Inequalities of Class, Gender, and Ethnicity

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary way to describe class?

Level of cultural sophistication

Level of social status

Level of economic wealth (correct)

Relationship to politics

What is the main difference between Durkheimian and Marxian views of class?

Durkheimian views class as a fixed category, while Marxian views it as a continuum

Durkheimian views class as based on cultural factors, while Marxian views it as economic

Durkheimian views class as based on exploitation, while Marxian views it as natural

Durkheimian views class as a continuum, while Marxian views it as two distinct categories (correct)

What is the term used to describe the wealthiest 1% of the population?

Upper class

Richest 1% (correct)

Bourgeoisie

Proletariat

According to Oxfam (2018), how many men own more wealth than the poorest half of the world's population?

8 Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the Gini Coefficient?

To measure income inequality Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of wealth is owned by the wealthiest 20% in the USA?

85% Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between inequality and national income?

There is no correlation between inequality and national income Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of new wealth in 2017 went to the richest 1%?

82% Signup and view all the answers

What is racism, according to the content?

The belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination Signup and view all the answers

What is ethnocentrism, as described in the content?

Making value judgments about another culture from perspectives of one's own cultural system Signup and view all the answers

According to Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, how many sexes should we recognize?

5 Signup and view all the answers

What is gender, as defined in the content?

A set of shared cultural understandings of how men, women, girls, and boys should look and act Signup and view all the answers

What do biological determinists believe about gender roles?

They are natural and related to physical differences Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of child sexual abuse in the U.S. is committed by women, according to the content?

25% Signup and view all the answers

What is gender socialization, as described in the content?

The process of learning culturally prescribed gender roles Signup and view all the answers

What is ethnicity, as described in the content?

A person's cultural identity Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of income do the top 20% earn in Canada?

43% Signup and view all the answers

According to the US Study on Wealth, what happens to intergenerational income elasticity as inequality increases?

It increases Signup and view all the answers

What is the main argument against the categorization of race?

It is a socially constructed category dividing humans along a continuum Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of genetic variation occurs between 'races' according to the Human Genome Project?

15% Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference in the income share of the wealthiest 1% and the poorest 20% in Canada over the last 30 years?

75% increase and 20% decrease Signup and view all the answers

What is the main idea behind the analogy of grades and race?

That both are socially constructed categories along a continuum Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of net wealth do the top 20% hold in Canada?

69% Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between race and ethnicity?

Race is based on physical differences and ethnicity is based on cultural identity Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Class

Class usually refers to a level of economic wealth, but can also be cultural (high class/low class)
There are two ways to describe class: Durkheimian and Marxian
- Durkheimian: different levels of wealth along a continuum, inequalities are natural
- Marxian: two distinct categories, class is one's relationship to the "means of production", inequalities are based on exploitation and subjugation
  - Proletariat (workers) and Bourgeoisie (owners)

Economic/Class Inequality

Exists between, within, and across countries
World income distribution:
- 42 richest people own half the wealth in the world (Oxfam, 2018)
- 8 men own more than the poorest half of the world's population (Oxfam, 2018)
- 82% of new wealth in 2017 went to the richest 1% (Oxfam, 2018)
Comparative economic inequality between societies:
- USA: wealthiest 20% own 85% of the wealth (2016)
- World: wealthiest 10% own 85% of the wealth (2016)
Income and wealth inequality in Canada:
- Top 20% earn 43% of income
- Bottom 20% earn 5.2%
- In the last 30 years, the income share of the wealthiest 1% increased by 75%
- The share of the poorest 20% fell by 20%

Intergenerational Income Elasticity

Increases with inequality

Class as a Continuum

Class, gender, and race are arbitrary categorizations along a continuum
Socially constructed categories, just like grades (F=50 and below; D=50-60; C=60-70; B=70-80; A=80-90; A+ = 90-100)

Race and Ethnicity

Race: based on physical differences
Ethnicity: based on cultural identity
Both are socially constructed categories arbitrarily dividing humans along a continuum
The Human Genome Project has shown only 15% of genetic variation to occur between 'races' (85% within 'races')

Racism and Ethnocentrism

Racism: the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination
Ethnic discrimination: discriminating due to ethnicity
Ethnocentrism: making value judgments about another culture from perspectives of one's own cultural system

Sex and Gender

Sex: a cultural categorization of diverse human physiology
Gender: a set of shared cultural understandings of how men, women, girls, and boys should look and act
Gender roles: patterns of behavior that a society expects of males and females
Gender socialization: the process by which people learn their culturally prescribed gender roles

Gender Biological Determinists

Structural functionalists: gender roles are natural and related to physical differences
Examples: men are naturally more aggressive, women are more nurturing

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Description

This quiz covers the concepts of class, gender, and ethnicity, including the Durkheimian and Marxian perspectives on class and its relationship to economic wealth and production. It also touches on the aspects of inequality and social categorization.