soc chapter 7-10

Question 1

Meritocracy

Answer 1

a system where people are sorted based on their talent and hard work

Question 2

Socioeconomic status

Answer 2

A person’s economic and social standing in society, usually based on their income, wealth, education, and occupation.

Question 2

Social mobility

Answer 2

the process through which an individual or family moves from one social stratum to another

• Canada is characterized by social mobility, up to 70% of people’s earnings are from their own skills and merit, not their parents wealth
• People in the lowest socioeconomic positions experience the most social mobility
  –> People in high socioeconomic positions experience less, but they have the cushioning of their parents wealth or cultural capital

Question 3

Achievement-based system:

Answer 3

one in which people’s talents and merits determine their social class position

Question 4

Social inequality

Answer 4

the differential and unequal distribution of goods, services, resources, and power that create a hierarchical social system.

• The concept of inequality can be used to examine legal, racial, linguistic, gendered, economic, political, and social hierarchies within a society.

Question 4

Social stratification

Answer 4

where individuals or groups are ranked hierarchically based on a set of shared characteristics like wealth, income, status, power, or education.

• These groupings or strata are typically based on an individual’s socioeconomic status (SES) and can have a significant influence on people’s lives

Question 5

Ascription-based system

Answer 5

An ascription-based system is one in which people’s status at birth determines their social position. In ascription-based systems, there is little to no opportunity for social mobility.

Question 6

Income

Answer 6

the amount of money you earn over time

Question 6

Household income:

Answer 6

refers to the total income earned by members of that household.

Question 7

Income inequality

Answer 7

unequal distribution of income among individuals or households.
- Can be measured by the Gini coefficient or quintiles

Question 8

Wealth

Answer 8

the value or worth of all possessions and assets owned by an individual. Wealth is determined by calculating the value of assets (like real estate) minus debts (like student loans) to establish net worth

Question 9

Wealth inequality

Answer 9

the unequal or disproportionate accumulation and distribution of wealth among individuals

• Wealth inequality in Canada is more highly concentrated than income inequality, with the top 20% of households controlling 67% of the total wealth (Maroto 2017) and the top 1% of Canadians holding 16% of the wealth
• The gap in wealth has remained the same for several decades

Question 10

Gini coefficient:

Answer 10

This measures social inequality by comparing the actual distribution of income in a province to an equal distribution of all income. A higher score means more income inequality. This measure uses after tax income, which calculates all sources of income and government transfers, as well as taxes paid.

Question 11

Conflict theorists on SES and inequality

Answer 11

Conflict theorists have articulated how the state is organized to serve the interests of the dominant economic class, and that law is used as a tool for subordinating groups and maintaining dominant social orders

Question 12

Davis-Moore hypothesis:

Answer 12

• the greater the importance of a job or position within society, the higher its associated reward
• While conflict theorists argue that inequality is a product of the economic structure, functionalists argue that inequality is a natural feature of society

Question 13

Critiques of Davis-Moore hypothesis:

Answer 13

-In doing so, they underscore the critique of functionalism by suggesting that all jobs, no matter how “low skill” or menial they seem, are essential for the functioning of society and therefore difficult to rank.

• Another critique of this approach is that it ignores how inequalities affect access to education and high-paying or prestigious jobs.

Question 14

Symbolic interactionists on SES and inequality

Answer 14

Symbolic interactionists are interested in how inequality and status are maintained and reinforced through everyday interactions. In particular, interactionists are interested in how social status is constructed through status symbols and consumption, and how individuals construct and reinforce inequality through interaction.

Question 15

conspicuous leisure: (symbolic interactionalist)

Answer 15

which is the use of time in non-productive ways as a sign of social status

• Productive labour, such as manual labour, mark someone as having low social status while having the wealth and resources to engage in non-productive leisurely pursuits, like travel, mark someone as high status.

Question 16

Habitus

Answer 16

the habits, skills, and dispositions that we acquire based on our life experiences

• Our habitus is the embodiment of our cultural capital or the traits and preferences that we acquire based on our social class
• positions and differences that are difficult to overcome.

Question 17

Human capital:

Answer 17

refers to investments made by an individual in their training, skills, and education.

