Intersections of Identity

Introduction to Sociology : Intersections of

Identity

Lesson 5 Overview

The current class structure in

the US reveals growing
social and economic
inequality between the
highest income earners and
the lowest. Barriers to social
mobility can be observed in
the areas of health and
educational outcomes, employment opportunities, and lifestyle choices.

Race and ethnicity are socially constructed concepts. Groups who enjoy
social advantages due to shared perceived physical or cultural
characteristics are understood as majority groups. By contrast, minority
groups may endure discrimination and social disadvantage due to racial
or ethnic identity.

Sociologists define sex as the biological dissimilarity between males and

females, while gender refers to socially constructed meanings

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associated with women and men. Ideas about gender vary over time
and across cultures.

In this lesson, you'll examine the ways in which people's various

identities—including their class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality—
shape their lives. You'll also examine the ways in which societies use
identity to construct inequalities.

5.1 Analyze concepts of class and examine how class

structure contributes to social and economic disparities
Class and Global Inequality
READING ASSIGNMENT
Read this assignment, along with Chapter 9 in your textbook. Complete the
Critical Thinking Questions at the end of Chapter 9 to test your knowledge of the
lesson materials. Check your answers against those found under the Additional
Study Materials in this lesson. You shouldn't submit this work as an exam or
assignment.

Intersections of Identity

In this lesson, you'll learn how identities like class, race, ethnicity,
gender, and sexuality shape people’s lives. You'll also learn the ways
that societies use identity to construct inequalities.

Concepts of Class

Class is how people are grouped in society. A person’s class is mostly

determined by how much money they have. It creates divisions and
inequalities between groups of people.

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Everyday experiences (micro-level) are linked to the big picture (macro-
level) of the global economy and politics. Both contribute to inequality
between classes.

Karl Marx and Max Weber agreed that class affects a person’s
opportunities in life. They saw class inequality as linked to conflict and
struggles for power. Although they both believed this, their ways of
explaining their belief differed.

Marx and Capitalism

Marx saw society as divided into two groups.

1. The capitalist class had capital, or money, to invest in factories

and businesses.
2. The working class worked in factories.

To Marx, this division caused conflict between the classes and led to
economic inequality. Factory owners wanted to make the maximum
profits, so they paid workers as little as possible.

Weber and Life Chances

Weber looked at more than economic inequality between classes. He

considered life chances, the opportunities a person has to get the
resources needed to make life better. This view included the middle
class. They weren’t in positions of control, but they had more education
or training than workers. Their life chances were better than those of the
working class.

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Functionalism

Unlike conflict theorists, functionalists saw class divisions as good for

society. They believed that people with more education, training, and
talent were more qualified to fill higher positions. People with more skills
were entitled to greater rewards.

This approach failed to account for the following:

Pre-existing inequalities
Barriers to mobility
What defines an “important position”
Who decides which positions are important

A person whose family has access to education and special

training usually ends up with a better position than someone without that
access. The person with more means gets more resources. In turn, they
have more power. This type of inequality is passed down through
generations and supports inequality in society.

Class Inequality in the United States

The United States is known for extreme class inequality. Resources are
unequally distributed among groups. This is justified by an accepted
ideology.

There are four major class divisions in America based on income, the
money a person gets from sources such as work, interest, dividends,
and rent. The source of a person’s income depends on his or her class.

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 1. Capitalist or Upper Class: People in this class make most of their
income from their wealth (existing financial assets). For example,
they own rental properties or invest in the stock market. This is a
small percentage of Americans who are usually born into wealth.
2. Middle Class: The middle class is much bigger than the upper
class. It has upper and lower divisions. Middle-class individuals
earn their income from their job salary. Education and training are
important to people in the middle class. It allows them to get better
jobs. Upper-middle-class jobs include doctors, lawyers, and
engineers. Lower-middle-class jobs include teachers, social
workers, and managers. Education isn’t something that can be
passed down, so each generation must get an education to
maintain their class position.
3. Working Class: Nearly half of all Americans belong to the working
class. They work for an hourly wage at service or manufacturing
jobs. This broad class includes skilled and unskilled workers.
4. Underclass or Lower Class: Individuals in this class are
considered poor. They don’t hold jobs for long. When they do work,
it's usually for cash “under the table.” The reasons people find
themselves in the lower class vary and include factors such as
addiction, physical disability, and an unwillingness to work.

The wealth gap between the top upper class and everyone else in the
US is wide. Money earned from stock and other investments (capital
gains) and assets minus debt (net worth) provides evidence of the
unequal distribution.

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No matter how hard someone works, how educated they are, or how
much talent they have, their ability to move into the upper class is
limited. While class structure limits upward mobility, class mobility
(moving from one social class to another) occurs. For example, a
person in the middle class could lose their job and move down in class.

The type of jobs available can change the entire class system
(structural mobility). For example, when businesses move
manufacturing jobs overseas and shut down operations in America, it
puts many people out of work. Those people may take lower-paying
jobs. In that case, a large number of middle-class individuals may shift
to the lower class.

Sometimes, a person’s class changes as a result of their actions without

any change to the larger class structure (individual mobility). An
example of this is when a person from the lower class goes to college
and gets a well-paying job that allows them to move into the middle
class.

Class Inequality Impacts Social Life

Class affects every aspect of life, including health, education, work,

politics, and lifestyle.

Health. People with more means have access to better food, better
healthcare, and better health insurance. They're also usually more
informed about health-related matters. Studies show that people with
more income and education are less likely to die from diseases like

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diabetes and cancer.

Education. Education and class are strongly linked. The quality of

education a person gets depends on the class they’re born into. It also
influences their class in the future. The more money a person has, the
more likely they are to have access to extras like tutors, which raises
their chances of getting into a better school. Education costs make
college impossible for many lower-class individuals. In addition to
financial issues, a lack of cultural capital impacts some individuals. They
may lack encouragement and support from their family to get a college
education. Even when lower-income individuals go to college, they're at
a disadvantage. They may not be able to afford things like
applications to multiple schools or unpaid internships. They might
not have connections to influential networks to help them with
educational or career opportunities. Because of this, even though higher
education helps people advance, it also contributes to class division and
inequality.

Work. Working-class jobs are usually controlled and structured. Middle-

class workers have more freedom and flexibility on the job, as well as a
better work environment. This is especially true of the upper-middle
class who have better benefits, insurance, and paid time off.

Politics. People who make more money tend to participate in politics.

They're more likely to vote. Many fund campaigns to promote
candidates who support their interests. Being involved in politics gives
people more power in society.

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Lifestyle. People with more wealth and education often feel superior to
and discriminate against those who don’t have the same means
(classism). This can mean more benefits for the upper class and fewer
benefits for the lower class. This is another way that class divides
people and inequalities are maintained. Sometimes, people try to
change how others view them by spending excessively to show off
(conspicuous consumption).

Poverty

When you think of poverty, you probably think of absolute poverty, the
extreme lack of resources necessary for life. About 10 percent of the
world’s population experience this.

Relative poverty, when a person’s way of life falls below the accepted
cultural standard, is more common. In the US, the poverty line is a set
income level that’s calculated each year. It's used to determine how
many people live in poverty (poverty rate).

There are several myths about people who live in poverty:

Myth Fact

Most people in The majority of poor people are white. There's also a remarkable
poverty are black. increase in the number of women living in poverty (the feminization
of poverty).

Most people stay in

poverty for a long People move in and out of poverty from year to year.
time.

People in poverty The reasons for most poverty are factors people can’t control such
won’t work. as being born into it, job loss, divorce, or illness.

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In the US, the prevailing ideology is that society is fair and that the
following statements are true:

Everyone has equal opportunity, the same chance to succeed.

People are rewarded based on their accomplishments
(meritocracy).
Individual hard work (individualism) allows you to achieve
success.

Unfortunately, this ideology ignores the structural confines of class

division.

Class Reproduction

Just like money (inheritance, or financial capital) is passed down in

families, other types of capital are passed down too. This helps
reproduce class structure and inequality.

Cultural capital, cultural resources like knowledge and skills, and

social capital, like influential connections, maintain class-based
behaviors and attitudes that divide groups. Because families are the
primary agents of socialization, they're largely responsible for class
reproduction.

