Sociology 101

Wealth

A measure of net worth that includes income, property and other assets.

Third wave

The third wave of feminism focused primarily on diversity. It is the most recent period of feminist activity, focusing on issues of diversity and the variety of identities women can possess. Third wave feminism is also concerned with the rights of women in all countries and with environmental and animal rights. The movement includes many if not most college students.

***

is a distinction based on primary *** characteristics. *** is an individual's membership in one of two biologically distinct categories-male or female.

Caste system

is a form of social stratification in which status is determined by one's family history and background and cannot be changed.

social inequality

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society.

Second shift

the unpaid housework and child care often expected of women after they complete their day's paid labor.

embodied identity

those elements of identity that are generated through others' perceptions of our physical traits.

essentialists

those who believe gender roles have a genetic or biological origin and therefore cannot be changed. (they see gender as immutable and biological and gender identity as an individual's self definition or sense of gender)

discrimination

unequal treatment of individuals based on their membership in a social group usually motivated by prejudice.

Feudal system

a system of social stratification based on a hereditary nobilty who were responsible for and served by a lower stratum of forced laborers called serfs.

Social class

a system of stratification based on access to such resources as wealth, property, power, and prestige.

situation ethnicity

an ethnic identity that can be either displayed or concealed depending on its usefulness in a given situation. (it involves a cost benefit analysis that symbolic ethnicity doesn't. )

symbolic ethnicity

an ethnic identity that is only relevant on specific occasions and does not significantly impact everyday life.

prejudice

an idea about the characteristics of a group that is applied to all members of that group and is unlikely to change regardless of the evidence against it.

gender identity

an individual's self definition or sense of gender.

absolute deprivation

an objective measure of poverty, defined by the inability to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, or health care.

Stereotypes

are socially constructed: they can therefore be socially deconstructed and socially reconstructed as well.

just world hypothesis

argues that people have a deep need to see the world as orderly, predictable, and fair, which creates a tendency to view victims of social injustice as deserving of their fates.

Everyday class conciousness

awareness of on's own social status and that of others.

Feminism

feminism is the belief in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes and the social movements organized around that belief. Thus, feminism is both a theoretical perspective and a social movement.

First wave

first wave is the earliest period of feminist activism in the US, includin the period from the mid nineteenth century until American women won the right to vote in 1920. (PG 267) It focused on inequalities, primarily on gaining women's suffrage (the right to vote).

transsexuals

individuals who identify with the other *** and have surgery to alter their own *** so it fits their self image.

Asexuality

involves the lack of sexual attraction of any kind. Asexual people have no interest in desire for ***.

intersexed

people with some mixture of male and female primary *** characteristics. Term to describe a person whose chromosomes or *** characteristics are neither exclusively male nor exclusively female. (what used to be called hermaphroditic)

working poor

poorly educated workers who work full time but remain below the poverty line; they constitute about 20 % of the US population.

passing

presenting yourself as a member of a different racial or ethnic group than the one you were born into

affirmative action

programs or policies that seek to rectify the effects of past discrimination by increasing representation and ensuring equal opportunity for any previously disadvantaged group.

Civil unions

proposed as an alternative to gay marriage; a form of legally recognized commitment that provides gay couples some of the benefits and protection of marriage.

miscegenation

romantic, sexual, or marital relationships between people of different races.

Second wave

second wave is the period of feminist activity during the 1960 and 1970s often associated with the issues of women's equal access to employment and education.\ The second wave of the women's movement pushed for and achieved such reforms as equal opportunity laws, legislation against sexual harrassment and marital ****, and a general increase in public awareness about gender discrimination in our society.

Sexuality

sexuality is the character or quality of being sexual.

Functionalism theory(social class)

stratification assures that the most qualified people fill the most important positions, these people perform their tasks competently and rewarded for the efforts.

Suffrage movement

suffrage movement is the movement organized aroun gaining voting rights for women.

