Sociology Exam

Define the "mommy tax"

"mommy tax" is the amount of money a person loses in their lifetime when they interrupt paid work to care for others.

identify 3 ways to lower the mommy tax

1. to postpone childbearing until later in life, 2. offer paid maternity and/or parental leave 3. to expand anti-discrimination laws to cover parents

factors that have contributed to the deinstitutionalization of marriage.

1. women working outside of the home 2. the rise of cohabitation 3. the rise in childbearing outside of marriage 4. efforts to legalize same sex marriage

Identify and rank (from highest class to the lowest class) the 6 social classes in the U.S. and indicate the percentage of the population that makes up each social class

1. Capitalist/Elite- 1% 2. Upper-Middle Class- 14% 3. Middle Class- 30% 4. Working Class- 30% 5. Working Poor Class- 13% 6. Underclass- 12%

what are 4 rights that are taken away from women under welfare legislation?

1. Welfare ultimately takes away a woman's right to vocational liberty by creating mandatory work requirements in the labor market, even if unpaid. 2. Similarly, it removes the right to independence by encouraging a woman's dependence on an individual man. 3. It takes away the right to family freedom by dictating who can be considered as part of the family by enforcing rules regarding paternity establishment, couples counseling, etc. 4. The right to sexual privacy and reproductive rights; such as family cap which punishes a recipient for choosing to complete a pregnancy and abstinence education programs.

What is the difference between AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) and TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families)?

AFDC was a program of cash-assistance to poor, single parent families from 1935- 1996. In 1996, AFDC became TANF and a 5-year lifetime limit for cash assistance was implemented.

How does one's status as a mother affect how they are perceived and treated in the labor market relative to childless women and fathers?

Mothers are viewed as less competent, less committed to their jobs, less dependable, less authoritative and more irrational when compared to childless people or fathers; mothers are less likely to get hired. Fathers are often viewed as more competent, more committed, more dependable, more authoritative and more rational which means being a father benefits them in the workplace whereas being a mother harms them.

What is the goal of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)?

The goal of PRWORA is to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage.

Myth: Undocumented immigrants do not pay ANY taxes.

Truth: Many undocumented immigrants pay different types of taxes including sales tax, property tax, income tax and Social Security tax. Income tax is paid via an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number while the Social Security tax is paid by acquiring a fake/stolen Social Security number.

Myth: Undocumented immigrants QUALIFY for and BENEFIT from MOST means-tested government programs.

Truth: Undocumented immigrants are DISQUALIFIED from nearly all government programs including Food Stamps, housing, Medicaid, and Medicare funded hospitalization assistance. They are only able to access K-12 EDUCATION and EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE.

Deinstitutionalization

is the process of weakening of social norms within an institution that shape people's behavior.

What is the foremost or primary objective of welfare?

the foremost goal of welfare is to restore the patriarchal family

Globalization

the movement of goods, information, labor and money across borders.

Social stratification

the unequal distribution of power and resources among groups of people in society.

What happens to a community when thousands of jobs disappear in that community?

there is depopulation, neighborhood deterioration, an increase in crime and institutional disinvestment.

What is underemployment and what are the different types of underemployment?

underemployed are workers who are employed, but whose labor, skills and/or experience are being underutilized. Types of underemployment include highly skilled people (often with advanced degrees) working in low paying or low skill jobs and involuntary part-time workers, or people working part-time that would prefer to be working full-time but cannot find full-time work.

13. SHORT ANSWER QUESTION: (1) In 1-2 sentences, describe the "jezebel." (2) In 6-8 sentences, name two functions or purposes of representing Black women as jezebels in a white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy. (3) In 3-5 sentences, give one example of how the "jezebel" stereotype has been reproduced/reinforced on an institutional level. (Consult Littlefield's "Media as a System of Racialization" and the "Controlling Images" PowerPoint on Blackboard for assistance.)

• A jezebel is a black woman who has hypersexual tendencies and is often sexually aggressive and never satisfied. This controlling image claims that a black woman is therefore unable to control her sexuality. The concept of a jezebel ultimately serves as an excuse to rape and oppress black. Since they are insatiable, they must always want sex and therefore would not oppose the sexual interaction. This relates to they ideas of patriarchy and white supremacy as a jezebel Is essentially getting used for sex without any sort of remorse and labels a black individual as a lesser being. Jezebel also serves as a may to make money. For example, this idea has links back to slavery in that having sex with a jezebel allows the opportunity for a child to be born. Because the child would have black heritage, this give potential for another slave reinforcing the idea of white supremacy and capitalism. Since slavery/capitalism is a pillar of white supremacy, it is clear that the concepts should be linked; more slaves (who were born to jezebels ) correlates to more free labor which correlates to greater profit for the capitalist who refers to the balck woman as a jezebel. Within the media, the concept of a jezebel still prevails. In music videos for instance, black women are often portrayed as having little boundaries in terms of their sexuality and they are often objectified in the sense that they are wearing skimpy clothing and dancing/acting provocatively. There is also this common theme, in the lyrics behind these music videos where these same women are seemingly property of the artist in the music video when they refer to the women as their bitch, hoe etc. which reinforces the connection to slavery.

• 1. SHORT ANSWER QUESTION: Provide 2 different sociological explanations that are unrelated to a person's level of motivation, work ethic, parents, family's economic status, or individual impairments that might contribute to a person being poor. If you provide individualistic explanations for why people are poor, you will not receive credit. Be prepared to write 4-5 sentences for EACH explanation. (Please see the "Class Inequality & Welfare" lecture posted on Blackboard for assistance

• One reason that contributes to a person being poor is the loss of steady, secure and well-paying jobs that come as part of economic restructuring. This includes both unemployment and underemployment. The unemployed refers to those who are without a job but are in the labor market and currently searching for work. The underemployed are those who either are in a position in which they are overqualified for (they have the skills to be in a more advance job but cannot find one) or they are part time workers as they cannot find a full time position. This loss of jobs often leads to depopulation, neighborhood deterioration and increases in crime. • Another reason that people are poor is that the real value of wages has stagnated or declined. Depite the fact that the nominal wage has in fact increased, for example minimum wage in NYS, the amount balances out with the inflation to our currency. As of the 1970s with the creation of computers, workers became more productive meaning they should've been paid more. Business owner though refused to increase wage accordingly, so they would be able to gain greater profit. Therefore, the real value of wages going down