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Group Members

          All of the members of our group came into this blog assignment with different ascribed and achieved statuses which provide different lenses for each of us to see the world. Therefore the same event can mean something different for each one of us based on how we see the world. Here are the lenses which each of us see the world.

         Aliyah is a 21 year old African American female that has worked since she was 17 and has put herself through school. She works about 35 hours a week while going to school full time. She’s a junior, however she’s been in college for 4 years now. She comes from a middle-class family that has always taught her the importance of God, family, and an education. Her perspective is different from Emilia and Taylor because of her race and different from Zachary because of her race, as well as her gender. Being that she is of a minority group, both African American and female, she has encountered different forms of racism and discrimination that has affected her perspective on many issues. In elementary school, she attended a predominately Caucasian school and was faced with prejudices from multiple teachers. However, it didn’t discourage her. It has caused her to work even harder to prove certain stereotypes wrong regarding race and gender. She views herself as capable of anything and able to do anything that she puts her mind to.

Emilia is 21 year old female with a biracial background (hispanic and white). Her major is communication with a minor in psychology. She is from Northern Virginia. Since she is biracial she is sometimes able to reap the benefits of people assuming she is just of a white background, however, she is aware of these benefits which not a lot of white people are able to do. She is able to be in the in-group and out-group so she views race and ethnicity in a unique way. Though she has never felt racism or discrimination so she cannot view race in that way. Also as a female it is easy for her to feel the repercussions of sexism in the workplace and in society. Lastly, where she grew up plays a large part in how she views the world. Growing up near DC brought many people of different backgrounds and ideas which made her view the world with an open mind. 

Zachary is a 20 year old Caucasian male who lives in Chesterfield, Virginia and has lived in the same area his entire life. He is the only child, and while he has worked for all he has in life, he has not faced many financial difficulties in achieving what he has done since his family is a middle to upper middle class family. So far in his life he has had the privilege of entering the lives of many individuals since he is an emergency medical technician (EMT) and with that has seen hardships people face. Along with this he has seen the impacts that race and sexuality have on the treatment of those individuals in the healthcare system and how the medical field views those individuals. His perspective is different from Aliyah and Emilia in that he is a male and has not had to deal with any of the barriers women face along with him being Caucasian and not another race where more racial stereotypes are attached. Through his life experiences Zachary has learned to be open to ideas and views knowing that every individual is equal and entitled to the same rights and privileges, but is aware that is not the case all the time.

Taylor is a 19 year old white female who currently lives in Chesapeake, Virginia. She is pursuing a psychology major and a minor in sociology. She is an US Army brat, and before moving to Virginia had never lived in the same place longer than 2.5 years, with a year being the average. She comes from a middle class family that consists of her parents and her younger sister. She works at a movie theater, and through the lens that provides, has seen the way that race and gender can impact the way that individuals are treated. Her perspective is different from Aliyah and Emilia in that she is fully white and has not had to deal with the stigmas against other races personally. Her perspective is different from Zachary in that she is female, and therefore they have had different experiences regarding sexism. Taylor identifies as queer, and her experiences with such an identity have also shaped her perspectives. She is open to seek understanding of the way that others’ experiences have shaped their worldview, and accepts that no two people will have the same ideas or perspectives, and that due to this she may not understand where they are coming from.

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This is a meme that relates to social classes and the apparent evidence of them. Regardless of location, there are social classes throughout the entire world. Social class affects individuals not only physically, but emotionally as well. Examples include personal relationships between parents and children, as well as income.  Social class also affects the likelihood of an individual applying for a particular job or obtaining that job, as well as other things such as going through drive-thrus or eating healthy, as well as how far individuals will go in school. There are several classes, but the most common are the working class, middle class and upper-class. Most working-class individuals are forced to work multiple minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. In addition, most of these individuals don’t graduate from college, let alone high school, and come from long lines of family members that are or have been in the same predicament. The SES (Socioeconomic Status of Standing) examines people’s income, education, occupational prestige, and wealth and most families fall in the working-class range. These individuals are presented with completely different life problems than a middle class or upper class individuals. Ethrenreich’s article presents the question “if one job is enough” and many working-class individuals will say that one job is not enough especially if there is a child involved.  In a lot of instances, social class is generational. There are some cases where there is mobility between classes such that are intergenerational, where there are changes in position by different generations of family members. There are also intragenerational changes and that occurs when there is mobility to a higher class due to a career. However, intergenerational is more common that intragenerational. There is also horizontal and vertical mobility. Horizontal is the movement from one’s occupation to another in the same sphere and vertical is movement from lower to middle class. Social class is a big part of society and affects individuals in more ways that most realize.

