Social Stratification Analysis Jacqueline Schreacke PDF

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analysis on the social stratification being taught in this course...

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1 Jacqueline Schreacke SOC-102 June 7, 2020 Ieisha Jones Social Stratification Analysis Part One The three stratification systems that will be discussed in this paper are slavery, caste, and class system. The slavery stratification system is a system that is pretty much described by its name. Our social world: An introduction to sociology states that, “Slavery is the most extreme form of legal or condoned social inequality” (Larkin, 2015, para. 14). This quote explains that the slavery stratification system is very extreme and that there is inequality for slaves in this system (Larkin, 2015). The caste stratification system is a system that involves hereditary social standing and people cannot work their way out of what they are born into. Rahul Tiwari states that, “The Castes are hereditary endogamous group with fixed traditional occupations, observing commensal prohibition and social restrictions on interaction” (Tiwari, 2010, p. 1). This quote is showing that this system is restricted and that there are social restrictions in this system (Tiwari, 2010). The class stratification system is based on levels of wealth and other forms of classes. Our social world: An introduction to sociology states that, “Sociologists who created class stratification categories that included capitalist, upper middle, lower middle, working, workingpoor, and underclass” (Larkin, 2015, para. 66). This quote is explaining the different levels in the class system and they are according wealth (Larkin, 2015).

2 The social mobility in the slavery stratification system is shown in the quote, “This system affords the least amount of social mobility to the slave. There is little to no opportunity for a slave to move to a position of freedom” Larkin, 2015, para. 13). This quote explains how slaves were viewed in this system and they were not given high power (Larkin, 2015). The slave system was all about the masters and slaves do not have very many right because the master is in charge of them. In the article, Genesis of U.S. Colorism and Skin Tone Stratification: Slavery, Freedom, and Mulatto-Black Occupational Inequality in the Late 19th Century it states that, “Mulattos have higher occupational statuses relative to Blacks in places where slavery was more prominent” (Reece, 2018, p. 1). This quote shows that there was a hierarchical level with the slaves based on the color of each person, whether they were half-white, or somewhat white it made them have more rights than someone who had no white background (Reese, 2018). The social mobility for the caste stratification system was limited because every person in the system belongs to their caste and they are not able to move out of it. According to the article, Caste System and Social Stratification in India, “It hindered both horizontal and vertical social mobility forcing an individual to carry on the traditional occupation against his or her will and capacity” (Tiwari, 2010, p. 3). This quote explains how restricted the social mobility of the caste stratification is because people are forced to stay in their caste (Tiwari, 2010). The caste system does not allow for much social mobility because when someone is born into a certain caste then do not get out of it. The social mobility for the class stratification is pretty open because there is room for someone to go up or down in the hierarchy. The book, Social Class and Stratification states that, “The British class system is remarkably fluid and open” (Saunders, 2006, p. 72). This quote shows that a country or society that has a class system has an open social mobility because

3 people are able to go higher or lower in the rankings of class (Saunders, 2006). The class system is different than the other two systems talked about because it allows for people to move in their social positions, while the other two do not. In each of these systems people are ordered and placed into categories for the hierarchy. In the slavery stratification system, the example being used for how individuals are sorted is called colorism. The article, Genesis of U.S. Colorism and Skin Tone Stratification: Slavery, Freedom, and Mulatto-Black Occupational Inequality in the Late 19th Century states that, “Therefore, by analyzing differences in Blacks and Mulattos, researchers can examine interracial color skin tone stratification among Black people during its early days” (Reece, 2018, para. 3). This quote explains how in the slavery system the people are ranked by their color and the master has the authority of them (Reece, 2018). The caste system is ordered differently than the slavery system because in the caste system everyone is in caste based on their hereditary. The article, Caste System and Social Stratification in India states that, “A caste system will be used for an example of the ordering people are placed in. It is decided by the birth of the person and not by one’s interests, that to which caste will one belongs. And also, the castes are hierarchical in order. The Brahmans are the upper class and the Shudras, the lower class” (Tiwari, 2010, p. 4). This quote explains how people are placed into caste without a choice, and different caste have higher power (Tiwari, 2010). The last system, the class stratification system is sorted by economic status (Larkin, 2015). People are sorted into groups based on their wealth in society, but people are able to change their position because someone could get paid more eventually or less in time. The levels of this system are put into upper, middle, and lower class. People can be placed in poverty class,

4 or elites’ class (Larkin, 2015). Those two classes are the extremes for being high or low on the chart. Part Two The chart about gender comparison shows that both genders have about twenty jobs out of the total where they have more than the other gender. In personal care, service occupations, and education for example all have more female workers than male workers. Males have a higher employment rates with management, natural resources, and transportation for example. For males, the numbers are highest for males that are 45-64 for being a high school graduate, and they are lowest for males that are 65 and older or 35-44 years old. The numbers are highest for white men alone, and they are lowest for Native Hawaiian males for being a high school graduate. The numbers for females are highest at 45-64 years old for being a high school graduate and they are lowest for females 35-44 years old. Females that are white alone have the highest number for graduating high school and females that are Native Hawaiian have the lowest number for graduating high school. After looking through the charts, I do see that males or females that are white do have higher rates for graduating high school or getting degrees. The charts also show that females are pretty much equally spread out with job opportunities. The percentage for female’s race is slightly lower than each one for the male’s race. I think that certain cultures have different roles they see women and men as which impacts these percentages. Women are seen as people who are usually to take of the home and the percentages show that a lot of the females are lower in percentage than males for jobs.

5 Males that are white alone and that are middle aged have the most power. I think this is because males will be seen as superior to women in society and white males have always had more privilege than people of color. Society is full of stratification and this is seen within these charts by race, gender, and even age.

6 References Larkin, T. M. (2015). Sociological beginnings. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.) Our social world: An introduction to sociology. Retrieved from http://lc.gcumedia.com/soc102/oursocial-world-an-introduction-to-sociology/v1.1/

Reece, R. L. (2018). Genesis of U.S. Colorism and Skin Tone Stratification: Slavery, Freedom, and Mulatto-Black Occupational Inequality in the Late 19th Century The Review of Black Political Economy 45(1), 3-21. doi:10.1177/0034644618770761

Saunders, P. (2006) Social Class and Stratification. 1-152. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books? hl=en&lr=&id=EGOIAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=class+system+stratification+sc holarly+articles&ots=h_sNV5srGe&sig=dfR0iPqv2Ns8AqEVqHnNINtiQnc#v=snippet& q=position&f=false Tiwari, R. (2010). Caste System and Social Stratification in India. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2067936...