Sociology 1Z03 Test 2 Notes PDF

lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Sociol 1Z03 - TEST 2 Sociology: an introduction to sociology (McMaster University) Scan to open on Studocu Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by Hero HWServices (t1...

lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Sociol 1Z03 - TEST 2 Sociology: an introduction to sociology (McMaster University) Scan to open on Studocu Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Chapter 5: Culture News Article: “Menstruation ritual means isolation, maybe death” By Bhangra Sharma and Kai Schultz (2019) Toronto Star 1N9 Practice of chhaupadi in Nepal, centuries old tradition of banishing menstruating women and girls from their family homes Though, Nepal criminalizes the practice last year, many villages in the country continue to follow the ritual In 2005, Nepal’s Supreme. Court banned the practice and last August (2018) the government criminalized it Activists say the law has had little effect “Tradition is stronger than the law” French civilization: struggle against tradition and superstition English civilization: associated with the task of civilizing the “other. German kultur: represented the desire of nations to maintain their own identity What is Culture? Culture is a complex collection of values, beliefs, behaviours, and material objects shared by a group passed on from one generation to the next ○ E.g., combination of spices that makes each society unique ○ Nothing good or bad about culture–it just is what it is Origins of Culture No one can determine when culture began for three primary reasons: ○ Very little material evidence (things culture makes survive over a long period of time) ○ Nonmaterial (e.g., belief systems, languages, oral traditions); therefore, cannot be preserved for future generations to study E.g., acknowledge that many Indigenous Peoples have conception of culture as a living and perceptually changing entity ○ Many developments that enabled our ancestors to become cultural (e.g., increasing brain size, bipedalism, dietary changes, emergence of language, use of technology, etc) were all interconnected and integral for the emergence of culture Cultural brain hypothesis: culture influenced the physical size of the brain ○ Human brains expended to store and manage more information in response to the availability of information and calories ○ Information availability is affected by learning strategies (e.g., learning from others or learning by yourself), group size, mating structure, and the length of the juvenile period (co-evolves w/ brain size) Evolution of human culture to determine when in fact human culture may have begun: 1. Social Life: There is evidence that our early hominin ancestors (our human ancestors) lived in groups as far back was 4.4 million years ago 2. Parental Care. Early hominins had smaller brain sizes than our more recent ancestors Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Brain size increased → birthing occurs at an earlier stage of development b/c a large head would not fit through birth canal ○ Resulted in need for greater parental care as the offspring were born at a less advanced developmental stage ○ Occurred with Homo erectus around 1.9 million years ago 3. Pair-bonding. Attachment of a male to a female is believed to have occurred b/w 2.4 and 1.9 million years ago ○ Offspring became more dependent → increase need to secure food and to protect the young 4. Subsistence. Stages in acquiring and distributing food took place over a number of periods ○ Evidence of hunting tools dates back 2.6 million years ○ Evidence of organized hunts dates back 500,000 years ○ Evidence of fishing dates back 100,000 years ○ Farming dates back approx. 10,000 years 5. Environmental adaptation ○ Use of caves dates back 800,000 years ○ Use of fire dates back 450,000 years ○ Evidence of the sewing of hides for clothing dates back 30,000 years 6. Thought, language, art, and religion ○ Oldest known piece of art dates back 250,000 years (the figure of a woman carved in stone) ○ Pigments of black and red have been found in caves dating back 400,000 years ○ Evidence of Neanderthals performing funerals over 100,000 years ago Can we pinpoint the beginning of culture based on these findings? No. ○ But they do suggest that elements of “human” culture pre-date modern humans Homo sapiens. Modern human beings date back only 200,000 years and emerged out of Africa and began to move through Asia between 80,000 years and 60,000 years ago. The earliest civilizations, large and complex cities, can be traced back to Jericho, West Bank, around 11,000 years ago–a blip in the timeline of human evolution Defining Features of Culture 1. Culture is learned ○ No one is born w/ culture (as we grow up, we are constantly immersed in the traditions of our parents, siblings, peers, and dominant culture) ○ Does not mean that culture defines everything about you; but culture does modify and influence your perceptions, values and perspectives E.g., what you define as suitable food is a reflection of what your culture deems appropriate 2. Culture is shared ○ Culture develops as people interact and share experiences and meanings with each other Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ E.g., by cheering for your home team, you’re sharing cultural experience w/ others, or sharing national symbols (i.e., the Canadian flag) creates and maintains group solidarity and cohesion 3. Culture is transmitted ○ Cultural beliefs and traditions must be passed from generation to generation if they are to survive ○ Communicating cultural traditions and beliefs to the next generation is an important requirement for any culture ○ E.g., many Indigenous societies have rich oral traditions in which they tell long and detailed stories as a way of communicating the lessons and experiences of their ancestors By hearing and retelling these stories, generations of children learn about what is important to their culture and what separates them from others 4. Culture is cumulative ○ Refine and modify their cultural beliefs to meet their changing needs ○ E.g., Canadian students today are exposed to computers and are more computer literate than students 10 years ago → experience w/ technology will continue and expand w/ each successive generation 5. Culture is human ○ Animals were considered social (e.g., a pride of lions), but not cultural Communicate w/ each other, but largely defined by instinct Natural hierarchies are based on physical attributes ○ Culture defines how, when, and why humans communicate, and w/ whom (distinctly human endeavour) ○ E.g., culture helps to define who is appropriate for you to date and guides how and when you ask these people out Animals do not possess the capacity to plan and organize bx this way Suggested that culture is a distinctly human endeavour Environments are also shaped by our culture. For example, many cities design park spaces in the urban core to help people feel more relaxed and comfortable, while the library is intended to be a quiet sanctuary where you can focus on your studies so that you can contribute to society after you graduate. These examples illustrate that culture can be divided into two major segments: Material Culture ○ The tangible artifacts and physical objects found in a given culture ○ Physical output of human labour and expression ○ Helps us to adapt to, and prosper in, diverse and often challenging physical environments E.g., the Inuit of Canada’s North experience long, cold winters, and their material culture has responded by developing warm clothing and various adaptive strategies to not only survive, but flourish E.g., Yanomamo of South America reflects their adaptation to a hot and humid climate through a lack of heavy clothing and open-walled huts Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 E.g., Canadian material culture – hockey stick, Tim Hortons double-double, as are paintings, snowmobiles and written music Non-material Culture ○ The intangible and abstract components of a society, including values and norms Values, Norms, Folkways, Mores, Laws, and Sanctions Values: beliefs about ideal goals and behaviours ○ Standards by which people define what is desirable, undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly; attitudes about the way the world ought to be ○ Define right and wrong or specify cultural preferences ○ E.g., racial discrimination is wrong and democracy is right ○ General guidelines on what their society deems important E.g., 90% of Canadians view government-sponsored health care as a source of collective pride, demonstrating that it is an important feature of our society Norms: rules that outline appropriate behaviour ○ How to act in a given social situation E.g., rude to speak while your mouth is full ○ Because we learn them from an early stage, they offer some comfort that we will know how to act in a situation we have never faced before E.g., on your first dinner date, you already know not speak with your mouth full ○ Folkways: informal norms that suggest customary ways of behaving Do not inspire severe moral condemnation when violated E.g., walking on the left side of a busy sidewalk ○ Mores: norms that carry a strong sense of social importance Do inspire moral condemnation E.g., extramarital affairs ○ Taboo: prohibition on actions deemed immoral E.g., necrophilia, bestiality, or cannibalism *Important distinction b/w folkways and mores are not necessarily the act itself, but rather, the social reaction that the act inspires. Values, norms, mores, taboos