Social stratification Flashcards
What is meant by social stratification ?
The way that socitey is structured in a hierarchy
What is social hierarchy ?
People at the top of the pyramid have more power/ respect then the people below them - it is a pyramid shape
What is social inequality ?
The unequal distribution of factors such as income, education and health across a population
What is an example of social stratification outside of Britan ?
India’s caste system. It divides Hindus into rigid hierarchial groups - teachers and priests at the top and cleaners at the bottom
What is achived status ?
Status that you have achived through hard work i.e. sports player
What is ascribed status ?
Status that you are born into i.e. royal family
What is equality ?
The fair treatment of all people in socitey
What is meant by life chances ?
Having positive or negative outcomes over their lifetime in relation to their health, education, employment and housing
What is inequality ?
The unequal distribution of valued goods and opportunities
What is the functionalist view of social strat ?
- They think that it is positive and performs a fuction
-People experiencing poverty motivates others to do well - Davis & Moore argue that social strat allows role allocation as people get jobs that match their ability
What are the criticisms of the functionalist view ?
They don’t consider that eqaul oppurtunties don’t exists for everyone
What is the feminist view of social strat ?
They argue that socitey is dominated by men (patriarchal)
- They argue that women are socially stratified and placed at the bottom of the ranking as men control it
What are the criticisms of the feminist view ?
Marxists would say that social class is the way of stratification - not gender
What is the marxist view of social strat ?
They belive that there are only 2 classes- Bourgeoise & Proletariat.
They argue that there has always been social inequality and socitey is unfair
There will always be conflict betwen the 2 groups
What are the criticisms of the marxist view ?
Feminists argue that marxists focus too much on capitalisim and fail to consider how gender creates a divide
What is social differentiation ?
Refers to the differences between social groups based on their appearance, gender wealth, lifestyle and culture.
What impact does age have ?
as there are difference norms expected from a teenager in comparison to an adult
What is social social differentiation ?
The differences between social groups based on their apperance, gender, wealth, lifestyle & culture
What is authority ?
Having power and dominance over a person or group
What is Webers theory of authority ?
Traditional authority - This is authority that has been passed down over generation
Charismatic authority- When someone gains high levels of support from the population
Rational-legal authority- When somone is chosen according to the system
What is the new right perspective on a classless socitey ?
They belive that socitey is classless
- The working class jobs are manual jobs
- New right belive that working class jobs have dissappeared so class does not exist
What is habitus ?
A set of assumptions about the kind of leisure activties different classes engage in. It is a cultural framework or set of norms and vaules
What are Bourdieus belifs /
- The upper class control education
- Upper class children fit in at school more easily and suceed because they have the same culture
- Middle class habitus places more vaule on activites so have greater cultural capital
What is the old boys’ club and priveladge ?
Marxists belive that there is an old boys network in the UK - there are connections that some families have to help them in work or buisness
- Members often went to private schools & oxbrige unis
What is a stereotype ?
An exaggarated simplified, often negative view of a praticular group or type of person
What is labelling ?
Refers to attaching an expectation onto an indvidual which over time can influence their behaviour
What is evidence of gender equality ?
The gender pay gap is 7.9% - ONS
What is predjudice ?
An opinion made about others, based on the group they belong to, and without any knowledge of them as indviduals
What is the triple shift & who created it ?
Dunscombe + Marsden
- Women do paid work , domestic work & emotional work
Who created the dual burden ?
Anne Oakley
What is the glass ceiling ?
An invisible systematic barrier that prevents certain people from rising to the senior positions within an organisation
What is the sex discrimination act 1975 ?
A law introduced to prevent employers from discriminating against gender when recuriting
What are examples of gender inequality in socitey ?
- Me too movement - raised awerness about Harvey Weinstein
- Murder of Sarah Everard
What do liberal feminists belive ?
They agree that there has been positive change but girls need more positive role models in the media and schools to encourage them
What do radical feminists belive ?
They argue that men will not surrender and will always dominate and exploit women
What did Walby belive ?
She criticised radical feminists for ignoring class and ethnicity
- Not all women experience life the same you must take an intersectional approach
- Walby argues that women are controlled by double standards
What must we consider in social strat ?
Class, Age , Gender + Ethnicity
What is the new man theory ?
When make take in domestic roles and are more in tough with their emotions
What is the crisis of masculinity ?
Men no longer have traditional jobs such as coal mining
- Women are less dependent on men
- They are lacking an identity
What is a social construct ?
Something that has been created by humans i.e. age
What do marxists belive about age as a social construct ?
They argue that ideas about age are constructed to maintain capitalisim
- They argue that the elderly in the UK are not important because they do not contribute economically to socitey
- Families keep the rich rich
- Children use ‘pester power’ to get their parents to buy them stuff
What is ageism ?
Discrimination of peole based on their age
What is race ?
The physical characteristics of a person
What is ethnicity ?
The cultural group that a person belongs to - nationality
What do marxists think about imigrants ?
Employers like immigration because they are able to exploit them for low wages which keeps the bourgeosie in power
What do functionalists think about imigrants ?
They think that immigration is healthy for socitey because it provides workers, brings new culture but too much immigration can be dysfunctional
What did Toyin Agbetu say ?
Black peole are often stereotyped as being involved in sport, entertainment and crime. These lead to racial discrimination and predjudice
What did Jan Van Djik say ?
He argues that the media often uses stereotypes of ethnic minorties involved in crime, causing problems with their culture/religion and taking part in terrorism
How can ethnicity affect life chances ?
- Job oppurtunties
- Education oppurtunties
- Health
- Victim of crime
What is disability ?
According to the equality act 2010- A disability is a physicalor mental impairment that has a substantial and long term negative affect on your ability to do normal day activties
What does the medical model say ?
The view that disability is a bad thing- a problem that the disabled person has to cope with . The medical professionals will try to help it through surgery, medication & prosthetic limbs
What does the social model say ?
Developed by Mike Oliver. He argues that the disability is not the persons problem and that socitey needs to make adjustments to help them .
What do marxists belive about disability ?
Marxists argue that disabled people are discriminated against beause they do not contribute to the needs of capitalisim.
How does disability affect someones life chances ?
They experience stereotypes based on predjudice - this can negativley impact their life chances and job opportunties
What is the vicious cycle of social exclusion ?
- Disabled people are discriminated at work
- They find it difficult to find work
- Unemplyment means a lack of income
- They are not able to provide for their families
- They are socially excluded and marginalised
What did Craig say about gender and media ?
He conducted a study of TV homosexual characters who were presented as evil
What legislations were put in place to stop gender discrimination ?
Same sex couples act 2014
Civil partnership act 2004