Schools are another contributor to class reproduction. As an agent of

individual mobility, education increases a person’s overall chances of
getting a well-paying job. However, education doesn't change the class
structure. Regardless of education, the playing field isn't equal for all

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people. For example, public schools sort students and gear them toward
specific (unequal) outcomes based on class.

Schools perpetuate the ideology that if students work hard enough,

they'll succeed. When they don’t, it puts the blame of failure on the
student, not on structural shortcomings and barriers of mobility in
society.

Public Policy and Inequality

Public policy in the US increases inequality because of the equal

opportunity approach. Encouraging people to get an education to move
up in class (individual mobility) doesn’t change the overall class
structure like an equal outcome approach might. An example of an
equal outcome approach to reducing economic inequality is for the
government to increase the minimum wage.

Another equal outcome approach to reducing inequality is to use

progressive taxation, under which the wealthy would pay
proportionally more in taxes. Under current tax policy, middle-income
families pay the highest taxes in the US and corporations pay least. The
government has to make up for corporate tax cuts, so working and
middle-class individuals pay a disproportionate amount of taxes
(regressive taxation).

Public assistance like tax credits, payments, and government benefits

is another way to target economic inequality. For example, people
receive government assistance for food, childcare, and housing. Other

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forms of public assistance are state college education subsidies and
home mortgage interest tax deductions. Corporations also get subsidies
and tax breaks that fall under public assistance.

Programs like those in place for middle- and upper-class individuals are
politically driven. Those with resources have power and those with
power make the rules in politics and society.

Global Inequality

Just as inequality in the United States impacts every aspect of life, the
same is true on the global level. The amount of money a country makes
can impact its citizens in the following ways:

Life expectancy is lower in poor countries. People don’t live as

long and die from preventable diseases.
Adequate housing isn't accessible to many people in other
countries. More than 800 million people worldwide live in slums.
Education is unavailable to many people around the world, either
due to cost or because children must go to work at a young age.
This contributes to world illiteracy.

Each country’s public policy determines how they're run and the level of
inequality that exists. Poor countries with limited resources are usually
run by corrupt, controlling governments that ensure an unequal
distribution of resources and inequality. The United States is a wealthy
country but has the most unequal distribution of wealth in the world.

Poverty around the world has decreased in recent years. This is mainly

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due to the economic growth in China and India. These are large
countries with dense populations, so when change occurs, it's
significant enough to alter global rates.

Changes in other countries also affect the United States. When other
countries grow, they use more resources, causing oil and food prices to
rise worldwide. When manufacturing jobs are sent overseas, it
takes opportunities away from Americans and leads to higher
unemployment rates.

Theories of Global Inequality

There are multiple reasons for global inequality. While a country’s

wealth, or how many natural resources they have, is a big factor,
sociologists also look at social causes like culture and power. Some
prominent theories include:

Modernization theory suggests that some countries resist keeping

up with the times and won’t embrace industrialization due to cultural
beliefs about family, religion, and materialism.
Dependency theory says that global inequality stems from
underdeveloped countries depending on more advanced countries
for support. The advanced country has power over the
underdeveloped country.
Colonialism is when one nation conquers and settles a less
powerful one to take advantage of its natural resources and local
labor. The overtaking country controls the politics and economy of
the other country and often uses military force.

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 Neocolonialism is a less invasive and less forceful approach than
colonialism. For example, the United States might use funding or
trade agreements to influence how a smaller country operates in
the global market.

World-Systems Analysis

World-systems analysis is another approach to global inequality that

suggests all countries are linked by a global economy. Because of this
interdependent relationship, some countries benefit and others are
exploited. Countries are sorted into three types:

1. Core nations are the world’s wealthiest nations, such as the United
States, Canada, and Japan.
2. Periphery nations are the poorest and least powerful, such as
many countries in Africa and Latin America.
3. Semi-periphery nations are middle-income nations like China and
India.

Poorer countries depend on wealthier ones for economic growth and

development. Poor nations try to attract foreign investors by offering
workers at low wages, huge tax breaks, and a willingness to
compromise worker safety and the environment.

Global Financial Institutions

Global financial institutions have power over the economy and the social
policies of poor countries. They provide funding for development and aid

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to poor nations. For example, the World Bank gives loans (structural
adjustment programs) to poor countries. Unfortunately, to get that
financial help, countries often have to sacrifice the health and education
of their people. The fair trade movement is one effort to end this type of
activity.

American Inequality in the Global Context

From 1945 to the 1970s the US economy grew dramatically. After that
time, US companies fell behind in technology and exported many
manufacturing jobs. This failure to invest in the country’s manufacturing
capacity (deindustrialization) hurt middle- and working-class people in
America. It also increased inequality.

From 1979 to 2012, the richest people in America continued to get

richer. Others saw little or no income growth. This widened the inequality
gap. It also led to the need for two-income households so that people
could maintain their standard of living, affecting family and social
structure. The gap between the rich and poor in America continues to
widen.

Key Points and Links

READING ASSIGNMENT

Key Points

Class is how different groups in society are divided based on

financial and cultural resources.
Marx saw society as divided into two groups: owners and workers.

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 Weber considered life chances, the opportunities a person has to
access the resources needed to make life better.
In the United States, there are four main classes: upper, middle,
working, and lower.
The functionalist approach saw class divisions as good for society
but failed to overlook issues like barriers to mobility and preexisting
inequalities.
Class affects every aspect of life, including health, education, work,
politics, and lifestyle.
Poverty is absolute (extreme) or relative (based on your context)
and continues to be a prevalent issue worldwide.
American society is driven by the dominant ideology of equal
opportunity, meritocracy, and individualism, which suggests that
social stratification is open and fair but supports class inequality.
Theories of global inequality include modernization theory,
dependency theory, colonialism, neocolonialism, and world-
systems analysis.
In recent decades, the wealthiest in America continued to get
wealthier at a disproportionate rate, further widening the inequality
gap between the rich and poor.

Exercise: Class and Global Inequality

Fill in the blanks.

1. The money to invest in business is called _______.

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 2. Weber described the possibility of a person getting economic or
cultural resources as their _______.
3. The _______ class is a broad class that contributes specialized
knowledge and expertise.
4. _______ can't be inherited, so each generation must continue to
learn.
5. _______ occurs due to a shift in available jobs which changes the
overall class system.
6. Someone who spends excessively to buy material goods in an
attempt to gain status and show off is committing _______.
7. If a person is denied entry into an elite country club because they
aren’t “good enough,” the club is guilty of _______.
8. Extreme poverty that's life-threatening is called _______ poverty.
9. Knowledge, skills, and other cultural resources are called _______.
10. _______ theory attributes global inequality to powerful nations
exploiting weaker or poorer ones.

Respond to the following based on your reading.

11. Karl Marx looked at class as having two major divisions that
interact contributing to inequality. Briefly describe the classes and
their interaction according to Marx.
12. Why did functionalists believe class stratification was good for
society?
13. What is the difference between wealth and income?
14. Name two reasons people in the underclass may be chronically
unemployed.

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15. List two misconceptions about poverty.
16. What are the three intertwined ideas forming the dominant ideology
in the United States about inequality?

Exercise Answer Key:

Exercise: Class and Global Inequality

1. capital
2. life chances
3. middle
4. Education
5. Structural mobility
6. conspicuous consumption
7. classism
8. absolute
9. cultural capital
10. Dependency
11. Marx looked at the capitalist class and the working class. The
capitalists owned factories and other businesses and the working
class worked for the capitalists. The owners wanted to make the
maximum profit, so they paid workers as little as possible. This
created conflict between the classes and widened the inequalities
between them.
12. Functionalists believed that for society to survive, the most qualified
people must do the most important positions. Because those
positions usually require more skills and training, the functionalists
felt that people in those positions should be justly rewarded.

