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Lecture 9. Dimensions of Stratification: Race and Gender. What to Expect in This Lecture:. Definitions of key concepts related to race and gender Explanations for prejudice and discrimination Patterns of majority/minority group relationships Gender role socialization.
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Lecture 9 Dimensions of Stratification: Race and Gender
What to Expect in This Lecture: • Definitions of key concepts related to race and gender • Explanations for prejudice and discrimination • Patterns of majority/minority group relationships • Gender role socialization
Racial, Ethnic and Minority Groups • These three terms are often used interchangeably. • They are not the same, however; each has a specific meaning which is slightly different from the others • The chart on the next slide highlights the differences in these terms
Distinction between Racial, Ethnic and Minority Group
Sex and Gender …the biological status and characteristics of being male or female Sex Gender …the social attributions identified with being male or female in a given society
Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice negative attitudes and judgements toward a particular minority group Discrimination untoward actions toward members of another group
Racism and Sexism a complex of attitudes and actions which assert the superiority of one racial group over another. Racism may take two forms: Racism • Individual Racism--racism that is practiced by an individual on the basis of his or her own prejudices • Institutional Racism--racism involving discriminatory practices built into social practices and structures. May or may not involve prejudice a complex of attitudes and actions emphasizing that actual or alleged differences between men and women establish the superiority of one sex over another Sexism
Three Explanations for Prejudice and Discrimination Social Explanations Economic Explanations Psychological Explanations
Social Explanations for Prejudice and Discrimination • Social explanations are grounded in the idea of social distance • Bogardus Scale measures the willingness of people to interact with individuals of other racial and ethnic groups in various capacities • The graph on the following slide suggests that social distance between blacks and whites may be lessening over time
Economic Explanations for Prejudice and Discrimination • Economic explanations are historically grounded in the institution of slavery in the United States and elsewhere • Slave labor was the foundation of southern economy from the colonial period through most of the 19th century • The “colonial labor principle” exploits racial minorities to serve dominant group’s economic interests. • Current economic relationships reflect this history
Psychological Explanations for Prejudice and Discrimination • “Three-stage” learning theory • Stage 1: Child understands that they are supposed to hate somebody, but not yet focused on a particular group • Stage 2: Child learns to focus hatred on a particular cultural group • Stage 3: Child learns to act on prejudices subtly • Scapegoat theory • Suggests that when people are blocked from achieving a particular goal, they will take out their frustrations on a visible and accessible object, such as a racial minority
Gender Role Socialization • There is some evidence to suggest that biological differences may cause some of the differences in behavioral patterns between men and women • There are also differences in the way society treats boys and girls, which causes behavioral differences • During infancy, girls are responded to more readily than boys • At about age 2, sex stereotyping of boys and girls toys • Later, boys and girls are directed into different skill areas • In adolescence, gender roles are reinforced by peers
Costs of Sexism Public Image Costs Career Costs Violence Costs
Public Image Costsof Sexism • The media generally present women in much more narrow stereotypes than men • personality characteristics • standards of beauty • restricted gender roles • Language reflects male domination • generic use of male pronouns • demeaning referents to women • denotation of marital status for women • stereotyped nicknames for women Mrs. Miss
Career Costsof Sexism • Women have not fared as well as men in the occupational market place. • Several factors are suggested: • Early gender-role socialization of boys and girls • Occupational segregation • Restrictions related to maternal responsibilities • Sexism and the “good old boys network” • Minority women are particularly disadvantaged because their racial minority status
Comparing Education and Income of Men and Women Note that while educational attainment between men and women is approximately the same within ethnic categories, there are significant income disparities
Violence Costsof Sexism • Violence against women can take many forms. • The graph below represents these forms of violence from the least to the most violence as indicated in numerous studies Take a cyber-tour of a domestic shelter Least Violent Most Violent Verbal Street Hassling Physical Touching Pornography/ Prostitution Rape/ Battering Sexual Harrassment