and folkways all help society to control those bx it deems unacceptable ○ Laws: norms that are formally defined and enacted in legislation E.g., in Canada, it is illegal to steal your neighbour’s lawn mower or to cheat on your taxes b/c there are laws defining these as illegal bx Stats reserves the right to charge you w/ a crime b/c you have broken the law ○ Sanction: a penalty for norm violation Rewards appropriate bx or penalizes inappropriate ones E.g., getting an A on your sociology exam b/c you studied and answered all of the questions correctly; getting an F on the same test b/c you never studied and answered only five out of the 25 questions Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism Ethnocentrism: ○ The tendency to view one’s own culture as superior to others ○ Being a member of a particular culture instills a sense of group loyalty and pride that is important when unity is necessary E.g., during wars or natural disasters ○ Inconsistent w/ the sociological perspective b/c it restricts one’s ability to appreciate cultural diversity Lead to unjust discrimination at home and abroad Cultural Relativism ○ Appreciating that all cultures have intrinsic worth (their own mores, norms, and customs) and need to be evaluated and understood on their own terms, rather than according to one’s own cultural standards ○ Avoid judging other cultures’ customs and traditions before trying to understand them Engaging w/ unfamiliar cultures w/ an open mind–to refrain from condemning or judging a culture in its entirety b/c it is different from your own E.g., Indigenous people find many aspects of Canadian culture strange or different ○ Other cultural traditions may challenge our own E.g., Canadians adore their pets, so how would you feel if a visiting distant relative in another country you learned that the dog you petted when you arrived was going to be prepared for dinner that night? ○ Some argue that it means giving up the ability to determine if an action is right or wrong, moral, or immoral Critics also argue that some things, like torture or sexual assault, is wrong regardless of cultural context Therefore, the claim that we should not judge the activities of others cultures is naive Culture Shock: a feeling of disorientation, alienation, depression, and loneliness that subsides only once a person becomes acclimated to the new culture ○ Obergs’ four stages in understanding a person’s progression through culture shock 1. Honeymoon – a feeling of admiration and awe regarding the new host culture, and cordial interactions with locals 2. Crisis – differences in values, signs, and symbols begin to inspire feelings of confusion and disorientation that lead to feelings of inadequacy, frustration, anger, and despair 3. Recovery – crisis is gradually resolved with a growing understanding of the host culture and recognition that its values are consistent with its view of the world 4. Adjustment – an increasing ability to function effectively and enjoy the host culture despite occasional feelings of anxiety or stress Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Culture shock and ethnocentrism can give way to cultural relativism Persistent racism prevents Oberg’s “recovery” and “adjustment” Language and Culture A symbol is something that stands for or represents something else A language is a shared symbol system or rules and meanings that governs the production and interpretation of speech ○ Symbolic form of communication b/c, i.e., there is no obvious relationship between the letters H-U-N-G-R-Y and the desire to eat There letters are symbols that English-speaking people have agreed mean that a person wants to eat Agreed-upon meanings shared by a group of people are what distinguish one culture from another Main principle of symbolic interactionism is that society (and culture) is socially constructed ○ Every time we interact, we interpret the interaction according to the subjective meanings each of us brings to it ○ Although shared cultural symbols allow us to interact more smoothly, each of us may bring slightly different meanings to the symbols E.g., some students put more pressure on themselves to get an A than do others; while the symbol A is the same for everyone, students’ motivation to get an A varies b/c of their individual meanings Language is a key identifier of cultural boundaries ○ “My language, to me,... that’s what makes me unique, that’s what makes me Navajo, that’s what makes me who I am” ○ Children’s play is important to language acquisition and teacher engagement Language Extinction When a language is lost, so is the culture to which it belonged loses one of its most important survival mechanisms Language die out when dominant language groups (as defined by political, economic, or sociocultural dominance) are adopted by young people whose parents speak a traditional language ○ E.g., in Central Siberia, the language of the Tofa people is spoken by only 30 elderly individuals who were reindeer herders and hunter-gatherers, and their language was highly specialized → most Tofa people today are learning to speak Russian Three reasons why we should be concerned: 1. Each time we lose a language, we lost knowledge, b/c each language serves as a gateway to vast sources of information about the past and about how we have adapted to our environments (e.g., the term döngür tells us about what the world is like for a Tofa) 2. When a language dies, so do its related cultural myths, folk songs, legends, etc… resulting in cultural amnesia Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Lessens our ability to live respectfully within diverse populations b/c our understanding of cultural diversity decreases 3. The demise of the world’s languages hinders our exploration of the mysteries of the human mind ○ Understanding how people process information from the world around them is made possibly only through language–without the ability to convey ideas, we cannot hope to see the world from another’s perspective Does Language Define Thought? Sapir-Whorf hypothesis ○ Influences how we perceive the world (e.g., if we live in an area where it does not snow, we would not have a term for this type of precipitation) ○ Perception of the world then, is influenced by the limitations of our language; people who speak different language comprehend the world differently Salzmann found that Whorf offered two principles for how language and perception interact: ○ Linguistic determinism: language determines how we perceive the world The way you think is determined by the language you speak Strong version ○ Linguistic relativism: language reflects how we perceive the world/the way we think Differences among languages do not determined by reflect the different worldviews of their speakers Weak version Little evidence to suggest that language ACTUALLY determines thought our that people who speak different language cannot perceive the same social reality ○ E.g., while English speakers have 11 basic colour terms, Setswana speakers in Botswana have five → this does not mean that they cannot see as many hues on the colour spectrum–colour perception is stable across populations–but rather, that culture influences specific terminology Nonverbal Communication Complex system of body language that conveys a great deal about what we feel is important E.g., when you are walking down the street, which ppl do you choose to smile at or say hello to? How do you make these decisions? Main components include the following: ○ Body language, which uses motions (shrugs, tapping of feet, drumming of fingers, eye movements such as winking, facial expressions and gestures) ○ Proximity, which uses personal space (sitting very close to or far away from someone) ○ Haptics, which uses personal contact (touching) Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Oculesics, which uses eye contact (staring, looking away when the person you are looking at returns eye contact) ○ Chronemics, which uses time (not calling someone back when you said you would, taking long pauses while talking) ○ Olfactics, which uses smell (freshly showered, wearing perfume or cologne) ○ Vocalics, which uses voice (volume, tone, speed, accent) ○ Sound Symbols, which uses audible cues (grunting, mumbling, sounds such as mmm, er, ah, uh-huh) ○ Adornment, which uses accessories (types of clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, tattoos) ○ Locomotion, which uses movement (walking, running, staggering, limping) Some nonverbal communication may be familiar from a Canadian perspective but there will be some major differences depending on one’s culture. This might include different norms around eye contact, proximity, or tactile bx. Some of the messages we convey can be unconscious ○ E.g., you meet someone you know while coming around a corner and when they recognize you, you sensed that they were not happy to see you even though they said they were ○ Micro-expressions: largely uncontrollable, instantaneous full-face emotional reactions that last about 1/25 to 1/5 of a second before they are suppressed or covered up with a smile (window into a person’s true emotions) Cultural Diversity Multiculturalism (enshrined in the constitution 1971) 1. Assist all Canadian cultural groups to grow and contribute to Canada 2. Assist members of all cultural groups in overcoming barriers 3. Prompt creative encounters 4. Assist immigrants to acquire at least one of Canada’s official languages Subcultures: Maintaining Uniqueness A group within a population whose values, norms, folkways or mores set them apart