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 Functionalists saw this as a continuum of contribution in society that
helps it run smoothly.
13. Wealth refers to financial assets including savings, real estate, and
stocks minus debt. Income is the money made from a person’s job
(salary) or money generated from their wealth, such as rent from
rental properties, interest from savings, or dividends from stocks.
14. (1) They may lack the skills or education for the jobs available
where they live; (2) They may have substance abuse issues, or (3)
They may have a physical disability preventing them from working.
15. (1) Most people living in poverty are black; (2) People remain in
poverty for a long time, or (3) People in poverty won't work.
16. The dominant ideology about inequality is that society is fair to
everyone (equal opportunity), that people are rewarded according
to their abilities (meritocracy), and those individual efforts are more
important than the group (individualism).

Critical Thinking Question Guide

READING STUDY MATERIAL

Critical Thinking Questions and Activities Chapter 9

1. Class shapes everyone’s life. The economic, social, and cultural

capital passed from one generation to the next influence class.

Some people enjoy the privileges of wealth, social status, and

social connections due to their family’s class. Others must deal with
mobility barriers like poverty, lack of social connections, and a lack
of opportunity.

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 Most people are taught some version of the ideas of equal
opportunity, that everyone has the same opportunities in America;
of meritocracy, that if you work hard you'll be justly rewarded for
your efforts; and of individualism, that your individual hard work will
take you where you want to go in life.

Each family’s relationship between their ideology and class position

differs.

2. For first-generation college students, class issues can arise. For

example, parents may not have advice on how to search for
colleges or programs, application fees may be more than a family
can afford, certain schools may be off-limits due to expense, and
once in college, some students may not feel they fit in with others of
a higher social class.

3. Whether someone is rich or poor depends on multiple factors, such

as the class they're born into. If someone is born into the upper
class, they likely inherit a fortune and will be rich. Alternatively, if
someone is born into extreme poverty, it's a challenge to get out of
that situation regardless of how hard the individual works to do so.
While it's not impossible to dramatically change class, it's often
difficult due to mobility barriers and a wide inequality gap that
prevents some individuals from accessing resources available to
others.

These structural forces in place in society have a significant bearing

on vertical mobility regardless of the common ideology of equal

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 opportunity, meritocracy, and individualism.

4. Economic globalization has taken jobs from US workers and moved

them overseas to take advantage of cheap labor and tax loopholes.
In many cases, the countries where the jobs go are also put at a
disadvantage with workers forced into unsafe conditions and low
wages.

5. Based on the premise of offering goods at very low prices to sell

more goods, Walmart moved a large volume of products and
benefited by being able to buy goods from manufacturers at lower
prices.

Walmart could increase profits even more using foreign-made

goods, with China as its top choice of suppliers.

By using foreign manufacturers and suppliers, Walmart takes those

manufacturing jobs away from Americans. The very people who
would be doing those jobs – the working class – are the people
Walmart caters to. The company does business at the expense of
its own customer base. But due to deindustrialization and jobs lost
due to globalization, the working class is forced to do business with
cost-cutting discount stores like Walmart because they offer lower
prices than anyone else.

6. Trump won the election in 2016 largely because he carried Rust

Belt states. He did surprisingly well in small cities and towns there.
Trump appealed to “ordinary” people in his campaign and that

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 possibly resonated because they were angry and frustrated as a
result of industrial decline (deindustrialization).

5.2 Consider how racial and ethnic identities are socially

constructed and how this influences power structures
Race and Ethnicity
READING ASSIGNMENT
Read this assignment, along with Chapter 10 in your textbook. Complete the
Critical Thinking Questions at the end of Chapter 10 to test your knowledge of
the lesson materials. Check your answers against those found under
the Additional Study Materials in this lesson. You shouldn't submit this work as
an exam or assignment.

Culture, Race, and Ethnicity

People are often classified by race and ethnicity. Race is a physical

characteristic like skin color and ethnicity is a person’s cultural heritage.
An example of race is white. Hispanic is an example of ethnicity. Both
are social constructs, ideas created and accepted by society that aren’t
necessarily accurate.

Ethnicity includes language, religion, and customs of a specific culture.

Ethnicity and race are sometimes confused, but race is the most
misunderstood. That misunderstanding goes back to the 1700s.
European scientists classified people based on physical traits. They
added their own judgments based on their feelings of superiority. Their

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belief in racial essentialism, that natural differences separate races,
was the foundation of racism, the belief that one race is superior to
another.

Race isn't biologically based. There are no significant biological

differences between races.

Structure and Power in Racial and Ethnic Groups

How people are viewed determines how they're treated. This can lead to
social inequality between groups.

Majority and Minority Groups

Minority groups, singled out because of physical or cultural traits, are

often linked to discrimination, unequal treatment based on
characteristics like race, ethnicity, or gender. People in minority groups
usually have lower incomes, less education, less political influence, and
poorer health.

Majority groups have privilege and power because of their ethnicity or

race. The majority dominates society.

Majority and Minority Group Interaction

Minority groups have to learn to get along in the majority-dominated

world. In the process, they face negative prejudgment (prejudice) and
are subject to stereotypes (oversimplified ideas about groups of
people).

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The ways minority and majority groups interact range from harmless to
deadly.

Pluralism means that groups keep their own identity and exist
together equally. The seal of the United States bears the motto E
Pluribus Unum. It means “Out of many, one.” This suggests
pluralism.
Amalgamation is when two or more cultures blend to create a new
one. For example, diverse cultures make up the United States,
which is why America has been referred to as a "melting pot."
Assimilation occurs when a minority individual or group gives up
their own identity to be like the majority. Many immigrants that
come to the United States assimilate to the American way of life.
Segregation occurs when two groups are physically and socially
separated. Prior to the civil rights movement, racial segregation
existed between whites and African Americans in the United States.
Genocide is the mass killing of a group based on their race,
ethnicity, or religion. In Rwanda, Africa during a 100-day period in
1994, more than 500,000 people were murdered by the
government to wipe out a specific tribe.

There are four ways that minorities respond to discrimination:

1. Withdrawal means a group escapes the majority to avoid

discrimination. An example of this is how minority groups create
their own communities such as Chinatown in San Francisco.
2. Passing is being able to be identified as a member of a group other

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 than your own. For example, a person of mixed-race passing as
white.
3. Code-switching refers to shifting between cultures and choosing
how you communicate based on who you're dealing with. For
example, an African American who works in a white environment
may change the way he or she speaks to fit in.
4. Resistance is defying the majority openly. The civil rights
movement is an example of this.

History of Race and Ethnicity in America

Throughout history, race and ethnicity played a part in how people

interacted, who had power, and how social inequality developed for
certain groups. Racial issues started early in America and existed
between various groups, not just blacks and whites.

Native People

When European settlers arrived in America, millions of Native

Americans were already here. Europeans didn’t understand Native
American culture. They wanted the native people to conform to
European ways. Disputes over culture, land, and religion led to battles.
Many Native Americans were killed. Others died from diseases brought
by the settlers.

After the United States was formed, the government forced Native
Americans onto reservations. Their children were taken and put in
boarding schools to learn American culture. What was once a thriving

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population was reduced to an oppressed minority.

Hispanics or Latinos

Mexican Americans are the largest and oldest Latino group in the United
States. Immigrants from Mexico came to the United States as
farmworkers in the 1900s. That continued for years. Despite periods of
history when immigrant numbers were limited, entering the United
States has been relatively easy for Mexicans.

After Fidel Castro took power in 1959, many Cubans fled to the United
States to escape communist rule. Upper- and middle-class Cubans went
to Florida to prevent their property and money from being taken. Many
Cuban-Americans still seek restitution for what their families lost during
that time.

The United States won the island of Puerto Rico in the Spanish-
American war. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship;
however, they don't have the right to vote and aren't represented in
Congress.

WASPs and White Ethnic Groups

White Anglo Saxon Protestants (WASPs) were the first immigrants to

the New World. They felt superior because they developed the country
and held all the power.

After the War of 1812, millions of Irish and German immigrants came to
America. As more immigrants came, rules had to be made about

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immigration. For example, immigrants coming to America had to
document their ethnicity.

In 1849 the first laws to slow immigration were made. Even though the
immigrants were white, WASPs discriminated against them based on
religion and language. Most of the immigrants were Catholics who didn’t
speak English.

Many entered indentured servitude to work for the white elite building
settlements and farming. Indentured servitude is similar to slavery, but
is temporary. Contracts lasted several years. After that, servants got a
small piece of land or money and were free. Indentured servitude
declined as fewer immigrants volunteered.

