Chapter+8-+Social+Stratification

chapter 8

Social Stratification- a system by which a society ranks cateogries of people in a hiearchy Social Mobility- a change in position within the social hierarchy Intragenerational social mobility- a change in social position occuring during a persons lifetime. Income- earnings from work or investments
 * The Doctor at the hospital in which Micah goes to is ranked higher then the teachers at Ojai high school, who are ranked higher than the waitors at the lobster shack.
 * Olive went from being an unknown teenage in her highschool to the most talked about teen in her highschool after the rumor spread about her sleeping with a college guy.
 * Brandon went from being the unaccepted homsexual before "having sex" and then afterwards he was praised by the guys and was a part of the peer group again.
 * Olive gets giftcards to her favorite places for pretending to have sex with people

Ideology- cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality Proletarians-people who sell their labor for wages Alienation- the experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness Conspicuous consumption- buying and using products because of the "statement" they make about social position This photo shows the isolation Olive feels from her peers when she is named the school slut
 * The idea that a girl is a slut if she has sex is part of the ideology in the United States.
 * Olive sells her "labor" in order to recieved gift cards or money from the guys she services.
 * Olive suffers isolation from her female peers for being known as the school slut.
 * Olive buys corsets and wears an A on her chest to show her social position in the school.

**caste system:** social stratification based on ascription, or birth **class system:** social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement
 * The social and economic status that people are born into affects the role they play in society. For example, Melody Bostic has wealthy parents and is able to afford expensive clothes. She also frequently throws parties because her parents are usually out of town. As a result, Melody Bostic is considered popular because of her ascription status.
 * Olive’s rise to popularity illustrates the class system at a high school. At the beginning of the movie, Olive is unknown by most people and usually ignored by her classmates. In fact, until Marianne hears the rumor about Olive losing her virginity, she didn’t even realize that she had taken 10 classes with Olive since kindergarten. However, after Olive engages in risqué behavior she becomes notorious throughout the school.

**meritocracy:** social stratification based on personal merit (an individual's knowledge, abilities, and effort) **status consistency:** This photo shows how Todd achieved the status of the mascot through his abilities and effort
 * Todd’s status as the school mascot is based on meritocracy. Todd had to train and try out for the mascot position. In addition, Todd is in charge of leading the pep rallies at school. Todd’s position as mascot is important because he had to work hard to achieve that status.
 * Mr. Griffith, Olive’s English teacher, has status inconsistency. Although Mr. Griffith is very smart and has a prestigious job, he does not make a large income from his teaching salary.