soc exam 3
david sudnow
argues that we make split-second judgements about who ppl are and which social status they occupy based on appearance and we take action based on what we observe "at a glance"
everyday class consciousness
awareness of our own and others' social status; important for us to understand but difficult to identify empirically
bacha posh
Afghanistan; when a family has all girls, they choose to turn one of the girls into a boy
caste system
based on heredity, whereby whole groups of people are born into a certain stratum; creates a highly stratified society where there is little or no chance of a person changing their position within the hierarchy, no matter what they may achieve individually
pro-feminist men's movement
based on 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 are enriched by feminist social change
conflict theory (gender)
bc of the traditional division of labor in families, males have had more access to resources and privileges and have sought to maintain their dominance male-dominated occupations generally hold more prestige and are better paid; women may encounter difficulties entering male-dominated occupations, whereas men may more easily succeed in female-dominated occupations
what are the four ways a person could become enslaved?
(1) debt (2) warfare (3) crime (4) capture/kidnap
what are the four basic principles of social stratification?
(1) it is a characteristic of a society, rather than a reflection of individual differences (2) social stratification persists over generations (2) all societies stratify their members, but diff societies use diff criteria for ranking (4) social stratification is maintained through beliefs that are widely shared by members of society
underclass
12% of population; live in poverty conditions and earn $15K or less per year; they may hold a few steady job and depend on public benefits or charity to survive
the feminine mystique
1963 by Betty Friedan; discovered that countless women were unhappy w the traditional roles they had been assigned
third waves
1980s-90s, focused primarily on diversity and intersectionality; more concerned w ideas ab personal identity and freedom from limiting categories and globalization/the rights of women in all countries along w environmental and animal rights
when did the first states in the nation begin legalizing same sex marriage?
2004
elliot rodger
2014 - wrote a 140 page manifesto linking himself to the Intel movement, before killing six ppl and injuring fourteen more in Isla vista, California, and then killing himself
obergefell v. Hodges
2015 - landmark Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage across the US; upheld that the right to marry is guaranteed by the 14th amendment
gender
the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers to be normal, natural, right, and good for its male and female members
symbolic interactionism (gender)
Gender is learned through the process of socialization; gender inequalities are reproduced through interactions with family, peers, schools, and the media Girls and boys are socialized differently and may be encouraged to seek out gender-appropriate training, college majors, and career goals, leading them to enter male- and female-dominated occupations.
hijras
South Asia; recognized by their society as an acceptable variation on gender; usually biological males who have all or part of their genitals removed; validated in epic Hindu texts
discrimination
a behavior or action that results in the unequal treatment of individual members or an entire group because they belong to a certain social category
intersectionality
a concept that acknowledges that multiple dimensions of status and inequality intersect to shape who we are and how we live
apartheid
a legal separation of racial and ethnic groups that was enforced btwn 1948 and 1991 in South Africa
social class
a system of stratification practiced primarily in capitalist societies; ranks groups of ppl according to their wealth, property, power, and prestige also referred to by sociologists as socioeconomic status (SES)
intersex
a variant chromosomal makeup and mixed or indeterminate male and female sex characteristics
stonewall riots
a watershed moment, jump-starting a larger, more visible LGBTQ liberation movement; ushered in a new era of campaigning for civil rights for LGBTQ individuals
prejudice
an entrenched set of ideas or attitudes about the presumed characteristics of a group that is applied to all members and that's unlikely to change even in the face of evidence to challenge those ideas
rape culture
an environment in which sexual violence against women is normalized and perpetuated thru cultural norms and values
men's rights movement
argues that bc of feminism, men are actually discriminated against and are even oppressed both in the legal arena and everyday life
first wave
began with a convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. The convention, numbering about 300 people, issued a Declaration of Sentiments stating generally that "all men and women are created equal" and demanded specifically that women be given the right to vote. Stanton believed that in a democracy the right to vote is the fundamental right on which all others depend
symbolic interactionism
believe that all social structures - including systems of inequality - are constructed from the building blocks of everyday interaction
asia kate dillon
breakout role as the nonbinary character Taylor Mason on Showtime's Billions
how do Americans play an indirect role in supporting slavery elsewhere in the world?