• Pursuing a college diploma or university degree, gaining job experience, and developing skills throughout your life are all examples of investing in human capital.

Question 18

Links to social capital

Answer 18

A person’s social capital is often linked to the socioeconomic strata to which they belong, facilitating connections and opportunities among those with the same SES

• High levels of social capital can improve employment opportunities and incomes, get people out of poverty, reduce work-family conflict, increase wealth, and improve access to credit, among other things

Question 18

Cultural capital:

Answer 18

Individual and family cultural resources are just as important as economic resources and useful social networks for educational and labour market success.

Question 19

Feminist theory on SES and inequality

Answer 19

inequality emerged from cultures that associate masculinity with authority and power.

Question 20

Intersection of race and SES

Answer 20

Sociologists like W.E.B. DuBois have emphasized how racial identity is a key aspect of social inequality, and sociologists have pointed to issues like discrimination, racism, minority rights, and immigration when it comes to socioeconomic outcomes.

Question 21

progressive taxation:

Answer 21

when the taxes you pay increase as your income increases

• What canada largely uses
• addresses economic inequality by placing a greater burden on higher-income earners while providing tax credits to lower-income earners
• The expansion of regressive taxation in the provinces and territories and preferential treatment and protection of income generated through capital gains benefit higher earners while disadvantaging lower earners

Question 22

regressive taxation

Answer 22

is where everyone pays the same tax regardless of their income

Question 23

Redistribution:

Answer 23

Redistribution is the process of transferring funds to programs that help reduce income inequality, like old-age pensions, child tax benefits, low-income tax credits, and social assistance.

Question 24

Capital gains:

Answer 24

Profit from the sale of a capital asset like real estate or other investments.

Question 25

Absolute poverty:

Answer 25

the deprivation of basic human needs like food, water, sanitation, health, and shelter

Question 26

Relative poverty:

Answer 26

The deprivation compared to an average standard of living in a society.

Question 27

feminisation of poverty:

Answer 27

women are more likely to be poor and they make up a growing proportion of the poor

• Women tend to have a lower employment rate, earn less, work in lower-paying jobs, are more likely to work part-time, and are more likely to miss work due to caregiving obligations

Question 28

Intragenerational mobility

Answer 28

change in social position during a person’s lifetime.

Question 29

Intergenerational mobility:

Answer 29

a change in social position that occurs between generations.

Question 30

Absolute vs relative mobility:

Answer 30

Absolute mobility tells us whether a person is doing well compared to their previous income.

Relative mobility tells us whether a person has moved up or down the social strata and whether they are doing better or worse compared to others.

Question 31

intergenerational income elasticity

Answer 31

IGE compares the incomes of parents with those of their children when the children become adults

• in Canada, 32% of a child’s income depends on the parents’ income, meaning that 68% of their future income is determined by other factors like education, job experiences, and credentials
• we see much less mobility for sons born to very high-earning fathers

Question 32

Median household income

Answer 32

Differs by region and quintile

Question 33

Market basket measure

Answer 33

A family lives in poverty is it does not have enough income to purchase as specific basket of goods and services in a community

Question 34

Race

Answer 34

Physical traits such as skin color and hair texture are among the characteristics that are used to distinguish people from one another, as is knowledge of a person’s ancestry.

• Social construct - varies between places and over time

Question 35

Ethnicity

Answer 35

refers to shared culture, ancestry, and history, and may also include shared language and religion

• Ethnic groups are those with a shared ethnicity - ethnicity is strongly associated with culture.

Question 36

Genocide

Answer 36

Genocide refers to the systematic and deliberate elimination of a social group, usually for reasons of race, culture, or politics.

• Many instances born out of ethnic conflict

Question 36

Racism

Answer 36

Attitudes and practices rooted in the belief that the physical attributes of a group - their race - signifies superiority, with all the others deemed inferior.