from the dominant/mainstream culture ○ E.g., Toronto’s two Little Italy neighbourhoods, Vancouver’s Chinatown or Downtown Eastside, Montreal's Jewish community, and Halfiax’s Black community ○ E.g., Mennonite and Amish communities ○ Indigenous Peoples were the original cultures in Canada → many Indigenous communities today exist as subcultures b/c of colonialism Often based on race, ethnicity and religion ○ Can also be based on age, sexuality, occupation, recreational activities, or any activity, belief system, or special interest that the participants value enough to want to associate w/ others like themselves Promote their members’ interests but not in a manner that is contrary to the larger culture that surrounds them Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ E.g., majority of student clubs focus on a single activity or interest; their members welcome the association w/ each other, and society as a whole is not worried about students/ membership in these groups ○ Promote their own roles of bx and provide support and guidance for other members Counterculture A type of subculture that strongly opposes the widely held cultural patterns of the larger population ○ E.g., young American students protesting the Vietnam War, rebelling against traditional society, and experimenting with drugs Associated with rock music, sexual experimentation, and illegal drug use (particularly maijuana)--all of which parents and society as a whole viewed as subversive, dangerous, and immoral Inspired young people to challenge what they wanted out of life: Was there not more to happiness than going to school, finding a job, getting married, and having two or three children? ○ E.g., religious minorities, such as Puritans in 17th century in England, the Sons of Freedom Doukhobors in 20th century in Canada – blew up property and paraded naked to express their opposition to sending their children to school and serving in the force ○ E.g., criminal subcultures such as the Mafia or the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, and to some, so it hitchhiking Members of the counterculture wanted to live differently from their parents (questioned traditional values such as nationalism and patriotism) ○ “Live for the moment” instead of for retirement ○ Act as thinking and questioning individuals; rather than as robots stuck on the conveyor belt of life Teenagers and young adults are likely to use appearance to express opposition (e.g., flowing hair of the 1960s giving way to torn clothing, spiked hair, body piercings, and tattoos) Diverse countercultures commonly provide feelings of belonging as well as support for their members Canadian Culture Canada is the second largest country in the world blessed w/ rich and diverse natural resources Canada’s adaptation to a harsh physical environment as defined its culture and, to some extent, has defined what it means to be Canadian ○ Canadian culture has coexistence of, and confluence b/w, the English and the French and colonization of Indigenous Peoples ○ 80% of people living in Quebec identify French as mother tongue → suggests that Quebec is certainly distinct from the rest of the country Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Province’s distinctiveness does not rest solely on language but also on Quebecers’ shared history, symbols, ideas and perceptions of reality Canadians, historically, at least, defined themselves by what they are not: Americans ○ More elitist and ascriptive than Americans (more inclined to accept that people are born with different statuses) ○ More community-oriented than Americans ○ More appreciative of racial and ethnic variation (still has its share of racial and ethnic conflict tho) American Revolution – generated different founding ideologies of Canada and US ○ US – emerged as a manifestation of the classic liberal state Rejected all ties to the British throne, the rights gained by royal birth, and communal responsibility Defined by a rigid and stable ideology – Americanism ○ English Canada – maintained its imperial ties through the explicit rejection of liberal revolutions Was not defined by a successful revolution but by a successful counterrevolution Differences in literature: ○ American literature concentrates on themes of winning, opportunism, and confidence ○ Canadian writing focuses on defeat, difficult physical circumstances, and abandonment by Britain Differences in national symbol: ○ US – “the frontier” Inspires images of vitality and unrealized potential ○ Canada – “survival” Canadians are forever taking the national pulse like doctors at a sickbed; the aim is not to see whether the patient will live well but simply whether he will live at all” Is there a unique Canadian Culture? ○ Canadian Values Belief in equality and fairness in a democratic society Belief in consultation and dialogue Importance of accommodation and tolerance Support for diversity Compassion and generosity Attachment to Canada’s natural beauty Commitment to freedom, peace and non-violent change Multiculturalism as social policy ○ Sociologists generally agree that Canadian and American cultural values differ, but there is no clear consensus on what constitutes their specific differences Both settler colonies that have “decolonized” from England, but maintain colonial relations w/ Indigenous Peoples Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Cultural Change Social scientists generally consider three different sources for inspiring cultural change: 1. Discovery – when something previously unrecognized or reinterpreted is found to have social or cultural applications ○ Involved findings from the natural world (e.g., fire and gravity) ○ Can occur as a result of scientific progress (e,g., ability to split the atom allowed the production of weapons of mass destruction but also inexpensive electricity) 2. Invention/Innovation ○ Invention – creating something new that has not existed before E.g., Marconi’s device that received the first transatlantic wireless communication at Signal Hill in St. John’s Newfoundland ○ Innovation – manipulating existing ideas or technologies to create something new, or to applying them to something for which they were not originally intended E.g., the carbon filament in light bulbs was replaced by long-lasting tungsten filament and more recently, LED “smart” bulbs To become a social innovator in the world – inspired through intercultural, interpersonal, and intergenerational relationship building 3. Diffusion – when cultural items or practices are transmitted from one group to another ○ E.,g., American media influences cultural practices throughout the world ○ Global village – the power of media and their ability to transcend geopolitical borders While telecommunications have made the world feel like a smaller place, American mass media promoted a “culture of thinness” that has diffused throughout popular culture *Invention/innovation occur when existing cultural items are manipulated or modified to produce something new and socially valuable Sociological Approaches to Culture Functionalism ○ Culture plays a part in helping people to meet needs (water, food, and shelter) ○ Cultural universals are common cultural features found in all societies which help a society function ○ Functionalists assert that these universals reinforce the position that social life is best understood by considering what individual practices or beliefs do for the collective All known human societies treat people differently based on their age (age grading), have rules about who can be considered appropriate Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 sexual partners (incest taboos), use personal names for individuals, and play games (to name only a few cultural universals) Particulars may vary (e.g., specific ages that define age grades, the types of games played, etc) ○ Argue that unique cultural traditions and customs develop and persist b/c they are adaptive and improve people’s chances of survival Cultural adaptation – process by which environmental pressures are addressed through changes in practices, traditions, and bx as a way of maintaining stability and equilibrium Any practice that diminishes a culture’s ability to prosper will be unlikely to survive E.g., while the majority of Canadians see drunk-driving as a serious issue, a growing number of people may believe it is not as serious as it was in the past – attitudes are changing as a result of campaigns to educate ppl about the terrible social and economic cost “Culture, or civilization [..] is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by [individuals] as a member of society” Critiquing the Functionalist Approach to Culture: ○ By focusing on how cultural elements work together to maintain stability, does not take into account tension from subcultures or countercultures E.g., while a group of women on the weekends play recreational hockey (a subculture) may be of no threat to social stability, an outlaw biker gang that challenges the larger society’s laws (a counterculture) may warrant concern – to assume that cultural are always useful for the system denies the real pain and suffering they sometimes cause E.g., many people accepted slavery b/c it was “just the way things have always been done” – advantages for the rich White slave owners do not excuse this morally reprehensible practice Conflict Theory ○ Views society based on tension and conflict over scarce resources ○ Those who hold power define and perpetuate a culture’s ideology and create a value system that defines social inequality as just and