Social Roles, Stratification, And Gender: Key Concepts Explored

Social Roles: Definitions and Examples

1. What is a social role? Give an example of s social role. What is role confusion and give an example? What is role conflict and give an example? How does the social role you play in your work life versus your social life differ in how you behave and talk to those in the work world versus with your friends and family?

2. What is social stratification? What is economic stratification and economic inequality and what is the proof that it exists in the United States? What is racial stratification in America and what impact does it have on racial minorities? What role does racial segregation in housing exacerbate racial prejudices and racist behavior and attitudes – give specific examples.

3. What is gender stratification and how does it impact the status of women in the United States and the world? How is gender a learned behavior and how to boys and girls learn how to act male and female? What does it mean to be transgendered and why is it so controversial?
 

1. A social role is being defined as a set of interlinked behaviors, rights, duties, beliefs, and standards as theorized by individuals in a public situation. A social role can be considered as an anticipated or free or incessantly varying behavior and might have a particular discrete social status or a position in society. It is integral to not only the functionalist but also the interactionist considerations pertaining to society. One example of a social role could be the role of an adult. An adult must stay away from irresponsible and wild behavior and must instead exhibit traits such as accountability and responsibility. It is also expected of an adult that he/she settles down, gets a job, has a good and responsible image in society, has children, and brings them up to be responsible citizens, and so on. The role of an adult can thus be considered to be very different from that of a child. It is interesting to note that a single individual may play multiple social roles throughout his life, such as the role of a son, brother or a student. Thus, the social roles are the different roles that an individual plays being a part of a larger social group (Eagly, 2013).

Role confusion can be defined as a situation in which a person has difficulty in comprehending which role should be or is expected to be assumed by him/her. It is in such cases, that a state of confusion is experienced. An example of this could be when a graduate student had to be a guest at a department get-together at a professor's residence. In such a case the student might experience difficulty in determining whether he/she needs to act like a student while interacting with the professor, displaying reverence and veneration, or should he behave in an informal, friendly manner, demonstrating collegiality and acquaintance.

Role Confusion and Role Conflict: Understanding the Difference

Social roles are determined by the situation and the setting that the individual is in. There are circumstances where the set types of behavior that define roles might give rise to intellectual disagreement in people. Role conflict can thus be considered as a distinct kind of social conflict which occurs when a person is compelled to assume two distinct and unrelated roles simultaneously. In the case of social settings , an individual might encounter clash between her responsibilities as a mother and her responsibilities and tasks as a staff member of an organization. Role conflict, in this case, may occur if her infant’s requirements for time and devotion divert her from the obligation of being a manager of the company she is working for. Similarly, another example of role conflict is a situation where a person has difficulty deciding upon which of the two roles he/she needs to carry out, even though the roles are not essentially contrary. A very common example of role conflict can be an employer, who has to terminate the service of an employee who also happens to be his friend.  (Openstax, 2015). The person will undergo role conflict, as being a friend he should save his friend’s job, while thinking of his business progress, he should fire him (O’Neill, 2013).

As an employee working at office, my social role is of a man who has duties and obligations towards the welfare of the organization. Thus, I assume the social role of a strictly disciplined man. On the other hand, while being with my friends and family, I perform the social role of a friendly and congenial individual.

2. Social stratification can be defined as society's classification of individuals into socioeconomic divisions, on the basis of their occupation and earnings, money and public status, or obtained power (societal and governmental). In this respect, stratification can be described as the relative societal status of individuals within a specific social unit, group, geographic area, or communal division. In contemporary Western civilizations, social stratification characteristically is categorized as three distinct classes, the first being the upper class, the second being the middle class, and the third is the lower class. Apart from these divisions, every class is then subcategorized into strata, which is the upper, middle, and lower stratum of society. Additionally, a social stratum is also likely to be forged that is centered on the ideas of kinship or class, or both of these.

