The Concept of Pink Shirt Day - Anti-bullying Initiative

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Running Head: SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note:

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Introduction
This article speaks about the concept of Pink Shirt Day as a means of Anti-bullying
initiative. This is the way to show kindness and lifting each other with the feeling of sympathy
and compassion (Vancouver Island, 2020). The Pink Shirt Day is also known as Anti-bullying
Day that was held on February 26. The Anti-bullying Day is an activity when people wear
mainly pink shirts to protest against bullying and it was originated from Canada, Australia. There
is no prescribed schedule for celebrating the activity around the world. During the year of 2012,
the United Nations declared that the official day for celebrating the Anti-bullying day was March
4.
The article recorded the incidents from Victoria during the celebration of Pink Shirt Day.
It recorded the experience of the mother of Amanda Todd, a B.C teen considering her own life
and experience of bully on an online platform (Felt, 2015). She speaks about the importance to
support the activity of anti-bullying day. From the sociological perspective, the history behind
the emergence of Pink Shirt Day should be mentioned to understand the concept and its
importance.
Discussion
It was originated by David Shepherd and Travis Price from Berwick, Nova Scotia.
During the year of 2007, they distributed almost 50 pink shirts among the ninth grade male
students. Chuck McNeill was bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of the school
(Koyczan & Day, 2014). Hence, Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald termed every second
Thursday of September will be celebrated as ‘Stand Up Against Bullying Day’ in remembrance
of the past event.

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According to Amanda Todd’s mother, it is important to support the concept of Pink Shirt
Day to show respect and kindness to humankind. Carol speaks about friendship and humanity
and becoming a supportive individual for each other (Vancouver Island, 2020). It is important to
convey good social and emotional attitude to form a strong relationship that is required in order
to generate a safer society. On 26th February, Todd expresses in front of the CTV News, that it is
expected that her daughter will not face any bullying situation after people being motivated or
inspired by the concept of Pink Shirt Day. She provides a social message to the victims of
bullying situation to speak about their experience to someone (Vancouver Island, 2020). Ideal
communication with the right person will help the victims to realize that it is not their fault. The
person involved in the activity of bullying possess some faulty intention or perspective or
upbringing that lead them to perform such kinds of activity with others (Chanicka & Gagné
2015). Todd expresses utter disgust about the activities of online bullying emerged especially
during the year of 2012.
Analyzing the event with sociological theory
Bullying has been existing as the focal point of the researchers. The functionalism
sociological theory considers that bullying cannot be determined by the clothing style of a
person. It articulates that an individual should be measured from aesthetic perception. In this
regard the Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model should be mentioned. According to this, there
are various transactional nature that impacts the human development and these conceptualization
of human being is depended on four levels (Onwuegbuzie, Collins & Frels, 2013). The Proximal
level is known as microsystem that deals with the immediate surroundings of the individual
including family and school. The second level of this model is mesosystem includes the different
experiences of microsystem. The third level is known as exosystem and it only deals with the

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society and schooling system. The final level of this model is known as macrosystem including
the broader norms of culture and policies that impacts on the behavior of an individual being
(Glaser & Glaeser, 2014).
Applying the concept of the entire model on bullying provides a comprehensive
framework to understand the aspects of bullying in an individual and other victims in general.
According to this implication, the communication of interpersonal, school, family, friends and
society and their features that can influence the victimization (Liao, 2016). For an instance, the
microsystems or environment of the classroom, family and the friend circle of an individual is
correlated with the incidents of bullying related behavior performed by an individual. On the
other hand, the factors of risk and protection within the mesosytem can be the moderator
including the experience the individual gain during microsystems. Moreover, the ecological
model helps to understand the influential factors that leads an individual to perform the negative
activities including bullying.
Sociological perspective of understanding social problems
Majority of the human being experience more than one or more social issues in their
daily lives. For an instance, the financially unstable employees suffer from poor health, family
problems, addiction for alcohol and at the end commit some crimes. Bullying is a concept that
involves the person committing the crime and the victim. The Feminist perception of sociology
can expand both the perspectives of the victim and the person at fault. On the other hand, the
Interactionist sociological perception, states that the problems of an individual are mooted
within the problems stemming from the factors of the community. According to Giovanardi,
Lucarelli & Decosta (2014) there is a traditional differentiation between personal trouble and
public issues. Individual or personal problem refer to the issue affecting the life of that particular