prosper Cultural systems are powerful ideological tools! ○ E.g., slavery was allowed to exist BECAUSE it affected rich White people View the link b/w money and success as an expression of the ruling elite’s power and influence ○ E.g., Canadian residential school system Was not to educate the children but also to assimilate them into the dominant White society “Take the Indian out of the child” In 1969, the government’s White paper recommended the elimination of all legal discrimination against Indigenous Peoples, the abolition of the Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Department of Indian Affairs, and the integration of Indigenous Peoples into the dominant society Some Indigenous Peoples felt the need to maintain a legal distinction as “Indian Peoples” Any policy advocating the assimilation of a unique minority group is an answer of power and demonstration of the dominant culture’s attempt to absorb a less powerful one ○ Karl Marx: the dominant culture eventually becomes part of the oppressed group’s value system The oppressed group begins to view its own culture as inferior and tries to improve its position by adopting the ways of the dominant culture Critiquing the Conflict Approach to Culture ○ By defining what the dominant classes perceive as positive, cultural elements promote social inequality through the belief that to be successful you have to be like the elite and perpetuate their control and power ○ Would be support of Indigenous Peoples’ efforts at cultural preservation, but it would recognize that by maintaining their traditions Indigenous Peoples are consequently isolated and marginalized from the dominant culture Favours the notion that cultural change is more beneficial to oppressed people than is cultural continuity Overall, functionalists view culture as a way of integrating and building on similarities and establishing a sense of community; while conflict theorists view culture as a vehicle for promoting and maintaining social inequality (both would benefit from greater reflection on the other theory’s insights) ○ Functionalism – recognize that culture can be used as a vehicle for oppression ○ Conflict theory – acknowledge the potential social benefits gained by uniting people into a common cultural group Post-Marxists ○ Bourdieu: Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste People learn to consume culture and this type of learning (which occurs the length of our lives) is mediated and differentiated by social class ○ Said: Culture and Imperialism Producers of high culture are revered and these cultural products become a method for internalizing the messages of imperialism ○ The Frankfurt School Theorists Control through culture Culture industry is seen as having a key role in legitimating the capitalist system Who we are as individuals is determined through the consumption of goods which are produced by the culture industry (in all its various forms) Symbolic Interactionism ○ Social reality is the result of human interaction Herbery Blumer – people do not respond directly to the world around them, but to the meanings they collectively apply to it Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Microsociological perspective – how culture is actively created and recreated through social interaction People interact w/ nonmaterial cultural artifacts (symbols) in every social situation they encounter ○ Minority status is a social category created by interacting individuals and manifests itself in society through negotiated social interaction E.g., when members of the dominant (i.e., White) culture encounter an Indigenous person, they might interact based on predefined cultural meaning and stereotypes Reinforces the dominant cultural norms of who minority ppl are and how they are supposed to act (e.g., be deferential and submissive) ○ Since these meanings are actively negotiated, there is also great potential for resisting and changing dominant cultural meanings as they are fluid and constantly open to reinterpretation and reflection ○ Culture is the set of symbols to which we collectively assign values and the result of our active engagement with those around us Critiquing the Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Culture ○ Suggesting that changing cultural definitions requires changing how we define and classify people diminishes the reality that some cultural definitions result from structural oppression and discrimination (e.g., residential school system, Japanese-Canadian internment camps during World War II) ○ As a microsociological approach, less able to explain how large cultural manifestations than are functionalist or conflict theories Chapter 7: Social Inequality What is Social Stratification? Social Stratification: society’s hierarchical ranking of people into social class ○ Based on a few key principles: All societies redistribute materials and social rewards to individuals (food, money, social prestige) – society allocates its limited resources to those who offer the greatest benefit to the whole E.g., physicians and surgeons are recognized for the dedication and talent therefore are granted relatively high material rewards as well as social recognition and profile Meritocracy: system that emphasizes personal attributes and demonstrated abilities – ideological assumption that people achieve what they deserve (e.g., the grades you obtain are based on how well you do on your test and not on your age, sex, or physical appearance) Since social stratification transcends any single generation (with social position largely granted by one’s parents), the system is relatively stable over time Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Social Mobility: movement between social class (but very few people are able to move out of the social class into which they were born) ○ Intragenerational – individual’s status position over their lifetime ○ Intergenerational – the comparison of adult children’s social status to that of their parents ○ E.g., a young person who grows up in poor family may achieve a scholarship to university and become successful lawyer Use social mobility to measure a society’s equality of opportunity ○ E.g., high-status people, even those who lack talent or intelligence, generally find it easier to obtain property, prestige, and power than do those who are more capable but reside in the lower classes Varies in how it expresses itself E.g., some status is granted by how much money one has, while in others status is granted by how much wealth one gives away Quick to judge when someone achieves material wealth in a manner we do not condone or respect ○ E.g., greater status and prestige to a surgeon than a drug dealer–while both may make the same amount of money per year Criteria by which they are granted wealth and prestige are considered far and just by the majority of the population–even those in the lower classes This acceptance of unjust criteria is grounded in the dominant ideology–the set of beliefs and values that support and justice a society’s ruling class Social Class: based on both birth and achievements Social Status: individual’s position within the class structure Social Inequality Social inequality exists when certain attributes affect a person’s access to socially valued resources (e.g., money, status, and power but also health care, education, political representation, etc) Unfair; treats some people better than others Difficult to detect and challenge because it is hidden behind ideologies that name the processes associated w/ their perpetuation as “normal” and “just” and their harmful consequences as being the guilt of the disadvantaged Results from collective decisions about what is important in evaluating a person or a group ○ Takes many forms: Women may be paid less than men for the same job, members of visible minority groups may be less likely to be hired than the Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 members of the majority, those with more education tend to make more money than those with less education ○ Ranks people from high (better) to low (worse) on subjective criteria (b/c they have no material influence on whether a person can actually perform a particular job) as gender and minority status E.g., no inherent necessity for the majority of truck drivers or lawyers to be men, or for most elementary school teachers and social workers to be women Supported by dominant ideology rather than individual capability Dimensions of Social Inequality Income Wealth ○ Power ○ Occupational Prestige Schooling Ancestry Race and Ethnicity Gender Classism People’s relative worth is at least partly determined by their social and economic status ○ Legitimate economic inequality Includes the ideology of competitive individualism through winning and losing that celebrates a few at the expense of the rest who are put down, disrespected, and wasted Grounded by the idea that everyone in society starts out w/ the same chances of success ○ “American dream” – capitalistic ideology Wealthy deserve what they have and the poor are responsible for their perceived failure Blaming the Victim ○ Assumes that the poor need only to work harder in order to transcend their poverty ○ Holds individual responsible for the negative conditions in which they live ○ Little to no evidence to support that social inequality is the result of individual attributes If it were, how could the Great Depression or the economic collapse of 2008 be explained? Surely no one could argue that global economic failures are the result of lazy workers or individual greedy