soc 211 exam 2

How is Affirmative Action helpful and why do we need it?

- Only 20% of available jobs publicly listed -Word of mouth is the most used strategy of employers -People tend to have social networks op people like themselves in race and gender -Open recruitment strategies by publicly announcing jobs, outsiders can learn about them. -Helps to ensure accountability of gatekeepers

Affirmative Action

- Policies and procedures designed to prevent discrimination before it occurs. - Involves modifying personnel practices to ensure that minorities, including women, have job access that is equal to white men's. - The law directs businesses to set goals for integrating minorities and women into their workplaces and to develop mechanisms to achieve these goals. -AA has benefited white women more than any other group.

Social Stratification

- Present in one form or another in all societies. - Members of a given society are categorized and divided into groups placed into a social hierarchy. - The unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige results in social inequality.

Ethnic Group

- Set apart from others because of their national origin or distinctive cultural patterns -Differentiated from the dominant group on the basis of cultural differences such as language, food habits, customs, etc. (Lainos/Latinas, Jews, White Ethnic Groups)

Defining Social Class

- Upper Class 1%, direct access to politicians (over 250,000$) - Upper-Middle Class 14%, shaped by education (89-150,000$) - Middle Class 30%, most identify as this, white collar jobs -Working (Lower-Middle) Class 30-60%, blue collar jobs -Working Poor 20%, not well educated, multiple jobs -Underclass 5%, <$7,000 to homeless, depend on public

What causes sexism?

-A set of beliefs that explains and justifies something is called an ideology.

Gender and Body Image

-Beauty is socially constructed: changes over time, changes w/ cultural ideas, changes with generations. -Idealized body type is getting less and less attainable for both men and women

Minority Groups

-Category of people distinguished by physical or cultural traits that a society subjects to disadvantages. -Not necessarily a numerical minority. -Those who do the discriminating are the dominant group. -Dominant group attributes its position to merit, not discrimination.

Bourdieu

-Conflict/Critical Theorist Field: system with a variety of social positions that are structured in terms of power relations (our classroom is a field) Capital: Economic, Social, Cultural, Political Culture of Individualism: capital is hidden, no one names or recognizes it. Class gets reproduced in a seemingly legitimate and fair way. (Ex; The Hunger Games) Class Reproduction: One generation of an economic class ensures that it reproduces itself and passes on its privileges to the next generation.

What are the consequences of social class?

-Each social class can be thought of as a broad subculture with distinct approaches to life. -Social class plays a role in family life. -Education levels increase as one moves up the social class ladder. -Political views and involvement are influenced by social class. -Social class affects physical and mental health. -Housing -Justice

Racism

-Hostile or negative attitude of one racial group, ethnic group, or people toward another and the discrimination resulting from such attitudes. -It also expresses itself in the practices, institutions, and structures that justify and validate racism. -Racism seeks to establish a societal racial order or hierarchy.

Systems of Racism

-Legal segregation (such as Jim Crow Segregation Laws) replaced slavery as a structural system of racism when slavery was abolished by the 13th amendment in 1865. -When the civil rights act was signed in 1964, legal segregation, such as Jim Crow became illegal. -Color-Blind Racism is now the new racial ideology (worldview) that prevails in the United States. (hidden)

Racial Group

-Minorities and the corresponding majorities that are socially set apart because of obvious physical differences. -Emphasizes physical differences as opposed to cultural distinctions. -Physical distinctiveness (not cultural differences) generally prove to be the barrier to acceptance. *Race is both a myth and reality *Race is a social classification, not a biological category *Myth makes a REAL difference in social life

What is sexism?

-Sexism is gender inequality. -Assertion that one gender is innately superior or inferior to the other.

Theory of Race

-The myth of race and the reality of racism - Race is a "social construct" -Joseph L. Graves: *Scientifically, no biological races among humans *The concept of race developed only a few centuries ago. *Modern racism was developed by wealthy capitalist, ruling classes, and their intellectual servants. *Slavery produced racism. *Racism did NOT produce slavery. -Social scientists approach the constructionist perspective on race in 3 ways: *First: If race is constructed (not biological), then it is not a fundamental category of analysis. *Second: Discuss "racial" difference but fail to highlight the social dynamics that produce this difference. *Third: Although categories such as race, class, and gender are constructed, they have a social reality that has real effects on racialized actors.

Kimmel Discusses...

-This theory of gender difference leads to justification of gender inequality or dominance. -Huge difference among women and among men, not just between them.

Employment

-White males make up 43% of labor market and occupy 95% of senior management positions, 97% senior managers are white men. -White men with the exact levels of education, GPS, earn 10-15% more than women, black men, and asian men.