With industrialization, more immigrants came to work in factories. These

were mostly white people from southern and eastern Europe. They were
treated poorly, discriminated against, and not allowed the same rights
as WASPs. Eventually, those white ethnic groups learned English and
became part of mainstream society.

African Americans

When America was being settled, blacks and whites had similar rights.
But with fewer indentured servants, white planters took Africans for
slaves and created a cycle that made slavery necessary to the
economy.

Goods from England were shipped to Africa. Those goods were traded
for slaves that other Africans had kidnapped to sell to Europeans. The

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slaves were then shipped to America and exchanged for items like
tobacco, rice, and cotton. Those goods were shipped back to England
and the process repeated.

Because African slaves were a necessary part of this three-stage trade

cycle, the ideology changed to justify that. Religion and false science
were used to support claims that blacks were inferior. Laws were
passed that made slaves property and made it illegal for them to be
educated.

Slaves were treated inhumanely. Many resisted and some escaped, but
slavery lasted nearly 100 years before it was made illegal in the United
States. Even then, segregation, oppression, and discrimination of blacks
continued. Significant changes didn't come until the civil rights
movement of the 1960s.

Asian Americans

Chinese immigrants came to America hoping to strike it rich in

California’s Gold Rush in the mid-nineteenth century. After that, many
Chinese stayed to work on the transcontinental railroad. Because they
were not white, the Chinese could not become US citizens. They were
taxed excessively and blamed for taking white workers’ jobs. In 1882,
Chinese immigration was banned. There were various versions of the
ban until the 1940s.

Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos all have different cultures, but similar
situations. Many were recruited to work on sugarcane plantations in

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Hawaii in the late 1800s and early 1900s. From there, many went on to
work on farms in California.

After Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese in 1941, more than
100,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned in concentration camps
by executive order of President Franklin Roosevelt. They were held
throughout World War II—the last internment camp closed in March
1946.

A stark relocation camp in

Colorado consists of crude
buildings where Japanese
Americans lived surrounded by
barbed wire.

In 1988, the US government gave each survivor of the internment

camps $20,000 and a formal apology for the extreme violation of their
civil liberties.

Diversity Today

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The United States is the most diverse country in the world, with large
populations of whites, Hispanics, and African Americans.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed to end

discrimination against certain immigrants, to reunite families separated
due to immigration laws, and to encourage skilled workers to come to
the United States. The number of foreign-born immigrants skyrocketed
following this act. This continues to change the diversity of the United
States.

Today many immigrants are transnational migrants who settle in the

United States but maintain strong ties to their birth country. Many
immigrants send money to relatives in their homeland (remittance).

Racial and Ethnic Inequality Today

As diverse as the United States is, issues related to race and ethnicity
continue. It helps to look at individual behaviors and policies of social
institutions to understand them.

Individual Versus Institutional Discrimination

Individual discrimination is an issue between individuals or small

groups, such as when a landlord only rents to whites. Institutional
discrimination is built into the government, schools, and businesses.
The placement of Japanese Americans in internment camps is a blatant
example of institutional discrimination. A more subtle example is racial
profiling.

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Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination

Sociologists explain prejudice and discrimination through culture, group

interests, or a combination of those views. People are shaped by
socialization from birth. Just like you learned to follow the rules of your
family and how to behave in public, you also learned prejudices related
to your culture.

Socialization guides people on who to interact with. Most people spend

time with people like themselves and avoid people who are very
different. That creates negative stereotypes.

The contact hypothesis suggests that bringing members of different

groups together will reduce prejudice. Banning segregation is an
example of contact hypothesis.

Group interest is a way to explain prejudice and discrimination which

focuses on the idea of groups competing for resources. For example,
split labor market theory suggests that conflicts arise between racial
or ethnic groups when they compete for the same jobs. A related idea is
the scapegoat theory. This is when a person or group needs someone
to blame (a scapegoat) for his or her misfortune. A notable example is
Hitler targeting Jewish people as a scapegoat to explain the dire
circumstances of Germans after World War I.

Developments that Altered Racial and Ethnic Inequality in

America

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Four race- and ethnicity-related developments contributed to change in
culture, structure, and power in society:

1. The death of "old racism": This refers to old beliefs and ideas
about race being eliminated. For example, old ways of legal racial
discrimination and segregation were banned. As a result, tolerance
has increased, and acceptance and diversity are encouraged.

2. Enduring inequalities: Enduring inequalities in all aspects of

social life from the economy to education, healthcare, and the
criminal justice system continue in spite of old ideas being replaced
and new ones.

3. Racialization of the state: The black-white wealth gap gets at the

idea of what some call the racialization of the state, institutional
policies that discriminated against minorities and provided
advantages to whites. The most obvious example is the legalization
of slavery. Acts like preventing blacks from competing with whites
in business made it harder for blacks to get bank loans and save
money that could be passed down to their children.

Those laws have changed, but the effects last. In an attempt to

overcome the legacy of racial inequality, policies and programs
have been put in place to avoid discrimination through active
recruitment of qualified minorities for jobs, promotions, and
educational opportunities (affirmative action).

4. "New racism": This refers to how new beliefs that reject racism

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 replaced old beliefs, but some of the new beliefs perpetuate
inequalities

Hidden prejudice exists when people have prejudices but

hide their feelings.
Implicit bias occurs when racial bias exists on the
subconscious level. These are based on learned stereotypes
and prejudices.
Color-blind racism involves treating race as neutral, making
the topic taboo, or treating issues like discrimination like they
never happened.

Multiracial and Multiethnic Identities

As society’s views of race and ethnicity change over time, it changes

how people identify. People are embracing their ancestry, identifying as
multiracial, and intermarrying more now than ever. Intermarriage is
predicted to continue to increase. This will continue to change views of
race and ethnicity. It will also blur the lines between races and could
make race less significant in society.

Key Points and Links

READING ASSIGNMENT

Key Points

Ethnicity and race are two ways people are classified. Both are
social constructs and neither has a biological foundation.
Minority groups are held at a disadvantage and discriminated

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 against by dominant groups.
Minority and majority groups interact in various ways, including
pluralism, amalgamation, assimilation, segregation, and genocide.
Minorities may withdraw, pass, code-switch, or resist in response to
discrimination.
Many ethnic groups and cultures contributed to the formation of the
US. All of them suffered discrimination by the elite founders, known
as WASPs.
When indentured servitude failed to supply enough workers for
wealthy whites, a race-based ideology was developed to justify
enslaving black Africans.
Ethnic diversity in the United States increased as a result of
immigration from Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Many immigrants who appeared white weren't considered white by
WASPs until they learned English and assimilated into society.

Exercise: Race and Ethnicity

Fill in the blanks.

1. The blending of cultures is referred to as _______.

2. A person moves from Slovakia to the United States and starts
dressing like American people dress in order to fit in. This is an
example of _______.
3. When Chinese immigrants were discriminated against and created
their own Chinatown in San Francisco, this was an example of ​‐

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 _______, which is one way minority groups respond to
discrimination.
4. _______ suggests that structured contact between different groups
for extended periods reduces prejudice.
5. The _______ theory suggests that conflicts arise between racial or
ethnic groups when they compete for the same jobs.
6. Discrimination that's built into society in its institutions like the
government, schools, and businesses is called _______
discrimination.
7. Banning segregation so that blacks and whites could interact
regularly is an example of _______.
8. _______ is a form of bias that promotes race neutrality and that
some consider more damaging than helpful.

Respond to the following based on your reading.

9. How was indentured servitude different from slavery?

10. List four race- and ethnicity-related developments that contributed
to changes in culture, structure, and power in society.
11. Briefly distinguish between race and ethnicity.
12. What does it mean to say that race is socially constructed?
13. Give an example of code-switching.
14. African Americans weren’t the only group discriminated against in
the history of America. Name one other group who faced
discrimination.

