Social Stratification In Modern Society

1715 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social Stratification Quizlet

Social stratification is the idea that everyone in society has a certain place that they are either assigned or an area that they fit in. These groups or areas generally fall into different placement son the hierarchy of society. Just like every hierarchy structure, there are those that are on top and then there are those that fall on the bottom of the structure. In modern society there is a clear line between the benefits of being on top of the pyramid compared to being on the bottom of the pyramid. Even being in the middle of the pyramid does not always mean things are going to be the best. These divisions of hierarchy act as undefined rules that govern the way people act and the way that society sees each member of society itself. These can span from the lifestyle choices that we make as a modern society to the education aspects of our life. The general unspoken rule is, those that are on top tend to succeed and flourish while those on bottom have a harder time acquiring some of the basic needs of life. Those on top can take some of the little things in life for granted while those on bottom are struggling to survive and even provide anything for their families or just themselves. Stratification …show more content…

Unfortunately, some of these aspects are statuses that we cannot control; they are how we are born. Two statuses that are used to rank people are gender and race. These are both things that we born into, we as humans did not have a choice of what we wanted to be born as. Both of these status can have a major impact on a person’s life when it comes to something as simple as getting a job or what society expects them to do while at home. Gender and race both have a sever effect on social stratification and can predetermine where a person might fall in society. On the other hand, there have been great improvements in how society views these two statuses from the pas into the

Show More
Related

  • Social Stratification and The Movie Sweet Home Alabama

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social stratification as defined by Brinkerhoff et al. is “an institutionalized pattern of inequality in which social statuses are ranked on the basis of their access to scarce resources” (Brinkerhoff et al. 152). By scarce resources, many people have to deal with poverty and having a lack of money to buy the things they need in their lives. Social class is defined as “a category of people who share roughly the same class, status, and power and who have a sense of identification with each other” (Brinkerhoff et al. 155). Your social class has to do with your socioeconomic status along with the power and connections you have. Social mobility on the other hand is “the process of changing one’s social class” (Brinkerhoff et al. 153).

    Read More

  • SOC201 Session Long Project: Module 4 – Social Stratification

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    Socioeconomic status is one measure of social stratification that is demonstrated in the recent support for legislation favoring the legal use and possession of marijuana. Prior to the passing into law of Initiative 502 in Washington State, there was little legislative support for the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana. Preceding initiatives in Washington did not have the level of popular support that Initiative 502 enjoyed. This initiative was openly supported by mayors, senators, state representatives, religious leaders, professors, law enforcement and medical professionals (New Approach, 2012). These supporters enjoyed power, property and prestige as the result of their elected status, their financial well-being, professions and community roles. The socioeconomic status of these supporters brought with it the demonstrated support of a certain class of society, and lent a certain level of respect and legitimacy to the initiative. Even the President of the United States spoke on the issue, commenting that the federal government should not target marijuana users abiding by state laws, and that “you've seen the voters speak on this issue.”

    Read More

  • Social Stratification Analysis Paper

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stratification systems, categorized people by class, gender, ethnicity, wealth/income. When people are categorized, start looking at different systems within the social system or social mobility. “The four main systems of stratification have been slavery, caste, estate, and class. Each of these systems allows greater or less flexibility in terms of social mobility. Social mobility is the ability to move up or down within a social stratification hierarchy” (Larkin, 2015). Slavery is a social status began with social norms allowing people to own others. The slaves had no wealth or power while under this social status. Caste systems are all aspects of social status are assigned at births and held forever,

    Read More

  • Immigration and Economic Mobility in America

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many opportunities in America that can improve one’s wealth and power, thus leading to the mass amount of immigrants coming to American. Most immigrants that come to American usually are categorized as the lower class immigrants, but they take any opportunities to improve their economic status. In an article by Howard P. Chudacoff, it states “immigrants generally chose upward paths that led from manual labor into small proprietorships” (Chudacoff 1982: 104). This explains the reason why immigrants choose to come and stay in America. They start out small as laborers then over time they will work to own a small business. Even though immigrants gets to grow to move from the lower class to the middle class, the natives will be always

    Read More

  • What Is Social Location Essay

    1874 Words  | 4 Pages

    In learning about different ways that we as a society categorize and divide people, it is essential to understand what about people it is that we feel the need to label and differentiate between. When a person is born into this world, there are certain statuses that they automatically obtain, called ascribed statuses (Henslin 98). These statuses determine each person’s social location in society. This includes gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and ability. Each person has their own unique social location, and is affected in a different way than the next person may be. As a white, queer, cisgender, middle class, female, in relatively good health, I have always been relatively privileged.

