Santa Rosa Mall Sociology

497 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social class and race

We live in a society where most human beings are divided into social class categories, the sad part of it, is that some of them are not even aware of it. I was assigned to go to the nearest shopping center which is Santa Rosa mall to observe the people and the stores that are in that mall. Class, race and socioeconomic status are big factors in your daily life because they define what chances you can get, where you work, and also where you do your shopping for either clothes or food. Race plays a big role on where you go shopping because, if you're white you're obviously will be going to luxurious stores, compared to low income Latinos that mostly shop at local stores where prices are affordable to them. Social class is one of the main factors that determine whether you have a luxurious or limited …show more content…

In 2018, everybody wants to keep up with today’s fashion but, unfortunately not everyone can’t afford to do that. The way fashion and stores go about their sales is by observing their location, and examining the demographics of them. On this specific case I observe Santa Rosa mall that’s located in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, this means that most of the stores on this mall are for low incomes families. The way that this system is set up is to go back a few years ago when areas were divided by “redlinening” which meant the whites on one side and people of color in the other side. Redlinening plays a big role in today’s society because it determines where people can go shop, on this particular case most of the stores at Santa Rosa mall are Forever 21, Sears, Fanzz, Salt Tree, and Aeropostale. All these stores are pretty cheap wich means the quality of the clothes it’s not the best. While I was walking around the mall I was able to see how this mall has a big population of Latinos who shop there. One the main objective I made for this observation is,

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Class In America By Gregory Mantsios

    1572 Words  | 4 Pages

    Social and economic class is something we as Americans like to push into the back of our minds. Sometimes recognizing our class either socially or economically can almost be crippling. When individuals recognize class, limitations and judgment confront us. Instead, we should know it is important to recognize our class, but not let it define and limit us. In the essay, “Class in America”, Gregory Mantsios, founder and director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the School of Professional Studies, brings to light the fact that Americans don’t talk about class and class mobility. He describes the classes in extremes, mainly focusing on the very sharp divide between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor. In contrast, George

    Read More

  • Relationship Between Income and Race

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    America has been described as a "melting pot"-- a land full of diversity. With that diversity comes a full range of income levels and statuses of its inhabitants, from the very, very rich to the destitute. Ronald Taylor's article entitled "African-American Youth: Their Social and Economic Status in the United States" focuses on the issue of polarization. Polarization occurs when an increase of the percentage of people in poverty coincides with an increase of the percentage of people with higher incomes. Fewer people are considered 'middle class', but are either rich or poor.

    Read More

  • Limiting Factors to Upward Social Mobility in America

    2100 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the land of the “American Dream,” it is the common belief that there is a direct relationship between hard work and success. In this ideal prototype, those who put in long hours are bound for success and movement up the social ladder. Theoretically, one could be born into the “bottom of the food chain,” and with some hard work, rise into the realm of the social elite. As a testament to this global view of the United States, immigrants from all over the world have made the journey to the “land of opportunity” in hopes of better education, jobs, government, communities and lives for themselves and the generations following them. All of this is based on a system of social stratification – a guide to how successful one has been at achieving the American Dream. This evaluation of social class is based on many components, some of which are presented to people at birth, and not gained through hard work or money. The class system at play in the United States has become extremely complex – no longer adhering to the basic class values of our forefathers. Those trying to move up in the class system of America are often caught emulating the behaviors of the rich and famous, but this does not necessarily make them higher class. Many people think that there is a checklist to fill on their way up in the class system, but there is more to being upper class than just talking the talk or having the right credentials.

    Read More

  • Race vs. Social Class

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Events in the nineteenth century made it abundantly and irrefutably clear that race as a concept sui generis superseded social class as the dominant mechanism of social division and stratification in North America." (Smedley 219) For many decades people have been using race as a way to classify humans into different social categories. Lower, Middle, and Upper classes were created to divide humans into appropriate categories using their individual lifestyles, financial income, residence, and occupation. People decided to ignore this classifying system and classify one another, simply by the color of their skin. People's skin color says nothing as to what a person does, their beliefs, attitudes, or any of the ideas for creating a fair social classification system. Racial barriers were created that divided people into different groups at work and at home. Race differences in identity and social position were, and are, more important than class differences in American society.

    Read More

  • I Was Born a White, Middle Class American

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    My entire life I have been a middle class white male. I was born into this identity and most likely will die in this identity. My entire family fits into the same class of society. I could probably wear a sign that read, “Average American” and no one would ever tell me that I was not. The neighborhood that I grew up in is middle class, and a majority of the neighbors that I have are also white and of the same class. When I was younger, me and my friends would play video games at my house until my mom would tell us to go outside. It seemed like the summers lasted longer then. This is probably because we spent everyday looking for something to do, whereas these days I spend my summers looking for ways to get out of doing what I am supposed to do.

    Read More

  • Social Location In Sociology

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    The social location we grew up in is not what we wanted for our children this was decided when we got We receive privilege’s that others do not, because of race, social class, education, and gender, even age and the way we present ourselves. Also as a white, married, middle-class, mother, in my thirties, I get respect from a stranger, whether it be at the store, restaurant, or out at a movie theater. I 'm approachable, or non-threating look. My husband also gets these perks, and even more than me because he is a man.

    Read More

  • What is the main idea of “The Shadowy Lines That Still Divide,” by Janny Scott and David Leonhardt?