Exercise Answer Key:

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Exercise: Race and Ethnicity

1. amalgamation
2. assimilation
3. withdrawal
4. Contact hypothesis
5. split labor market
6. institutional
7. contact hypothesis
8. Color-blind racism
9. Indentured servants were under a contract, usually for several
years, but when their contract ended, they were free to leave.
Slavery was permanent.
10. The four developments that contributed to change in culture,
structure, and power were:
The death of “old racism”
Enduring inequality still exists
The black-white wealth gap
“New racism” including hidden prejudice, implicit bias, and
color-blind racism
11. Race is based on physical characteristics such as skin color and
ethnicity is based on a shared cultural heritage.
12. Race, on its own, is unimportant and insignificant. People have
given race significance to serve their agenda in society.
13. An example of code-switching is when an African American uses
language that's considered more “white” when speaking to their
white friends at college, but uses different, more familiar language

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 when they're around their black friends and family.
14. Native Americans, Mexicans, Japanese, and Irish immigrants are
all groups that faced discrimination.

Critical Thinking Question Guide

READING STUDY MATERIAL

Critical Thinking Questions and Activities Chapter 10

1. There's no biological basis for race. There's one human race and
no significant biological differences exist between racial groups.

The misinformation about race being a biologically based difference

dates back to the 1700s. European scientists made biological
classifications based on physical characteristics. When doing so,
these scientists added their own personal judgments to the
classifications based on their feelings of superiority. They believed
in racial essentialism, that natural differences separate races. This
was the foundation of racism, the belief that one race is superior to
another.

2. Race and ethnicity are concepts that children become aware of

through interaction with others, and the topics are often discussed
within the family. Children are socialized with some stereotypes
about others. As people mature and get out into the world,
especially in situations where they're exposed to other races and
cultures, their attitudes can change. They realize that stereotypes
are exaggerated and often untrue.

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 3. This answer will vary; however, history is typically taught from a
one-sided perspective and tends to be skewed. Also, often the time
period when a person went to high school will determine what they
were taught about race and ethnicity. The incorrect idea that race is
biologically based was taught for many years.

4. The changing demographics in the US could lead to increased

acceptance of diversity and shift the social norms related to race
and ethnicity.

5. Younger people today are more diverse and accepting of other

races and ethnicities than previous generations. This is likely due to
the diversity of millennials and post-millennials. According to
research, the millennial generation is 44 percent minority. This will
lead to a more racially and ethnically diverse American culture over
time.

6. Trump as president has changed views on all types of social

issues, including race and ethnicity. His suggested policies on
immigration, acts to stop immigration, and statements about non-
white races have fueled discussions between groups that have
caused division.

5.3 Distinguish the ways that societal ideas about gender

and sexuality result in inequality

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Gender and Sexuality
READING ASSIGNMENT
Read this assignment, along with Chapter 11 in your textbook. Complete the
Critical Thinking Questions at the end of Chapter 11 to test your knowledge of
the lesson materials. Check your answers against those found under
the Additional Study Materials in this lesson. You shouldn't submit this work as
an exam or assignment.

Biology, Sex, and Culture

Sex is biological. The combination of genetic material from each parent

determines a baby’s sex. Sex determines the development of primary
sex characteristics (genitals) and secondary sex characteristics like
males having more muscle mass than females. Primary sex
characteristics are involved in reproduction. A small percentage of
people are intersexual, born with reproductive anatomy that's not
clearly male or female.

Gender is a social construct. It's based on cultural expectations for

males and females. The influence of culture begins at birth. Ideas about
gender change over time and differ between cultures. For example, at
one time females didn’t have basic rights that males had, like being able
to vote. Over time, activism changed this.

Gender Identity and Expression

Whether a person identifies as male, female, or a combination of the

two is their gender identity. This is learned through socialization.

Gender expression is how a person communicates their gender identity

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to others. This occurs through dress, behavior, and general appearance.

Gender identity and gender expression don't always match a person’s

sex.

Transgender individuals identify with a gender different from the one

associated with their sex. Some transgender individuals choose to have
sex reassignment surgery to change their anatomy to match the gender
they identify with (transsexual). This should not be confused with a
transvestite, which is someone who dresses as the opposite sex.

Ideas about what it means to be male or female vary with race, class,
and other social constructs. For example, there's a general idea of
masculinity, characteristics associated with men, but norms vary
between groups. Gender, race, and class come together to yield a
variety of ideas about what being masculine looks like.

Society promotes male superiority (sexism) and focuses on differences

between males and females. That gives men more power and causes
gender inequality.

Socialization and Gender

Gender is taught through socialization. Gender expectations (gender

roles) are reinforced throughout society.

In daily life, gender is created through social interactions. Some

sociologists refer to gender development through interaction as “doing
gender.” Every interaction reinforces gender differences.

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In the context of social structures and institutions, people are compelled
to fulfill the cultural norm for their gender. When they don’t, there can be
negative reactions from society. For example, female doctors may not
get the respect they deserve. Male nurses are sometimes stereotyped
as homosexual and mocked.

The family has the biggest influence on a person’s understanding of

gender. Even before birth, gender-reveal parties emphasize “boy or girl”
and what that means in society. After a baby is born, it's likely brought
home to a pink or blue nursery.

Parents interact with their children differently based on the child’s sex.
Encouraging play with gender-stereotyped toys, praising traditional
gender-linked behaviors, and directing children toward certain clothes,
chores, or sports send strong gender role messages.

Schools reinforce gender roles through expected and allowed behavior,

dress, and even curriculum differences for males and females. Some
schools now work to be inclusive to all types of students, including
transgender individuals.

Gender Inequality

Gender stratification refers to social ranking. In society, there's an

unequal distribution of power and resources between males and
females. Men rank higher in status. Inequalities between males and
females began with patriarchy, a system where men hold power over
women in society.

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Patriarchy is likely rooted in sex differences and economic factors.
Before modern times, the ability to get pregnant and breastfeed kept
women at home, out of the workforce, and ultimately out of an income-
earning position. This, plus men’s larger size and greater strength, set
the stage for a patriarchal society.

While sex differences between males and females are less of an issue
now, and physical strength is less of a factor in most jobs due to
mechanization, gender-based inequality continues.

Education and the Pay Gap

It’s illegal for employers to pay women less than men. Unfortunately,
that isn’t enough to bridge the pay gap, or difference in what men and
women earn. Several factors contribute to the pay gap.

Education

People with college degrees earn more than those without them.
Traditionally, more men than women went to college; however, this is
changing.

College major impacts earning power. In the past more than now,
women got degrees for lower-paying professions (like teaching) while
men got degrees in fields like engineering, math, and science that lead
to higher-paying jobs.

Workforce participation

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Having children and staying home to raise them prevented many women
from working outside the home. That changed after birth control pills
were introduced in the 1960s. This allowed women to delay or prevent
pregnancy to pursue a career instead.

Work patterns related to gender norms and family also contribute to the
pay gap. Women are more likely than men to reduce work hours, take
time off, quit a job, or turn down a promotion to take care of family
responsibilities.

Gender Discrimination and the Glass Ceiling

Higher paying jobs tend to be in male-dominated fields where women

face discrimination. The glass ceiling, an invisible barrier created by
sexism that prevents women from advancing in their career, explains
why women rarely occupy jobs in the highest levels of corporate
management.

Subtle forms of discrimination against women related to work are

evident in actions like the following:

Encouraging heterosexual women to stay home and raise a family

Viewing women’s decisions as illogical and emotionally driven
Pressuring women in high positions to adopt attitudes of men

Gender Dynamics in the Family, Politics, and Religion

Housework, politics, and even religion are gender-biased.

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Family

When it comes to family, women are expected to be responsible for

housework and childcare. Even though more women work outside the
home now than ever, most face the second shift when they get home.
In other words, their official workday is over, but the housework and
childcare still have to be done once they get home. It’s like a second
job.

Politics

Approaching the 100-year anniversary of women’s right to vote is a

reminder of the progress that's been made. But the very small
percentage of women with political positions compared to men is a
reminder of how far there is to go.

Only one in five members of Congress is female. All governors except

nine are male. A lack of female presence in high-ranking political offices
means women lack representation in all areas, including those directly
related to women, like reproductive rights.

Religion

Religions of the world restrict women’s involvement at high levels. Even

God and other prominent religious figures are portrayed as male.
Female submission, male domination, and patriarchy are promoted in
many holy writings and teachings. For example, in the Bible, man was
created first and given dominion over woman.

