Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Concepts of social stratification
Concepts of social stratification
Concepts of social stratification
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
When we first broke into our groups, I was a bit confused as to why we were doing this exercise. I thought that it was probably had to do with sharing ideas of being in a privileged socioeconomic status so we could merge groups afterward and share what we brainstormed, which turned out to be correct. I wasn’t surprised to be included in the middle-upper class group because for where I stood during the “privilege line” activity. One difference that was noted in our group was how it felt to be in the middle-upper class group. I said that I felt a bit of pride because the reason for why I was in this class was because of how my mother worked to overcome oppression. Other people said they felt guilty because they didn’t have to work for anything they had today, and almost everything they had was inherited. I now understand why they felt that way because of the reading for this week. According to On Being in the Privileged Position: Things My Parents Couldn't Teach Me, after seeking awareness (which I believe we have already begun by taking and participating in IDP,) it is natural to feel some guilt. Ted Tschudy calls this “the curse of insight.” “Once one …show more content…
I think that maybe another reason for wanting an extremely wealthy person in the class is so that we could justify why some of us thought that we were less privileged than we were. There are a few people in our group who grew up in very wealthy neighborhoods, so I think it is quite understandable why they thought this. I am guilty of taking things for granted, such as being able to play hockey which is very costly. My brother and I were very fortunate to have parents who could support us in playing any sport we wanted, something that many can’t afford because of not only money but also
Today in the United States of America people are both privileged and oppressed based on their diversity markers and social locations. These advantages and disadvantages are put in place by the people whom are in power, or otherwise known as the government and other leading officials. This is a major issue in today’s society that often tends to be masked by the many other issues within the country as well as by the privileged people. Many people who experience privilege tend to believe that privilege and oppression do not exist and that everyone has equal opportunity, but that is not the case privilege and oppression does exist and it can be seen every day in society. After a careful review of Dena Samuel’s “Matrix Model of Oppression and Privilege” I identified myself as rather privileged due to my social and diversity locations on her model.
Growing up we often fail to recognize the ways in which we are privileged and the opportunities we are given due to these advantages. In the essay “White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh discusses the privileges of being white and the ways she has experienced advantages because of her race. Throughout the essay, McIntosh allows readers to explore how she has been given opportunities due to specific traits she has in her “invisible knapsack”, privileges she once had taken for granted. As she shares her personal experiences throughout the essay she invites the reader to participate in discovering which items their knapsacks carry. Similar to McIntosh, I also have invisible items which have been unknowingly beneficial to me throughout my life. Until recently I have failed to recognize the impact these items have towards other aspects of my life. I have been gifted these privileges merely through inheritance. Some of the most profound characteristics I am especially grateful for are my gender and geographic location. These privileges that I have been given by chance have had cumulative effects on my life experiences.
Individuals may be gifted with certain privileges because of the position one holds in society. Most importantly, one can obtain certain privileges from being born with them. One might be “born” with certain privileges because of one’s race, ethnicity, religion and or social class. The most significant factor that may influence one’s obtainment of privileges is social class. Although, race also plays a crucial role. The privileges I obtain surface from my position in society. I don’t feel as if I acquire privileges because of my race and ethnicity. I feel as though that the privileges I acquire are earned, not given. My perspective of this arises from the social stratum in my proximity. The concept that hard work will get one to their desired
There are many things that affect how people see each other. Judging others on their looks, personalities, and lifestyles is as natural as sleeping. A common subject of judgement has always been social class; each class has judged one another for centuries. Looking at another class is like looking into the window of another world that is shrouded in mystery; especially the upper class. The idea of being wealthy is surrounded by a stereotype that life is easy and everything is perfect. F. Scott Fitzgerald teaches in The Great Gatsby that this is not true through three different social classes in the 1920s: old money, new money, and no money. Although status makes life easier it can negatively affect the personalities of people with old money, new money, and no money.
Do opposites attract? With magnets, they do. And with math, two opposites make a positive. However, does this apply to human beings? Do opposites attract--do birds of a feather flock together? Many people have used these two phrases throughout many years, but what do they really mean? Are these two phrases talking about appearance or personality? In truth, looking at both of these phrases, they state the opposite of one another: They are contradicting each other! How can both sayings be true if one exists and the other does as well? “Opposites attract” states that people with opposite appearance, personalities, beliefs, attitudes, and every other attribute in a human being are the perfect match for each other. “Birds of a feather flock together” states that people who are similar in every way are perfect matches. Now, not every factor of a human being has to be opposite or similar, but these phrases are saying that most factors are either similar or opposing each other. So the critical question is do opposites attract? Do people pursue those who seem like their opposite or those who are similar, and how do we determine that? The only possible answer is to do some studies and determine whether or not opposites really do attract. And the studies that will be shown will conclude that opposites attract is a false statement.
