CONSTRUCTING SOCIETY’S “CATEGORIES OF DIFFERENCE”

1. CONSTRUCTING SOCIETY’S“CATEGORIES OF DIFFERENCE” Dr. M. C. Sengstock SOC 3300 – Inequality Wayne State University Web site: http://users.wowway.com/~marycay910

2. “CATEGORIES OF DIFFERENCE” • What Are the Specific “Categories of Difference” That Exist in Society? • How Are They Created? … & WHY? • This Course & The Text Are Specifically Designed to Describe This Entire Process • How the Institutions of Our Society Are Employed to Create & Maintain the Categories Desired By Those in Power

3. NEXT STEP: ANALYZING THECONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY’S“CATEGORIES OF DIFFERENCE” • What Are the Specific “Categories of Difference” That Exist in Our Society? • How Were They Created? … Perpetuated? • More Critically, WHY Do We Create Them?

4. ISSUES TO BE CONSTRUCTED CRITICAL DIMENSIONS: • Rationale for the Categories – the WHY? • Matrix of Domination CATEGORIES OF DIFFERENCE: • Race & Ethnicity • Social Class • Sex & Gender • Sexuality

5. 1st ISSUE: THE WHY?RATIONALE FOR THE CATEGORIES • Why Do We Do This? Why Do We Have to Have Categories – Boxes – to Put People In? • Many Reasons: • Explanatory • Functional Reasons (Davis-Moore Thesis) • System of Exploitation (Marx) • System of Oppression (Marilyn Frye)

6. EXPLANATORY Explain Unknown/Unexpected Characteristics • Europeans in Era of Exploration • Encountered Beings They Had Not Anticipated • Raised Questions About Theology, Philosophy • Tried to Resolve These Issues • Were They “Human”? Or “Animal”? • Should They Be Killed? Married? Converted? • “RACE” Was Their Explanation

7. FUNCTIONAL REASONS (DAVIS-MOORE THESIS) Society Needs Different Roles/Occupations • Some Jobs Require More Skills, Training • People Play Different Functions (Jobs) • Need to Attract People to Higher Skilled Jobs – With Higher Training Needs • Need to Give Them Higher Status to Get Them to Go Through the Training

8. SYSTEM OF EXPLOITATION (KARL MARX) Powerful People Want to Exploit Others • Marxist/Neo-Marxist Theory • Functional Needs? Are You Kidding? • It’s Exploitation – Pure & Simple! • Explorers/Capitalists Simply Wanted to Take Over Land & Make Money! • That’s Why They Invented Different Categories

9. SYSTEM OF OPPRESSION (MARILYN FRYE) Categories Are Deliberate Oppression • Category Construction Is More Than Simple Economic Exploitation • It Is a Systematic Plan to Dominate • It Is a Deliberate Plan to Keep the Dominant Group in Power … • & to Maintain Other Groups in Their Subordinate Position

10. 2nd ISSUE:MATRIX OF DOMINATION Understanding the Structure of Difference • The System of Oppressing Others (bell hooks) • The “Matrix of Domination” (Patricia Hill-Collins) • How The Dimensions of the Inequality System Interrelate With Each Other • How the Categories of Difference Interact • Income vs. Race vs. Ethnic vs. Religious vs. Gender • EX: Black Woman vs. Black Man vs. White Woman • How is Discrimination Experienced Differently?

11. CATEGORIES OF DIFFERENCE:DEFINITIONS • Race & Ethnicity • Social Class • Sex & Gender • Sexuality

12. CONSTRUCTING RACE & ETHNICITY RACE: Based on Distinctive Physical Traits • Group Members Perceive Themselves as Having Different Hereditary Characteristics • They Are Also Perceived That Way By Others ETHNICITY: Based on Cultural Traits • Language, Religion, Family Patterns, Food Categories Are Hierarchical (High to Low) • Groups Move Up & Down (Brodkin, Jews, prev. ed.)