Question 36

Traditional and modern racism

Answer 36

• Some scholars of race refer to overt and hostile actions as emblematic of traditional racism. In our contemporary society, traditional racism has given way to modern racism, which is marked by a rejection of overt discrimination, the existence of more covert expressions of prejudice, and attitudes that cast blame on cultural values or individual efforts

Question 37

Visible minority

Answer 37

Someone is a member of a visible minority group if they are “persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour”

Question 38

Race and ethnicity as part of an identity

Answer 38

Race and ethnicity are also an important component of many people’s self-identity. And, as mentioned previously, race and ethnicity are among the primary ways that people categorize others and are therefore meaningful in our interactions with other people and institutions like schools. Finally, race and ethnicity are written into Canadian policy, having a broad impact on the lives of all Canadians

Question 39

Prejudice

Answer 39

an attitude that negatively judges people based on their group membership

Question 40

Discrimination

Answer 40

These actions are negative and are taken against a group of people based on their group membership

Question 41

Implicit bias

Answer 41

refers to favorable and unfavorable attitudes that unconsciously shape our understandings and actions.
- our implicit biases tend to favor our own in-group.

Question 42

Democratic racism

Answer 42

The coexistence of egalitarian values alongside discriminatory practices against racial minorities.

Question 44

Systemic racism

Answer 44

often also referred to as institutional racism—is racism embedded in institutions or systems

Question 45

Redlining

Answer 45

a systematic denial of services for residents, often through pricing, particularly in residential neighborhoods with a high proportion of minority residents.

Question 45

Microaggressions

Answer 45

seemingly harmless but problematic interactions

Question 46

White privilege

Answer 46

inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice.

Question 47

Colour blind ideology

Answer 47

Colour-blind ideology allows for racial inequality to be maintained without people or systems appearing racist

• If the belief is that racial discrimination is no longer present in society, we need other explanations for why people of colour experience well-established things like poverty, poor health, and poor educational outcomes

Question 48

first generation immigrants

Answer 48

they were born outside of Canada

Question 49

Second gen immigrants;

Answer 49

refers to individuals born in Canada with at least one parent born outside of Canada

Question 50

Third gen immigrants

Answer 50

refers to individuals with both parents born in Canada.

Question 51

Refugees

Answer 51

involuntarily displaced due to lack of safety in their home countries to which they cannot safely return

• RISE (Refugee Integration, Stress, and Equity)—focuses on the experiences of women in general, and mothers in particular. This is because previous research confirmed that the well-being of mothers is essential to the well-being of other family members

Question 52

Status cues:

Answer 52

“Visual indicators of a person’s social position”

Question 53

Gender

Answer 53

The social construction of expected appearances, behaviors, roles, and traits that are built around sex categories.

Question 53

Reported ethnicities

Answer 53

Changes due to immigration → increase in asian and african immigrants in recent years
Write in option → your own perception of your ethnicity

Question 54

Sex:

Answer 54

Biological features used to classify people as male or female.

Question 55

sex assignment:

Answer 55

These biological attributes include genitalia (the presence of a vagina or penis), chromosomes, and hormones. Sex is typically determined at birth by looking at the genitalia of the newborn baby

Question 56

Gender role socialization

Answer 56

• it is through early interactions with our family members and later interactions with friends, peers, teachers, coaches, employers, and mass media that we develop an understanding of the expectations of appearance, behaviors, roles, and traits
• By age two to three, children start to show gender-stereotyped preferences

Question 57

Gender roles

Answer 57

are expectations for the behaviour of men and women, including such things as an interest in playing sports (usually coded as masculine) or talents in writing and reading (usually coded as feminine).

Question 58

Gender expression

Answer 58

The public presentation of a person’s gender, which may include clothing, hair, makeup, name, pronouns, voice and behavior.

Question 59

Gender identity

Answer 59

Inward expression of an internal sense of gender.

Question 60

Genderqueer:

Answer 60

used by some people whose experience of gender identity is beyond the man and woman gender binary.

Question 61

Two-spirit:

Answer 61

Indigenous gender identity that blends the feminine and masculine spirit, and is sometimes called a “third gender.”

Question 62

Transgender

Answer 62

their gender identity differs from the sex assignment at their birth.

Question 63

Cisgender

Answer 63

a term used to describe a gender identity that corresponds with the sex assigned at birth

Question 64

Intersex

Answer 64

describes a baby with ambiguous genitalia or other variations in sex characteristics.