Social Stratification: Definition and Examples

Economic stratification refers to the process of categorizing and distinguishing people on the basis of their economic status instead of their caste, class, or gender. Economic stratification is closely linked with global stratification and global inequality as it affects the quality of life of people all over the world. Economic inequality primarily means the concentration of economic resources in just a few parts of the world, while the other parts are neglected, thus resulting in poverty. This is evident in the case of India where people who are afflicted with extreme poverty are unemployed and live in slums. As far as the United States is concerned, economic forces, like those of outsourcing as well as automation, are dividing the labor force, with a majority of the job prospects being either the ones that are low-level, low-wage, manual tasks or higher-level, well-paying jobs that are founded on abstract abilities. The role of women in the staff has been on the rise, however, it is evident that women have not been able to achieved total economic equality. (Openstax, 2015)

Racial stratification is done on the basis of a person’s race, which in these current terms, refers more to physical characteristics that can be seen than to culture and ancestry. Racial groups are generally categorized by regions as well, along with distinctions on the basis of skin color. Racial minorities are groups that are segregated on the grounds of them being different on certain grounds pertaining to race. The Scapegoat Theory indicates that the dominant group will eventually shift its unfocused antagonism onto a lower group. In the case of America, the minority groups are often at the receiving end of antagonism from the dominant groups in various parts of the nation (Massey, 2016).

As far as housing facilities for minorities are concerned, a primary concern has been redlining. Redlining is essentially the practice of refuting mortgages for residences and businesses that are situated in mostly minority groups, whereas sedimentation pertaining to racial inequality defines the intergenerational effect of not only practical but also legalized racism which restricts the capacities of black citizens to amass wealth. This aggravates the issue of racial segregation even more by increasing tension between both the majority and the minority. Apart from this, another instance was the de facto separation that was done in Ferguson’s schools, a race-grounded wealth divides, city sprawl, as well as a black unemployment rate that was three times as much as that of the white unemployment rate. This is what worsens the current racial tensions in Ferguson. It also indicates countrywide racial inequalities. (Openstax, 2015)

Economic Inequality: Proof of Its Existence in the United States

3. Gender stratification implies stratification on the basis of a person’s gender, with women being the minority, who are often victims of segregation. The issue of gender stratification is particularly evident within the financial sector. Even though they make up almost half (which is 49.8 percent) of the total payroll employment, it is the men who significantly outnumber women when it comes to authoritative, strong, and, thus, high-earning careers. In cases where a female’s employment position is the same as that of a male’s, the woman will mostly make just 77 cents for each of the dollarsearned by her male counterpart. Women who are a part of the paid labor force are also the ones, who do a huge amount of the work that is done at home, which is not paid for.

Usually, it has been observed that 84 percent of females (as contrasted with 67 percent of males) spend their time carrying out domestic chores (Bills, 2016). A double duty such as this ensures that working women occupy a secondary position in the family structure. Such a situation can be seen not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world, where women are not only paid less and given less importance, but even if they are allocated the same job as a man, it is the man’s role that is looked upon as being more important.

Gender can be considered as a learned behavior as individuals learn to behave according to their gender by observing the behavior of those around them who belong to the same gender. Gender roles are thus first learnt through play wherein boys play with active toys that promote dominance and superiority while girls are given dolls and items that seek to imbibe a sense of nurturing in them. (Openstax, 2015).

The word transgendered basically means that an individual finds himself identifying with a sexual role that is the opposite of that which he was born with. The word “transgender” has been likened to a disorder in the past, which has contributed to a great deal of antagonism and bias against such individuals. It is for such a reason that it became vital for there to be a revision of the definition of such a situation. Research revealed that individuals who are transgendered are twice more likely to suffer an assault as others, which is why their safety was a concern. The public must thus be educated about gender identity so as to avert the occurrence of such instances of violence. Since gender role is a matter if important concern in today’s world, people are usually expected to behave in a way that corresponds to the nature of their birth sex. Since conformity is an important aspect of a society, any instance of non-conformity to gender ole is considered to be undesirable and hence it gives rise to controversies.  

Reference List:

Bills, D. B. (2016). Gender Inequality and Gender Stratification. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Eagly, A. H. (2013). Sex differences in social behavior: A social-role interpretation. Psychology Press.

Massey, D. S. (2016). Residential segregation is the linchpin of racial stratification. City & Community, 15(1), 4-7.

O'NEIL, J. M. (2013). Gender-Role Conflict and Strain in. Men in transition: Theory and therapy, 5.

OpenStax, Sociology 2e. OpenStax. 24 April 2015. https://cnx.org/content/col11762/latest/