In many cases the transition of class involves a lot more than hard work and opportunity. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is faced with a situation where an opportunity to be prosperous comes at the price of pride. The grandmother talks to her son explaining how the American Dream is not worth losing your pride for, “Son – I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers – but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. (Raising her eyes and looking at him) We ain’t never been that – dead inside.” Slaves had little choice, but to keep their pride hidden; the Younger family now has the choice. This is the issue emphasized by grandmother; a shot at monetary success is not worth pride. However, because the Younger family did not take this opportunity they will be forced to continue working for other people, and even if they feel as though they are working hard little progress can be made. In the trouble with geniuses by Malcolm Gladwell he explores various explanation for the lack of correlation between intelligence and success. Gladwell cites a study preformed by sociologist Annette Lareau. In Lareau’s study she observed an advantage rooted in the
Becoming an adult is signified differently in every culture, in America, reaching middle class status is one way that is used to indicate adulthood. To obtain middle class status one would need to acquire a job, become financially stable, get a house, and have a family. The “Mood Economy”, self-reliance, and distrust in institutions, as stated in Silva’s Coming Up Short, have reshaped what it means to become an adult. Replacing the traditional white picket fence ideals with new neoliberal ones. Although middle class status is still a goal for a lot of individuals, the number of people who reach middle class status has diminished significantly over the years. By examining the new milestones that mark adulthood and evaluating how the state reproduces little social mobility through “Attacking Solidarity” mentioned in Requiem for the American Dream, we can get a better idea of how the middle class disappeared before us.
Thesis: We were all born into a place with income inequality, but we have the power to make sure our children aren't.
Middle class Americans represent more than half of the United States’ population. They are the backbone of U.S. economics, and have been since the very beginning of the country’s history. However, an unstable job market, created by outsourcing, combined with a minimum wage which has not been raised since 1989, is gradually shrinking this economic group. To avoid the extinction of this critical class, the next president of the United States will have to go to extraordinary measures. Without major reformation, the middle class will continue to be absorbed by the lower class, ultimately resulting in the complete loss of one of America’s most important socio-economic bodies.
In 1858, James Henry Hammond, one of south carolina’s elites made a public statement in a speech that became well known. He said “In all societies, there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life. With fewer skills and a “low order of intellect” the laboring class formed the base of the civilized nations. Every advanced society had to exploit its petty laborers; the working poor who wallowed in the mud allowed for a superior class to emerge on top. This recognized elite, the creme de la creme was the true society and the source of all “civilization, progress and refinement” [Isenberg[7]]. The elite were those who wanted all the power; and felt the need to have everyone work under them. They feel superior and have this mentality that the economy
The two stereotyping and prejudice classes merged and met at the soccer field on Wednesday afternoon to do the Privilege Walk activity. The whole class stood along a line facing the front. We were then indicated to take a step forward or backward depending on the statement that was being read. For example, “Take a step back if you ever had to skip a meal.” As we continued with the activity, we were able to put how privileged we are into perspective. Some of our classmates did not move very far away from the line but others did. Some move above while others moved below. I, for example, ended in a place behind the line. However, I will not say I was surprised of where I stood for three main reasons: I am undocumented, I am Hispanic, and I am a woman.
I thought that the “privilege line” activity that we did in front of Synapsis was a very interesting experiment because of the different opinions that everyone seemed to have when we discussed it afterward (which I will elaborate on later). I was placed in the “middle class” group, which is more or less what I expected because of my family income. The questions that were asked reminded me of the reading that we did about unpacking the invisible backpack. Many of the things that were questioned were things that I didn’t think about much in my day to day life, especially for the steps that I took forward or didn’t move on, i.e. never had to turn off electricity or oil, didn’t have prostitutes in neighborhood growing up, parents not paying full
The American middle class is defined as a social class in the United States. It is the class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy. There are people in the United States middle class as well as other countries and this class of people has specific issues and interests that they are concerned with. Issues such as the health care reform, the financial reform, making college affordable, and housing. By dealing with these specific issues, the middle class has to vote, making them the middle class voters. In the middle class, there are four sections and all three make up the middle class. And in that middle class are the middle class voters, a small chuck of it. The middle class has been considered as homogenous, but with that different
Similar with the concept of class, this concept actually made me see beyond the demonstration and outside of SCC into today’s society. Reading my poem/story out loud to the audience was a time of reflection to me, by recalling my memoires of my own community and the society that slowly progressed into a labeling society, where people would start to become more focuses on the social identities and those identities would form a person as a whole. Also, listening to other students, I could see and hear the injustices about the world that students were expressing and how today’s society affects the communities, SCC, and the students themselves. Privilege is often intertwined with the concept of power and social identities. In the Allen reading, privilege is defined by many example where dominance is reflected. Hearing stories on family backgrounds and personal opinions, along with the visual artworks, shows the audiences how the inequalities in gender, class, race, and sexuality are conspicuous in society today because many students shared their thoughts on the election, racial movements, and gender wage gaps. Also, recalling the “privilege walk” activity in class made me visually see how everyone had different privilege and power in society. This activity became a constant reminder to be aware of the privilege I have or may not have and to apply those privileges to be aware of my benefits that follows the privileged social
Money can give people a lot opportunities and privilege. Financially privileged people have no trouble getting materialistic things such as big houses, expensive cars, and jewelry. Being privileged can also provide better scholastic education as well as respect. On the other hand, a lack of money, as a person might guess, limits opportunity and lower a person’s status on the privilege pole. In order for an underprivileged person to have all of those things, they have to work hard to get to get the luxuries of nice houses, cars, and jewelry. As far as education goes, the underprivileged might not go to the best schools but they get an education that will prove to be more valuable in life; they learn to earn respect, appreciate what they have and how to survive with just the necessities and what’s really important in life. So when a person looks at each group and tries to decided with one gets the most out of life, they will see that underprivileged individuals get so much more out of life than a person who came up in affluence and privilege.