are frequent and consistent

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?It meets people where they already are.Posts are frequent and consistentContent is eclectic, but on point

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?It meets people where they already are.Posts are frequent and consistentContent is eclectic, but on pointWriting style works for the web

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?It meets people where they already are.Posts are frequent and consistentContent is eclectic, but on pointWriting style works for the webPeople identify with SocImages

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?How do you find the time?

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?How do you find the time?Are you afraid of being so public?

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?How do you find the time?Are you afraid of being wrong in public?

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?How do you find the time?Aren’t you afraid of people who might be violent?

FAQs

Just a tipoff, to let you filthy feminazi CUNTS know that we are exposing you, you fucking pieces of shit... see [some guy’s] piece in [redacted], a leading men's rights magazine site, and boy does it expose you and your fucking feminazi cunt blog for what you are.... nothing but awful screaming feminazi harpy cunts who need to suck a dick and calm down... you evil twats...

Aside from this tipoff, all I will say to such feminazi CUNTS like you is, suck my fucking dick you awful feminazi cunts. FUCK I HATE YOU, AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR!!!!! DOWN WITH FEMINAZI COCKSUCKING CUNTS WHO I HOPE GET BREAST CANCER.

Eat shit.

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?How do you find the time?Are you afraid of being so public?How does your institution see it?

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?How do you find the time?Are you afraid of being so public?How does your institution see it?Should it count for tenure?

FAQs

ReachWhy do you think people come to the site?How do you find the time?Are you afraid of being so public?How does your institution see it?Shouldn’t it count for tenure?

FAQs

ReachWho do you think you are?

Fself-AQs

ReachWho do you think you are?Are you harming the field?

Fself-AQs

ReachWho do you think you are?Are you harming the field?You know you’re destroying the profession of journalism, don’t you?

Fself-AQs

ReachWho do you think you are?Are you harming the field?You know you’re destroying the profession of journalism, don’t you?Are you going to get sued?

Fself-AQs

ReachWho do you think you are?Are you harming the field?You know you’re destroying the profession of journalism, don’t you?Are you going to get sued?Does it make a difference?

Fself-AQs

ReachWho do you think you are?Are you harming the field?You know you’re destroying the profession of journalism, don’t you?Are you going to get sued?Does it help sociologists?

Fself-AQs

“SI is an indispensable website… love it!” 

– Heidi BrowneSt. Clair County Community College

“I can’t imagine my classroom without it.” 

– Dana MaherCollege of the Redwoods

“It’s usually worth the time to do the translation job!”

– Guillaume TurgeonUniversité Laval

“It has been a strong resource for my high school classroom that I couldn’t do without.”

– Suki Lin HighersFayetteville High School

“I’m a better teacher (and less irrelevant) with SocImages.”

– Jennifer McKinneyPurdue University

“…a great way to transition from a theory to an example that students can understand.”  

– Jenny PiquetteThe Ohio State University

“I think I can fill the entire class time with topics for discussion from SI.”

– Mariana GatzevaKwantlen Polytecnic University

ReachWho do you think you are?Are you harming the field?You know you’re destroying the profession of journalism, don’t you?Are you going to get sued?Does it bring people into the field?

Fself-AQs

“I have been reading the Sociological Images blog for the past few years, and… as an incoming freshman to the University of Florida, the first class I enrolled in was Intro to Sociology… I hope you realize how much of an impact Sociological Images has had on me and my future.”

- Arielle Davis

ReachWho do you think you are?Are you harming the field?You know you’re destroying the profession of journalism, don’t you?Are you going to get sued?Does it help people?

Fself-AQs

“I really love your blog. I am always trying to find ways to vocalize how awful sexist images make me feel, and SI helps me with vocabulary, preciseness, and examples to be able to express my feelings.”

- Liz Yockey

ReachWho do you think you are?Are you harming the field?You know you’re destroying the profession of journalism, don’t you?Are you going to get sued?Does it change public discourse?

Fself-AQs

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ReachWho do you think you are?Are you harming the field?You know you’re destroying the profession of journalism, don’t you?Are you going to get sued?Does it actually change anything?

Fself-AQs

…

Conclusion

Questions