capitalists (may be some) ○ Culture of poverty: a fatalistic belief system held by the poor as an adaptation to systematic discrimination Accentuate belief that the poor have different subcultural value systems than the larger American society Limit their ability and desire to escape poverty Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Poor feel marginalized, helpless, and inferior, and are fatalistic in their view of the future Poor families are characterized by high divorce rates; children are generally raised in families headed by women Rarely participate in community life, politics, or school Not necessarily a bad thing; represents an important cultural adaptation to systematic discrimination – consistent w/ a Marxist critique of the rich and powerful and their desire to keep the poor weak by promoting the capitalist ideology that blames the poor for their poverty ○ Deferred gratification: the ability to forgo immediate pleasures in the interest of achieving greater rewards in the future Middle-class people learn to save money, study, and work hard now so that they may reap the rewards later Support the blame-the-victim approach Lewis’s approach can be considered less biased, but still holds that a portion of the poor do in fact have difficulty deferring gratification (can this assumption be tested? – argued that since the poor have a fatalistic view of the future, it makes sense that they learn from an early age to take what they can now rather than risk getting nothing later) ○ Critiques: Redeaux believes that the concept is too similar to society’s overall stereotypical view of homelessness (rest of society–we–believes that the homeless–them– are different creates an othering effect) “Othering” refers to how anything that is different than the norm is considered other, and this “otherness” is often used to justify treating someone who is different in a discriminatory way Individualizes the issue of poverty and ignores the larger, structural factors involved Blaming the System ○ Recognizes the systematic discrimination that exists within social systems and is more consistent w/ the sociological perspective than with the blaming-the-victim approach ○ Larger socioeconomic imposes certain restrictions on certain members of society E.g., unemployment is the loss of well-paying factory jobs as a result of deindustrialization–the transformation of an economy from one based on manufacturing to one based on services (shift from manufacturing to service-based work, risk of agribusiness, outsourcing) Poor lack the skills needed to compete for the new, more highly skilled jobs that replace industrial jobs Downward pressure on wages and increases the competition among workers for fewer and fewer jobs Creates poverty beyond the individual’s control ○ Well-planned, community-based, comprehensive anti-poverty programs may be able to compensate for some of the structural factors that cause poverty Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Yet some continue to resists such programs Believe that social welfare programs encourage laziness, dependency, and poverty (however, social research confirms that money invested in social welfare programs is effective in decreasing poverty) From Perception to Policy Huber and Form found that wealthy and middle-class Americans saw their success as the result of their own abilities, skills and effort ○ Poor were more likely to see their economic plight as the result of structural factors such as high unemployment rates, lack of opportunity, and the culture of society to provide adequate schooling Newman and Smith argue that these perceptions of why people succeed or fail have important policy implications for government ○ Reduce people's dependence on subsidy programs (welfare) ○ Increase educational and occupational opportunities Ranking Individuals Social systems rank people in two ways: closed systems and open systems Closed social system based on ascribed status (status associated w/ attributes that people are born with, such as race and sex) ○ Innate attributes cannot be changed → very little room for social mobility ○ Hereditary class designation ○ A person’s caste is a central component of who they are and determines virtually everything in their lives, including what they can wear, what jobs they can perform and whom they can marry ○ Membership hereditary E.g., India – varna system (meaning “colour”) divided Indian society into four groups; (1) Brahmin – teacher’s doctors, and other scholars, (2) Kshatriya – warriors and politicians, (3) Vaishya – merchants and artists, and (4) Shudra – workers in the service occupations Beneath four primary castes are the Dalits, “untouchables”, who have no caste and whose name translates as “oppressed” or “crushed” Landless laborers who perform the most menial and despised tasks and are believed to pollute people of higher castes E.g., if a higher-caster Hindu is touched by a Dalit or crosses into one’s shadow, they are considered polluted and must undergo a series of rigorous cleaning rituals Sweepers are viewed as impure and belonging outside of society just as garbage or dirt belong outside of the household (born dirty) Sweepers do not believe they were born to live this way, but rather, had their position imposed on them Concert from Hinduism to Christianity → Christianity provides a new social position as well as a new identity Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Some view this conversation as positive, while others view it as greedy and more about economic gain than spiritual enlightenment Highlights how even within a closed caste system, individual “untouchable” sweepers are able to achieve some social mobility Conventional Western perception of the Indian caste system – hereditary and cannot be changed Even when a person of low caste becomes wealthy of a higher-caste person loses all of his or her money, their castes can never be changed However, this is not the case; Indican women can change their caste through marriage and men can change through reincarnation – move to a higher or lower caste in their next life Indian Constitution of 1950 abolished the caste system Instituted various affirmative-action policies to produce the lower castes w/ access to government jobs, higher education, and politics Stills remains an important feature of everyday life in small towns and villages European colonialism played a role – specific product ofIndian and Western colonial rule ○ E.g., Japan (Burakumin – “people of the village”) Descendants of outcast communities of the feudal era Impure occupations (e.g., butchering animals or burying humans) or “nonhuman” (e.g., living as a beggar or prostitute) Legally liberated from outright discrimination when the Japanese government abolished the feudal caste system; however, did not improve their social standing or decrease the discrimination they faced Open class system based on achieved status (one’s personal attributes) ○ People can move up from a poor social background (or down from a wealthy one) through their own efforts and abilities In theory, where you end up in an open system is where you “deserve” to be ○ Result of one’s own merit within the class structure – a society’s economic hierarchy that categorizes groups of people based on their socioeconomic status ○ SES is comprised of three indicators: income, occupational prestige and education E.g., based solely on income, a drug dealer and a lawyer (both of whom live in nice houses and drive Porsches) are comparable – but the drug deals is involved in illegal activities, does not have what the larger society considers to be a prestigious career, and may not have completed high school ○ Social mobility does occur, but rare (not as closed as one might think in the closed caste system) Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Intergenerational income elasticity (IGE) – comparison between son’s and the father’s earnings to measure social mobility Range: 0.0 (no relationship b/w father’s and son’s earnings) to 1.0 (father and son make exactly the same) Lower IGE – more open class system E.g., Canada is a high-mobility society than the US and UK Canadians can move b/w classes, but we should not assume that one’s social class is solely the result of individual effort Property Where one resides in the class structure Divide into two categories (not consistent w/ the view of Indigenous pppl who do not believe that land can be owned): ○ Income – money one receives annually from all sources (e.g., salaries, fees paid for services, rents, grants, support payments, government assistance, and interest and dividends paid from stocks and bond holdings) What you earn ○ Wealth – one’s net accumulated assets (homes, land, automobiles, jewelry, factories, and stocks and bonds) What you have How is Canadian income distributed? ○ Wealthiest Canadians became richer b/w 1978–2015 ○ Annual earnings for bottom 90 percent of Canadians increased by an avg of 0.3 percent per year ○ Among the next 9 percent, average annual earnings dipped in the early 1980s and increased by the mid 2010s (year-over-year gains avg 0.9 percent over the period) Occupational Prestige “What do you do?” – helps us to determine their class position which influences how we interact with them ○ B/c the dominant population generally agree on the prestige and the social value of various occupations Canada’s top 10 and bottom 10 occupations: Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ While income is correlated to occupational prestige (the higher the salary, the higher the prestige), there