    Read More

  • Social Stratification in the African American Community

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social Stratification in the African American community has changed over the years. Social stratification is defined as a rigid subdivision of a society into a hierarchy of layers, differentiated on the basis of power, prestige, and wealth according to Webster’s dictionary. David Newman in Sociology Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life describes stratification as a ranking system for groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and life chances in society. From slavery to the present, the African American community has been seen to have lower status compared to white people. Today, the stratification or hierarchy difference between whites and black are not really noticeable, but it is still present. However, during slavery, the difference in social stratification was noticeable. Whites dominated over the blacks and mulattoes (offspring of a white and black parent). The mulattoes were seen to have a higher stratification than an offspring of black ancestry. Because the mulattoes were related to the whites, they were able to obtain higher education and better occupations than blacks. For example, most slaves of a lighter skin tone worked in the houses and darker slaves worked in the fields. As the people of light skin tone had children, they were able to have advantages too. The advantages have led into the society of today. In this paper I will discuss how stratification has been affected in the African American community over time by skin tone to make mulattoes more privileged than dark skin blacks.

    Read More

  • Functionalist Perspective On Suicide In The United States

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social stratification is putting individuals into certain rankings within a society. One process of social stratification is socioeconomic status, which is a measurement of a persons standing based on education, work experience, and income. Socioeconomic status is something that separates individuals and can cause severe isolation between the distinct groups. The functionalist perspective focuses on how problems come from society and whether they serve a function for society. Changes in society, such as war or even an economic change, can affect the rate of suicide for a society (Risholm 2014).

    Read More

  • Upper-Class Stereotypes

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sadly, the world has amounted to who has the most money or the prettiest toys. No matter how it is looked at, we are grouped based on the amount of income we make. People are sectioned off into the social classes, sometimes to the extent that the Jews were sectioned off in the Holocaust. Some examples of social classes are: upper-class, middle-class, working-class, and immigrants. Many of these social classes fall victimized to stereotypes. In each of the three main social classes there is a stereotype I disagree with. The upper-class ste...

    Read More

  • Karl Marx, Boourgeoisie And Proletariat

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social stratification is the categorization of people into groups based on their economic status, it is the hierarchical structure of class found in any society. When one group of people gains power and privilege over another it is known as social stratification. In Marx’s view social stratification is created by unequal access to means of production and unequal property relations.

    Read More

  • Food Market Comparison: Safeway Grocery

    1237 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social stratification refers to ranks given to people according to their classes. People interact at different levels hence influence each other socially. Their consumption habits are therefore different. Some may consider visiting small markets to buy grocery products while others visit large markets that offer products form different places. The discussion that follows examine local and international markets that different people may meet as they buy consumption goods.

    Read More

  • Social Stratification

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Social stratification is seen everywhere within the United States and around the world. As discussed in lecture, there are two types of stratification systems, and both are prominent in the United States. The first type is achievement based, which depends on a person’s wealth and accomplishments (Wadsworth). In the film, “People Like Us,” this system is presented. A teenage boy is embarrassed of his mother and his family’s social status, so he hides is social class from his friends. The second system is ascription-based stratification which has to do with what an individual is born with. The school that was interviewed and observed in “People Like Us,” prove that the family you are born into plays a huge role in popularity, and the group of friends you choose to surround yourself with. Another example in this film was the WASP label. The man they interviewed, explained that you are

    Read More

  • Understanding Immigration: Stratification and Prejudice in USA

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, the chapters cover stratification. According to study.com “Social stratification refers to a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. In the United States, it is perfectly clear that some groups have greater status, power, and wealth than other groups.” According to the textbook “Stratification is unequal distribution of valued

    Read More

  • Is Everyone Really Equal Analysis

    1334 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social injustice in our society portrays the segregation of people among different types of groups. Throughout history, humans have been divided into different social classes from lowest to highest. People in the lower class experiences many hardships when it comes to living and are seen as inferior in society.

    Read More

  • Social Stratification And Social Class

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    A stratified society shows how members of society are ranked. They are arranged in a hierarchical

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Social Influence On Human Development

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Human beings undergo different stages of development. During the development, people experience various constraints and detriments depending on their gender, race, social status, among other factors. The society plays an incredible role in human development. Everyone deals with eth society in different ways; through education, work, communication, or socializing. Therefore, social influence is inevitable. Scholars go as far as singling out social status being a lifelong limiting factor of human development (Bartholomae, & Petrosky, 2003).

    Read More

More about Social Stratification In Modern Society

Open Document