3 Major Systems of Social Stratification

1. Slavery: - the ownership of some people by others. It is the most extreme form of social stratification. 2. Caste System: - status is established at birth and is life-long. It is determined by one's family history and background and cannot be changed. 3. Social Class (SES): - a system of stratification based on access to resources such as wealth, power, and prestige.

Social Class (Max Weber)

1. Wealth: property and income -Top 1% possess ~ 40% of the nation's wealth -American household median income; $53,891 2. Power: -ability to carry out your will despite resistance -Elite hold lots of power in society - people who come from old money, have history of political involvement, or capitalist ownership. 3. Prestige: - Social honor granted to people because of their group membership or occupation.

Anorexia

A mental illness defined by an obsession with food and an acute anxiety over gaining weight. - 1 in 5 women struggle w/ an eating disorder -90% of those w/ eating disorders are between ages 12-25 -Median onset of age 18-21

Which of the following is an example of prejudice?

Believing that Asians are better at math.

What has modern science determined about racial categories?

Biologically there is no such thing as a pure race.

The tastes, habits, and expectations that children "inherit" (or learn) from their parents that help to achieve material success in life are called:

Cultural Capital

Institutional Racism

Discrimination built into the operations of social institutions, including economy, schools, and legal system.

Most poor people in the United States are unemployed. (T/F)

False

How is happiness portrayed in advertisements?

Food and having the perfect body

If you hear someone say that "real men don'teat quiche", that are they talking about?

Gender

When parents use a sonogram to find out the sex of their baby and only start decorating the nursery after learning the sex, it as an example of:

Gender socialization

Job Choice

High-risk careers for anorexia include dancers, actors, etc Human capital: abilities and skills of any individual, especially those acquired though investment in education and training, that enhance potential income earning

The "Jim Crow" laws in the American South, which mandated separate facilities for whites and blacks, were an example of:

Institutional discrimination.

Media

Media images of perfect, thin women give young girls the idea that they are flawed -gender stereotypes and overemphasis on looks -to achieve barbie's proportions may not be humanly possible for most women

Invisible Dominance

Men have the dominance.

The Adonis Complex

Men thinking they are too small, not muscular enough. -95% of college aged men report some dissatisfaction w/ their bodies

Difference and Dominance

Michael Kimmel: by focusing on gender DIFFERENCES, we can encourage one gender's DOMINANCE

What is the relationship between dehumanization, objectification, and violence?

Objectifying women leads to violence by dehumanizing them, and making them an item.

How is prejudice different from discrimination?

Prejudice is an attitude, discrimination is an action.

Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice: (Attitude) - a negative ATTITUDE toward an ENTIRE CATEGORY of people. - involves attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs. -does NOT include actions. Discrimination: (the action) - the denial of opportunities and equal rights (through actions) to individuals and groups because of prejudice or for other arbitrary reasons.

Housing

Redlining: when mortgage companies deny loans for the purchase of houses in minority neighborhoods. arguing the financial risk is too great. *began after WWII w/ rise of suburbia *Legal until the 1968 Fair Housing Act Racial Steering: when realtors discourage minorities from moving into certain areas by showing them homes only in minority neighborhoods. Restrictive home covenants: a pact between property owners that they will not sell or rent their property to minorities.

What is class-consciousness and how does it exert itself?

Reject the fact that they're working class, sharing common experiences-- what happens to you is happening to others.

Feminism

Seeks to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist: -an advocate or supporter of the rights and equality of women

How do sociologists differentiate between sex and gender?

Sex is biological, gender is social.

Sex v. Gender

Sex: is used to refer to one's biological sex organs Gender: is the cultural expectations for femaleness and maleness, femininity and masculinity. "Cis"--same as, matches birth gender

What do most Americans claim about their class status?

That they are middle class.

Nature v. Nurture

The "nature" argument: Gender differences are as hard-wired as our sex differences. We are biologically created a certain way, and we've evolved to behave in gendered ways that best fit with our sex classification. The "nurture" argument: Men and women are very different because we are TAUGHT to be different. From the moment we're born, we're treated differently and we get socialized to act different. -Both of these arguments focus on the DIFFERENCES

Education

The avg. white family has 8x the wealth as the avg. black family -when wealth is same, graduation rates are same

How did the G.I. Bill of Rights, which provided funds for home loans, affect African Americans?

Though it was written to help all veterans regardless of race, African Americans were typically excluded from home ownership.

Belonging to a particular social class has a profound effect on almost every aspect of a person's life. (T/F)

True

Even though a person's sex and gender usually match, this is not always the case. (T/F)

True

Some Sociologists suggest that extreme wealth should be thought of as a social problem, just like extreme poverty. (T/F)

True

A belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes is called:

feminism