Sociological Based Questions

Introduction

This paper seeks to respond to a number of sociological based questions.

1).Jones, Haenfler and Johnson (34) notes that the argument that gender is socially constructed means that the attributes and the opportunities and expectations associated with being male or female determined and instilled by the society. The three scholars define Patriarchy is a social system which gives the male gender domination over the female gender.

Patriarchy is connected to social construction since it puts women in a disadvantaged position allowing their oppression by the male. U.S is still since most of its companies’ leadership and the key local governments positions are dominate by the males. U.S is also largely guided by the bible teaching that emphasize on the need for women to submit to men. Equally, women in U.S have also continued to take the names of their husbands. Finally the man has continued to control economic, political and social decisions.

2).Jones, Haenfler and Johnson (68) defines status is a social position, condition or standing to which the society has attached varying degrees of esteem, responsibilities and privileges. Example may be; the learned, celebrities, and the rich. On the other side, master status refers to a status that dominates others statuses like that of a woman judge in a court or a father in a family. According to the scholars, role is an expected or prescribed behavior that is associated with a specific position or status within the society. An example is the expectation placed on father as the family security factor.

In and out groups are sociologically constructed groups which make an individual to feel either as belonging or not belonging. An example is the feeling of belonging among the adolescents when they are together. Reference group on the other hand is a group of people to whom one compares or evaluates himself based on their values, behaviors or attitudes.

3).A good historical example of racism is the African slavery. In the modern world racial oppressions has taken new forms such as police violence against the blacks and denial of unemployment opportunities. Allowing in group to use racial language encourages unity, engagement and interaction among its members. Its disadvantage is that it isolates the group members from other groups and may promote hatred leading to conflicts.

4).Ability/disability has shaped our identity is various ways including; promoting isolation, abuse, segregation, discrimination. The skilled despise the unskilled while the rich despise the poor. Technology has enabled man to among other things cloth himself and utilize electricity, enabling him to acquire more superior identity. However, within humanity, societies’ identities are determined by how well they are able to use technology to improve their lives.

5).Heterosexism is discrimination based on one’s sexual orientation. Heterosexuals normally believe that they are superior to homosexuals hence discrimination against gays, lesbians and the bisexuals. It generates homophobia and antigay violence.

6).According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the U.S poverty line is obtained by determining how much it should cost to feed a family of four annually and multiplies the number by three. The three additional factors that should be considered include; the additional income that low income people receive as public assistance, the cost of childcare and the effect of immigration.  The 2012 poverty line for a single person is $ 11,130 and that for a family of four is 23,050. The people who are most likely to be in poverty are those with larger families because the poverty line increases with the size of the household.

It is the educated that are most likely to have high social mobility in the U.S because education is directly related one’s level of income and occupation. The term working poor refers to those who are in poverty though they have at lest one family member who is working. Example is children.