The Sociological Differences Of Race And Gender In Society

To many people across a variety of different nationalities and cultures, race has been proven to be a key factor for how society views you in the eyes of those who are prominently in charge. The term race has been brought up in recent years, to be considered a form of identification, as the word race is used to describe physical characteristics such as a person’s color of skin, hair, and eyes. When in reality, the correct term they should be using is Ethnicity. As a result, the term race is used to separate people into sub-categories based on the color of their skin. This type of classification, is a man-made creation used by society to classify certain groups of people into lower classes, while keeping the predominate group in charge at the top.

In this sense, society relies on the reciprocal relations of humans. Society is derived from these reciprocal interactions and does not precede them. Society operates through our refraction and manifests through our actions. (Simmel) Building off a traditional Hobbesian view, human society is distinct from a ‘personal’ phase, rather it is deeply socially constructed. Society consists of interrelated activities in which humans can act in accordance with each other as well as against each other. Society is not a collection of individual humans nor a system of institutions. For Weber, society is in the interactions, not in the institutions. Society generates norms and values which influence human conduct, which is constantly being built through interaction. From the symbolic interaction perspective, there is no moral judgment placed on interaction.

Race and gender are two facets that inherently dominate individuals everyday lives. A person’s social environment, work environment, and educational environment is congruent to their race and gender. From birth, it has been set up that everyone is assigned to a label. A pink or blue blanket is swaddled around a newborn child and a box is checked signifying that child’s place in society. These two actions ultimately define how a child is to be viewed and treated. As children grow into young adults they either decide to stick with their original assignment, while others decide to deviate from it. These individuals deviation results in many of them being viewed harshly and looked down upon because they strayed from their social norms. This constant cycle of being classified and labeled from birth is the social institution of gender and race. These social institutions aid in the inequality that is present in society, and race and gender are shaped by this. However, if these social institutions were removed, race and gender could dissipate. This is due to the fact that race and gender are not real, but are socially constructed concepts used to organize the power, or dominance, within our society to one social group over the other groups.

Throughout the semester, we have discussed many different social justice issues. One issue that has stuck with me is gender and racial inequality. Gender inequality is very important to me because I was raised by a single mother and surrounded by women all the time. I do not believe that anyone should be payed or treated differently due to their gender. While growing up, I saw that women are capable for doing anything and often times have to work harder than men to prove themselves. Racial inequality is an issues that is important to me because I feel that all individuals should be equal. I think Dr. King’s idea of color blindness, not today’s definition, should be something that we as a society strive for. We need to move past the idea that

Race is a social-constructed terminology where it categorizes people into groups that share certain distinctive physical characteristics such as skin color. However, race and racial identity is unstable, unfixed and constantly shifting, as race, typically, is a signifier of prevalent social conflict and interest. Although, many, particularly anthropologists and sociologists, argue in the aforementioned point of view, some – mainly white population -- believe that racial characteristics are biologically inherited.

According to the article, What is race? Is it biological or a social construct by Nicole Mortillano reference that Dana Osborne, an assistant professor at Ryerson University said “ the concept and application of “race” as a concept has since its inception been inextricably linked to power.” The same viewpoints is what Roderick A. Ferguson appoints the meaning behind race. He states “the study of race incorporates a set of wide-ranging analyses of freedom and power. (pg. 207) He characterize race in America depending on your standpoint from a political and a historical perspective. He brings in a strong argument until he unraveled the feminist and queers groups. How does gender and sexuality come into play with race? In my opinion race is

1. Describe the difference between race and ethnicity. What roles do race and social class continue to play in the United States?

Race, to many people is one thing and one thing only; the color of one's skin. But race is more than just the color of one’s skin, but it’s their biological makeup and social makeup. Biological race is the skin color we are born with along with the other genetic traits that come with certain ethnic backgrounds. Social race, however, is how society depicts your skin color and biological traits, and decides from there what social “class” you may be placed in, how you’ll be treated, and how you’ll live your life, socially. All people are biologically born the same “race” as their parents, or a mix, if the parents are different. But what determines the social race?

The idea of race and gender is an idea that has been socially constructed. Society has created roles for race and gender, they are determined by what society thinks is appropriate for the gender or race. Some people argue that certain behavior roles are based on gender where as others may believe that it is based on race. I will first discuss how in today’s society we promote to stop racism yet it is still happening everyday, and people are just blind to see it. Creating a role for race is racism, some people do not understand that. I will then talk about gender, how it is socially constructed, and labeling “roles” for men and women. I will also discuss how race and gender intersect in the formation of identities. How gender and race is socially constructed, us people have the power to change it but we use our power to look past it and pretend like it does not exist. Majority of society has been blinded to the fact gender and racial roles do not exist, society has created it and now we think it is the norm.

Race and gender are socially constructed. In spite of being a biological factor, gender is considered as a social construct. The males are considered superior to the females in many societies. The more a gender has been treated in a certain manner, the more one succumbs to the same environment. Different people expresses that a gender is superior to another but they do not consider the biological factors associated with the same. Gender is socially constructed because of the views which have been created in theories or the culture around us (Glenn and Nakano, 1999). The social construction of gender has

Race, gender and class defines our experience. Studies have shown that, even though, these three aspects define who we are, they are interwoven. Each of these three aspects affects our decisions which could be either positive or negative. Class, race and gender as an individual is determined by our parents and If any of these changes, it would automatically change every aspect of the individual.

Racism and sexism are less visible today than a few centuries ago, but inequalities between gender and race continue to exist. To analyze why gender and racial inequalities prevail, human capital theory and functionalism take into account cultural, historical, and economic factors. In my opinion, the human capital theory presents a more persuasive reason.

Fundamentally, gender, racism and class are three controversial social issues that have for a long period triggered heated debate in the American society. In essence, this issues concern the daily lives of American citizen and immigrants disregarding their class, social status, educational level or the position they hold in the society. Therefore, it is imperative that these issues are analyzed comprehensively in order to take an informed stand about the impact they have to the society. This paper, seeks to critically examine how gender, racism and class are addressed in the two movies “Bread and Roses “and ”Hammering it”.

Race and ethnicity are commonly used as synonyms for each other as we encounter many diverse individuals throughout the world. Sociologist on the other hand, find very distinct understandings to how these terms, while different, hold correlation to one another. Max Weber, a founding figure of sociology, was one of the first to define race and ethnicity. He stood with the idea of essentialism which presumes "that and individual 's identity depends on fundamental and innate characteristics that are deep-seated, inherited, and unchangeable." (Pearson, pg 241) As for ethnicity, Weber described it as subjective belief in relations to a groups common descent. While sociologist today may disagree with Weber 's theory, they do apply this idea of subjectivity and have correlated it to that of not only group definitions but of our own perceptions of biological similarity.

In society, the biological difference between men and women is used as a justification for aligning them with different social roles which restrict and mold their attitudes and behavior. Merriam-Webster defines gender as the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex. Narrow minded society of today is not satisfied with the natural difference of sex, but each insist on adding a cultural difference of gender to it. The unsophisticated, ideal physical facts always become associated with the complex psychological qualities (Holter). It is not enough for a male to be a man; he must also be masculine. A woman, in addition to being a female, must be feminine (Magner). In a more evolved and accepting society,