are some exceptions E.g., deck hands on Alaskan crab boats can make more per year than some school principles or economist ○ Occupations dominated by women or visible minorities tend to be paid less and be perceived as less prestigious However, Indigenous women w/ a university degree had higher incomes than non-Indigenous women w/ the same level of education ○ Gender differences in Canadian occupational prestige are declining ○ Occupations rated highly require university education, provide more independence and autonomy, and depend on sound decision-making and abstract reasoning 2. Sociological Approaches to Stratification Functionalism Davis-Moore thesis (1945) ○ Social inequality serves two important social function: instills desire to fill certain social positions, and instills the desire to complete duties and obligations E.g., surgeons are paid more than gardeners b/c of their higher level of skill and training ○ Rewards (i.e., money and prestige) must be high enough to compensate them for their time and effort to attract most capable and skilled Criticisms: ○ How does one determine value? ○ Social status is often hereditary No guarantee that social elites’ children are as capable or as skilled as their parents, and yet they maintain their upper-class status independent of their own strengths of weaknesses ○ Substantial discrimination Even in modern, open, class-based societies, there is discrimination of who is eligible to assume elite positions Gender and minority status – limits access to elite positions even for highly skilled and talented people Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Gender biases may influence low salary levels of socially important (but female-dominated) occupations as daycare workers, public school teachers and social workers ○ Market forces Capitalist economy determines the salary of a given occupation not on the basis of the work’s value E.g., care and education of children is an important collective responsibility, but daycare workers and elementary school teachers are paid less than plumbers, welders, and pro athletes ○ Extreme nature of social inequality (globally and locally) E.g., senior execs can earn hundreds of millions per year, and athletes and Hollywood actors can earn tens of millions of dollars per year 2016 – 19.6% of Canadian children (nearly one in five) lived in poverty, ranking Canada as one of the OECD countries with the highest rates of child poverty 60% of Indigenous people live on reserves Need to question the assumption that any inequality is natural or acceptable Conflict Theory Social classes are a manifestation of competition/conflict between the haves (those who have social power) and the have-notes (those who do not) Karl Marx ○ Believed that class struggle was the most important inspiration behind the historical transformation of societies Class inequality was neither desirable nor inevitable ○ Reminder: Marx believed that as society began to accumulate more surplus wealth when production techniques moved from subsistence economies to industrialization, some groups were able to secure ownership of the new wealth while others had to sell their labour to survive Owners – bourgeoisie (maintain control over society to accumulate as much profit as possible) Workers – proletariat (get as much money for their labour as they can) ○ Interests of these two social classes (bourgeoisie and proletariat) incomplete Proletariat needs to overcome their false perception of class consciousness and overthrow the bourgeoisie Led to bourgeoisie controlling the proletaria through the state machinery (police, prisons, the military) to protect their class interests ○ Conclusion: social stratification is embodiment of class conflict Inevitable in capitalist economies that require the exploitation of the working classes Max Weber Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Critiqued Marx’s sole focus on economic production (overly simplistic and failed to appreciate the multidimensional nature of social class, inequality, and the role of cultural values ○ Power manufactured (comes from different sources) Divided into economic classes and ownership of property is important for gaining influence ○ Other sources of influence: Class, status groups and party Class – largely based on economic inequality, with rich landowners in the higher echelons of society and poor workers in the lower echelons (relatively unimportant b/c most ppl lack class consciousness and are unlikely to challenge the status quo) Status Groups – a group of people who share similar social status, lifestyles, world views, occupations and standards of living Cassano argues that Weber saw classes as being stratified according to their relations to production and acquisition of goods while status groups are stratified according to their consumption of goods People are more likely to act collectively as part of a status group than they are as part of an economic class Males sense when we consider that beyond family and friends, we feel more connected to those we share experiences with than to those in the same economic class Party – organizations that attempt to achieve certain goals in a planned and logical manner (associations of people that have the power to influence social action and change, i.e., Canadian Red Cross) Power – ability to make others do something they would not otherwise do (Marx – originates w/ the possession of wealth and privilege; Weber – alternative types of power in developed societies) Weber revealed that there are groups that lack economic and status, but still exert a tremendous amount of power b/c they have the authority to make decisions (e.g., if your uni application failed to include your final grade in high school English, the admissions manager has the authority to withhold your registration until you’ve provided it–a delay that could affect your ability to register for courses) Status inconsistency – individual occupies several differently ranked statuses at the same time (e.g., drug dealer has lots of money and lives i a big house but has little social prestige) Symbolic Interactionism Less interested in explaining why stratification exists, more interested in looking at how people interpret and construct their responses to class inequality Consider how people use and respond to status symbols Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Status symbols: material indicators that demonstrate a person’s social and economic position Veblen (1899) ○ Conspicuous consumption: purchase of expensive goods simply b/c they are valuable, not b/c there is any innate satisfaction in them E.g., after the online viral sensation of the “Damn Daniel” snapchat, white Vans shoes sales skyrocketed People are willing to pay this much just b/c a viral Internet star was wearing them – not due to product’s functionality ○ The Theory of the leisure Class – two concepts how ppl communicate their social wealth to others: Conspicuous leisure: demonstration of one’s high social status through forms of leisure (e.g., long vacations in exotic locales) Conspicuous waste: disposal of valuable foods to demonstrate wealth (e.g., giving a $100 tip to a valet) ○ Scott argues that credit cards have changed people’s ability to reach, or at least appear to reach, the next level Conspicuous consumption is more prevalent today since credit cards allow ppl to purchase things they might not be able to afford or justify if they had to pay cash for them Highschool students are more at risk for accumulating credit card debt b/c they have little financial literacy, unstable low-paid work, and a high susceptibility for conspicuous consumption ○ Material objects (e.g., house, clothes) are strong indicators of social class ○ Non-material indicators (e.g., individual’s accent living in Great Brain) ○ Lower a person’s social status is compared to the status of someone that person is waiting to see, the longer the wait Working class – name goes on shirt; middle class – door of your office; upper class – on your company ○ Suggested that people want to be seen as living one class stratum above where they actually live ○ Criticisms: Do not necessarily apply to ALL societies E.g., Indigenous teachings promote the value of giving to others and building mutually beneficial relationship, not disposing valuable goods for personal gain Feminist Theory Considers how the dominant (male) perspective permeates our society’s evaluation of what is deemed valuable and important has been perpetuated by patriarchal assumptions Two lines of investigation: 1. Recognize the working lives of women within capitalism ○ Armstrong and Armstrong (1994) Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Double ghetto “double shift” – the situation in which women who have full-time jobs outside the home often work another “shift” when they get home Thus, men generally maintain a superior social position because they own most of the social wealth (puts women in a subordinate position both in the world of work and at home) 2. Role of class position in determining one’s view of the world ○ Production of social reality (one’s individual perspective of the world) is influenced by one’s class ○ Lichterman’s research found that women’s class position (and their resulting life experiences) leads low-income women to prefer more collective, egalitarian, and participatory approaches to life than women from higher classes (who tend to favour more hierarchical, bureaucratic organizations that support individual effort to achieve goals) ○ Harding argues that Western