Unit 5: Social Stratification
In this unit, we examine how social stratification ranks our social worth. How does your relative position affect your life chances and opportunities? Consider how we rank people in our community, such as by the car they drive or the neighborhood they live in. Sociologists are most interested in how these ascribed characteristics impact opportunity. Ascribed characteristics are those you are born into or have no control over, such as race, sex, sexuality, and age.
Stratification is a universal component in society, we find it everywhere, but the factors we rank and the inequality of the ranking system varies. In this unit, we consider institutionalized inequalities, such as racism, sexism, and ageism, and how our prejudices continue to influence our outlook. Research shows that race and ethnicity continue to affect access to valuable resources, such as healthcare, education, and housing.
We will discuss gender, gender identity, sexuality, and the aging process as dimensions of stratification. In this Unit, we examine the social construction of the category and the prejudice and discrimination that still function in society. In sociology, we pay particular attention to institutionalized discrimination, or the bigotry and intolerance built into our laws, policies, and practices. Institutional discrimination does not require any malicious intent, yet the consequences are often devastating to the groups affected.
We also address issues of national and global inequality. Why are some countries wealthier than others? How can we address the needs of more than seven billion people worldwide? What metrics distinguish or categorize high-, middle-, and low-income nations? What is relative, absolute, and subjective poverty?
Compare modernization and dependency theory in terms of global stratification. What is the difference between global classification and inequality? What is extreme poverty in a global context? What efforts have the members of the United Nations made to eradicate global inequality and address the needs of the world's population? How do you explain the cyclical impact and consequences of poverty?
Completing this unit should take you approximately 8 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- define local and global stratification;
- compare functional, conflict, and symbolic interaction perspectives on social stratification;
- describe global stratification and the difference between absolute, relative, and extreme poverty;
- explain modernization and dependency theories;
- compare functional, conflict, and symbolic interaction perspectives on race and ethnicity;
- distinguish the meaning of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination;
- define patterns of intergroup interaction, pluralism, assimilation, segregation, expulsion, and genocide;
- differentiate between sex, gender, sexuality, and identity;
- compare gender socialization and stratification;
- compare senior age groups (young-old, middle-old, and old-old); and
- explain the process of aging through a biological, psychological, and social lens.
5.1: What Is Social Stratification?
In theory, there are two systems of stratification. In an open system, social mobility is possible, ideally based on merit. In a closed system, social position is based on birth, and there are no opportunities for social mobility.
How does your social class affect your life chances? Can you name some things people living in the lower class cannot access, in addition to homes and luxury items? How does lower class status affect your chances at upward social mobility? Compare the three theoretical approaches to social stratification: class, caste, and meritocracy. How would Karl Marx view the Davis-Moore thesis?
Read this section to learn about open versus closed systems of inequality.
5.2: Stratification and Mobility
Sociologists use wealth and income to determine one's socioeconomic status. Notice how your social class impacts your life experiences, overall opportunities, and the likelihood of social mobility. Pay attention to the differences between absolute, relative, and feminization of poverty. How has your social class impacted your life experiences?
Read this section on the upper, middle, and lower classes in the United States.
Watch this discussion of the new American Dream. Notice how definitions of the good life and success have changed over time.
Read this text. The Davis and Moore Thesis (1945) articulates a functionalist view that the market dictates income inequality by attracting the best-qualified people to the most important jobs in society. Conflict theorists believe stratification perpetuates inequality and conflict according to Karl Marx's theories on power and access. A conflict theorist would question the high wages of bankers, CEOs, and entertainers as a criticism of functionalist theory. Symbolic interactionists focus on the experience of social class through conspicuous consumption. Can you think of things you buy or wear to communicate your social status?
Watch this video on the theory of intersectionality, where an individual has several dimensions of inequality that impact their life chances. The speaker uses the example of the level of discrimination a Black female who practices Buddhism faces due to overlapping areas of societal oppression.
