EXAM 2 Flashcards
Gender
Social construct
Sex
Biological
Gender socialization
social process that creates and sustains perceptions of gender
Zimmerman - Gender
Gender is interactional and involves social accountability
Kane - Gender
Parents feel that they are held accountable for socializing their children into traditional gender roles - Parents’ role in gender socialization through colors, toys, and clothes
Socioeconomic changes for women - gendered hierarchy
Different social conditions, treatment, and access to opportunities that lead to this gendered hierarchy
Socioeconomic changes for women - Feminist Movement
advocating for equality between men and women in rights and opportunities
Continued disparities women
Occupational sex segregation, discrimination in the labor force, intersectionality
Role of society in sexuality
historical and social context of sexual orientation and sexuality & what are the sanctions for going against societal norms
Hookup
sexual activity that occurs between two individuals who are not in a relationship
Hookup Culture
sex is decoupled from relationships - rise of hookup culture
LGBTQ Hookup Culture
Hookups are pre-planned (apps) and cannot be initiated in straight spaces. LGBTQ are attempting to challenge straight hookup culture; however, they are impacted by the process of gender socialization, so they sometimes do replicate gendered dynamics in hookup culture
Race
a system of classifying people who are believed to share common descent based on perceived physical similarities. Imposed and referring to a larger group of people
Ethnicity
a system of classifying people who are believed to share common descent based on perceived cultural similarities. Chosen and referring to a smaller group of people and is subjective.
Race - Social construction
race is socially constructed and varies across time and place. Time and place used by sociologies to show that race is not biological in nature.
Race defintion
There are demographic, economic, and political factors that contribute to the classifications and definitions of race
Racism
Includes two phenomena - prejudice and discrimination and is systemic in nature
Components of racism
Prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination
Prejudice
A negative belief or attitude about an individual or group based on subjective, selective, or inaccurate information
Stereotypes
assuming members of a group share similar characteristics, made through overgeneralizations that can be positive or negative
Discrimination
actions taken against an individual or group because of their racial background. Individual, Institutional and systemic discrimination
Racial disparities in socioeconomic status
Residential segregation, education, income/wealth, criminal justice systems, political participation, heath
Racial disparities - Residential segregation
Redlining and Jim Crow laws: demarcating neighborhoods based on race. Resulting in: black communities being disproportionately subject to health issues (envormental racism), issues retaining to safety, and an increase in criminal activities due to increased surveillance of black communities
Racial disparities - Education
Students of color have less access to adequately prepared schooling and quality education because public education has different funding (based on property tax). RESULTING IN:
Life-long disparities and inequalities span from education, economic and occupational mobility
Racial disparities - Income and wealth
Large racial wealth gap in the US
Racial disparities - Criminal justice system
Race affects how likely you are to be pulled over by police, how likely you are to be released or detained pretrial, how likely the state is to seek the death penalty, and how severely you are sentenced.
Racial disparities - Politcal participation
Criminal status affects political participation, Accessibility to voting polls, gerrymandering hurting minority vote
Racial disparities - Health
Lack of access to health insurance and coverage
RESULTING IN:
Higher rates of infant mortality, homicide, HIV
Inequality
An unequal distribution of valued goods and opportunities
Measures of Inequality
Income and wealth
Income
Jobs and Salary
Wealth
assets (home and investments) - debt
How is social class measured
Socioeconomic status - A broad definition of a person’s social class based on components such as education, income, and occupation
Factors of Inequality
Technology/college premium, economic restructuring/organization of work, role of globalization and government policies
Inequality - Technology/College premium
College wage premium b/c occupations have become increasingly dependent on technology, requiring individuals to have college degrees and training in technological fields
Inequality - Economic restructuring
The US economy switching from an industrial (labor) sector to a service sector economy. Now: there is a shrinking middle class and an increasing lower and upper class. Thus, restructuring of the economy means greater instability for lower class workers, loss of benefits and health risks
Inequality - Role of globalization
Industries want to minimize costs and maximize profits so they outsource to countries that are less developed - labor is outsourced, working-class lose jobs
Inequality - Government polices
Government policies influence/regulate the economy. Inequitable taxation, poor minimum wage, decreasing union membership
Inequality timeline
Early 20th century - highest trends in inequality
After the great depression - the lowest inequality
The 1970s - switch to the service sector economy, resulting in an upward trend of inequality
Now - The lower class cannot escape income inequality/mobility
Social mobility
the movement of individuals from one social position to another.
Factors that influence mobility
Family, education, labor/job market, government policies
Mobility in the U.S. versus other countries
US: mobility is determined by your parent’s socioeconomic status
NOT US: Mobility is based on the individual because government policies help all have access to occupational opportunities and use a progressive tax system
Poverty
Measured through absolute and relative poverty
Absolute Poverty
Living below the minimum requirements needed for people to have basic standards of food, clothing, health, and shelter in the society they are living in.
Relative Poverty
comparing incomes relative to other people in society, who is below the 50% average income
Reframing views of poverty
Need to view poverty through the lens of the sociological imagination. Three steps needed
Reframing poverty - step 1
A recognition that poverty affects us all, no matter your economic status
- taxation
- the life course risk of poverty
Reframing poverty: Step 2
American poverty is largely the result of failings at the economic and political levels - Poverty is a structural failing
Shift in moral perspective
a moral perspective that is currently rooted in individual blame needs to move towards collective social change rooted in moral outrage for the failings of the system
Sociodemographic factors in poverty
Women and children are more likely to live below the poverty line. The US has the highest levels of poverty in comparison to other developed countries
Obstacles faced by the poor
Food insecurity & homelessness
