Social Classes In America Essay

When we hear the word “America” we often think of independence, opportunity, and success. Equal opportunity can be defined as every individual granted a fair chance and should be treated the same. The opportunity should overlook religion, race, sex, ethnicity, etc. For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been studying the nature of inequality and how it’s had a negative impact on society. From the outside looking in, it seems as if America is the land of equal opportunity, however, that is not accurate. The United States is not the land of equal opportunity. People of different races have to fight daily for fair opportunities. Inequality affects the ability of people who wants to improve the standards of their lives and contribution to society.

There is much debate about the issue of social class in the United States. There are arguments about whether social classes are distinctly separate or fluid, dependent upon one’s community or society as a whole, and if they are subjective or objective (Hughes and Jenkins). However, despite the debate surrounding social classes, it is still important to try to define them and analyze their effects, as they are such an important part of our identity and our opportunities in society. Although our society has tried to appear as though we have no classes, and it is becoming harder to tell what class someone is in by material goods, classes do still exist today (Scott and Leonhardt). The trend has been to divide the U.S. into four major

Social class is defined as 'people having the same social or economic status' (Wordnet). In contemporary American society, social class is based on the amount of money and property you have and also prestige. Prestige is given to a person through the line of work or the family that they come from. For example, upper-upper class member Jennifer Lopez reeks of prestige not only because she has millions of dollars in her bank account, but she has very expensive luxuries, cars, and houses.

America is divided into groups based on many different characteristics. Some of those characteristics may include race and ethnicity, cultures, religions, age, sexual orientations and genders. No matter which group someone defines with based on those characteristics, an individual will be labeled one step further to fit into a social class. In America, the most basic structure of social classes is broken down into upper, middle, and lower class. However, the perspectives of what each of those social structures looks like differs based on an individual’s characteristics. This analysis will examine the structures of the American social class from the perspectives of people of color, women, and gender orientation.

Parents' social class has a greater impact on how well their children perform at school than IQ. Social class has become the primary pathway as well as a towering obstacle to opportunity in America. Below I will discuss three articles on this topic.

Social class refers to the system of stratification of the different groups of people in a society. These different forms of classification are, in most instances, based on gender ethnicity and age. Social class makes everyone’s lives extremely different. For example: How long one can expect to live. In a wide range of ways, from success, to one’s health class, social class influences people’s lives (Grusky,2003).

I do not feel like America has been a land of equal opportunity. I do agree, that some people have better opportunities because of many reasons. Race, gender, money, etc, all separate society, and probably will for a while. That's not saying certain people can't do certain things. It does make things difficult. There will always be something in this world to hold you back. If you really want something, make it happen.

In this great nation of ours, we can provide freedom for all races cultures and ethics, rights for everybody from every corner of the world, democracy, the opportunity for people with the fire in their hearts to start a business, and equality. Could there be a country so magnificent? The answer to that question is yes, that country is America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. But I worry that the dream of all of this might be in danger to those that don’t know life outside of America.

The American Dream, the idea that each person is given equal opportunities, rights, and ability to chase after any desire. This nation was founded on the idea that all men were created equal, and when it was founded that is exactly what it meant, all white males that were able to vote, were equal in their rights. That idea has changed in the last few decades, or at least that is what many Americans want to believe. Americans have yet to fully leave behind many ideals created in a world long past. Today’s America has begun to prepare itself to step out of the shadows of its repressive past and into the light of a future filled with equal opportunity. America can begin to better itself by fixing several issues in the workplace, such as racism,

America’s classes appear to be split up in three sections: Upper, Middle, and Lower class. People categorize each other depending on what they wear, where they live, who they associate with, and what jobs they have. Income and wealth have a substantial part of the American class.

“No matter your social status, or how powerful you feel you are, we are all equal. We came here by birth and will leave in death” (Unknown). Within the United States, social class/status is a very evident aspect of our culture. Social class is the status of certain people that we, as a society, are identified, and then divided and placed into different “classes,” such as high, middle, and low class. Research has defined social status as, “A broad group in society having a common economic, cultural, or political status”(Dictionary). Social class is affiliated to status, while status, is therefore associated with lifestyle, prestige and achievement of a person. Even though social class is strongly

The United States had made big steps into making men and women have equal job opportunities. In earlier centuries women didn’t have any jobs they stayed at home and did all the house work and took care of kids. Then when they were able to get jobs they got paid less than the men even if they did the same job. A lot of men think that women cannot and should not do the same jobs as them because they are too weak or they just don’t want to work alongside women. Now women fight in the army alongside men and a lot of people don’t think they should do that. Today women represent 15 present of the active military, 18 percent of the reserve, and 20 percent of all new recruits. More than 80 percent of military jobs are open to women. A lot of people

In the almost 240 years the United States has been an independent country, it seems that people are, at long last, seeing the disturbing trend in the representation on our currency. From people who said they didn't want to be on any currency, to people I've never even heard of, they all seem oddly similar. Old, white man; old, white man; old, white man. For a country founded on equality, I'm seeing very little.

‘Social class is key to understanding social stratification and inequality, but it is often talked about in indirect or coded ways’ (Welch, 2013). When individuals think about socioeconomic status (SES); the first though that comes to mind is income but it also encompasses factors like educational attainment, financial security, and subjective perceptions of social status and social class. Education is a significant institution that serves to perform many functions and provide various opportunities for individuals. The unfortunate reality is that, educational outcomes are one of the key areas influenced by family outcomes. This creates inequalities for children that affect them throughout their lives. This study of social class within education

Furthermore, social class influences an individual’s learning. Social class refers to a hierarchical stratification or layering of people in social groups, communities, and societies, representing prestige, power, influence, and income (Cushner, McClelland, and Safford 442). It plays a critical role in education and closely related to educational attainment. Children living in a family with upper-middle class can access to better education, and thus, are more likely to achieve higher educational status. However, those from disadvantaged areas are less likely to have better education achievement because of poverty. Because Shirley was born in a wealthy family, she could always receive the elite education from elementary school to university.