science was developed specifically for the needs of European expansion and conquest ○ Nancy Fraser argues that the way we think about time and what we deem as worthy of spending time on influences how we view work Domestic and wage labour puts a strain on women – now allowing them to break away from work to achieve what they deserve Focus on emancipation and social protection Financialized capitalism has resulted in a “crisis of care” that has roots in the social order, indicating there is something “rotten” in capitalist society itself Summary of Theories of Social Stratification Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 3. The Canadian Class System Three dimensions to social class: 1. An economic dimension (Marx and Weber) 2. A political dimension (status and power – Weber) 3. A cultural dimension (lifestyles, values, beliefs… Weber, Bourdieu) Three important forms of social control: 1. Economic ownership that entails real control over the economic surplus 2. Command of the physical means of economic production (e.g., owning/supervising the control of machines) 3. Supervisory control over other workers Four distinct classes: ○ Bourgeoisie: have all three forms of control ○ Proletariat: have none ○ Petit bourgeoisie: have some of the first two forms Small shop owners and entrepreneurs own capital however exercise little authority (since they employ few if any workers) Capitalism matures → become more diverse (altering the traditional dynamics of rich vs. poor) ○ Managers: have supervisory control Firms owned by the capitalists but who have direct authority over large numbers of workers Most managers identify w/ the bourgeoisie, but just as expendable as any other employee The Classes Upper Class (3-5%) Hard to overestimate Earn at least several hundred thousand dollars a year, yet their chief economic resource is accumulated wealth rather than income Not true that rich do not pay their fair share of taxes (20% of all income tax collected is paid by this group) ○ Some suggest that elites have used their political influence to reshape the tax code to received beneficial tax cuts Upper Upper Class – “old rich” Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Relatively few reside in the upper class (1%) – old money Wealthy for generations ○ Traditionally, members of the upper class were almost entirely White protestants of British descent but today the White upper class appears to be of other religions and ethnic backgrounds Still few visible minorities ○ Tend to live in small elite communities, marry within their class, send their children to the same schools, join the same clubs, and vacation in the same exclusive resorts ○ Insulated social networks out of the public eye ○ Use their wealth to maintain their privacy – not much contact Lower Upper Classes (2-4%) – “nouveau riche” or “new rich” ○ E.g., Daryl Katz (former owner of Rexall drugstores and current owner of the Edmonton Oilers), Chip Wilson (founder of Lululemon), and Jeffrey Skoll (eBay’s first employee and president) ○ Also includes highly paid athletes and actors as well as some top professionals (e.g., plastic surgeons, defense lawyers) The Middle Class (40-50%) Upper-Middle Class ○ Tend to be highly visible Lack significant power at the national level Movers and shakers within local communities ○ People working in professional careers (e.g., doctors and lawyers) ○ Not enormously wealthy but are financially secure ○ Tend to drive new cars, take international holidays, and live in very nice homes Results from having good educations; virtually everyone has a university degrees and a significant number have graduate degrees ○ Tend to live in suburbs and although mostly white, more ethnically diverse than upper class Active in municipal politics and volunteer organizations Lower-Middle Class ○ Managers, small business operators, senior executive assistants and minor professionals (e.g., school teachers and social workers) ○ Have at least some college/university education, but only a few have completed their degrees ○ Both spouses work – moderately comfortable lifestyle albeit one more tenuous than that of the higher economic levels Lacks substantial investment income or sizeable cash savings ○ Take occasional vacations, eat out fairly regularly, drive later-model cars, and send their children to university/community colleges Encourage their children to continue their education to achieve a profession, more financial security and independence in their chosen careers Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Most families own their homes ○ Sense of insecurity and vulnerability to market forces (particularly interest rates on home mortgages) ○ Rarely participates in local, provincial, or national police b/c they feel powerless and do not believe they could bring substantial change ○ Generally follows the rules as defined by their managers and superiors The Working Class (30%) ○ 30% of Canadian population Criteria separating classes are somewhat vague ○ Skilled and semi-skilled workers Skilled – carpenters, plumbers, and electricians Semi-skilled – low-level clerical workers, salespeople, and many female pink-collar workers, such as servers and cooks Both are highly routine and closely supervised ○ Both members of a couple work outside the home to pay bills Disproportionate skew towards part-time work Canada has shifted into a 24/7 economy – part-time jobs encompassing irregular hours, providing little to no benefits, and paying low wages Thus, many are forced to take two or three jobs to survive ○ Complete high school, but few go on to college or university ○ Many own their own homes, but majority have no other significant assets ○ Vulnerable to financial crisis resulting from illness or unexpected and long-term unemployment ○ Drive used cars, take holidays that are close to home, and live in modest neighbourhoods ○ Upward mobility is encouraged, many ppl emphasize importance of being respected by their community as a means of underscoring their superiority over the lower classes The “Underless” (5%) ○ Contested concept Long-term, chronic poverty – little ability to realize their potential since they are in constant struggle to meet immediate needs ○ “Underless” is stigmatizing “Welfare class” or “lower-lower class” are also harmful and derogatory ○ Lack marketable skills, unemployable (little or no experience w/ full-time work) Unless given extensive training and educational upgrading ○ Survive through an elaborate network of sharing based largely on kinship ties ○ Market basket measure (MBM): A measure that calculates the cost of a basket of goods and services that individuals and families require to meet their basic needs and maintain a modest standard of living Cannot afford the cost of the basket → living below Canada’s official poverty line Vary somewhat, but all are consistent w/ determining how many ppl struggle to meet their daily needs Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Fall below Low Income Cut Off (LICO) 4. Factors Affecting Social Inequality in Canada Colocalization ○ Impacted virtually all areas of Indigenous Peoples lives (e.g., economic stability, traditional leadership structures, health, culture, access to services, and other factors that limit opportunity) ○ Researchers are constantly uncovering how historical and contemporary processes continue to influence the social inequality of all marginalized populations Geographic Location – difference provinces have different poverty rates ○ Highest poverty rates were found in Nunavut (29%), Manitoba (20.7%), and BC (19.8%) ○ 2015–2016; poverty rates decreased in all provinces and territories other than Alberta and Saskatchewan (where poverty rates increased by 0.6 and 0.4 percent perspectively) Suggest that where a person lives may influence their chances of being poor Gender and Family Structure – determining the size of the gender pay gap depends on the measure of earnings that is used ○ Academics have used the annual earnings of full-time, full-year workers ○ Working women earn 13.3% less per hour than men ○ Women Canada are surpassing men in educational attainment and are entering new areas of work and study (influence of gender pay inequality might diminish in time) ○ The Feminization of Poverty – recognized the universality of women’s wage discrimination ○ Even though it is illegal to pay someone less, or more, for their work on the basis of gender, women continue to be paid less for the same work as men ○ Women are outnumbered by men in the highest-paying jobs and dominate the lowest-paying jobs Being female is an important factor when we consider who is likely to be poor in Canada Work Status – having a job is certainly key to not living in poverty Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Age – people in their late teens/early twenties most likely to live in poverty Visible Minority Status – wage gap between whites/non-whites is not directly attributable to the demographic, educational, or occupational characteristics of workers ○ Negative intersection between age and visible minority status (particularly Indigenous youth populations) ○ 51% of Indigenous children experience poverty; 60% if the child lives on a reserve ○ Macdonald and Wilson suggest four ways to improve: Report poverty rates on reserves and territories Improve direct income support programs Improve employment opportunities on reserves Implement longer-term solutions Education – school offers some protection against poverty ○ Young adults w/ lower education attainment have poorer labour market outcomes ○ 15–29 years olds were neither employed nor in education or training ○ Women w/ bachelor’s degree earned a median income, approx. 