Watch this video on Karl Marx's beliefs on social inequality. According to his theory, a class divide exists between the owners of the means of production and the working class, which is being exploited and oppressed. The workers who recognize this exploitation can develop class consciousness and join together in solidarity to overthrow the owners of the means of production. However, the owners can promote false consciousness, where the workers are subdued because they cannot see their exploitation and oppression.
5.3: Global Stratification and Inequality
Global stratification is often more pronounced than social stratification within a country because the vast extremes of wealth we see in the United States are more severe in low and middle-income nations.This text explores how technological development impacts a country's economic level. Pay attention to the different models we use to compute global inequality: the Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GNP is the value of goods and services produced by a nation, and the GDP is a country's national wealth and often represents the standard of living. What is the standard of living in your location?
Read this text on the extent and consequences of global stratification. Table 10.1 examines extreme poverty rates in different nations as a measure of inequality. Notice how we classify nations as members of the first, second, and third world. What do these labels imply about these countries and the theorists who created them? Table 10.3 looks at income by country. What is the income level of the country you live in?
Read this text on global poverty. Consider the different experiences of relative, extreme, and subjective poverty. Where does the most extreme poverty exist in the world? Why do we call poverty a cycle? What types of slavery still exist globally?
Watch this video on global inequality with examples of how inequality impacts every aspect of life, from birth to death. How does inequality impact access to water? Consider the privileges available to you where you live.
Read this text, which compares modernization and dependency theory. Modernization argues lack of industrialization causes global inequality. Dependency theory argues that high-income nations have exploited poor countries and made them dependent. What evidence is there for each theory?
Read this article on global inequality data. Which theoretical perspectives discussed in the textbook best apply to this data? Consider how inequality impacts everyday living conditions.
5.4: Race and Ethnicity
Historically, we define race based on physical and social characteristics. Ethnicity refers to a shared culture. Contrary to popular opinion, minority group status is not based on the relative size of the group compared to the majority group; it is based on the subordinate status or less power of the group. So, for example, Black residents had minority status in South Africa during apartheid, although their population was much greater than the number of White settlers who ruled the country.
Read this text, which explains the difference between race, ethnicity, and minority groups. What are some examples of groups with less power in your society?
Read about theoretical perspectives on race and ethnicity. Functionalists view race and racism as a function of society. This controversial view examines how racism has historically served the dominant group. Conflict theorists examine how the majority created beliefs about race to exploit minority groups. Figure 11.3 introduces intersection theory.
Read this text on the difference between prejudice, which is an attitude, and discrimination, which is a behavior. Many argue that racism is more despicable than prejudice because individuals use it to justify unequal treatment based on ideas they fabricate about racial inferiority. Figure 11.5 describes how implicit bias and structural racism feed on each other.
Read this text on the interaction between minority and majority groups. Notice the broad range of acceptance – from pluralism (complete acceptance) to genocide, the systematic killing of a group of people. Many expect immigrants to assimilate quickly into their culture, but they are often segregated and prevented from participating in mainstream society.
Read this summary of minority groups in America and their path to assimilation. This section focuses on current issues of race and ethnicity. Figure 11.9 discusses the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which protested police violence against Black and Brown individuals and led to mass protests worldwide after the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis.
Watch this lecture. The speaker explains the social construction of race and how it has changed over time and by location. She discusses the differences between race, ethnicity, prejudice, and discrimination.
Watch this video, which features Tammy Hodo, a biracial woman who describes her experiences in America from a Black and White perspective. She explains the social construction of race in America through various practices of institutional discrimination that still function today.
Watch this video on White privilege, the rights and unearned privileges White people enjoy in our society due to their skin color. Examples of discriminatory practices included the Jim Crow laws Southern states enacted during Reconstruction to promote inequalities and restrict voting rights. Redlining refers to the practice local governments, banks, and real estate agents practiced to exclude Blacks from buying houses or renting apartments in certain neighborhoods.