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    The USA is a very big country with a lot of people and the social classes are very important. We can see that social class plays a big part of people’s life. Everyday people are working, studying, trying to be better. Even though right now it’s a time when everyone has many opportunities in his life, anyway there is a gap between classes and groups of people with the same features. Your background probably will build your future. The main idea is that Social Classes still exist. There are three reasons why line between groups still exist.

    Read More

  • Sociological Perspective On Race

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Having a professional career and being rich are not always overseen from race and ethnic stereotypes and definitely do not protect those who fit those characteristics from any type of racial remarks. In module 9, it states that racial stratification was the central stratification system in the US for many years (Aguilera 21). We still see inequality between Whites and Blacks in today’s world. Studies show that about two in five African Americans are middle-class. And the rest of the underclass majority is unemployed. It seems like class has become more important in determining placement in the stratification system, but the question is still

    Read More

  • Class Distinctions in America

    5794 Words  | 12 Pages

    The ideal concept of American society is one in which all of the citizens are treated equal in all every realm and situation. Class, race or gender does not divide the utopian America; everyone is afforded the same opportunities and chances for success. In this chimerical state Americans are able to go as far as their dreams allow and with hard work and perseverance any thing is possible. Many Americans subscribe to this pluralist view of the Country, believing that within our democratic system it is the majority who maintains control and sets policy. Unfortunately this idyllic country does not exist nor has it ever existed. America is made up of distinct social classes and the movement within those classes is for the most part, limited to the various classes in the middle where the lines of demarcation are blurred. Although the majority of the Country's population would attest to the myth that America is a classless society, the distinctions definitely exist and influence the entire life scope of most Americans. Housing, health care, education, career prospects and social status are all dependent on the amount of wealth one has and their class standing. Our system needs the built in inequities of the class system in order to perpetuate itself and the upper class needs to have their interests as the dominant determiner of corporate and governmental power and policy.

    Read More

  • The Downfall of JC Penney

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ron Johnson spent a great deal of time and money to promote his ideas of “stores-within-stores” by turning floor space into an area to house several branded boutiques. He did this in order to attract a target market of a wider demographic which includes age, gender, and generation. One of the m...

    Read More

  • Race and Ethnicity in America

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the country’s beginning, race, gender, and class have been very important factors in a person’s experience in the United States of America. The meaning of race, gender differences, and the separation of class have changed over United States history. For many Americans, their perceptions of class and race and the degree to which gender affect people’s lives, often depends on what their race, gender, and class are, too. There are differences between the reality of America, what is represented as American reality in media, and the perceived reality of America. Americans as well as those looking at America from an outside perspective may have questions and confusions regarding what the real connections are to race, class, and gender are in America. The paper tries to clarify and explore how these issues connect and play out in real life.

    Read More

  • The Mall in America

    1476 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whenever we go out shopping or relaxing at malls, we actually don’t see or recognize any effects of malls as we mostly go there for these two reasons. Malls are an integral part in the lives of America. They are shopping centers that have created a lot of buzz in many writers. This is because we have more malls in America than high schools. Malls have received praises from people like James J. Farrell, Jon Pahl and George Lewis who view malls as not only shopping centers but also as places that provide a reflection of the American culture and serve as centers of pleasure and entertainment. In contrast, William Kowinski and David Gutterson criticize malls for just being an artificial environment that creates disorientation among American shoppers. In my opinion, malls are just magnificent commercial buildings that create a sense of false dreams and imagination.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Article ' Magic Of The Mall '

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Goss argues that developers and designers of the built environment, specifically shopping centers and malls, use the power of place and understanding the structural layout of the space to boost consumption of the retail profits. Shopping centers are separated from the downtown area of shopping, either by distance and/or design. These establishments emerge for many to be the new heart and location for public and social life. In his article The "Magic of the Mall": An Analysis of Form, Function, and Meaning in the Contemporary Retail Built Environment, Goss also argues that the regulation of the spaces within the mall creates an atmosphere of "community" rather than one that is "public". This article’s main argument is that developers manufacture an illusion of doing more than just shopping when designing malls and shopping centers.

    Read More

  • Essay On Social Class

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    Society still classified each of us in three classes, the upper, middle and lower class, and we distinguished our status class based on prestige, religious affiliation and so on. Even though each individual has a different cultures, background and religious beliefs, we should not look at the person's race, color, age and sex, but we do, for instance, when it comes to jobs. We do pay the men and women totally different wage amounts for the same education background and skills, even though they work in a government, medical field, school environment or within the community. Class background may be a function of class identity, but eating with friends and coworkers is professional and managerial classes are more likely to eat in the homes of friends than those in working class occupations. When it comes to cooking, those with more education and income are more likely to be willing to experiment with new dishes or dishes of their own creation than are those with less income and education.

    Read More

  • Reflection On Social Class

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before I read the chapter on social class, I thought social class was a category about people who are put into class by how much money they make; you are either poor or rich. However, there is much more regarding social class than I had originally thought. Social class it separated into a four tier criteria. Beginning at the bottom is the “lower class”, or “underclass” which is referred to by poverty, homeless, and unemployment. This class, usually hasn’t finished high school, doesn’t have medical care and can’t afford sufficient housing. Many people mischaracterize these poor people as mothers who abuse the welfare system by baring several babies that they can’t afford and fathers who are able to work but do not due to drug addiction or their

    Read More

More about Santa Rosa Mall Sociology

Open Document