by purchasing and using products made with slave labor
cultural capital
children inherit tastes, habits, and expectations from their parents, and this either helps or hinders them as they become adults
title IX
civil rights legislation to exert pressure on colleges to better prevent and respond to reports of sexual violence; protects ppl from discrimination based on sex in education programs that receive federal funding; backed by the threat of withdrawing federal funding from institutions that aren't in compliance
upper middle class
comprises about 14% of the population; tends to be well educated and highly skilled; make around $150K a year
feudal system
consisted of a hierarchy of privileged nobles who were responsible for and served by a lower stratum of serfs (forced laborers)
working poor
constitute 13% of population; members are generally not well educated and lack other work skills valuable in the job market; unskilled, temp, and seasonal jobs - including min wage jobs, housekeeping, day labor, and migrant agricultural work; average income is around $25K
erik olin wright
described an animated film he made as a student in which the pawns on a chessboard attempt to overthrow the aristocracy but realize that the "rules of the game" doom them to relive the same unequal roles - a metaphor for the way social structure shapes and sustains inequality
kingsley davis and wilbert moore
discussed some of the principles of stratification that result in a system of rewards that are unequally distributed among various roles; the assumption is that some roles are more desirable than others and may require greater talent or training. certain roles may be more critical than others to the functioning of society, as all as diff to fill, so there must be a mechanism for attracting and securing the best individuals to those positions
functionalism
emphasizes social order and solidarity based on commonly shared values about what is good and worthwhile; the system of stratification is viewed as still functional for society in a number of ways although it is not egalitarian; helps explain the existing system of social stratification and its persistence, but it still leaves us questions about the structured inequalities that it continues to reproduce
cj pascoe
ethnography of high school boys, Dude, You're a Fag, shows that boys police each others performance of masculinity by criticizing effeminate behavior, and lay claim to masculine identities by lobbing homophobic epithets at one another
carl nassib
first active football player to publicly identify as gay; 2021, plays for the raiders
karl marx
formed his social theories at a time when monumental changes were occurring in the stratification systems that characterized 19th century Europe argued that economic relationships were quickly becoming the only social relationships that mattered: the impersonal forces of the market were creating a new, rigid system of social stratification in which capitalists had every economic advantage and workers had none
sarah miller
found that bullying in the form of homophobic labeling and the spreading of sexual rumors helped reinforce traditional gender and sexuality norms in young women
sweden
has deliberately attempted to craft a system that lessens social equality, provides its citizens with a far greater number of social services than the US, at the cost of high taxes
toxic masculinity
highlights the dysfunctional aspects of hegemonic masculinity and the risks associated w trying to achieve its masculine ideal
which country is most closely associated with the caste system?
india; the caste system ranks individuals into 1 of 5 categories: brahman, chhetri, vaisya, sudra, and dalit; the system is a reflection of karma
ellen
introduced the first lesbian lead character in a prime time series - 1997
michelle alexander
law professor and civil rights attorney that argues that there is a similar caste system in the US but that it operates thru the criminal justice system
is class mobility is more or less easily attainable in the US than in many other countries?
less
working class (lower middle class)
makes up 30% of the population, typically have a high school education and generally work in manual labor, or blue collar, jobs, as well as the service industry; typically earn around $40K per year
middle class
makes up about 30% of the population, comprises primarily white collar workers; most members have a high school education and a 2/4 year college degree
upper class
makes up just 1% of the population, with a total net worth grater than that of the bottom 90% combined, controls a sizable proportion of the country's wealth. often looked at and divided into two groups - old money, and new money.
