Exam 3 Flashcards
Sex
biological aspects of an individual, anatomical, genetic characteristics born into (ascribed) Humans are born male or female but they have to learn to be masculine or feminine.
Gender
status designation derived from physiological aspect linked to male/female to regulate how individuals SHOULD act in a social context
socially determined
GENDER IS FLUID
Binary view of gender is false
Gender identity
one’s definition of oneself in relation to societal expectations of gender
shapes our self-expectations and how we interact with others
Dramaturgy
social interactions on micro scale are like that of a stage
You are the actor, others are the audience
You put on a show
Ex: job interview- you present yourself in a way that you want the employer to see you (what you wear, how you act)
Gender socialization
men and women learn the expectations of their sex
not everyone conforms to gender expectations
Gendered institutions
total pattern of gender relations that structure social institutions including: stereotypical expectations (nursing is a feminine job), interpersonal relationships, the different placement of men/women found in institutions (glass ceiling-women are promoted throughout career and then they seem to hit an invisible ceiling and stop getting promoted at middle level management)
Epstein (sociologist)
Examination of anthropological record shows greater equality between the sexes in the past than commonly thought (hunting/gathering societies existed in which women were not subordinate to men)
Historical lack or gender relevance (men and women were equal)
Goldberg (sociologist)
Anthropological record shows that all societies were patriarchies (societies in which men dominate women)
In all societies, the highest statuses are associated with men and men dominate the highest political positions
Rossi (sociologist)
Women are better prepared biologically for “mothering” than men
Stresses that the issue isn’t biology OR culture, it is both-nature provides biological predispositions, which are then overlaid with culture (what’s valued and what’s not)
Nature vs Nurture
Biology vs Society
Gender stratification (inequality)
the hierarchical distribution of social and economic resources according to gender
Professional degrees by women are increasing
women’s sports are underfunded b/c they’re not considered as important as men’s sports
Income gap between men and women
Wealth vs income
Wealth-consists of property (what we own) and income
Income-money we recieve
Wealth and income are not always the same (usually go together)-someone may own a lot of property but have little income
Estate
A system in which a small elite group (owners of property and power) has total control over resources
Feudal system
Caste
A system where status is assigned based on ascribed status (born with) Born into a class Fixed
Class
A system based on ascribed and achieved statuses
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Derived from certain factors: income, occupational prestige (perceived rank assigned to a job), and education
Capitalist class
The very top-control wealth
Composed of investors, heirs and a few executives
Divided into “old” and “new” money
Upper-middle class
Composed of professionals and upper managers
Shaped by education
Working class
Composed of factory workers and low-paid white collar workers
Most have HS education
Working poor
Composed of relatively unskilled blue collar and white collar workers and those with temporary or seasonal jobs
Underclass
Concentrated in the inner cities and has little connection with the job market
Welfare is their main support
Wright
Update Marx Individuals can be in contradictory class locations-they can own a means of production but also be considered workers
Poverty
U.S. gov classifies poverty line as being families whose incomes are less than 3x a low cost food budget
FIXED
Clustered in the south
Rural poverty is less visible, more isolated compared to urban
Feminization of poverty
Most poor families are headed by women
Caused by divorce, births to unwed mothers, and the lower wages paid to women
(The gender of the person who heads the family is a major predictor of whether or not a family will be poor)
Age and poverty
Overall, the elderly are less likely than the general population to be poor
But, elderly hispanic and African Americans are almost 3x more likely to be poor than elderly white Americans (wealth)
Children are more likely to be poor than adults
Theories of Poverty
Moynihan
It was suggested that the poor get trapped in a “culture of poverty” as a result of having values and behaviors that make them more predisposed to living in poverty
Neoliberalism
shifts responsibility to individual
Social structure explanations of poverty
Deindustrialization (large scale economic change), access to learning job skills, race, ethnicity, age, gender discrimination
Federal Welfare Reform
1996 Policy
Clinton
There are caps on welfare assistance and recipients are required to look for work
Welfare rolls dropped but that doesn’t mean people were working, they may have hit their limit and become ineligible for welfare
Lifetime benefit is limited by a number of years
Ethnic group
A social category of people who share a common culture, language or dialect, nationality/national origin, religion, and common norms, practices, customs and history
Assimilation
The process by which a minority is absorbed into the mainstream
Permissive assimilation
When the minority adopts the dominant group’s patterns in its own way and/or at its own speed
Pluralism
Multiculturalism
Permits or encourages ethnic variation, maintains uniqueness (opposite of assimilation)
Ex: Switzerland
Race
Social classification NOT biological categories
Racialization
Process by which people, places, and things are assigned meanings and are valorized or devalorized on the basis of prevailing race constructs
Some form of power and value being associated with people, places, and things
Expression of power
Racial formation
The process of how a group is racialized in different historical times
Minorities
Groups that are singled out for unequal treatment
Not necessarily the smaller group, just the one with less power
Racial stereotypes
The absence of direct contact allows them to exist and become oversimplified beliefs about others
Prejudice
An attitude, belief or idea
Judging
Discrimination
Action of prejudice
Related to power
Institutional racism
The systematic distribution of power, resources and opportunity in ways that benefit whites and disadvantage minorities
Aversive racism
Represents a subtle, often unintentional form of prejudice exhibited by many well intentioned white Americans who view themselves as nonprejudiced
Modern racism
Involves the rejection of traditional racist beliefs but displaces negative racial feelings onto more abstract social and political issues
“Race neutrality” or “colorblindness”
Doesn’t see skin color
Conflict theorists and racism
Suggest that racism is a smoke screen by which the capitalist class can pit one group against the other
Symbolic interactionists
The labels we learn color our perceptions, leading to selective perception-we see certain things and are blind to others
Racial and ethnic labels are powerful because they are shorthand for emotionally laden stereotypes
Stress that we learn racist attitudes and prejudices in interactions with others or the absence of interaction (stereotypes)
