The Northridge Mall
On Monday September 21 I ventured to the Northridge Mall and observed the people that were there and the way in which gender is portrayed, constructed, etc. I sat on one of the benches toward the center of the mall and then walked throughout the mall for about twenty minutes.
This is what I observed:
As I sat I noticed at once that the majority of the people that were school age kids, with a very small mix of adults. This could be due to the fact that it was about 12:30 pm and many people are confined to work or school.
I saw a group of 5 guys about 17 or 18 just entering the mall. They were all just fairly similarly, as in jeans and somewhat plain t-shirts. They were talking amongst themselves, but their laughter was extremely prominent. It seemed that they were entering the mall for a specific purpose, because of the speed of their walk.
Also, I saw a pair of girls. Appearing to be friends, walking around the mall; possibly window shopping. They were talking rapidly about things they saw and I’m guessing, just average conversation. The way in which they were dressed was the popular way to dress. One was wearing shorts and a shirt and the other somewhat similar, there were no vibrant displays of name brands but they were carrying bags from The Gap.
I decided to walk by the play area for young children I noticed that the majority of individuals present were women or mothers watching their children play. There were countless children and moms with strollers and bags of children supplies. To some extent they would interact with their children but they allowed the objects in the center of the area do that.
While I was stood on the escalator waiting to get to the second level of the mall I saw that a couple was sitting on a bench together kissing. There was not too much interaction other than that, but it seemed that the guy was more aggressive of the two. I saw three other couples walking together following this. Two of them were actively speaking with one another while one of them seemed to not be engaged in any sort of conversation. The main similarities between the three couples was the nature of their body language and position, they were either holding hands or an arm was around their partner. All three couples were fairly young, between 18 and 22. The way the girls were dressed was in the obvious way to attract men. The style of dress on both parts was that of what is current and popular, nothing out of the ordinary or different from the norm. They were essentially, perfect examples of feminine nature.
Analysis:
I immediately thought after observing all the situations and people at the mall, just how greatly the things we have talked about in class correlate with what I witnessed. First, it seemed that going to the mall in a pair or group of a larger nature was more predominant, rather than being alone. It became obvious that the very few people that I saw who were alone were there for a specific purpose, perhaps to get a new pair of shoes or something simple. Also, it seemed that being alone is not as “acceptable” compared to being in a group of people; either a family, group of friends, or couple. This is due to the mall being a hub of culture, commerce, and gathering.
It seemed to me that although the mall is a just a collection of stores, the meaning it exudes is a trendy hang out that is much more than a place where shops and merchants make a living. The word mall is a sign that to most means just that, a hub of culture, commerce, and gathering. According to Saussure, when many individuals hear the word mall they immediately think of a place with stores that can also serve as a place of attraction, as in an interesting place where time is spent. For some, this relationship can be completely arbitrary; the idea a mall represents is nothing more than an average store or stores similar to the meaning of a grocery store, for example. In reality, a mall is the former to most.
It did become very clear that the people and interactions that I saw took place for very diverse purposes. For example, the group of five guys I saw appeared to be masculine and tough, in a way that would suggest that what they were doing at the mall was not to converse so much, but go in and come out with what it was they desired. The girls that I saw on the other hand were feminine and it seemed that their time spent at the mall was to relax, have fun, and shop. As expected, their feminine nature was prominent and seemed different than the instances where a girl and guy were together.
I found my observations of the child’s play area to be very interesting. The emotional and physical distance by the mothers (maybe baby-sitters) in this area was absolutely astounding. I did not expect to see what I saw; it seemed that the “care-takers” of these young children all had bigger, more important tasks on their plate and not one of them included being actively involved with their children. However, when a said child approached his mother she would take notice and show affection and concern, but when out in the play area, every child was on their own so to speak. I would never dare to paint the picture of all mothers/baby-sitters that bring their children to the Northridge Mall are heartless and selfish, but it seems that the time the women spent was for themselves and the children did the same. The gender roles of the women in the area made some sort of sense, in that while they are doing this their spouse is bringing home the bacon. Therefore, this conforms directly with the notion that males are the primary contributors to the family while, women (especially with children) care for them while possibly working part-time.
The time I spent at the mall was that of great discovery in that many things that occur day in and day out are just simply overlooked. We all see young children playing in the small play area that in some ways could be unsafe, but they are enjoying themselves; we see mothers and the occasional father looking after their children but also doing things such as making phone calls and working on laptops. There are the couples who show affection toward each other with very normal and predictable gender roles just as we all expect and it is something that we have come to know and expect at a venue like the mall. Manly men and girly girls are not off the radar either as they can be found in groups of both large and small proportions. The mall, as a whole is radical, cool place to be, but under circumstances of this class it is a pedestrian un-radical romance where normal love and friendship can be found.