patriarchy
male domination
social stratification
members of a given society are categorized and divided into groups, which are then placed in a social hierarchy
men's liberation
mid 1970s, the need to free men from oppressive gender roles; ideas became popular largely among middle-class, white, heterosexual men, and some sought counseling
max weber
noted that owning the means of production was not the only way of achieving upper-class status; a person could also accumulate wealth consisting of income and property; suggests that power should be considered as part of the equation when measuring a person's class standing; believed that an important element in social class has to do with prestige
erving goffman
noted that we "read" diff aspects of identity by interpreting the behavior of others and that we become accustomed to others "reading" our behavior in the same way
gender identity
our deeply held sense of ourselves as male, female, or some other gender
gender expression
our external manifestations of gender
pierre bourdieu
postmodernism; studied French schools to examine social reproduction, which according to him, happens as a result of each generation's acquisition of what he called cultural capital; believes that cultural capital shapes the perceptions that others form about a person
property and wealth can be inherited or earned, ___ usually comes form occupying certain roles within organizations, and prestige is based on a person's social identity and is bestowed by others
power
hegemonic masculinity
promotes a particular kind of masculine ideal that is held out as superior to any other kind of masculinity; extols the expression of stereotypically masculine characteristics; defines a specific standard of manhood to which men must then measure up and prove themselves
queer theory
rejects the idea of a single gay, lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, or transgender identity, emphasizing instead the importance of difference; asserts that being queer is about "possibilities, gaps, overlaps, dissonances, and resonances;" used to describe anything that challenges prevailing binary notions of sex, gender, and sexuality
essentialists
see gender as immutable and biological and as an unambiguous, two-category system; culture plays little to no role; found in medicine, theology, and biology
social reproduction
social class is passed down from one generation to the next and thus remains relatively stable
____ remains a country with one of the most unequal distributions of wealth and income in the world
south africa
status inconsistency
stark contrasts btwn the levels of various statuses occupied examples: sam walton: founder of Walmart, farm boy and state college graduate, remained close to rural roots despite amassing a huge fortune mother teresa: a Catholic nun who ministered to the poor, sick and dying. she held occupational prestige, but she took a religious vow of poverty so she had no personal wealth
karyn r lacy
studied black middle-class suburbanites in the DC area; her findings show that social status is more complex than just a middle-class salary might indicate: her respondents' identities were shaped by their income, occupation, residential status, and race
sarah kristian
studied young ppl in an isolated, rural Newfoundland town; found that the way the young ppl spoke correlated w their ambitions for social mobility
miliann kang
study of the work of asian immigrant women (mostly from Korea) in nail salons
microaggressions
subtle verbal and nonverbal communications that convey denigrating or dismissive messages to members of a certain social group
aaron cicourel
suggests that we are inferences about the status of others when we encounter them in different social situations example: you may assume that the passengers sitting in first class are wealthier than those in coach
instrumental role
talcott parsons, task-oriented, a "breadwinner," and an authority figure
expressive role
talcott parsonsm, providing emotional support and nurturing
heteronormativity
the assumption that heterosexuality is the only acceptable orientation
feminism
the belief in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes and the social movements organized around that belief
suffrage movement
the campaign to win the vote; the cause most identified w the first wave of the women's movement, even though that goal wouldn't be achieved until 1920
michael sam
the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL; kissed his bf on camera in 2014 to celebrate joining the st Louis rams
sexual orientation or identity
the inclination to feel sexual desire toward people of a particular gender or toward both genders
slavery
the most extreme system of social stratification; relegates ppl to the status of property, mainly for the purpose of providing labor for the slave owner
social learning
the process of learning behaviors and meanings through social interaction
prestige
the social honor granted to ppl bc of their membership in certain groups; can affect not only their wealth or power but also how they are perceived in social situations
gender role socialization
the subtle, pervasive process of learning what constitutes masculinity and femininity
social inequality
the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige
structural functionalism (gender)
there are still social roles better suited to one gender than the other, and that societies are more stable when norms are fulfilled by the appropriate sex sex determines which roles men and women are best suited to; it is more appropriate for men to play instrumental roles and for women to play expressive roles; women are naturally more nurturing and thus make better nurses/teachers of young children; men are naturally more logical and thus make better lawyers and computer programmers
transgender
those whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth; umbrella term for gender-nonconforming persons, including nonbinary ppl
what was the consequence of apartheid?
to create great disparity among those in the different strata of society
islamic revolution of 1979
transformed Iran from a constitutional monarchy to a theocracy; before the revolution, political and economic power was concentrated in the upper class, but after, religion became a primary influence on social stratification
paul fussell
university of Pennsylvania English professor; created the "living room scale" which lists items that we may find in someone's living room and attaches point values to them; higher numbers indicate higher SES
second shift
unpaid work that must be done at home
constructionist approach
used by most mainstream sociologists; gender is a social construct - a concert that has been shaped socially by the culture and the historical time period; acknowledge the possibility that binary categories aren't the only way to classify an individual's gender
berdaches
usually biological males who dressed as women and took on types of work we think of as feminine; demographic necessity; acknowledged as a third gender by natives
cisgender
when our sex and gender identity match up
second wave
which took place during the 1960s and 1970s, is page 264 associated with equal access to education and employment the establishment of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966, and the emergence of women's consciousness-raising groups were key events pushed for and achieved such reforms as equal opportunity laws, legislation against sexual harassment and marital rape, and a general increase in public awareness about gender discrimination in our society
feminization of poverty
women are more likely to live in poverty than men, resulting from a combo of social forces, including the pay gap, the higher proportion of single women taking on the financial responsibility of children, and the increasing costs of child care
gender pay gap
women make 82 cents for every dollar a man earns