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Prejudice and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, power, social class, and prestige

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Prejudice and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, power, social class, and prestige

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In the society that we live in today being in a higher social class or having a different race or ethnicity can be either good or bad for your life choices. Even though we like to think of our world a equal and that no discrimination occurs this is not true. If someone has a certain social class they will be better off if they decide to do certain things. This is shown in Their Eyes Were Watching God  when Janie just decides to move and caries $200 on her at all times just to be able to do what she wants. When Tea Cake finds this money he is shocked because he has never had that much money at once. Tea Cake is in a lower social class than Janie.

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Prejudice and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, power, social class, and prestige

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How Does Social Class Affect Life Chances?

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How Does Social Class Affect Life Chances?

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In every society there are a few different classes. These are what social classes are. They are also determined by different things but mainly by how much money you have. Some may think that this has no real barring on my life so why does it matter but believe it or not someone in a higher social class than you will be given certain privileges that you wont be if you are in a lower social class than they are. In Their Eyes Were Watching God  Janie is apart of the higher social class because of her marriage with Joe. Being in this higher class everybody around her saw her as their superior; not because of anything she did but because of her social class.

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Keywords: life chances and social claass
LIFE CHANCES SOCIAL CLASS CONTINUES TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON LIFE CHANCES OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE CONTEMPORARY UK. DISCUSS THIS VIEW, USING APPROPRIATE EVIDENCE.
In a modern western society individuals strive to achieve the things that are labelled as desirable, the best phone, a big house and a nice car. These are all known as commodities alongside education, health and housing but these commodities are very rarely distributed equally and so actually achieving these things can be difficult (Stroud, 2001). The ability and opportunity a person has to achieve these commodities is known as a person's life chances. There are various factors that can determine a person's life chances including genetic inheritance, social class of parents, education, childhood poverty, family, attitudes and discrimination, plus many more (Aldridge, 2004). A person's life chances will often be determined by their social class within their society. Social class is one of the oldest and possibly one of the most persistent inequalities in British society. Classes are groups of people that all share the same ideals, opportunities and cultural beliefs. These class systems can be defined by achieved or ascribed status. Achieved status is status that has been worked for, whereas ascribed status is from birth. Some class systems have social mobility, which gives individuals the opportunity to move up or down classes.

Throughout history there have been records of many different class systems, including slavery, the feudal system and the Hindu caste system. Some of these class systems still exist even in today's modernised world. Despite many adaptions taking place as life continues to change according to the National Equality Panel the UK is still a long way from being a society of equal opportunity. There has been a lot of change over the last two decades that have indeed improved the life chances of many; these changes have narrowed the inequalities in earnings, gender and education for ethnic minorities (Timmins, 2010). The biggest inequality that can be seen within the UK would be with income, with the majority of the UK's wealth being owned by only a small percentage.

Within the contemporary UK there appears to be a class system divided into three categories, upper class, middle class and working class. For each of these three classes there will be differences in the kind of advantages or disadvantages the people within them can have. These differences may be recognised by obvious inequality with commodities such as council housing or privately owned housing in select locations, education at select schools compared to state education, private healthcare opposed to NHS healthcare and highly paid occupations against poorly paid or no occupation opportunities. There could also be disadvantages due to a person's accent and dialect, appearance and clothing and the leisure activities that person indulges in. There may also be other less obvious inequalities, from social class, that can affect a person's life chances.

In a modern society social class and life chances depend largely on economic differences between groups, such as wealth and income, possession of goods, and a person's position in society (SFEU, n.d). The biggest differences in social class within the UK can be seen through a person's occupation. The upper classes can live off unearned income, such as land rents or inheritance. There are not many upper class people living off unearned income, despite there being some very wealthy people. In the UK most people fall into middle class or working class categories. The middle class is broken down into the higher middle class and the lower middle class. The higher middle class hold occupations in professional work such as law, medicine or owning businesses. This type of work requires education, qualifications and skills. While the lower middle class hold occupations such as teachers and opticians. At one time lower middle class occupations were sought after and would have been regarded as higher middle class, but due to these professions now being stable well paid positions they have decreased in class standing (Mills, 1956, cited in Anon, n.d). Working classes hold manual labour occupations and although this can often require a lot of skill it is not generally well paid (Anon, n.d).

It is more than obvious to say that if a child has a good education and achieves high qualifications then that child is most likely to gain a high paying job. A person born into a family living in poverty would obviously not have the same opportunity to attend a top quality private school as a person born into a wealthy family. There is also the consideration of catchment areas with education that could prevent a person being able to attend a better school than provided in their local area. A lot of the best schools in the UK do have scholarship and bursary opportunities, however these do not always apply as some of the individuals from poorer societies are unable or unaware of how to apply for this assistance and if they do they could still be refused. For instance, a child from a council estate, living with unemployed parents on the outskirts of a city would not be able to go to a private funded school in a big city. Whereas a child with parents as actors will almost always be instantly enrolled to the best private schools available.

