caste system

a form of stratification based on endogamy, no mobility, and ascribed status.

culture of poverty

the assumption that values and behaviors of the poor make them fundamentally

different from other people, that these factors are largely responsible for their poverty, and that parents

perpetuate poverty across generations by passing these characteristics on to their children

downward social mobility

movement down the social class ladder

feminization of poverty

a trend in U.S. poverty where most poor families are headed by women

ideology

a system of ideas and beliefs

income

earnings received through work and/or investments

intergenerational mobility

the change that family members make in social class from one generation to

the next

Intragenerational mobility

vertical mobility within a person’s own lifetime

meritocracy

a form of social stratification in which all positions are awarded on the basis of merit

poverty line

the official measure of poverty; calculated to include those whose incomes are less than

three times a low-cost food budget

power

the ability to carry out your will, even over the resistance of others

power elite

C. Wright Mills' term for the top people in U.S. corporations, military, and politics who

make the nation's major decisions (definition in chapter 10)

prestige

status or esteem people hold in the eyes of others

social class

according to Weber, a large number of people who rank close to one another in wealth,

power, and prestige; according to Marx, one of two groups: capitalists, who own the means of production or workers, who sell their labor

social stratification

A system of ranking people in a hierarchy according to WEALTH, PRESTIGE & POWER

status

social ranking; the position that someone occupies in society or in a social group

status consistency

people ranking high or low on all three dimensions of social class

status inconsistency

ranking high on some dimensions of social class and low on others

upward social mobility

movement up the social class ladder

wealth

total value of an individual or family, including income, stocks, bonds, real estate and other assets

Anti-miscegenation laws

laws that enforced racial segregation at the level of marriage  

assimilation

the process of being absorbed into the mainstream

discrimination

an act of unfair treatment directed against an individual or a group

dominant group

the group with the most power, greatest privileges, and highest social status

ethnicity (and ethnic):

having distinctive cultural characteristics

genocide

the systematic annihilation or attempted annihilation of a people based on their presumed race or ethnic group

individual discrimination

the negative treatment of one person by another on the basis of that person's

perceived characteristics

institutional discrimination

the negative treatment of a minority group that is built into a society's

institutions, also called systematic discrimination

minority group

people who are singled out for unequal treatment on the basis of their physical and

cultural characteristics, and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination

multiculturalism

(also called pluralism) a philosophy or political policy that permits or encourages

groups to express their individual, unique racial and ethnic identities

prejudice

an attitude of prejudging, usually in a negative way

race

a group whose inherited physical characteristics distinguish it from other groups

racism

belief that certain racial or ethnic groups are inferior to one’s own

scapegoat

an individual or group unfairly blamed for someone else's troubles

segregation

the policy of keeping racial or ethnic groups separated

selective perception

seeing certain features of an object or situation, but remaining blind to others

stereotypes

assumptions about what people are like based on group membership

total discrimination

the combined effect of past and present discrimination

feminism

the philosophy that men and women should be politically, economically, and socially equal;

organized activity on behalf of this principle

gender

the behavior and attitudes that a society considers proper for its males and females; masculinity

or femininity

gender stratification

males' and females' unequal access to power, prestige, and property on the basis of their sex

glass ceiling

the invisible barrier that prevents women from reaching the executive suite

glass escalator

upward movement of men in women’s occupations disproportionate to their numbers

Heterosexim

an ideological system that denies, denigrates and stigmatizes non-heterosexuality

patriarchy

a society or group in which men dominate women; authority is invested in males

sex

biological characteristics that distinguish females and males, consisting of primary and secondary sex characteristics

sexism

discrimination on the basis of sex

second shift

women are wage earners and also do most of unpaid household work, now recorded in the census

sexual harassment

consists of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or physical conduct of a sexual nature used as a condition of employment or promotion or that interferes with an individual’s job performance and creates an intimidating or hostile environment

Title IX

passed in 1972, requiring educational institutions to offer women the same opportunities that are offered to men