-Aliyah Sorrell-Williams

Social class has always been a way to label people in societies. In America one of our big ideals is that working hard can get you anywhere in life. This can be otherwise known as social mobility, the movement of individuals or families within or between social strata. However, it is a lot more difficult to move up in social class than most think. In the video above John Oliver discusses the wealth gap in America and how it is getting larger, which makes it harder to move up. The statistic that stood out most in the video is that the top 1% made 20% of the total income in America a few years ago which has not happened since the “roaring twenties.” There are a lot of reasons for this such as globalization and policies that benefit the rich. So while the rich are getting richer, the poor are either getting poorer or just staying stagnant. There is basically no mobility. Social class not only affects how much money a person makes but also their upbringing, education, and even their stressors. While people may think that the lower class just needs to work harder, it is not always that easy. John Oliver makes a good argument about income inequality and the fact that we need to create new policies and have a different way of viewing our ideals in America. I think one way to keep people from really thinking about the income gap is hope. With hope they believe that one day they will have enough money and move up, but in reality it is most likely not going to happen. It is also important to note that classism also affects racism and sexism. It is a way to keep certain people from attaining money and status.

-Emilia Corea

Social stratification is an evaluation-ranking reward system where people are evaluated based on a particular characteristic and placed into higher or lower groups. The American social stratification system is pictured in this cartoon rendition where there are three different groups of people in society. At the top is the upper class who lives lavishly and controls a majority of the wealth. Under them are individuals in the middle class who are not rich by any means, but are well of by most standards and at the bottom are the lower class individuals who are the poorest group of individuals. This class system that America has developed is based on the wealth of the individual primarily with little focus on any other aspect. With this the type of social stratification seen in America is the class system which was made possible by industrialization and urbanization and is based on an achieved status (achieved or acquired by merit). While wealth is the primary aspect of the social structure that is shown and exists in America wealth is not the only aspect involved but also power and status as well. Power is the position one is in society where they are able to carry out their own will in society, and status deals with prestige or social honor. One way status is seen is through occupational prestige, the admiration and respect that a particular observation holds in society, where certain professions are more highly regarded than others such as a doctor is more prestigious than a garbage worker. This cartoon image does not fully show the power and status aspect of the class system, but does to a degree since there are individuals working to further themselves in society by “climbing the ladder” to reach a higher class. This is done through obtaining more wealth, power, status, or some combination of the three. While the ideal American dream is to become a wealthy individual that normally is not the case unfortunately. Instead most individuals will end up in the same class they were born in. Some of the impacts of the social class system include poor health for those in the lower class due to no health insurance, dating and marrying within the social class, and the values shown and interactions parents in respective classes have with their children. The higher you are in the social class system the more advantages those individuals are likely going to have in their lives. While these differences will never fully change there are ways society can work towards improving the lives of all individuals no matter the wealth, power, or status that individual has.

-Zachary Smith

The social class system in the United States, as well as in other parts of the world, is designed to keep individuals and families within the class that they are born into. This is especially true regarding the lower class, as they are typically unable to save money, or even to invest in higher-quality items that are more expensive up front, but are cheaper in the long run. The class system does not allow any real upwards social mobility, and the main reason that anyone escapes the lower or middle classes is due to sheer luck or an abundance of hard work. This is not to imply that those who do not experience any upwards social mobility do not work hard, as that is far from the truth, but it is important to consider that hard work applied in some areas is not as socially beneficial as hard work applied in other areas. If one does not start out life with certain privileges, then it is highly likely that they will not be able to graduate from unskilled to skilled labor, which again makes it difficult to experience a change in social status. The cartoon image shows a lower class family whose son is requesting a social mobility allowance. This is due to the need for money in order to become a part of a higher social class. The newspaper that the father is reading highlights the role of social class in determining success, so it is clear that this comic is commenting on the importance in social class, while also drawing attention to the limitations that the class system imposes on those who live in its lowest levels. It is important that this social class system changes, as it prevents an enormous number of individuals from living above the poverty line. It is also important to consider the implications of a different method of determining success, as it is unlikely that such a thing would be able to change much.