Question 65

Black feminism

Answer 65

Black feminism primarily grew during the 1960s due to the disillusionment with the Civil Rights Movement and the second-wave feminist movement

• Highlights a need for intersectionality in the feminist movement
• Historically, the feminist movement implicitly treated the standpoints of white, middle-class, cisgender women as representative of all women.

Question 66

Hegemonic masculinity

Answer 66

refers to the current, most culturally exalted way of being a man.

• It is comprised of the standards of behaviour that all men are socialized to desire and to measure themselves against
• Most men, despite their best efforts, will never achieve hegemonic masculinity.

Question 67

Complicit masculinity

Answer 67

• The men who try to attain hegemonic masculinity
• Regardless of whether or not they succeed at attaining hegemonic masculinity, men generally gain from the overall ranking of men over women

Question 68

Marginalized masculinity

Answer 68

• The intersection of masculinity with things like race, social class, and ethnicity
• For the most part, not considered hegemonic

Question 69

Subordinated masculinity

Answer 69

Refers to the masculinity of groups of men who are barred from being hegemonic. Historically, subordinated masculinity has referred to the masculinity of gay men.

• ‘Gayness’ itself has been symbolically blurred with femininity and is therefore regarded culturally as the furthest from hegemonic masculinity, because hegemonic masculinity is a rejection of femininity.

Question 70

Job market related to gender

Answer 70

Traditionally, men were far more likely to be employed because of long-standing traditional arrangements of women taking responsibility of the household and caring for children, and men taking responsibility of earning income

• Women’s increasing participation in the labour market, increasing annual income, and increasing contribution to family income are all indicators of a bigger shift related to a loosening of traditional gender roles

Question 71

Gender wage gap

Answer 71

When looking at annual earnings, women earn $0.73 for every $1.00 earned by men

• Instead, Statistics Canada also calculates the ratio using hourly wage, netting the result of women earning $0.89 for every $1 earned by a man in 2021
  –>Hourly is a more accurate projection as women tend to work less hours due to childcare responsibilities

Question 72

Occupational segregation

Answer 72

The concentration of men and women in different occupations.

Question 73

Gender wage discrimination

Answer 73

Not paying men and women the same for the same work.

• Equal would be $0.97 for every 1 dollar a man makes
• The issue is not just the salary at the time of hiring, but also how the worker is rewarded when their job performance is rated and they are considered for pay raises

Question 74

Glass ceiling

Answer 74

preventing women from advancing to higher-level positions within an organization. The term signals that there are invisible barriers to leadership by women, such as their limited access to advantageous informal social networks and influential mentors.

Question 74

Glass escalator

Answer 74

If someone is experiencing swift promotion and pay raises, they may be riding a glass escalator on the basis of gendered expectations.

• Usually experienced by men in women dominated fields

Question 75

Division of household labour

Answer 75

based on men and women performing specialized tasks associated with their gender roles.
- Women take the bulk of the work with chores that require daily upkeep like childcare, cooking and cleaning

Question 76

Second shift

Answer 76

The second shift refers to the significant responsibilities of childcare and housework that are disproportionately shouldered by women in addition to their paid work

Question 77

Gender ideology

Answer 77

Attitudes and beliefs about appropriate roles and responsibilities of women and men.
- If the couple holds an egalitarian gender ideology, there will be a more equal division of housework between the couple

Question 78

Femicide

Answer 78

The murder of women and girls on the basis of gender, usually by a man.

Question 79

The importance of policy on gender

Answer 79

• Many northern European countries are known for their robust parental leave and childcare policies that create more equal opportunities in the workplace and shared responsibilities in the home
• Subsidized child care and paternal leave lead to more equitable home environments

Question 79

Risk and men

Answer 79

In 2019, men were the perpetrators of 89% of all violent incidents, 93% of sexual assaults, and 87% of physical assault
- Men are also more likely to be the victims of violent crimes

Question 80

Social Institutions & Gender Index (SIGI)

Answer 80

The index measures discrimination in five domains for 108 countries around the world: family and marriage practices; physical or reproductive integrity; biases towards sons and against daughters; access to resources and services; and restrictions in politics and public spaces.

