The Fundamental Class Divisions - Assignment Example

Sociology 101 study guide questions and Economic Inequality Defining social class A social class is typically a group of people with analogous wealth levels, status, and influence. Several definitional criteria are: a. Class: subjective location. In this definition, class defines the position of an individual or group in the social inequality structure. Advantages and disadvantages The advantage is that it requires no analysis, and it is easy. People are often grouping in strata. Disadvantage is stereotyping and grouping people due to their places of living. b. Class: objective distributional position. In this definition, status if defined in terms of material living standards. Advantage is it can accommodate those without strong working class culture. c. Economic life chance relational explanation defines inequalities even in economic distribution. d. Foundation of exploitation and economic oppression Describe Marx theories The Marxian theory takes rest in the principle that the ultimate history of an existing society is power and class struggle. Marx denoted that ever since the emergence of human society from its relatively undifferentiated and primal state, they have retained fundamental class divisions, which often clash while chasing after interests of that class. This analysis by Marx constantly features how people in their relative positions with regard to production mean shape relationships in a society. Causes of rising inequalities There has been an increasing level of inequalities in both wealth’s and income earned in the society over the past years. The issues of the labor share play no significant role in the levels of inequalities. Gender differences have been noted in inequalities of incomes. The gap of income between the women who are working for the medium wage to those working for low wages has grown tremendously more than what has been observed in the population of men. It is not surprising at all that since women are more likely to work for the minimum wages as men. The introduction of new issues such as inheritance rights, ownership rights among others in the societies expands the disparities further since women are not entitled wholly to accumulate wealth. The society laws are contributing to the disparities in the sense that the laws being used do favor a few and oppresses the majority of the people. In this case, few people are allowed to have wealth, and majorities are being oppressed in return. Women are the most affected people in the society. Most societal laws do not favor them, and only a few manage to own properties and run business that brings them return. The main causes of gender inequality are stereotypes, cultural and religious beliefs, social roles, unequal government policies (Healey 22-27). Effects of inequalities The greatest dangers of social inequalities in the society are that it leads to dissatisfaction among the members of the society. If the wealth is by a few in the society, the rest of the members end up getting dissatisfied, and this limits the accessibility of resources to the majority to enhance their social development. Tis in turn makes the members find alternative means to support themselves, in the process social vices such as stealing, robbery, vandalism emerge in the society Race, gender and class Different races have differing views on social classes and gender. Some races are believed to be of a higher social class while others are believed to be poor. For example, Africans are regarded to be of a lower social class as compared to the whites. Different races have varying perception on gender. For example in the Arab world, the female gender is frail while in America gender equality is prioritized. Sociological explanation of poverty Sociologists believe that poverty is by a fight between the poor and the rich (Healey 145). The rich people are motivated to getting richer while the poor people are demoralized, and they feel inferior powerless and hopeless that makes them poorer. Gender Types of feminist theory Feminist theories are forms of movement that seek to have equality for men and women prioritized in political, social and economic aspects. The major theories include; Radical feminism theory Provides a vital foundation for all the feminist flavors. Many see it as undesirable component of feminism. This type of feminism acts as a breeding ground for several ideas that arise from feminism; ideas that get shaped and pounded out in several new ways by other branches of feminism and no all. From approximately 1967 to 1975, this theory was the cutting edge of feminist theory. The term refers to the movement of feminist that came up from civil rights and peace movements in 1967-1968. This group gets the radical label because they view women oppression as the most fundamental form of any oppression, one that cuts across race, economic class, and culture. It is like a change of revolutionary proportions. Liberal feminism theory This type of feminism works within the structure of mainstream society and works to integrate women into that structure. The root of liberal feminism stretches its way back to the social contract theory of the government that was instituted by the revolution of America. Mary Wollstonecraft and Abigail Adams first proposed the equality for women. They slog along in the system as it always happens in cases of liberals. Amongst the compromises, little was done until radical movements sprung up and pulled all the compromises left of center. This is how the liberal feminism happened in those days of the suffragist movement and the emergence of radical feminist. Socialist feminism theory This feminism is a direct result of Marxism meeting the radical feminism. Social feminism comes as a result of a combination of radical feminism and Marxism; in this case, the dominant partner is the Marxism. Cultural feminism theory Cultural feminism came to existence when radical feminism died out as a movement. Several people moved from radical feminism to cultural feminism. In most cases, cultural feminism is not listed as a framework that is separate from radical feminism. Differences exist between the two types of feminism. Radical feminism movement aims at transforming the entire society whereas cultural feminism only concentrates with Vanguardism. That is, cultural feminism mainly deals with building a woman’s culture in the society. The efforts of cultural feminism have brought some benefits in the society including the establishment of rape crisis centers among other achievements. In the years that have past, several cultural feminists have been active in addressing social issues as individuals and not as part of a larger movement. 