-Taylor Nattress

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This music video by Benny relates to sex and gender, while giving a visual representation of prescribed gender roles. Gender refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with being male or female. Throughout the video, the lyrics explain the ideal roles of males and females and what occurs when one goes against the grain. The preconceived notion of males liking the color blue and being dominant, as well as athletic is taught at an extremely young age. Females are taught that girls wear pink and only aspire to be beautiful. These are society’s norms. This term refers to society’s concept of how men and women are expected to behave. When females and males show interest in something that doesn’t align with the typical prescribed gender role then that creates imbalance and is frowned upon in society. Gender inequality coincides with these gender roles. Throughout history a patriarchal system has been put in place, that promotes male domination. There are three theories of gender inequality: Functionalist Perspective, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. The functionalist perspective explains the different roles that males and females play. The conflict theory explains the traditional division of labor in families and how males have extensive resources and privileges to maintain their dominance. The last theory, symbolic interactionism, explains that gender is a learned process through socialization and that gender inequalities are imitated through peers, schools, and media. Media plays a major part in socialization. Commercials, as well as TV shows, show distinct gender roles in the characters throughout the sitcom. Toys and videogames have become a huge target for gender roles. Over the years, boys action figures and videogames have become a source to promote violence, while girl’s toys are a source to promote self-beauty. The music video effectively demonstrates the consequences of these prescribed gender roles. The ending of the video defies the odds and the boy and girl mix colors, and unlike what is implemented in society, everything is great and they are both free of the bondage of gender roles.

-Aliyah Sorrell-Williams

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/08/living/gender-based-signs-target-feat/index.html

There is no secret that when going into a department store there is a clear divide in the toy section. Usually there are blue aisles, for boys, and pink aisles, for girls. Boys usually have building blocks, superhero, and trucks in their aisles while girls have Barbie’s, dress-up, and hospitality-related toys. In recent years, Target was one of the first to move away from this binary system. Instead of having signs for boys or girls toys there will be none and removing colored paper from shelves that refer to a certain gender. Not only did they apply this to the toy aisle but also for bedding. This was an important move for such a large retailer because it allowed for children to have more flexibility in gender roles. For example, children usually sway towards gendered toys that have been deemed for them but when there are no blue or pink aisles they have more freedom to just choose a toy. Gender roles are society’s concept of how men and women are expected to behave and are a large part of how people self-identify. Gender roles are very limited, there are only two to choose from and are already pre-determined by sex. These gender roles have been extended to children and their toys, bedding, and clothing. One commenter on the Target switch said, “Eliminating these gender typed divisions will help kids learn a toy is a toy, a show is a show, fun is fun.” This is an important comment because it shows that gender is a social construction and there is no rhyme or reason as to why things are they way they are. Hopefully with such a large retailer make a gender-neutral change others will follow the trend.