40% more than women with college diplomas, about 60% more than women with high school diplomas, and 80% more than women with apprenticeship certificates ○ Lowest annual income: college graduates → bachelor’s graduates → master’s graduates → doctoral graduates At every level of education, male workers earned more than their female counterparts ○ At graduation, 50% of bachelor’s graduates, 44% of master graduates and 41% of doctoral graduates relied on government or non-governmental student loans Three years after – ⅓ paid off their student loans Disability ○ 6.2 million aged 15 years w/ disability; 37% classified a mild disability, 20% a moderate disability, 21% a severe disability, and 22% a very severe disability Ages 25–64 w/ severe disabilities were more likely to be living in poverty (measured by the MBM) Ages 15–64, lone parents and those living alone were most likely to be living in poverty among any type of household living arrangements 5. Measuring Inequality One way to assess whether a society’s class structure is open or closed is to examine the gap between the rich and poor Kuznet’s Curve Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ As societies developed, they became more unequal, inequality declined after Industrial Revolution ○ Why does economic development influence inequality? Gerhard and Jean Lenski (w/ Patrick Nolan): while hunting and gathering societies are open and nearly classless, significant social stratification emerges in horticultural societies and then expands throughout agrarian and industrial economies Inequality results from the level of technology a society has to exploit its environment Hunting and gathering – technology is simple and redistribution among members of society is based on need and familial obligations As technology develops wealth accumulates into fewer hands resulting in greater social inequality Lorenz Curve and Gini Coefficient ○ Gini index (also referred to as the Gini coefficient) – measure of inequality of wealth or income distribution Single number summarizes any given society’s level of economic quality Line is drawn by plotting the percentage of cumulative wages (A) against the percentage of cumulative workers (B) Perfect wage equality (everyone has exactly the same proportion of wealth) – ZERO and the line is perfectly straight and sloped at a 45-degree angle Scores vary b/w 0 (perfect equality) and 100 (perfect inequality, meaning that one person has all of the wealth) Impossible for human society to be either perfectly equal or unequal, deviations from the 45-degree angle are referred to as the Lorenz curve ○ E.g., the bottom 20 percent of wage earners receives only 5 percent of the total earnings Most unequal – Africa and South America Least unequal – Europe Richest 10 percent of the global population earns 50 percent of the world’s wealth ○ Ratio of the avg income received by the richest 5 percent to that received by the poorest 5 percent is 165:1 Developing countries have Gini index scores of 45 or higher; most Western European countries have scores in the twenties or low thirties Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Canada – moderately well (32.6); US – less equal society than ours (45) How might we interpret these Gini index scores? ○ Functionalists – some economic inequality is a positive thing; inspires the poor to work harder to make a better life for themselves ○ Conflict theorists – global inequality is simply the natural progression of the world’s wealth continuing to move into fewer and fewer hands; as the rich get richer, the poor will become poorer ○ Symbolic interactionists: investigate how people respond to their economic situations in both rich and poor countries; in the former, they might consider our growing infatuation with conscientious consumption ○ Feminist theorists – target the role of patriarchy and class position in defining one’s view of the world in which inequality is prompted and supported ○ Critical race/postcolonial theorists – target the role of minority status and the legacy of colonialism to explain why some countries are more “equal” than others Some suggest that what’s holding us back from eradicating global inequality is the feeling that is may be too overwhelming a task to take on Chapter 8 – Gender Sex and Gender Sex ○ Biologically rooted; describes our physical bodies whereby we distinguish between male and female Binary construction – given phenomenon can be located within one or the other of two mutually exclusive categories ○ Categorized based on binaries implying diametrical opposites “opposite sex” Gender ○ Socially constructed characteristics associated with girls and boys, men and women ○ Masculinity and femininity ○ Also suggests binary opposition Contemporary theorizing has problematized the sex/gender distinction as a false dichotomy ○ Feminist theorists are now more comfortable w/ accepting how our understanding of biology and biological “discoveries” is socially shaped Attempts to understand even our physical bodies (chromosomes or hormones) are laden w/ ideas of gender; unable to disassociate one from the other Any effort to do denies the social nature of how we understand the biology (e.g., biologists are perceived as dealing solely with bodies, but may do so in a way that draws discourses of gender) Sex and gender are not distinct; they are intertwined Emily Marin – “aggressiveness” of sperm and “passivity” of an egg ○ Instead, demonstrated a more interactive relationship b/w egg and sperm Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 ○ Drawn on dominant constructions of masculinity (aggressive) and femininity (passive) in fertilization process ○ “Sex brought us together, but gender drove us apart” The Biological Female and Male? Intersex individuals – those born w/ reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit the binary definitions of male or female ○ Differences can include internal reproductive organs, genetic differences, and hormone insensitivities ○ E.g., while most females have XX chromosomes and produce more estrogen and most males have XY chromosomes and produce testosterone, there are people who have more complex chromosomal variations ○ May also lack the receptors to recognize the hormones – hormones do not produce the expected results (e.g., testosterone causes more facial/body hair in males, but if a person has androgen insensitivity, the testosterone is not “recognized” by their body Lead to external female characteristics despite the increased testosterone May “look” physically female and be raised/lived as a female ○ Often, intersex people do not know of their status until later in life, when they may encounter medical difficulties (particularly infertility) or “gender testing” High levels of scrutiny of women who do not look “enough” like women (sports) ○ Non-European countries – due to “feminine” being linked with White constructs of race and sexuality E.g., “proper” heterosexual women should not be overly muscular or fast E.g., women of colour win competitions and beat records – question their biological status (especially w/ sports considered to be “more masculine”) ○ International Olympics Committee (IOC) has a history of gender-testing female athletes Female track-and-field gold medalists were scrutinized b/c they achieved their impressive feats of athleticism while not looking “female” enough Doctors visually inspect their genitals and “certify” them as female (including genetic karyotyping tests and hormone level tests) “Gender certificates” – verify they have “passed” gender test There have been increasing concerns that such testing and exclusion of athletes based on natural genetic variation is unfair and discriminatory (since not all athletes are subjected to invasive testing) Some pursue surgery to compete as women ○ IAAF changed their regulations to test for high testosterone levels b/c of the belief that such levels could be present in athletes who are doping (except women who have “hyperandrogenism” – bodies do not recognize the testosterone or reduce their high testosterone levels via surgery or medication) Limited evidence that testosterone alone actually increases athletic performance in women Downloaded by Hero HWServices ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|47027708 Many other factors that can influence performance, such as genetics, nutrition and access to training/facilities Higher testosterone levels in women do not necessarily mean victory ○ “Female classification” is discriminatory; however such discrimination is necessary to create fair conditions of competition in female athletics ○ Need to include more gender categories to allow for fair competition Gender as Socially Constructed E.g., 17th century France – to be masculine meant wearing frilly shirts, high heels, wigs and powdered makeup (differs radically from current Western notions of masculinity) Gender relations – organizing principles in society that shape and order interactions between women and men ○ Shape relative importance and worth of women and men ○ That which is associated w/ masculinity and men is more highly valued than that which is associated w/ femininity and women Gender, class and race all function as mechanisms for producing social inequality ○ Women and men are NOT homogenous groups; our experiences are further shaped by our location within these various social hierarchies ○ May be dominant construction of masculinity and