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Pitbulls

Page history last edited by aricaloyd 12 years, 7 months ago

 

 

Based upon personal experience and images and stories told by the news, picture a "pitbull". What image comes to mind?

The cute, seemingly harmless puppy on the left? 

Or the chained "pit bull" with jaws-opened, ready-to-attack image on the right?

 

Chances are, unless you are a "pit" or "bully-breed" owner, you will immediately picture the dog on the right due to what the media has portrayed about dog attacks.

 

 

 

Over the last century, what are known as "pitbulls" today has gone from being a beloved figurehead in the American culture to being a menace to society. This is due to dog breeds being a social construction. There are particular feelings associated with certain breeds. The “generic catchall”(Swift) term “pit bull” has been socially constructed, in part by legislation and the media, into a negative feeling, and an almost a naughty word. Comparatively, other such topics like race and gender are socially constucted, too, by stocks of knowledge and the media's portrayal of each. "The social sciences have come to reject biologistic notions of race in favor of an approach which regards race as a social concept" (Rothenberg 14). Sociologists like Max Weber, through his ideal types, have defined what race means through a "sociohistorical"(Rothenberg 15) perspective. Max Weber's ideal types can be done on virtually all kinds of topics. For instance if someone was do to an ideal type of a "girl", it might not have the same attributes as listing items for a "female". This is the same for doing an ideal type for a "dog as a pet". That list might look like: Loyal, Obeident, Barks, Furry, Smart, Loving, Capable of learning tricks/commands, specific job (hunts, herds), etc. The issue with this is through the media's sensationalization of the dog attacks, more specifically "pit bull" attacks since the 1980s, the idea of different breeds and the feelings that accompany them change from "breed" to breed. There are specific feelings that come to mind when people hear "Labrador", "Saint Bernard" or "Pit bull".

 

According to Dr. Steve Zawistowski, an ASPCA animal behavior specialist who worked with the Michael Vick dogs, “we have a history in this country of different breeds of dogs being the targeted breed. Not so long ago, Dobermans were considered the devil dog, and they were the dogs people scared other people with. German shepherd dogs” were treated as targets, too. “Pit bulls just seem to be the dog du jour” (Zawistowski, NPR). Because these "pit bull" dogs, like the other dogs that are on the high risk list for many insurance companies throughout the United States, are not being treated as individuals, these dogs are falling victim to “canine racism” (Loew, et al Swift).

 

Importance of Dogs to Humans

     - A long interspecies relationship

    - Breed as a Social Construction

 

Defining "Pitbull" and "Pitbull" Origins  

     - Not just one breed. 

     - How we have Bully breeds today.

 

The Real "Pit bull"

     - The American Pitbull Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier 

  

The Media    

      Pre 1980s

          - American Pit Bull Terrier - The All American Dog

          - World War I Propaganda

          - America's First War Dog and other early celebrity "Pitbulls" 

 

      Post late-1980s

          - The Media's "Killer Dogs"

          - The hysteria, myths, and misreporting.

          - "Pitbulls" back on TV

          - Struggles for Owning Pitbulls

               - Stigmas

               - Breed-Specific Legislation and Insurance Restrictions

 

The Michael Vick Case

          - "Michael Vick may be the best thing that ever happened to the pit bull" (Jim Gorant, NPR; 2010) 

 

Arica Loyd

Fall 2010                        

 

Sources through out:

Allan, Kenneth. Classical Sociological Theory. Second Edition. Pine Forge Press. California. 2010

 

“American Pit Bull Terrier, a Smart Owner’s Guide”. Kennel Club Book Inc, Interactive Series. Freehold, NJ. 2009.

           

Cohen, Judy and John Richardson. “Pit Bull Panic”. Journal of Popular Culture. EBSCO Publishing. 2003. October 2010.

 

Delise, Karen. The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media, Myths and Politics of Canine Aggression. Anubus Publishing. New Jersey. 2007.

 

Gallagher, Cynthia P. The American Pit Bull Terrier. T.F.H. Publications. Neptune City, NJ. 2006.

 

Glassner, Barry. The Culture of Fear. Basic Books. New York. 1999.

 

Gorant, Jim and Zawistowski. "The Road to Recovery for Michael Vick's Dogs". Interview. Fresh Air. Npr. 2010 

              

Huss, Rebecca J. “Lessons Learned: Acting As Guardian/Special Master in the Bad Newz Kennels Case”. Valparaiso University School of Law. 1-21. June 2009. October 2010.

 

Mantsios, Gregory. “Class in America.” Race, Class and Gender in the United States. : Worth Publishers, 2009. 176-193.

 

Rothenberg, Paula. Race, Class and Gender in the United States, An Integrated Study. Eighth Edition. Worth Publishers. 2006.

             

Stahlkuppe, Joe. The American Pit Bull Terrier Handbook. Barron’s Educational Series. Hauppauge, NY. 2000.

 

Swift, E.M., "The Pit Bull Friend and Killer". Sports Illustrated. July 27, 1987.          

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