13. CONSTRUCTING RACE & ETHNICITY (ctd) • Racial & Ethnic Categories Are Partially Voluntary • “Race” is Obvious – Less “Free” • Some Ethnicities Are Similar (Arab, Italian) • “Intermediate” Categories Are Not Accepted • “What ARE You?” • “Expected” Responses Are Enforced • “Mixed” Is Unacceptable

14. CONSTRUCTING SOCIAL CLASS Complex Components: • Income • Wealth • Government Definitions – “Poverty Line” • Social Definitions – Stereotypes: • Assumptions – Impressions • Generalizations – Application to All

15. CONSTRUCTING SOCIAL CLASS (ctd) • Income vs. Wealth • Income: Total Wages, Salaries, Investment Returns • Wealth: Total Possessions – Homes, Cars, Planes, Stocks, Bonds, etc. • Government Definitions: • “Poverty Line” – Allows Specific Benefits • Definitions Woefully Out of Date (1955) • Omits Modern Transportation, Technology Costs • 2009: $21,756 vs. $35,000+ • Fails to Recognize Opportunity, Self Esteem, Prejudice

16. CONSTRUCTING SOCIAL CLASS (ctd) • Stereotypes of Social Classes: • Primarily Based on External Characteristics: UPPER CLASS Well Dressed Demeanor Expensive Car Expensive Home Several Properties Ivy League Educ. Investments Old Family “WASP” Other ? MIDDLE CLASS Respectable Dress Demeanor Type of Car Home College Educated Managerial Job or Professional White or Certain Ethnic Groups LOWER CLASS Dress Demeanor Public Transportation Old Car Homeless/ Poor Home Public Assistance Minority Race Minority Ethnic Single Mothers

17. CONSTRUCTING SEX & GENDER • “Sex” – Biological Distinctions • 2 Sexes? Or An Incomplete List of Categories • 4% of Live Births Have Intersexual Characteristics • Modern Medical Science “Corrects” the Problem • “Gender” – Social Distinctions • Social Expectations Based on Assigned Sex Categories • Arranged into a Social System of Gender

18. THE GENDER SYSTEM • Socially Defined Roles for Males, Females – Behaviors Expected of Men, Women • Men Must Be Masculine: Tough, Loud, Aggressive • Women Must Be Feminine: Quiet, Submissive • Hierarchy in the Gender System: • Men & Masculinity Are Dominant • Women & Femininity Are Subordinate

19. GENDER SYSTEM (ctd) • Nature of Gender Hierarchy • Patriarchal Society – Males Dominate Females • Extends To All Spheres: Family, Economy, Education, Religion, Government, Media • Reinforced By Everyone: Parents, Teachers, Bosses, Politicians , Colleagues, Friends • Ambiguities Are Not Tolerated

20. CONSTRUCTING SEXUALITY • Sexuality Includes: • Attractions – Fantasies – Sexual Behaviors – Self-Identity • In Western Society: • Everyone Forced Into 2 Categories: Male OR Female • Heterosexuality As Relatively Recent Invention • Men Are Expected to Be Tough; Women, Quiet • Homosexuality in Modern Society • Contrast With Earlier Societies – Greeks, Kodiak, Navajo (Bornstein #13) • Limited In Many Areas: Marriage, Jobs, Housing, Religion

21. CONSTRUCTING SEXUALITY (ctd) • Examples of Sexual Constructions: • Expectations Regarding Marriage Partners – Who Is Viewed as a “Good Catch” • Who Is Allowed to Marry Whom: • Within Racial or Ethnic Categories • Acceptable to One’s Family • Must Marry ACROSS Gender Line – Bringing Home Same Sex Partner! • Bans on Homosexual Marriages – Mich & Elsewhere • Defense of Marriage Act • Different Treatment of Sex Crimes For Homosexuals

22. INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT Institutional Mechanisms for Inequality (Focus for Last Section of Course) • Family: Early Inculcation of Race, Gender, Class • Education: Teaches Skills Needed in Categories • Economy: Distributes the Correct Resources • State: Legal Power to Regulate Behavior – Including the Categories • Media: Enormous Power to Influence Behavior

23. NEXT STEP • Analysis of Specific Instances of the Categories • How They Were/Are Constructed • Why They Were Constructed • Their Impact on Society • How They Persist