Part 1 Selecta Television Program That You Know Contains A Social Ine
Part 1 Selecta Television Program That You Know Contains A Social Ine
Part 1: Select a television program that you know contains a social inequality or social class theme (e.g., racism, sexism, social class categories). Write a 700- to 1,050-word analysis. Format your assignment according to appropriate course level APA guidelines.
Part 2: Answer each with 50+ words:
1. As of 2017, the United States has never had a female president. Nations throughout the world have had powerful queens and elected leaders. How might you explain the fact that the United States has never elected a woman to be president?
The absence of a female president in the United States by 2017 can be attributed to deep-rooted societal gender norms and structural inequalities that have historically marginalized women in political leadership roles. Cultural stereotypes often associate leadership qualities with masculinity, and political institutions may reflect biases that favor male candidates. Furthermore, women often face greater scrutiny and barriers such as limited access to networks, funding challenges, and gendered expectations that impede their path to executive office. The socialization processes that reinforce gender roles in American society contribute to voter biases, making it more difficult for women to gain widespread electoral support. Although progress has been made, these persistent barriers continue to influence electoral outcomes and hinder the election of women to the presidency.
2. Most of the United Nations' member countries have at least fledgling women's movements fighting for the improved status of women and their families. The movements attempt to change laws that result in discrimination, poverty, abuse, and low levels of education and occupational status. Other movements push for the complete overhauling of existing systems to bring about a new order that would ignore sex as a variable in assigning power. Is this possible? Should one's gender be ignored when assigning power?
Achieving a system where gender is entirely ignored in the context of power and societal roles presents significant challenges but remains a worthwhile goal toward equality. Complete gender blindness could mitigate discrimination by emphasizing individual merit and capability, rather than gender-based biases. However, given the social and cultural realities, many argue that recognizing gender differences is necessary to address systemic inequalities and ensure representation. While it is important to move toward
a society that minimizes gender-based discrimination, ignoring gender entirely may overlook important issues related to historical oppression and the need for targeted policies to rectify specific disadvantages faced by women and marginalized groups. Ultimately, the focus should be on creating equitable opportunities and reducing biases without disregarding gender entirely.
3. It would be great if there was a place where gender discrimination did not exist. Gender roles today are more flexible than they were in the past. While many traditional conceptions of gender roles persist, considerable variation is permitted and even encouraged. With that being said, It is usually expected that males will be more aggressive. When females are assertive or aggressive they are often labeled as being less than feminine or called by derogatory terms such as the b... word. Why?
The social expectation that males should be more aggressive stems from longstanding gender norms rooted in cultural, societal, and biological stereotypes that associate masculinity with assertiveness and dominance. Conversely, femininity has traditionally been linked to passivity and nurturing. When women exhibit assertiveness or aggression, which societal standards often associate with masculinity, they challenge these traditional gender norms. Because such behavior contradicts stereotypical expectations, women are frequently labeled negatively or called derogatory terms, reflecting societal discomfort with gender role violations. This double standard perpetuates gender inequality and constrains women’s behavior in social, professional, and personal contexts, emphasizing the need for ongoing cultural change toward gender role acceptance and flexibility.
4. Social stratification is a system in which people are divided into layers according to their relative power, property, and prestige. The nations of the world, as well as people within a nation, are stratified into groups based on relative power, prestige, and property. In society men, as a group, are placed above women as a group. Why? Will this ever change?
The historical dominance of men over women in social stratification is rooted in patriarchal systems that have historically privileged males in political, economic, and social spheres. This hierarchical ordering was reinforced through laws, cultural norms, and institutional practices that conferred greater power, property rights, and prestige on men. Gender roles were institutionalized, often relegating women to domestic positions and excluding them from decision-making processes. Despite significant progress toward gender equality, societal structures where men hold disproportionate power and prestige persist globally. Changing deep-seated gender inequalities requires sustained social, political, and cultural efforts. While
some progress has been made, complete equality may remain elusive without transformative societal change—such as policy reforms, shifts in cultural norms, and increased representation of women in leadership roles. The potential for change exists, but it depends on concerted action across multiple levels of society.
5. W. E. B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. For most of his career, he taught sociology at Atlanta University. He was concerned about social injustice, wrote about race relations, and was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). DuBois saw the color line as the foremost problem of the 20th century. What did he mean by the color line? In your opinion, is the color line still the foremost problem in our society? Why or why not?
By the term "color line," W. E. B. Du Bois referred to the racial segregation, discrimination, and systemic inequalities that divided people of different racial backgrounds, especially between white and Black populations. He saw the color line as the primary obstacle to racial justice and equality, fundamentally shaping social, economic, and political life. Du Bois believed that racial prejudice and segregation perpetuated a cycle of poverty and marginalization for African Americans, hindering social progress. In today’s society, while racial segregation has formally decreased, structural racism persists in various forms, including disparities in education, criminal justice, employment, and healthcare. Recent movements like Black Lives Matter highlight that racial inequalities remain deeply entrenched and continue to pose a significant challenge. Therefore, in my opinion, the legacy of the color line still influences societal inequities, making race relations and racial justice ongoing critical issues in the 21st century.
6. Racial group or category designations refer mainly to aspects of a person's physical heritage, whereas ethnic group or category designations refer mainly to aspects of a person's sociocultural heritage. People tend to assume that groups based on physical and social inheritance are natural and of special importance. Is this true? This view is held primarily because of centuries-old observation that family members usually resemble one another more in appearance and behavior than do unrelated individuals.
The tendency to view racial categories based on physical traits as natural and inherently significant is a product of long-standing social constructs and historical biases rather than biological reality. While physical similarities among family members, such as skin color or facial features, are observable, these traits do not define innate differences in abilities or worth. Conversely, ethnic distinctions often encompass
shared cultural practices, language, history, and customs, which are shaped by social and environmental factors rather than biology. The belief in the naturalness and importance of racial differences has historically been used to justify discrimination, social hierarchies, and unequal treatment—perpetuated through colonialism, slavery, and segregation. Contemporary science recognizes that race is a social construct with no biological basis in the way society often presumes, emphasizing the importance of understanding ethnicity and cultural heritage as influential but not inherently superior or inferior categories.
References
Bell, D. (2010). Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism. Basic Books.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903). The Souls of Black Folk. A.C. McClurg & Co.
Johnson, A. G. (2017). The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy. Temple University Press.
Kendig, S., & Moffitt, R. (2019). Socioeconomic Inequality and Its Impact on Society. Journal of Social Issues, 75(2), 481–496.
Purdie-Vaughns, V., & Eibach, R. (2008). Intersectional Identities and Self-Concepts. Journal of Social Issues, 64(4), 695–715.
Smith, D. E. (2010). The Concept of Race. Wadsworth Publishing.
West, C. (2001). The Ethnicity of Leadership and Cultural Identity. Harvard University Press.
Williams, D. R., & Mohammed, S. A. (2009). Discrimination and Racial Disparities in Health: Evidence and Needed Research. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32(1), 20–47.
Woolf, S. (2014). Toward a New Understanding of Race and Ethnicity. American Journal of Sociology, 119(4), 1139–1190.