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Now that gender equality is a mainstream topic, shifts in religion are
happening. For example, more women are becoming pastors and
priests.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is another type of gender discrimination. It includes

anything from inappropriate jokes and improper sexual language to
blatant physical harassment of a sexual nature. Recent media coverage
of harassment has raised awareness about how common sexual
harassment against women is.

The Me Too movement started in 2006 to bring attention and support to

women who suffered sexual harassment. It was not until 2017 when
women in Hollywood started coming forward to accuse Harvey
Weinstein of sexual harassment that the movement took off. Now,
countless accusations later, #MeToo is the slogan for the anti-sexual
harassment movement.

Gendered Violence

Sexual harassment is an abuse of power. Taken to the next level, it

becomes gendered violence. In 1850, Tennessee was the first state to
make wife abuse illegal. It took until 1920 for it to become illegal in all 50
states.

With this history of acceptable domestic violence (also called intimate

partner violence), abusive behavior used by one partner in a

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relationship to control another, it’s no surprise that violence against
women is often overlooked. A significant portion of domestic violence
involves sexual assault.

Domestic violence occurs in heterosexual relationships with men and

women committing violent acts. It also occurs in same-sex relationships.
Increasing awareness and stricter laws have reduced domestic violence
dramatically in the US since the 1990s.

Human Trafficking and Globalization

Globalization, the worldwide interaction of people, businesses, and

governments, has made human trafficking easier. Human trafficking,
the trade of humans for forced labor or sex, is sometimes compared to
slavery. And while some people are forcibly taken and sold into forced
labor situations or the sex industry, others are subtly lured in. For
example, there are reports of fake job postings for cruise lines that end
up being prostitution rings that are very hard to get out of.

Traffickers prey on disadvantaged people, such as the homeless,

displaced teens, and the mentally ill. Because the issue is so
widespread, it's challenging to control.

Genital Cutting

Procedures that involve mutilating or removing part or all of the female

genitalia are called female genital cutting. The practice goes on today
in about 30 countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

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The painful procedure is performed without anesthesia on girls from
infancy to age 15, has no health benefit, and is harmful.

Reasons for genital cutting vary:

In some cultures, it's used to reduce sexual pleasure so that

females don't have sex before marriage.
In other cultures, such as in Kenya, it solidifies a female’s cultural
identity.
Some cultures believe it's necessary for hygienic reasons.

The procedure existed in the United States as late as the mid-1970s. It

was accepted as a treatment for various “problems” like masturbation
and lesbianism and was covered by medical insurance until 1977.

Today, only 33 states have laws against female genital mutilation.

Fifteen states have no legislation at all. Two have weak legislation.

Culture and Sexuality

Sexuality includes sexual desires, behaviors, and identity. It's a result of

nature and nurture, like other aspects of social life. From a biological
perspective, sex is a natural act and necessary for reproduction. From a
cultural standpoint, sex serves a variety of purposes and has all sorts of
norms attached to it.

While specific views about sex vary, all cultures have some type of
incest taboo, meaning that sex between relatives is unacceptable.
Attitudes about sex have changed over time making discussions more

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open and various sexual identities more accepted.

Sexual Identities & Inequality

Sexual identity is a person’s sense of self in terms of sexual attraction.

Queer theory says this is socially constructed and can change

throughout life.

Four main sexual identity groups exist in America:

1. Heterosexuals are attracted to the opposite sex.

2. Homosexuals are attracted to the same sex.
3. Bisexuals are attracted to both sexes.
4. Asexual individuals have no sexual attraction to either sex.

Cultures view sexual identity differently. Some cultures assume

everyone is heterosexual (heterosexism). An example of heterosexism
is when a heterosexual person assumes their male friend is talking
about a woman when he says he has a date. It doesn’t necessarily
mean they're homophobic (disapproving or fearful of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals). It simply means they're
thinking in heterosexual terms because that’s what they identify with.

Discrimination definitely exists for LGBT individuals. From banning them

from military service to trying to keep same-sex marriage illegal (it was
legalized nationwide in 2015), society has prevented members of the
LGBT community from the same opportunities as heterosexuals.

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Today, issues persist for homosexuals worldwide:

Gay bashing
Supporting discrimination against LGBT individuals with religious
doctrine
Barring transgender individuals from using the restroom of their
choice
Punishing homosexuality by death (in certain Muslim countries)

Sex on the Internet

There’s not much you can’t find online, including sexual-related content.
From health info to pornography, explicit sexual material is all there.
Unfortunately, underage users can access pornography and see
distorted views of sexuality, particularly of women being mistreated,
abused, or objectified.

Less overt forms of pornography have made their way into mainstream
culture. For example, the popular 50 Shades of Grey books, music
videos with suggestive dancing, and the use of women in submissive
roles or poses in movies and advertising. Even some women support
forms of pornography, such as erotica, which is nonviolent, non-
degrading sexually explicit material.

Fighting Gender and Sexual Inequality

As views change about what's acceptable in society, culture changes.

One movement that caused significant change for women is feminism,

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which advocates equality. Feminism has come in waves over the years.

First-wave feminism occurred in the nineteenth and early twentieth

centuries. It focused on equal rights for women, primarily the right to
vote. Second-wave feminism took place in the 1960s and 1970s. It
focused on gender equality issues such as reproductive rights and
sexual freedom.

Much of this activism gave rise to LGBT activism. In 1969, New York
City police officers raided a gay bar called The Stonewall Inn. It wasn’t
the first time, but it was the first time the bar patrons fought back. They
threw bricks, bottles, and rocks at police and chanted “Gay power!” The
event is known as the Stonewall Riots. Hundreds of people from the
LGBT community joined in. This was a turning point in increasing the
visibility of LGBT individuals.

Convergence in Gender and Sexuality

With time and change, men and women are living more alike. Gender
convergence is the trend and varies depending on the social context.
Women in the US can delay having children to pursue a career, men
can stay at home and act as the primary parent, and young women in
India can live on their own without first marrying. The ways in which men
and women live their lives become more similar as society becomes
more open-minded about gender and sexuality.

The sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s led to sexual

convergence. Women explored sexual freedom and began having sex

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at a younger age. In the 1990s, males started delaying their first sexual
encounter. The narrowing of this gap helps change views of sexually
active young women, contributes to positive trends like more
responsible sexual decisions among young people, and reduces sexual
inequality.

Key Points and Links

READING ASSIGNMENT

Key Points

Sex is a biological trait and gender is a social construct based on

cultural expectations.
Gender identity refers to how a person identifies as male, female, or
a combination of the two.
Gender expression is how a person communicates their gender
identity to others through behavior and appearance.
Transgender individuals identify with a gender different from the
one associated with their sex.
“Doing gender” is the idea of gender development through social
interactions in daily life.
Gender stratification refers to social ranking and the unequal
distribution of power and resources between males and females
with men ranking higher in status.
Patriarchy, a system where men hold power over women in society,
is responsible for inequality between women and men. It's rooted in
sex differences and economic factors.

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 The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier preventing women from
advancing in their career.
Sexual harassment is unwanted, inappropriate behavior of a sexual
nature. It can be verbal or physical.
Sexual identity is a person’s sense of self in terms of sexual
attraction. Most people identify as heterosexual, homosexual,
bisexual, or asexual.

SSC Discussion Board 4

READING ASSIGNMENT
Read the following guidelines. Then, return to your student portal and complete
Discussion Board 4.

Below are some general guidelines about the online discussions that will
allow you to interact with other students and faculty members. This
interaction can greatly benefit anyone studying online. By participating in
these interactions, you can learn from and encourage others while
progressing through your studies.

1. Access a Discussion Board on your student portal.

2. Choose a User Name. (It's suggested that you use your first and
last name.)
3. Pick the major word or words as your subject, type in your
response, and then click on Create New Message to post your
response.
4. Once you have posted your initial response, you'll be able to see
your classmates’ responses.

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You may be required to respond to one or more of your classmates'
posts depending on the directions given for your specific course. Refer
to the specific instructions given for the course by your instructor. If you
need to respond to your peers, see the following:

1. After you've chosen and clicked on your classmate and decided

this is the one you want to respond to, click on Post a reply to this
message.
2. Type your response and click on Post Reply to Board.