The main factor that affects health inequality in the UK is social class. There are many studies that show people born in to poor families have less chance of survival, grow up with poor health and may die at an early age. NHS waiting lists at an all time high, those individuals with either low incomes or no incomes are increasingly waiting longer for potentially lifesaving treatment. In contrast to this those people in what is considered the upper classes are able to pay to have treatment privately and almost immediately, also having the opportunity to choose the best surgeon/doctor to perform the treatment. There is also the fact that many working class occupations cause illness but the people suffering are unable to take time away from their employment for fear of dismissal. Health inequalities may not be directly caused by social class itself but more as a result of social class inequality. Poor health can be a result of poor living conditions, bad eating habits, behavioural habits such as smoking and drinking and lack of exercise (Macintyre, cited in Burton, 2014).

Another difference between life chances and differing social classes is the way crime is handled. A lot of national statistics state that most crime is committed by working class males. This is not necessarily true as a lot of wealthy people often commit crimes but are not prosecuted. Even when they are prosecuted there are major differences in the treatment involved. For instance a white working class male arrested for fraud will find himself face down on the pavement and handcuffed behind his back. He will then be taken to a local police station, thrown in a cell and eventually interviewed for hours before having DNA, fingerprints and photographs taken before being released. In total contrast to this a wealthy public figure such as a politician or celebrity would be contacted through their PA or agent with a request to attend the police station at a time suitable and convenient for them. They will not be handcuffed, put in a cell or subjected to many hours of interrogation. They may have to provide DNA, fingerprints and photographs but this could also depend on the person in question.
REFERENCES
Burton, J. (2013) Class and Stratification Access Sociology [Class Hand-out]. Access to Social Science: Life Chances, Northampton College. 1 st March.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

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How Does Social Class Affect Life Chances?

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Published: Disclaimer: This essay has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UK Essays.

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In today's day more things have become politically correct. This means that when we do something we try to not offend someone or make biased assumptions. Before today's day though many things had been put into our lives influencing these assumptions. most of these came from advertisements on television. In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie is being put into her "role" as a wife. This is really obvious during her relationship with Joe. Her voice is constantly being silenced and she his almost completely under his control.

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Ever since men have had jobs and women were allowed to work they had been discriminated. In the workforce sex discrimination is when equally qualified men and women are given different opportunities, wages, and benefits biased on their gender. This was shown in Their Eyes Were Watching God when Nanny marries Janie to Logan. Nanny does this because, although they can do the same things as men, black men were seen as superior to black women. This is just one example of sex discrimination. Even today in the twenty first century sexual discrimination is still around all over the world.

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Racial and Ethnic discrimination (Database)

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Racial and Ethnic discrimination (Database)

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From the very beginning America has been known as a free state. The declaration of independence states that "All men are created equal" and have "unalienable rights."
Even with this clause it was not until the mid-twentieth century that our government started to crack down on racism. It was very contradictory for the county to be the land of the free but still condone slavery. This is like in Caged Bird when the bird outside is being looked at and representing the species but there are still oppressed birds in cages.

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This poem speaks of the wishes of oppressed humans. For example the caged bird represents blacks fighting for their freedom. The free bird is representing the whites. When the cadged birds sing of freedom they are dreaming of a future where they are equal and have the same rights and privileges as whites. Being in the cage puts a handy-cap on the birds potential. This happens in Their Eyes Were Watching God when Nanny marries Janie with Logan. she takes Janie's potential of finding true love away because she feels that she will be oppressed because of her race in the future and wants her to have the most advantages as possible.

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Maya Angelou, "Caged Bird" from Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? Copyright © 1983 by Maya Angelou. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

Source: The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (Random House Inc., 1994)

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Caged Bird by Maya Angelou | Poetry Foundation

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Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies.

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Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies.

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This is a very interesting article. This shows how someone can look for the truth in subjects before coming to a conclusion. I respect this man because he doesn't just fall into the rut of society by thinking that everyone in the KKK is a bad person. He ends up becoming very good friends with someone who is very stereotypical and wouldn't like him for his race. If he had fallen into the rut he wouldn't have found this good friend and this great story wouldn't have been shared with us. And wouldn't inspire others to investigate further into topics before making an opinion.

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Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies. | Daryl Davis | TEDxNaperville

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Many people would say that "Blackface" was a very racist act, a way for whites to oppress African Americans, and that it should be removed from society as a whole. I agree that it is Racist and that It was a way to oppress blacks and I agree that it is not good. However I personally feel that in today's society this just is not that big of a deal. Before watching this video I had never even heard of "Blackface." It is for this reason that I think our society has taken our past as a country and magnified the small traces of it that still exist in today's society.

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Blackface: A cultural history of a racist art form

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In today's day it is true that many people are told something and that they imminently believe that one thing as long as that it is believable within reason. When given one story our views on the subject are either very biased, racist, or even completely wrong. This is truly evident when being told about something that is far from our direct reach. For instance, when being told of Africa when you live in the United States and have never traveled outside of the US. When this happens your idea of Africa is biased only on the one story you were told.For this reason it is important to have multiple story's on one subject so that you can create a more accurate idea of what that place or concept truly is.

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Please [contact us](https://www.ted.com/contact) and let us know what happened.

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White privilege is the the superiority that whites have been passed down from generations of oppression of blacks. As in Their Eyes Were Watching God, the blacks are forced to find, sort, and bury the dead bodies. When identifying the bodies if the corpses were white they were put in coffins but if they were black then they were just thrown in. This shows how even in death the whites were given privilege over the blacks.

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