Explain the existing systems of social stratification based on social class race/ethnicity, sex/gender, age, sexual orientation and analyze how such systems impact life chances, opportunities, experiences, and interaction

INTRODUCTION

Social position and status affect our life chances, whether based on class, gender, race or ethnicity, or a combination of these statuses. Our status in society seems to matter as each of these aspects interacts with the others, creating our identity and impacting our lives in many ways. While we may each have a certain vision of who we are, the society in which we live views us in certain stereotyped ways.

When sociologists were establishing this field of study, they believed that since our culture had survived so well, then we must be doing something right. The problems that any one individual may be experiencing must be a problem with that individual not doing things the right way in our culture.

Then some sociologists came along who noticed that certain groups were consistently “winning” while other groups were consistently “losing” and they tried to make sense of this situation. Instead of a “person blame” approach, they were creating a “system blame” explanation. They wondered if there was something that advantaged some while disadvantaging others.

Sociologists use statistics to compare things like income, wealth, health, and unemployment. Learning about this data can startle us into questioning how our society works. When some sociologists complete their research, they go to Congress to report their findings in an attempt to help make life better for more people in our society. For instance, the FBI Crime Index indicates only crimes that have been reported, which provides us with one picture of crime in our society. If you have ever had your bicycle or your backpack stolen, you may not have bothered to report it to the police, believing that there isn’t much that can be done. Some sociologists conduct surveys across our population asking all sorts of questions of people, including whether or not they have ever committed a crime that went undetected. Although sociologists protect the confidentiality of these survey responses, many  people have reported that they have committed crimes that they were never arrested for. This gives us a very different view of crime in our society. Together these two types of statistics provide a more balanced picture of what people really do.

Sometimes the findings are reported in the press and may be discussed throughout our society. It helps to know how sociologists use words to describe various groups and to see how the life  chances of these groups compare. Then, if we don’t like what we see, perhaps we can decide together to make changes.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Define social stratification, structured inequalities, and their intersections
• Summarize the key ideas behind the three theoretical perspectives on social class inequality
• Differentiate between individual discrimination, institutional discrimination, and prejudice; provide examples of each
• Summarize the key ideas behind the three theoretical perspectives on racial inequality
• Differentiate between sex and gender and sexuality
• Evaluate the extent and roots of gender stratification in society
• Analyze inequality on the basis of sexual orientation
• Evaluate the extent of ageism in society and summarize the theoretical perspectives on aging

Okay, let’s get started!