INEQUALITY Inequalities of Social Class

Equality is one of the social concepts in which everyone is longing.

Inequality is one of the most sensitive issues in every societies.

Inequality exist in different aspects of life; social class, race and ethnicity and even gender and age.

Caste system

Caste System is a fixed arrangement of social strata.

It is unalterably at birth The boundaries are distinctly sharp The mobility is extremely rare

They regulate marriage to avoid confusion Confusion on the part of both spouses Confusion on the part of children

Thus neither both partner or children can acquire mobility.

India

India as the best example of caste system The life of an Indian is very much

affected by caste system; Whom one should marry Whom should they relate with Where should they live or work

Types of Caste System

1. Varnas – highest caste (priest and scholars)

2. Kshatriyas – second to the highest (warriors, rulers and large landholders.

3. Vaishyas – merchant, farmers, skilled artisan

4. Shudras – lowest caste (laborers and unskilled artisan)

5. Harijan, beneath Shudras – (untouchables)

Worst come to worst

The distinction is reinforce by practicing ritual cleansing. Physical contact is prohibited among

castes To touch or even to get close to lower

caste. It might bring revulsion to higher caste.

(the polluted person must undergo ritual avoidance: cleansing of the body and clothes.

India Today

Some rituals have diminished (communication and transportation) Ritual of avoidance

India has become more industrialized They developed links with global

economy The number of middle class has

increased

India has become more democratic Low-ranking class now hold higher

political position The untouchables now have certain

benefits and resources (seats in national legislature, power to vote…)

CLASS SYSTEM

Class system

Social status, at some point, is determined by the people.

Unlike caste system class system is more relaxed in terms of mobility. How people control their status? (education,

income and work) However, this control is very minimal. There is no clear distinction between

classes The boundaries of strata are continuous.

Determinants of Socioeconomic Status

Education – it enables one to move upward. (Ask your students why are they in

school) Economic gain is one of the major

reasons why people go to school. We want to raise our material standard

of living. Thus raise their socioeconomic status.

However, the benefits of education is not shared equally by everyone. (race and ethnicity)

African-American high school graduates have higher rate of unemployment than white high school graduate.

Gender also plays a role. Women earn 30 to 40% less than men.

Therefore, education is not enough in acquiring higher economic rewards.

Wealth – sociologist divide wealth into two kinds: assets; real states, stocks, and jewels and income; salaries, wages, interests received and stock dividends.

Both assets and income influence socioeconomic standing most especially in capitalist society.

Pyramid of wealth: the wealthiest are at the top while the poorest are at the bottom.

Rich vs. Poor in terms of Asset and Income

In terms of asset, rich people owns assets that often increase in value; stocks, bonds and real state. Whereas poor people own assets that often decrease value; household furnishing.

In terms of income, typically the income of wealthy people rise as they mature. On the other hand as poor people grow old their income tends to decline.

Thus, the felt gap between wealthy and the poor tend to increase over people’s life span.

Occupation and prestige – one’s socioeconomic standing may also determine by one’s occupation.

Categories of occupation White-collar occupation

Professional, manager, administrator Technical clerical

Blue-collar job Craft, precision production, and repair Operative Labor (excluding farm) Farm worker

White-Collar Job vs. Blue-Collar Job

White-collar job involves mental activity amidst pleasant workplace w/ little supervision

Blue-collar job requires heavy labor in a poor quality of workplace w/ close supervision

Pink-collar Job

Pink-collar job- this category reflects the segregation of women into certain occupation such as; kindergarten teachers, secretary, file clerks, waitress, nurse, library science and pet grooming.

These are highly feminized and characterized by low pay and low prestige.

Education, wealth and prestige in work interplay with one another in determining one’s socioeconomic status.

But any of the three factors might not be enough if taken singly.

And at some cases, even these three are present in a particular individual, one might still be considered as lower class.

Race and ethnicity, and gender.

Things to ponder

Which element most affects mobility in the Philippines: (a) hardwork, (b) expansion of opportunities, (c) luck, (d) family background

Do you think people are really the same, regardless of their social class position? Why or why not?

Age and Gender

Patriarchy and everyday life Gender socialization is very common in our

everyday life, but despite its pervasiveness we hardly think about it.

Gender plays vital role in our lives, it is express in different realms of life.

Now let us examine how gender affects our everyday life and how patriarchy, or male dominance, is ingrained in the way society is organized.

Language and Patriarchy

“Language is a subtle yet powerful mechanism that assaults women self-esteem and help perpetuate male dominance.” (Richardson 1988) Many of the slang words denote women as,

“chick”, “sexy”, “putang ina” are extremely demeaning.

Forms of address also subtly imply unequal gender relationship. “Mrs.” Or “Ms.” indicates whether a woman is

married “Mr.” makes no reference

Often times, man is addressed by his last name preceded by Mr., Dr. and other title.

Whereas, women are addressed by their first name only.

If man says no people assume he really means it.

If a girl says no people think that she really mean “maybe” or “yes”

The traditional way in which name change when people marry further reflects patriarchy. From “Ms. Ortega to Mrs. Pedro” Why not “Mrs. Ortega-Pedro”?

Social interaction and Patriarchy

Placing the arms of a man on the girls

When having conversation; man is more likely to interrupt.

Gender and Pornography Gender and work

Feminism

Feminism is a counter ideology that has arisen to challenge sexism, patriarchy and they seek independence and equality for women.

Gender inequality and the law.

These domains of moral inequalities are social convention, meaning that men are responsible for the existence of those inequalities.

But the sad truth is it seem everyone is fine with it for it has been long practiced.

And we are too comfortable living with it.

That we too afraid to leave our comfort zones.

Race and Ethnicity

Race and ethnicity are often used interchangeably, but it has specific and technical meaning.

Race is a group of people who have been singled out on the basis of real or alleged physical characteristics.

Race is a social construct base on biological traits endowed with social meaning.

“Dark as inferior and white as superior” Implications of this belief if fair-skinned

people will act on their belief: They may deny black-skinned people

education They will refuse to hire them for well-

paying job. they may deprive black people of their

rights.

Ethnicity refers to the people who have common cultural characteristics such as, language, place of origin, dress, food and values.

In addition, ethnic group also share ethnic identity