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individual and the others members of the community and blames the person’s original and moral
faults (Sawyer, 2015). For an instance, unemployment and divorce. On the other hand, the public
problem refers to the problem originates from the society hence, bullying is one such example of
public issue.
Meyer, (2016) states that being bullied can give birth to the emotion of insecurity and on
guard. The consequences lasts for long time, even when the person is not being bullied directly,
feels insecure to the related situations. Bullying leaves a negative impression on the mental
health of the person. Hence, in the case of Carol, her personal experience of being bullied led her
commenting on the concern she exhibit in front of the media on Pink Shirt Day. It is
disappointing to state that, there are no particular study to investigate the activity of bullying
with the proper use of neural and imagining techniques (Glaser & Glaeser, 2014). However,
there are certain sociological perspective that examine the functionality of brain to demolish the
social pain. The term social pain defines the emotion of pain that keeps on following the victims
throughout the entire lifespan. Hence, the sociological lens expand the concept of bullying as a
situation of emotional toll of an individual. However, sociology cannot predict the types of
people get bullied or involved within this activity (Chanicka & Gagné 2015). There are certain
characteristic features that the people usually get bullied including person who is more cautious,
shy, introvert, anxious, and people with low self-esteem. Most important thing is that the victims
of bullying activity do not get much support from the society or family members. The reason is,
it is quite natural for the people with such characteristics to get bullied.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, it can be said that, bullying is an unwanted situation that occur in daily
social life in the entire world as well as in Canada. The main idea of the new article about

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Amanda Todd and her Mother is a way to make the people aware about the disturbing social
practice still possessing within the society. Anti-bullying concept demands mutual respect for all
the human being living within the society considering them as mere human being and nothing
else. As a result the activities including Pink Shirt Day emerged as an initiative to abolish the
concept of bullying from the grass-root level of the society.

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References
Chanicka, J., & Gagné, A. (2015). Our journey at Aldergrove Public School–social justice Praxis
in one Canadian Elementary School. Intercultural Education, 26(3), 238-247.
Felt, M. (2015). The incessant image: how dominant news coverage shaped Canadian
cyberbullying law. UNBLJ, 66, 137.
Giovanardi, M., Lucarelli, A., & Decosta, P. L. E. (2014). Co-performing tourism places: The
“Pink Night” festival. Annals of Tourism Research, 44, 102-115.
Glaser, M., & Glaeser, B. (2014). Towards a framework for cross-scale and multi-level analysis
of coastal and marine social-ecological systems dynamics. Regional environmental
change, 14(6), 2039-2052.
Koyczan, S. L., & Day, T. T. (2014). To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful. Walker Books
Australia.
Liao, M. (2016). Factors affecting post-permanency adjustment for children in adoption or
guardianship placements: An ecological systems analysis. Children and Youth Services
Review, 66, 131-143.
Meyer, D. (2016). The gentle neoliberalism of modern anti-bullying texts: Surveillance,
intervention, and bystanders in contemporary bullying discourse. Sexuality Research and
Social Policy, 13(4), 356-370.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Collins, K. M., & Frels, R. K. (2013). Foreword: Using Bronfenbrenner’s
ecological systems theory to frame quantitative, qualitative, and mixed
research. International journal of multiple research approaches, 7(1), 2-8.

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Sawyer III, D. C. (2015). Step Your Game Up: Teaching Sociology Through the Art of the Hip-
hop Rap Battle. Humanity & Society, 39(2), 224-235.
Vancouver Island. (2020). Amanda Todd's mother speaks out about bullying on Pink Shirt Day.
Retrieved 27 February 2020, from https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/amanda-todd-s-
mother-speaks-out-about-bullying-on-pink-shirt-day-1.4828738