Note that the discussion board system will automatically time out after
20 minutes, and any unsaved work will be lost. It's highly recommended
that you write your answers to the discussion board prompts in a Word
document, and then copy and paste your answers into the discussion
board window when you're ready to submit.

What Are the Requirements?

1. The day you receive the course materials marks the start of your
first lesson. At this time, you should introduce yourself to your
classmates and instructor. Please be sure to return to the
discussion to welcome others.
2. Thereafter, for each prompt, you are required to complete the
readings and then answer the prompts for the lesson that you’re
completing. Your answer to the discussion prompt should be in
fully-developed sentences. There may be a length requirement (for
example, at least five-to-seven sentences) provided by your
instructor for the course.

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 3. You also may read the posted answers from other classmates and
respond to those other posts to start a discussion. These
responses are known as peer responses. Remember, this may not
always be required, but is encouraged. All of your comments to
peers should be academic and appropriate for the course
discussion and fit the length requirement (if one is required).
4. The discussion questions are based on the course material you’re
studying. However, you may want to conduct some outside
research when developing your answers and peer responses. All
postings are expected to be in well-developed paragraphs with
proper sentence structure and grammar.

How Are the Discussion Posts Evaluated?

Answers to the posted questions and peer responses that do not meet
all of the mentioned requirements will not count toward the grade.

When Are the Discussions Graded?

Grades are automatically posted; however, instructors are monitoring

the boards and will reach out to you when a posting grade is being
changed.

What If I Fall Behind on My Postings?

You won't move onto your next class until all discussions are complete.
If you earn an F on a discussion, it's asked that you follow the email
instructions received from your instructor and that you redo the

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discussion.

How Can I Contact the School?

You can email instructors through the Contact Us link when logged onto
the Penn Foster website.

Exercise: Gender and Sexuality

Fill in the blanks.

1. The word to describe the biological distinction between males and

females is _____.
2. An individual who is born with ambiguous reproductive anatomy is
referred to as _______.
3. Social expectations about how a person should act based on their
sex are called _______.
4. The unequal distribution of power and resources in society between
men and women is called _______.
5. When women work full-time then go home to do the housework and
take care of the family, it's referred to as _______.
6. The revelation of blatant sexual harassment in Hollywood caused
the _______ movement to go mainstream
7. A person’s sexual desires, behaviors, and identity refer to their
_______.
8. _______ people have no sexual attraction for anyone.

Respond to the following based on your reading.

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 9. Briefly describe what it means to say gender is a social construct.
10. Distinguish between transgender and transsexual.
11. Explain what “doing gender” means.
12. Name three factors that contribute to the pay gap.
13. Name two probable factors that made patriarchy so pervasive in
society.
14. Explain heterosexism and homophobia. Are the two necessarily
related?
15. What's second-wave feminism?

Exercise Answer Key:

Exercise: Gender and Sexuality

1. sex
2. intersexual
3. gender roles
4. gender stratification
5. second shift
6. Me Too (or #MeToo)
7. sexuality
8. Asexual
9. Gender is a social construct because it's based on cultural
expectations dictated by society. It's literally socially constructed.
10. Transgender people identify with a gender other than their own.
Transsexuals are people who have sex reassignment surgery to
change their physical appearance to look like a gender other than

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 their own.
11. “Doing gender” is creating gender through interactions in social
settings.
12. (1) education, (2) participation in the workforce, and (3) the glass
ceiling
13. Sex differences and economic changes
14. Heterosexism is a behavior that indicates a person assumes
everyone is heterosexual. This is a common attitude and it doesn't
necessarily mean that someone is homophobic. Homophobia is
disapproval of or fear of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender
people.
15. Second-wave feminism was a time in the 1960s and 1970s when
feminists were highly active regarding gender inequality. Activists
addressed issues like discrimination in the workplace and in
education, gender stereotypes promoted in pop culture, and
reproductive rights and sexual freedom for women.

Critical Thinking Question Guide

READING STUDY MATERIAL

Critical Thinking Questions and Activities Chapter 11

1. Gender and race are social constructs, created by and based on

social convention. Race groups people based on superficial
physical characteristics, typically by skin color. Skin color is clearly
visible to everyone, therefore race is built on appearance.

Gender, on the other hand, is a construct of identity and language.

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 While it maps onto a physical characteristic (genitalia), it isn't truly
based on that physical characteristic. Further, the sex identifiers,
genitalia, aren't on display as skin is for everyone to see and judge.

2. Medical and other standardized forms in the past used “gender”

with selections for “male” or “female.” What they meant was “sex.”
However, many people use gender and sex interchangeably and
often opt for “gender” because they have an issue with the word
“sex.”

3. This answer will vary for everyone. For some, gender affects their
lives similarly to how it affected their parents’ lives; for others,
gender may make more of an impact. For example, you live in a
time when gender identity is an openly discussed topic. Your
parents did not. It's slowly becoming more acceptable for
individuals to openly discuss and express their gender identity. This
impacts individuals, relationships, and society at large.

4. There are many sectors of society with deeply entrenched forms of

gender inequality. One that's overt is the geographical location of
the Deep South. Research on pay inequality between women and
men demonstrates this is true. But the issues go beyond wages.
Southern states across the board fail women when it comes to the
ability to participate in politics, employment opportunities, work
environment, poverty, reproductive rights, and healthcare.

5. This answer will vary for everyone depending on how they were
socialized.

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Lesson 5 Review

Self-Check
1. Which of the following sociologists saw society as two distinct groups:
capitalists and working class?
a. Weber
b. Marx
c. Mead
d. Foucault
2. When studying the concept of class, Max Weber considered
_______, or the opportunities a person has to get the resources needed
to make a better life.
a. fate
b. life chances
c. barriers to mobility
d. capital gains
3. According to Karl Marx, the division, inequality, and conflict between
social classes came down to which of the following?
a. The economy
b. Life chances
c. Racism
d. Politics
4. Which of the following approaches failed to account for pre-existing

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inequalities, barriers to mobility, what defines an "important position,"
and who decides which positions are important?
a. Socialism
b. Capitalism
c. Functionalism
d. Communism
5. The four major class systems in America are based on
a. race.
b. income.
c. religion.
d. age.
6. The type of jobs available can change the entire class system; this is
known as
a. class mobility.
b. individual mobility.
c. capital mobility.
d. structural mobility.
7. A student who grows up in a lower-class family does well in school,
graduates from college, and gets a job as an engineer. This is an
example of
a. individual mobility.
b. structural mobility.
c. class mobility.
d. class reproduction.
8. According to world-systems analysis, semi-periphery nations are
_______ nations, like China and India.

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 a. wealthy
b. middle-income
c. poor
d. democratic
9. Which of the following is considered part of a person's ethnicity?
a. Race
b. Language
c. Gender
d. Age
10. Early beliefs in _______ were the foundation of racism.
a. cultural diffusion
b. pluralism
c. amalgamation
d. racial essentialism
11. Which of the following are often singled out because of physical or
cultural traits and are often linked to discrimination?
a. Minority groups
b. Majority groups
c. Primary networks
d. Secondary networks
12. The idea of America as a melting pot, with many different cultures
blending together to make up the United States, is an example of
a. pluralism.
b. amalgamation.
c. assimilation.
d. segregation.

