Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach

In James M. Henslin's Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, many issues and concepts encapsulated within the domain of sociology are explored. Of these, two issues are particularly compelling in light of one another: gender inequality and racial prejudice. Each of these concepts is unique in that each relies upon the existence of a set of physical characteristics that in turn obtain for specific groups of people in a given society. All societies contain men as well as women, and all societies are affected by racial distinctions. As such, both "gender inequality" and "racial prejudice" is fully capable of holding a distinct place in the realm of sociology, and yet it would be shortsighted to consider one without also looking at the other. Each concept is partly defined by a set of theoretical themes that is not unique to it; both gender inequality and racial prejudice share some common threads that can help us to recognize patterns of social behavior in general.

Gender inequality originates with gender stratification; in most societies, one's sex will determine to some extent one's access to power, prestige and property (Henslin 308). Privileges are never universally available to everyone on equal terms. Rather, they are biased toward some people and against others. One's gender will, in any society, play a part in determining which privileges are available and which are not. For this, gender requires a degree of learning on the part of the individual. The structur

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