-Emilia Corea

From a young age boys and girls are taught consciously and unconsciously how to act appropriately as that sex through the use of gender. This is done in a variety of ways from outfits worn, to toys played with and bought for the child, to how family and friends interact with them, to colors of rooms and cloths, etc. The way these individuals are taught to behave and act is based on their sex and gender. Sex is the physical or physiological differences between males and females, including primary sex characteristics (reproductive system) and secondary characteristics such as height and masculinity. Gender on the other hand is the term that refers to the social and or cultural distinctions associated with male and female respectively. This image taken from a book depicting the differences between boys and girls utilizes the sex of the individual to support the different actions based on the gender and sex of the individual which society normalizes. What the image shows is that boys should be builders along with other jobs that require a decent amount of physical labor while women should handle more “dainty” jobs such as cleaning and cooking. While this image comes from a book published a few decades ago these depictions still hold pretty accurate in today’s world. Men are carpenters, electricians, and plumbers while women are stay at home moms or maids (in relation to the image above). This division of labor is one view of gender roles, which is society’s concept of how men and women are expected to behave and act in society. From these gender roles there comes a difference in work where women are paid less than men, 80 cents to the dollar for men. This difference in pay is true across all men and women but also can be seen in the same jobs held. Along these lines males are more numerous as builder, firefighters, police officers, and doctors and woman are more often teachers and nurses in comparison.  This relates back to early childhood where children are taught to act in certain ways and want to achieve certain goals. The toys boys are given are fake tools, cars, and action figures, while women get kitchen sets and Barbies. These toys bring the children up to enjoy certain behaviors that society corresponds to the different genders of what is normal and correct. Why don’t we let children make their own choices though? A binary system works great for some aspects but not sex and gender since they are not a binary.

-Zachary Smith

This song, written by Todrick Hall for his visual autobiographical album, demonstrates the concept of gender roles as seen through the eyes of a little boy. The lyrics describe all the things that little boys are and aren’t supposed to do, as well as touch the idea that little boys do things that little girls aren’t supposed to want to do. The importance of such ideas in our society often lead to the rejection or discrimination against genders. Gender roles further the concept of the gender binary, which is a toxic concept that prevents individuals from being able present themselves in a way that they truly identify with. Gender roles are only beneficial for those who do not want people to question the status quo, as they are more successful when everyone does what they are “supposed” to do. Gender roles are the idea that one of the genders present in the gender binary can only do one set of activities, while the other gender can only do the other activities. This idea is further by portrayals in the media as well as in the way that children are raised by their parents. Children who are born into the standard American family are influenced by the way that their parents demonstrate their roles in the home. If children only ever see their mothers doing “domestic” work, and their fathers working outside of the home, then the way that they see the world is influenced. Infancy and childhood is when gender roles are implemented by parents and extended family to give their child an identity. In many cases, gender roles are not questioned until children become teens and young adults, so by that time they are fairly well ingrained in their minds as schemas of what the world should look like.

-Taylor Nattress

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This quote by Alveda King explains how racism is birthed and the negative effects associated with racism. The quote is relevant to race and ethnicity. Race identifies individuals based off of physical features and is a “slippery concept that changes over time and with location.” Racism, prejudice, and discrimination are all associated to one another. They relate due to the commonality of a dominant group showing hostility, and in most cases aggression towards a subordinate group. In most cases, this occurs with majority and minority groups of a region. The majority group feels as if they are superior and any individual that doesn’t classify into the “in group” is seen as inferior and should be treated as so. This ideology is identified as the Scapegoat Theory. As discussed in sociology class and assigned reading, prejudice is the negative and persistent judgement based in scant or incorrect information about an individual or group of individuals. It’s a destructive, hostile attitude towards a person who associates with a particular group, purely because that person belongs to that group and is alleged to possess characteristics that coincide with that particular group. These individuals associated with the group fall prey to certain preconceived stereotypes that are unfortunately categorized with each member of the group. As King states in the quote, racism is self-centered and causes individuals to believe that they are better than others. This causes discrimination, which triggers individuals to not only believe these false notions, but to act out these beliefs and put them into practice. Discrimination is the unfair treatment of a person or group of people from other people and groups of people. Examples of discrimination has been portrayed throughout history with slavery, women’s rights, and numerous of other events. Discrimination can not only occur between individuals, but as well as between institutions. It becomes institutional when there’s a denial of opportunities between a group of individuals that result from the normal operation of society. It has and continues to be prevalent in society today.