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13. An African American who works in a primarily white environment
changes the way he or she normally speaks in order to fit in. This action
is an example of
a. withdrawal.
b. passing.
c. code-switching.
d. resistance.
14. After the United States was formed, the government forced which of
the following groups to live on reservations?
a. Native Americans
b. African Americans
c. Asian Americans
d. Mexican Americans
15. In 1917, _______ were granted US citizenship, but not the right to
vote or be represented in Congress.
a. Mexicans
b. Cubans
c. Puerto Ricans
d. Asians
16. Which type of discrimination is demonstrated by a restaurant owner
who only hires whites?
a. Institutional discrimination
b. Gender discrimination
c. Individual discrimination
d. Cultural discrimination
17. Which of the following theories suggest that conflicts arise between

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racial or ethnic groups when they compete for the same job?
a. Contact hypothesis theory
b. Scapegoat theory
c. Enduring inequalities theory
d. Split labor market theory
18. Women delaying having children to pursue a career and men staying
home to act as the primary parent are an example of gender
a. convergence.
b. identity.
c. expression.
d. stratification.
19. The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier preventing _______ from
advancing their career.
a. men
b. Asian Americans
c. African Americans
d. women
20. _______ is the difference between what men earn and what women
earn.
a. The pay gap
b. The glass ceiling
c. The gender differential
d. The patriarchy

Self-Check Answer Key

1. Marx

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 Explanation: Karl Marx saw class inequality as linked to conflict and
struggles for power which led to inequality. Marx saw society as
divided into two groups: the capitalist class and the working class.
Reference: Section 5.1

2. life chances
Explanation: In addition to money and class inequality, Max Weber
also considered life chances, or the opportunities a person has to
get the resources needed to make a better life.
Reference: Section 5.1

3. The economy
Explanation: According to Karl Marx, division, inequality, and
conflict between social classes came down to economic factors.
Marx felt that owners controlled how much money workers could
make and that they wanted to maximize profits, so they paid
workers as little as possible. This led to conflict and inequality
between social classes.
Reference: Section 5.1

4. Functionalism
Explanation: Functionalism supported the belief that people with
more education, training, and talent are more qualified to fill higher
positions, but also failed to account for pre-existing inequalities,
barriers to mobility, what defines an "important position," and who
decides which positions are important.

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 Reference: Section 5.1

5. income.
Explanation: The four major class systems in America are based on
income, or the money a person gets from work or from interest,
dividends, or rent that comes from wealth. The unequal distribution
of these resources in the United States leads to class inequality.
Reference: Section 5.1

6. structural mobility.
Explanation: Structural mobility is affected by the type of jobs
available, which can change the entire class system. An example is
a business that moves overseas and shuts down production in the
United States. The people displaced from these jobs may take
lower-paying jobs which can shift a portion of the middle class to
the lower class.
Reference: Section 5.1

7. individual mobility.
Explanation: This is an example of individual mobility. While there's
no change to the entire class structure, this student's education and
upper-middle-class job provide the opportunity for this individual to
move from lower class to middle class.
Reference: Section 5.1

8. middle-income

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 Explanation: Semi-periphery nations are middle-income nations like
China and India. The world-systems analysis theory suggests all
countries are linked by a global economy; as a result, some
countries benefit, and others are exploited.
Reference: Section 5.1

9. Language
Explanation: Ethnicity is a person's cultural heritage. Examples of
ethnicity include language, religion, and customs of specific
cultures. Race and ethnicity are commonly confused, but they
aren't the same thing.
Reference: Section 5.2

10. racial essentialism

Explanation: Early beliefs in racial essentialism, the belief that
natural differences separate races, in the 1700s, were the
foundation of racism.
Reference: Section 5.2

11. Minority groups

Explanation: Minority groups are often singled out because of
physical or cultural traits and are often linked to discrimination
based on characteristics like race, ethnicity, or gender. People in
minority groups usually have lower incomes, less education, and
less power.
Reference: Section 5.2

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12. amalgamation.
Explanation: The idea of America as a melting pot is an example of
amalgamation, or when two or more cultures blend to create a new
one.
Reference: Section 5.2

13. code-switching.
Explanation: This action is an example of code-switching, or shifting
between cultures and choosing how you communicate based on
who you're dealing with. Code-switching is one way that minorities
respond to discrimination.
Reference: Section 5.2

14. Native Americans

Explanation: The US government forced Native Americans to live
on reservations. Native Americans children were also taken and put
in boarding schools to learn American culture. As a result, the
once-thriving population was reduced to an oppressed minority.
Reference: Section 5.2

15. Puerto Ricans

Explanation: The United States won the island of Puerto Rico in the
Spanish-American war. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted
citizenship, but they still don't have the right to vote or be
represented in Congress.

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 Reference: Section 5.2

16. Individual discrimination

Explanation: This is an example of individual discrimination, which
is an issue between individuals or small groups. Other forms of
discrimination, such as institutional discrimination, are built into the
government, schools, and businesses.
Reference: Section 5.2

17. Split labor market theory

Explanation: Split labor market theory suggests that conflicts arise
between racial or ethnic groups when they compete for the same
jobs. This is one example of how group interests and groups
competing for resources are affected by prejudice and
discrimination.
Reference: Section 5.2

18. convergence.
Explanation: This is an example of gender convergence, the trend
of men and women living more alike over time. The ways in which
men and women live their lives become more similar as society
becomes more open-minded about gender and sexuality.
Reference: Section 5.3

19. women
Explanation: The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier preventing

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 women from advancing their careers. Higher paying jobs tend to be
in male-dominated fields; the glass ceiling explains why women
rarely occupy jobs in the highest levels of corporate management.
Reference: Section 5.3

20. The pay gap

Explanation: The pay gap is the difference between what men earn
and what women earn. There are several factors, including
education, workforce participation, and gender discrimination, that
contribute to the pay gap.
Reference: Section 5.3

Flash Cards
1. Term: Absolute poverty
Definition: Extreme lack of the resources needed to live

2. Term: Class
Definition: People who share similar financial position and lifestyle

3. Term: Colonialism
Definition: One society uses military, political, and economic power to
dominate another society

4. Term: Deindustrialization
Definition: A decrease in investing in manufacturing capacity

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5. Term: Dependency Theory
Definition: Global inequality resulting from exploitation of weaker,
poorer nations by more powerful ones

6. Term: Feminization of Poverty

Definition: Women make up a large share of the poor

7. Term: Life Chances

Definition: A person's ability to get economic and cultural resources

8. Term: Meritocracy
Definition: People are rewarded for their abilities

9. Term: Neocolonialism
Definition: Wealthy nations dominate less-developed ones by indirect
means

10. Term: Poverty Rate

Definition: Percentage of the population that falls below the poverty line

11. Term: Regressive Taxation

Definition: Disproportionately taxing those with lower incomes

12. Term: Structural Mobility

Definition: Opportunity to change social class due to a societal change

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13. Term: Wealth
Definition: Financial assets minus debt

14. Term: World-Systems Analysis

Definition: A macro-level, global approach that focuses on
interdependence between countries

15. Term: Affirmative Action

Definition: Favoring groups who suffered past discrimination

16. Term: Assimilation

Definition: Members of a minority group adopt the culture of the
majority

17. Term: Ethnicity

Definition: Shared culture

18. Term: Institutional Discrimination

Definition: Unequal treatment by government, businesses, or schools

19. Term: Pluralism

Definition: Ethnic and racial groups coexist in equality

20. Term: Racial Essentialism

Definition: Natural differences separate races

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21. Term: Scapegoat
Definition: A person or group that's falsely blamed for a bad act

22. Term: Split Labor Market Theory

Definition: Ethnic and racial conflicts arise when two racial or ethnic
groups compete for the same job

23. Term: Stereotype

Definition: An exaggerated, often unfounded, generalization about a
group

24. Term: Transnational Migrants

Definition: Immigrants who keep strong ties to their homeland but who
also adopt their new home

25. Term: Asexual

Definition: When a person has no sexual attraction for anyone

26. Term: Doing Gender

Definition: Creating gender through interacting in social situations

27. Term: Feminism

Definition: Advocates equality for the sexes

28. Term: Gender Convergence

Definition: Increasing similarity in how women and men live

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29. Term: Gender Identity
Definition: How a person identifies as female, male, or other

30. Term: Gender Stratification

Definition: Inequalities in society between men and women

31. Term: Glass Ceiling

Definition: Invisible barrier that stops women from advancing beyond a
certain point

32. Term: Heterosexism

Definition: Assuming everyone is heterosexual

33. Term: Intersexual

Definition: Refers to individuals born with ambiguous reproductive or
sexual anatomy

34. Term: Second Shift

Definition: Refers to when women work outside the home and are still
responsible for running the household

35. Term: Transgender

Definition: Someone who identifies with gender other than the one
associated with their sex

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36. Term: Transsexual
Definition: Refers to someone who has sex reassignment surgery

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