Question 81

Male flight

Answer 81

when women start to fill the space, men leave

Question 82

“Bigorexia”

Answer 82

• Building on anorexia
• Attempting to strive to the “masculine body” through disordered eating and body dysmorphia

Question 83

Heterosexual:

Answer 83

is attracted to someone of a different sex (often referred to as “opposite sex”

Question 84

Sexuality

Answer 84

a broad term that refers to sexual identity, sexual practices, sexual attractiveness, and sexual desires

Question 85

Sexual orientation

Answer 85

Sexual orientation refers to the direction of a person’s erotic and romantic attraction. The reference point is usually the sex of the person one is attracted to.

Question 86

Bisexual

Answer 86

Attracted to both sexes

Question 87

Homosexual:

Answer 87

refers to someone who is attracted to the same sex.

Question 88

Asexual

Answer 88

refers to little or no sexual and romantic attraction, including limited interest in sexual activity.

Question 88

Pansexual:

Answer 88

sexual and romantic attraction outside of a binary of sex or gender; someone who is pansexual is attracted to people regardless of the person’s gender identity or biological sex

Question 89

Sexual scripts:

Answer 89

Sexual scripts are culturally shaped mental structures that allow us to shape and understand our past, current, and future sexual behaviours
- Sociologists have argued that we learn sexual scripts throughout the life course that shape our sexual behaviors and responses

Question 89

Social construction of sexuality

Answer 89

Some extended this into the realm of procreation, arguing that humans are wired for sex to procreate. Under this belief system, anything outside of heterosexual vaginal penetrative sex was regarded as abnormal and even unnatural.

Question 90

“Self-articulation”:

Answer 90

The creation of a homosexual identity also created an identity around which people could gather and mobilize

Question 90

Queer theory

Answer 90

That is, queer theory is generally concerned with moving away from the idea of identity as in a single, unified homosexual identity.

Question 91

Measuring sexuality: data on identity, behaviors, desires, and their overlap.

Answer 91

• Sexual behaviour refers to the sexual activities a person partakes in, with or without a partner
• Sexual desire refers to a person’s interest in engaging in sexual activities

Question 91

Situational homosexuality

Answer 91

men and women may engage in sexual practices with same-sex partners due to a want for sexual connection or intimate relationship without significant choice.

Question 92

Heteronormativity

Answer 92

to the general attitude that heterosexuality is the most natural and normal kind of sexuality

• Heteronormativity assumes that all people—unless otherwise stated—are heterosexual

Question 92

Homophobia

Answer 92

a hatred of gays and lesbians that may lead to acts of discrimination or even violence.

Question 93

Transphobia

Answer 93

refers to a hatred of transgender men and women.

• There is also a noted lack of curricula and competency about trans and LGBTQ+ experiences and issues, apparent in such classroom instances as exclusion in the course material and the misgendering of pronouns

Question 94

Homonormativity

Answer 94

being the “right” kind of queer person. Consider, for example, the use of muscular gay models in the advertising and promotional work of major businesses like banks and fashion retailers who wish to align themselves with Pride

Question 95

Sexual double standard:

Answer 95

The sexual double standard is when men and women are evaluated differently for similar levels of sexual interest and identical sexual acts; the evaluation is more positive for men and negative for women.

Question 96

“Madonna-whore dichotomy”

Answer 96

that women should be chaste and not sexual (“Madonna”) but should be sexy and physically attractive (“whore”)

Question 97

Emphasized heterosexuality:

Answer 97

emphasizing sexual encounters with women—whether actual encounters or simply discussions about wanting to engage in such encounters—is a pathway for demonstrating their masculinity

Question 98

Femininity and sexuality:

Answer 98

Traditional sexual scripts for women tend to emphasize meaningful and emotional connections that emerge in the context of a relationship.

Question 99

Emphasized femininity

Answer 99

Practices of femininity that conform to the needs and desires of men, and thus the subordination of women.

Question 100

“orgasm gap,”

Answer 100

the longer period of time required for women (compared to men) to reach orgasm
- Not grounded in any research, just comparative to men.

Question 101

Less vpi (heterosexual penetrative) and sexual activity in general for both teens and adults

Answer 101

• Could be caused by porn consumption → instills fear particularly for women because of dynamics
• Stress could be a contributing factor
• Less face to face interactions