5.5: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
This section introduces the differences between sex, gender, and sexuality. Sex refers to our primary biological sex characteristics (male or female) typically associated with the penis or vagina. Gender is the behaviors attributed to each sex (masculine or feminine). In American society, men are seen as more biologically masculine, and women are seen as more feminine. Notice that sex is ascribed and gender is achieved.
Sexuality is the capacity to experience sexual feelings. Sexual orientation is connected to who we are attracted to. How have our attitudes associated with sex and sexuality shifted? Notice how feminist and queer theories articulate sex and sexuality.
Read this section which explains the social construction of sex, gender, and sexual orientation. Notice that American culture presents all of these concepts on a binary model, yet evidence argues they exist on a spectrum. Why are these factors not as simplistic as male or female from a biological, psychological, and sociological lens?
Watch this video, which challenges the notion of a simple binary model of sex (male or female). Notice the biological arguments against the gender binary, such as intersex, trans, and chromosomal variation. How does limiting our options impact society? What are the benefits of viewing sex on a spectrum?
Read this text on the difference between gender socialization and gender stratification. Gender stratification focuses on how gender is learned throughout life. Can you think of examples of how you were taught gender? Gender stratification examines how societies create and maintain gender inequality. Figure 12.10 depicts the pay gap between men and women. How has feminism sought to challenge these inequities?
Watch this video where Laura Bates explains her daily experiences with sexism. The Everyday Sexism Project is a global forum where women share examples of sexism that are treated as normal.
Watch this video, which explains that gender identity is assigned at birth and socialized throughout our lives. What is the experience of transgender individuals? How are certain groups stigmatized for being outside the norm based on their identities?
Read this text on attitudes toward sex and sexuality across time and culture. What was your experience with sex education in school? What are some different theoretical understandings of sex and sexuality?
Watch these lectures on the differences between sex, gender, sexuality, and gender identity. The speaker articulates how sex, gender, and sexual orientation exist on a spectrum. What populations of people fall under the trans umbrella? What are the pros and cons of using a binary versus a fluid model for understanding these concepts and behaviors?
As you watch the second video, notice how these representations influence how society sees and treats individuals. Have you noticed any positive changes in media representation in these areas?
5.6: Aging and the Elderly
Here, we explore the biological, social, and psychological changes associated with aging and how social factors affect how we experience aging. Pay attention to the phases of aging (young-old, middle-old, and old-old). Consider how society defines what it means to be old.
Read this text on gerontology, the scientific study of aging in society. What are the differences between the young-old, middle-old, and old-old? Figure 13.4 explores the prevalence of these groups in the United States. Notice how the male and female populations differ as we age. Figure 13.6 offers a visual representation of this gender disparity.
Watch this video on the changing demographics in the United States. Old-old is the fastest-growing group in America. How will this elderly population impact jobs, healthcare, and our economic system?
Read this section on the biological, social, and psychological changes throughout our lifetimes. How do health, healthcare, and social interaction change as we age and retire from the workforce? The text also explores issues related to dying, death, and the different stages of grief.
Read this text on challenges the elderly face, such as poverty, ageism, and abuse. What is ageism? Americans have seen a recent increase in poverty rates – this trend slowed when Congress signed the U.S. Social Security program into law in 1935. Figure 13.2 offers an overview of elder abuse, an extreme form of ageism.
Read this research paper on ageism in the media. How has the media's depiction of older people changed? How has it remained the same?
Read this analysis of aging from a functionalist, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionist perspective. Functionalists focus on how an aging population benefits society. Conflict theorists see their loss of power and inevitable competition over resources. Symbolic interactionists concentrate on everyday interactions and the experience of aging. How does the aging process impact the sense of self in an ageist society? How do older people cope with their loss of status and a declining sense of self-worth?
Unit 5 Assessment
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Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
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