Social reproduction

the tendency of social classes to remain relatively stable as social class status is passed down from one generation to the next.

assimilation

a pattern of relations between ethnic or racial groups in which the minority group is absorbed into the mainstream or dominant group, making society more homogenous.

relative deprivation

a relative measure of poverty based on the standard of living in a particular society.

racism

a set of beliefs about the superiority of one racial or ethnic group used to justify inequality and often rooted in the assumption that differences between groups are genetic.

Status inconsistency

a situation in which tere are serious differences between the different element of an individual's socioeconomic status.

Open system

a social system with ample opportunities to move from one class to another.

closed system

a social system with very little opportunity to move from one class to another

ethnicity

a socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or another cultural factor.

race

a socially defined category based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people.

Patriarchy

Literally meaning rule of the father, a male dominated society.

Constructionist

Most mainstream sociologists use constructionist approach to gender: They see gender as a social construction and acknowledge the possibility that the male-female categories aren't the only way of classifying individuals. (THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT NOTIONS OF GENDER ARE SOCIALLY DETERMINED, SUCH THAT A DICHOTOMOUS SYSTEM IS JUST ONE POSSIBILITY AMONG MANY)

meritocracy

a system in which rewards are distributed based on merit

pluralism

a cultural pattern of intergroup relations that encourages racial and ethnic variation within a society.

White collar

a description characterizing workers and skilled laborers in technical and lower management jobs.

Blue collar

a description characterizing workers who perform manual labor.

upper class

a largely self sustaining group of the wealthiest people in a class system; in the US, they constitute about 1% of the population and possess most of the wealth of the country.

simplicity movement

a loosely knit movement that opposes consumerism and encourages people to work less, earn less, and spend less, in accordance with nonmaterialistic values.

Socioeconomic status(SES)

a measure of an individual's place within a social class system; often used interchangeably with class.

Conflict theory(gender and ***)

believes that men historically had access to most of society's material resources and privileges and sought to maintain their dominant status.

structural mobility

changes in the social status of large numbers of people due to structural changes in society.

heterogamy

choosing romantic partners who are dissimila to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membership.

homogamy

choosing romantic partners who are similar to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membershiip.

Middle class

composed primarily of white collar workers with a broad range of incomes; they constitute about 30 percent of the US population.

individual discrimination

discrimination carried out by one person against another.

institutional discrimination

discrimination carried out systematically by institutions(political, economic, educational, and others) that affect all members of a group who come into contact with it.

culture of poverty

entrenched attitudes that can develop among poor communities and lead the poor to accept their fate rather than attempt to improve their lot.

Functionalism(race and ethnicity)

explains how prejudice and discrimination develop by focusing on group cohesion (since functionalist tend to look for positive functions served by any practice, they suggests that the idea of race can help bolster group cohesion among those considered to be in a particular race.)

conflict theory(Race and ethnicity)

explains how prejudice and discrimination develop by focusing on the differences in power and economic resources of ethnic groups.

The pro-feminist men's movement

is an offshoot of male liberationism whose members support feminism and believe that sexism harms both men and women. (is the belief that men should support feminism in the interest of fairness to women and because men's lives are also constrained by gender and sexism and are enriched by feminist social change.

individual homophobia

is expressed through derogatory comments, discriminatory actions and physical attacks.

Homophobia

is fear of or discrimination toward homosexuals or toward individuals who display purportedly gender-inappropriate behavior. (the dread of being in close quarters with homosexuals in society.)(rather it is a prejdice, like racism or anti semitism, which are cultural norms that are learned and transmitted socially.)

Heterosexuality

is sexual desire for other genders.

Queer theory

is social theory about gender identity and sexuality that ephasizes the importance of difference and rejects as restrictive the idea of innate sexual identity. (queers are sometimes called a third ***, emphasizing the claim that people don't have to be restricted to either heterosexuality or homosexuality.

transgender

is term describing an individual whose sense of gender identity transgresses expected gender categories.

Social stratification

is the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy.

