Sociology Unit 3

Status (in)consistency

The consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual’s rank across social categories like income, education, and occupation.

Social Classes in US

Upper class: Upper-Upper; Lower-Upper

Middle Class: Upper Middle; Average Middle

Working class: Low Job prestige; vulnerable to economic and personal issues; marx calls them prolitarian; many hours; only get money for what they need, lots of man labor, blue collar, low education, less than half own homes. 

Lower Class: Working poor; not making a liveable wage; only 15% has 4 yr degree and most only do 2 year degree; dangerous or less desirable neighborhoods; 75% get high school diplomas; most likely not owning a home. 

Distribution of Wealth in America

Wealthiest 1% percent owns 40% of nations wealth. Wealth = net worth 

Income: job or investments gross. 

Kuznet’s curve

Drops off in industrial and goes up in post industrial; shows how different inequality was throughout time based on sociocultural evolution

Stratification drops in industrial and peaked during agrarian starts going back up in post industrial

Big gap between top and bottom in agrarian

least stratified is hunter gatherers. 

Poverty

Depravation of some in relation to others; found in all stratified systems

Relative Poverty

Depravation of some in relation to those who have more

people who have 50% less income than the avg median income

Absolute Poverty/extreme poverty

A deprivation of resources that is life threatening; serious but preventable

extreme poverty: $1.90 per day

43% white americans are poor

Disproportionately larger portions of minorities are poor.

10% or 36 million americans live in poverty 

Homelessness

• 2024 estimated 771480 estimated homeless on any given night 

• Causes:

  • Unemployment, underemployment, low wages

  • Reduction in social services

  • Rent increases or rising mortgage payments

  • Lack of low income housing 

  • Escaping domestic violence

  • Substance abuse, mental illness 

Social class does make a difference–due to max webers like chances

What do functionalists think about stratification?

All positions, high and low, must be filled for society to function

Stratification is beneficial for society. 

• Functionalist perspective with stratification: 

  • Davis+moore thesis states what about stratification greater loss and greater reward

  • Occupations have higher perceived value with greater rewards

  • Weber 

  • Things connected to social class like physical health can mental health 

Rewards for stratification?

Different social classes have certain networks that can benefit them.

Affordability; accessibility; time off work when in higher positions (Paid time off). 

Low class: less job security 

Conflict Perspective about stratification

Lots of jobs that are needed for daily lives do not get paid a lot like house builders and teachers. 

Graph Trends

South is Baptist, poor, and traditional, low women in power

Social Construction of Race

Allows generally agreed upon traits of society but people dont always agreee when identifying somebody

What a black, mexican, or indian looks like. Celebrity guess activity 

Ethnicity

Shared cultural heritage; social group with shared culture 

Race

Physical characteristics used to define people; group of humans distinguished by physical traits/ social qualities. Varies by society and is a social construct.

Minority

Smaller group of total population: can be larger in number than regular group. Based more on level of advantage/disadvantage in group. (Black vs white south africans)

Level of socialization that takes generations to change

Ideology

Segragation

Separation of a group of people

Assimilation

A minority group takes on characteristics of majority group

Pluralism

Salad pot/ salad of multiple distinct groups in a single society. Different Ethnivities in a same territory and they maintain equal social standing across all groups.

Genocide

Targeting and Killing of a certain group of people

Miscegenation

Cross racial marriage

In America, anti-miscegenation laws existed. Minorities could not marry whites. This was abolished in 1967 when minorities were legally allowed to marry white people. 

Sex

Based on a person genitals; primary sex characteristics

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Deeper voice, hips, hair, breast, muscle mass increase

Intersexual

born with multiple sex characteristics

Gender

Social and Cultural expectation of gender; job expectations; mannerisms

Transgender

Views do not align with birth sex so they change the gender that they align with.

Transexual

Undergo physical change so that their physical body aligns with their gender identity

Transvestite

Dresses as opposite sex; could be for a variety of different reasons.

Socializing agents and gender roles

Reader; marathon time; housework graph (i have no data)

What have women done to surpass glass ceiling?

• Women owned business

• Entrepreneurship: women make opportunities for themselves apart from large, male dominated companies 

• Money is loaned to start up businesses–women receive less money than men who start businesses 

• They employ 9 million people and 1.7 trillion in sales

Women in state government across US

• 35% or higher is the best one–still less than half of women in power 

• Baptist south has gender split 

• More women in US→ why dont they hold more seats?

  • Women dont vote for other women 

    • Maybe in relationship with other people that don’t want to vote for women

  • Perceive women as less qualified due to society 

  • They might have family and society thinks that they will spend more time with family 

  • They dont see women as fit because they think that it is a male dominated field 

  • More women hold local government positions 

Violence against women

Foot binding, sati (burned and killed), witch burning, FG Mutiulation.

All cultures say “this is normal”, but what is normal to one culture is not normal to another. 

Intergenerational

Between generations how social positions change

Intragenerational

Within a generation, how social positions change

caste system

No inter or intragenerational movement. stratified with NO MOVEMENT

Class system

Stratified with movement inter or intragenerationally

Know traits of social classes?

?????

Global Stratification 

Unequal distribution of wealth, poiwer, and resourses among countries across the world (Haiti/afghanistan vs america/china).

4 sexual oritentations in class

Heterosex: like opposite sex

Homosex: like same sex

Bisex: like both sex

asex: no attraction towards any sex

Webers idea

Class, status, and party determine life chances —success or fail rate in society. 

Social Stratification

division of society into groups arranged in a social heirarchy

Caste system

Classes determined by heredity

Class system

Open system based on both birth and individual achievement 

exogamous marriage

Outside of ones social class/ category

endogamous marriages

Unions of spouses within the same social category

Primogeniture

Right of inheritance belongs exclusively to eldest son

Social Mobility

A change in position within the social hierarchy (the ability to change)

Stereotype 

Generalized belief about a group of people 

Prejudice

Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason/ experience 

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

Pluralism

Idea that people of all races and ethnivites are distinct but have equal social standing

Model minority

stereotype applied to a minority group that is seens as reaching higher educational, professional, and socioeconomic levels without protest against the majority establishment 

Primary sex characteristics 

Body structures that make sexual reproduction possible 

Secondary sex characteristics

nonreproductive sex traits: breasts hips, voice, hair

Socializing Agents of Gender

Family, school, peers, religion

gender tracking

degrees tend to follow gender, a pattern that reinforces male female distinction

Women CEOS

10.6% of all ceos

US minimum wage

$7.25 an hour updated in 2009.

US poverty line

32k/ family of four

15k for one person

US poverty rate

10.6% of people in the Us is in poverty

Life chances

physical and mental health, educational attainment

Upper Class

Old/new money. Own 1/3 of the US wealth

Middle class

Most diverse. highly skilled jobs, own homes, bachelors degree or higher

Working class

most dont own homes; 1/5 of children own a 4 yr degree; blue collar; vunerable to economic changes. 

Lower class

Working poor. ¾ of their children win earn hs diplomas. at or below poverty line.

Feminization of poverty

Increasing concentration of poverty among women, especially single mothers

Conspicuous consumption

Buy gucci so people see you have gucci—> buy/use things to make a statement about social standing