1960 marked the fall of various social movements and people started being pessimistic about the existence of any possibility for social change. Therefore, several people turned their attentions in building other alternatives in case the other movement failed they could still bring changes to the society. This explains the shift that happened from radical feminism towards cultural feminism. These efforts spearheaded the establishment of the alternative was accompanied with reasons that tried to justify the abandonment of working for changes in the society. The major part of this feminism holds that women are naturally gentler and inherently kinder. Ecofeminism theory This branch of feminism is considered to be leaning towards spirituality more than politics or theory. The branch is with or without the worship of Goddess and vegetarianism. Its fundamental building block states that every patriarchal society tends to exploit its resources without taking into consideration the long-term consequences to be a direct result of the attitudes that are foster in a hierarchical society. Eco- feminism has always been drawn parallel to the treatment of the environment, women, animals and resources in the society. Eco-feminists are fighting to resist the culture of patriarchal. In the process, they also feel to be resisting to making blunders and reducing the earth’s destruction. Other effects of gender inequalities include poverty perpetuation, vulnerability of the society, lack of sufficient labor since not all people are educated and humiliation of one gender Theory of gender roles and gender inequality The theory argues that there is a direct relationship between classes and oppression of women. The kind of social responsibilities taken by women such as household duties receives minimal appreciation as compared to the duties done by men. The theory criticizes the power and control by men over women that originates from roles and responsibilities. Social construction Social construction refers to the automatic segregation of the society based on factors such as class, gender, and race (Healey 11). It refers to how the society privileges some groups over the others. Social construction is not necessarily similar in all societies since it is bound to differ depending on the society’s perception of certain things. Sexual violence Evolutionary theory of rape- they believe that the rape is a normal male strategy designed by natural selection Social learning theory of rape: they believe that feministic images that portray women as sexual playthings play a crucial role in causing rape Feministic theory of rape: the theory argues that the rape is as a result of men’s power over women as opposed to sexual desire. Forms and areas of gender discrimination Gender discrimination may occur in the form of men against women or women against men. It may occur in areas such as; Education Domestic violence Infanticide Cultural beliefs How gender relates to class and race Gender is a biological aspect, but it is closely linked to class and race. Gender relates to class since each society has a belief on which gender is with economic productivity. The society’s social classes are based on economic positions that are predetermined by gender. Different races have varying beliefs on how gender should be treated (Healey 157). More so some races are associated with masculinity while others are with femininity based on their physical appearances. Race and ethnicity Difference between race and ethnicity Race- it is societal conception that classifies people based on culture, geographical region, historical background, religion, and language among other factors. Essentially, the concept of race tends to focus much on genetic variability in populations. Historically, the concept of race focus on diverse variability in certain anatomical features such as skin color, texture and the Ethnicity- it refers to the similarity among some people based on their genealogy Definitions Racialization- refers to the process of giving racial characters to people or making them feel that they belong to a certain culture. Racism- it refers to the perception that certain races have abilities than others and using the perception to divide races. Prejudice- this is a belief on something without any reasons or experience Ethnic conflict- this is a physical armed war or psychological war between people of different ethnicities Types of racism Attitudinal racism – this type of attitude is discriminatory and always fueled by attitudes about a group that is minority that makes individuals target the group, branding them names, viewing them as being lazy, unproductive and unwanted. Ideological racism- this is a concept that is entrenched more into the societal fabrics. Ideological racism thrives in whichever society. It is mostly expected to be evident in leading institutions policy frameworks. It is with the community’s attitude of discrimination towards the minor community. Individual/group racism – occurs when an individual or a group discriminates a given race of groups or individuals. Institutional racism – is a pattern of seen in social institutions including schools, banks, government, courts, etc. giving negative treatment to a certain group of individuals basing on race. Racism in institutions mostly leads to the development of inequalities. Models of racial and ethnic integration Assimilation- people are expected to adopt the cultures of the dominant group or host society Melting pot- when people mix with one another; they develop a new culture that favors all the mixing cultures Cultural Pluralism- ethnic groups maintain their cultures despite interacting with other cultures Migration, colonialism and slavery Migration- this is the permanent physical movement of people from one geographical region to another Colonialism- this is a situation whereby some people have control over others and use policies and practice to exploit them. Slavery- this is a situation whereby people are as assets of other people unwillingly or due to certain conditions. Stereotypes, displacement and scapegoats Stereotypes- this is a thought adopted by people on a certain way of doing things Displacement- this is other aspects take the process by which certain aspects fade away are their place. Scapegoats- this refers to a person or a group of people or an object that suffers due to the mistakes of other people either willingly or unwillingly. How does race interact with class and gender Race is societal conception that classifies people based on culture, geographical region, historical background, religion, and language among other factors. Essentially, the concept of race tends to focus much on genetic variability in populations, whereas class is a social status. Historically, some races used to consider themselves to be superior to other races (Healey 157). More so some races are associated with masculinity while others are with femininity based on their physical appearances. Works Cited Healey, Joseph F. Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2012. Print. Read More