Sexual orientation or sexual identity

is the inclination to feel sexual desire toward and engage in sexual behavior with persons of particular gender.

gender role socialization

is the lifelong process of learning to be masculine or feminine, primarily through four agents of socialization; families, schools, peers, and the media

Expressive role

is the position of the family member who provides emotional support and nurturing.

Instrumental role

is the position of the family member who provides the family's material support and is often an authority figure.

social learning

is the process of learning behaviors and meanings through social interaction.

Bisexuality

is the sexual attraction to both genders. Bisexuals are sexually attracted to both males and females. (bisexuals have hard time achieving recognition for their sexuality, often they are accused of being either timid homosexuals or adventurous heterosexuals)

aparheid

is the system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991.(pg. 189)

Homosexuality

is the tendency to feel sexual desire toward members of one's own gender.

Functionalism theory(gender and ***. )

is theoretical perspective that believes that there are still social roles better suited to one gender than the other.

LGBTQ

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, sometimes called "A" is added to include "allies"

Male liberationism

male liberationism is a movement that originated in the 1970s to discuss the challenges of masculinity. (or the need to free men from oppressive gender roles)

hypogamy

marrying down in the social class hierarchy

hypergamy

marrying up in the social class hierarchy

minority group

members of a social group that is systematically denied the same access to power and resources available to society's dominant groups but who are not necessarily fewer in number than the dominant groups.

working class lower-middle class

mostly blue collar or service industry workers who are less likely to have a college degree; they constitued about 30 percent of the US population.

upper-middle class

mostly professionals and managers, who enjoy considerable financial stability, they constitute about 14 percent of the US population

intergenerational mobility

movement between social classes that occurs from one generation to the next.

institutional homophobia

occurs when a government, business, church, or other organization discriminates against people on the basis of sexual orientation.

Pro feminists

suggest that the idea that men are superior is burden and that, in the long term, men will be happier if society becomes less sexist. They argue that men need to share more of the responsibilities of child care, contest economic disparities and violence against women, and generally respect women's lives.

genocide

the deliberate and systematic extermination of a racial, ethnic, national, or cultural group.

internal colonialism

the economic and political domination and subjugation of the minority group by the controlling group within a nation.

feminization of poverty

the economic trend showing that women are more likely than men to live in poverty, caused in part by the gendered gap in wages, the higher proportion of single mothers compared to single fathers, and the increasing costs of child care.

digital divide

the experience of unequal access to computer and internet technology both globally and within the US.

human sexual dimorphism

the extent, much debated in recent years, to which inherent physical differences define the distinctions betwwn the two sexes.

population transfer

the forcible removal of a group of people from the territory they have occupied.

segregation

the formal and legal separation of groups by race or ethnicity.

residential segregation

the geographical separation of the poor from the rest of the population.

The men's rights movement

the men's rights movement is an offshoot of male liberationism whose members believe that feminism promotes discrimination against men. (it also includes the father's rights movement) It argues that because of feminism, men are actually discriminated against and even oppressed in both the legal arena and in everyday life.

slavery

the most extreme form of social stratification, based on the legal ownership of people.

vertical social mobility

the movement between different class statuses , often called either upward mobility or downward mobility.

intragenerational mobility

the movement between social classes that occurs during the course of an individual's lifetime.

Social mobility

the movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchal system of social classes.

horizontal social mobility

the occupational movement of individuals or groups within a social class.

Gender

the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members.

Underclass

the poorest Americans who are chronically unemployed and may depend on public or private assistance; they constitute about 5% of the US population.

racial assimilation

the process by which racial minority groups are absorbed into the dominant group through intermarriage.

cultural assimilation

the process by which racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the dominant group by adopting the dominant group's culture.

disenfranchisement

the removal of the rights of citizenship through economic, political or legal means.

Prestige

the social honor people are given because of their membership in well reagarded social groups.

Cultural capital

the tastes, habits, expectations, skills, knowledge and other cultural dispositions that help us gain advantages in society.