social class inequality Flashcards
Mac an Ghail - Social class inequality in the workplace
States that deindustrialisation has lead to a ‘Crisis of masculinity’ amongst working class males – They face unemployment. (Working class disadvantage)
Willis - Social class inequality in the workplace
Working class males see their futures as working in basic manual labour jobs like their fathers therefore they do not aspire for more. (Working class disadvantage)
Scott - Social class inequality in the workplace
The social closure exercised by the upper class ensures they have the highest concentration of wealth. E.g. intermarriage, high culture and the old boy network. (Upper class advantage)
Harding - Social class inequality in crime
Working class youths in London face deprivation and turn to crime for income – Harding calls this a ‘Street Casino’ as they turn to crime and gamble with their lives – street capital is gained through committing deviance/criminal activities. (Working class disadvantage)
Walmsley - Social class inequality in crime
41% of prisoners are from the lowest social classes. But only 19% of the overall population. (Working class disadvantage)
Graham and Bowling - Social class inequality in crime
Middle class children are just as likely to be involved in crime but state it’s a case of ‘who you know’ which helps people get out of trouble. (Middle class advantage)
Price - Social class inequality in the media
Developed the concept of ‘poverty porn’ to describe programmes such as Channel 4’s Benefit Street. Price found this led to the underclass being exploited by the media to shock and entertain audiences. This encourages the underclass to be condemned by the hard working middle and upper classes. Despite using a discourse analysis to find that the shows were produced and designed for viewers to be empathetic to the underclass, many found their own personal experiences of this group to override the meanings behind the documentary. (Working class disadvantage)
Jones - Social class inequality in the media
Discusses the use of the word chav (council housed and violent) and explains this has become a way of describing working class culture and people. He developed the concept of ‘chavtainment’ to describe shows that portray a negative view of the working class as ‘bigoted, slothful and aggressive’, This has changed the views from working class being described as ‘salt of the earth’ to ‘scum of the earth.’ (Working class disadvantage)
Castells - Social class inequality in the media
The ‘information age’ will benefit the ruling elite who will have control over the networks and the information that is generated. (Upper class advantage)
Milliband - Social class inequality in the media
(Marxist) - States that the media is the new “opium of the people” in that it distracts us as the working class masses from real social issues faced in a capitalist society. Miliband states that in a capitalist society inequality is inevitable, justifiable and effective for the ruling class to control the masses - The media is just another way we are controlled. (Working class disadvantage)
Bourdieu - Social class inequality in education
Education system is biased towards the culture of the dominant classes and it devalues the knowledge and skills of the working class through the ‘hidden curriculum’. Furthermore, he argues that the main function of education is social reproduction and education discriminates against the working class because they lack the cultural capital to succeed. (Working class disadvantage)
Jackson - Social class inequality in education
Working class ladettes are generally working class and adopt anti-school attitudes – They adopt an assertive femininity around smoking and arguing with teachers - As a result they were negatively labelled by their teachers. (Working class disadvantage)
Kenway - Social class inequality in education
At girls’ private schools, the girls were encouraged to develop high levels of self esteem by devaluing those girls who went to state schools. (Upper class advantage)