-Aliyah Sorrell-Williams

The photograph above is one of the most iconic photographs of the civil rights era. Elizabeth Eckford was apart of the Arkansas Nine, the first black teens to attend public school. Behind Eckford is a white teen girl who is clearly unhappy with Eckford’s presence. The reason her and so many other white people were so unhappy was because of race. The most prominent reason for the hostility was racism. Racism is a type of prejudice that is used to justify the belief one racial category is inferior to another.  The white population did not believe that black and white children should go to school together simply because blacks were inferior and did not belong in the same schools. This type of racism would be ideological racism because it is a belief that black people do not belong in the same schools because they are less than. However, we are no longer in the 1950’s and racism is over since the civil rights movement was successful. Or so many people like to believe. Though racism may not be as overt as yelling at someone for trying to get an education. It is still very much alive in our society. For example, there is institutional racism, which, occurs when policies and laws are crafted and then practiced. So today while black and white people are allowed to go to pubic school together there are laws that underfund primarily black schools and redistricting policies that make some schools primarily white or black. Though there is no outward yelling or saying that people think black people are inferior, there are still those underlying ideas that cause the black population in our country to be disadvantaged. Many people would like to think that racism is a thing of the past, however, we just need to realize that it has just manifested itself in another way.

-Emilia Corea 

https://soc331.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/tumblr_mqc73aosxb1s2t5g0o1_5001.png Crime, while undesirable to most, is a part of life in a society which can occur for many reasons. These reasons normally include, but are not limited to there being an opportunity, passion, retaliation, desperation, etc. However that’s not what is depicted by the media. Instead the media uses the race and ethnicity of a person to indicate why the crime was committed. This phenomena can be seen in the tweet by Katt Williams who sums up why the crime is committed based on the race and ethnicity of the person. This tweet is relevant to race and ethnicity. Race is the superficial physical differences that a society considers significant provides a source of identity which one identifies with and is identified by. Ethnicity on the other hand is the cultural practices, perspectives, and distinctions that set aside one group of people from another.  From the tweet both race, black, white, and Hispanic, along with ethnicity, Muslim, are being used to stereotype a group of people along with why one member of that group would commit a crime. These stereotypes, or oversimplified generalized images about members of a group of people that categorize all members in that group with a set of characteristics, and with this deny the existence of differences among people. Therefore in this case the differences between people of why crimes are committed and not just a generalized reason by the race or ethnicity. From these stereotypes racism can thrive since racism, a type of prejudice, is used to justify the belief that one racial category is somehow superior to another. This tweet does this when it refers to crimes by white individuals as not committing crimes, or an individual is just crazy while the other groups have a reason which lessons them such as being involved in a gang or a terrorist. The type of racism which this can be seen as is representational racism which is the depiction of racial or ethnic stereotypes that are common in popular culture. Along with representational racism, discursive racism can be applied since this type of racism is linguistically expressed in how individuals talk about the world and other people. Instead of generalizing why a crime is committed based on the race of the person why don’t we as a society look as the causes which led to the crime and see how we as a society can alleviate those issues or remove any barriers that existed to cause the crime to occur.

-Zachary Smith

Racism is not a new phenomenon, it is also not just an antiquated phenomenon. Racism is discrimination against an oppressed minority, and is still found today in the vast majority of the country. The Birth of a Nation not only demonstrates ideas present during the American Civil War and the surrounding years, but also ideas present today in some parts of the country. While most racism is not as overt as it was in the film, it is inherent in the way that most people think, even if it is subconscious or unintentional. Systematic racism is present everywhere, but it has to hide behind policies and societal norms. When the Birth of a Nation was first released, racism was still an accepted part of society, although it was justified by laws and regulations. In present day, racism is still found everywhere, but there are protections in place that are designed to prevent it. These protections are ignored in some cases, or are avoided by using other ideas to justify such actions. Racism is something that is still built into our systems, but it is not an instinctual concept that we are born with. Children learn racism from their parents, as well as from their friends and the way that different races are portrayed in the media. It is important for those with the privilege to have not experienced the negative effects of racism to stand up for those who are the victims of racism. It is also important that these allies do not seek to make the struggle of others about them. One major issue when it comes to the fight to end racism is those who are casually racist, but attempt to justify their words or actions by citing that it was just the way that they were raised, or that they have friends within the oppressed minority, so they are allowed to say what they want. The racism in the Birth of a Nation is important to consider, as, although it was many, many years ago, racism still exists, even with the effort given to fight it.

-Taylor Nattress