Gender Ideology

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Gender Ideology Social stratification is the concept that every human society divides its members into large groups according to their relative power, property, and prestige. There are three main forms of social stratification which include slavery, caste systems, and social class systems. Ascribed status begins as a social class system. Ascribed status is inherited. A person is assigned to a certain status at birth. Some examples of this include race, sex, gender, family origins, and economic status. Ascribed status ties in with the concept of biological determinism because this is human thoughts and actions that are inherited. Achieved status is a social position that is assigned to an individual without any regard to their personal characteristics. Achieved status is earned and involves skills such as ability and intelligence. Both of these statuses are the foundations to the gender ideology. A caste system is social structure that separates people into different positions based off of their inherited, ascribed status. Once a caste system is in place, they are virtually impossible to get rid of simply because dominance always over rules sub ordinance. Class systems on the other hand, are groups of people in a society that are similar based off of finances, interests, occupations, and values. A class system is also defined at birth. The major difference between a caste system and class system is that an individual in a class system has the opportunity to change his or her class by either moving up or down the social ladder but those of a caste system do not. The gender caste system has been around for all of time. Men have always been considered above women. In the late 1900’s this ideology rang supreme around the World... ... middle of paper ... ...opted through social stratification. The gender caste system was inherited by birth, as the ascribed status is. It has been made very clear that men are the head of the household and women are only allowed to be wives and mothers. As time went on, women began to realize that they wanted the same equalities that men had. So they began different groups such as the feminist who rallied together and held conventions to propose the new equalities they longed for. They were denied and denied many of them due to the simple fact that men ruled them as incapable and thought they would ruin society and the U.S. if they had the same rights. The patriarchal society of that time is to blame for many of these accusations towards the women. Women’s oppression is justified through the gender caste system because men have consistently reigned supreme leaving them in their shadow.

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