SOC100

Intersectionality II
Outline

■ Intersectionality RECAP
■ Class and Inequality
■ Race, Class and Gender - Using intersectionality
■ Announcements
Intersectionality - RECAP

■ So far we’ve discussed the importance of gender and race:

– Both are socially constructed
– Both have assumed origins in biology
– Both represent a spectrum of characteristics that are grouped
(sometimes problematically) into categories
– Both socialize us into roles with accompanying expectations:
behaviours, attitudes and lifestyles (i.e. we use the terms gendered
and racialized as verbs)
But what about class?
■ The origins of class (from Marx) are
primarily economic
– Class struggle is characterized by
relationship to the means of production
– i.e. bourgeoisie, petty bourgeoisie,
proletariat

But how does Marx’s understanding of class

help us better understand inequality?
 (ALMOST) EVERYTHING YOU
NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MARX
AND CLASS INEQUALITY
…from the Hunger Games!
 work, work, work,
work, work
■ Marx’s conflict theory begins with
an assumption that people WANT
to work, not just have to
■ “it is productive work, not leisure,
that under the right conditions is
the ideal human activity” - Marx

1. Assumptions
 Private
Property
■ Owners and workers
have different relations
to the means of
production
■ Owners are trying to
maximize wealth
■ Workers are trying to
make a living

2. Baseline Resource Differences

BUT, DO ALL DIFFERENCES
BECOME INEQUALITIES?
For Marx, however, there are a few
KEY COMPONENTS that create class inequality
 Division of Labour
(Proletariat)
■ Think “assembly line production”
■ The production of goods is broken
down into the smallest divisible
tasks individuals can perform
■ This “homogenizes” the labour force
– What does this mean?

3. Key components of class inequality

Reserve Army of
Labour (Proletariat)

■ Jeopardizes workers’ chances of bargaining (no trade unions)

■ Workers are disposable (available labourers exceed demand)
■ Wages are low (due to competition)

3. Key components of class inequality

 Alienation (in work)

■ Alienation from self

■ Alienation from others
■ Alienation from labour

3. Key components of class inequality

 Expropriation of
Surplus Wealth
■ In Hunger Games, the “PEOPLE” in each
district are the labour, and their
“PRODUCT” is both factory work AND
entertaining the citizens of Panem
■ For Marx, the case is much simpler. The
bourgeoisie exploit profits from the goods
workers produce

3. Key components of class inequality

A FEW ADDITIONAL
GEMS
 “Your job is to be a distraction, so people
forget what the real problems are” -
Haymitch
■ Marx would say some
institutions are built to
distract people from the
real problem of
inequality. What’s an
example of this?

■ Religion!
False Consciousness
■ President Snow: Seneca... why do you
think we have a winner?
Seneca Crane: What do you mean?
President Snow: I mean, why do we
have a winner? I mean, if we just
wanted to intimidate the districts, why
not round up twenty-four of them at
random and execute them all at once?
Be a lot faster.
President Snow: Hope.
Seneca Crane: Hope?
President Snow: Hope. It is the only
thing stronger than fear. A little hope is
effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. A
spark is fine, as long as it's contained.
In a bizzare
twist…

President Snow Karl Marx

QUESTIONS?
Short break…
Complicating Class

■ Marx’s Class (p.285) a set of people who share the same

relationship to the means of production
■ Understanding class as predominantly economic has limitations for
contemporary research
■ In fact, an argument can be made that class is about much more than
economics …
Complicating Class

■ Today, we have a much more complex and

nuanced understanding of class – both
socially and academically – which may
incorporate income (economic),
status/culture (distinct styles of life), power
(influence) etc.
■ Weber’s Class (p.285)  a set of people
with a common economic situation, based
on income, property, and authority (among
other things)
Complicating Class

How many in the room identify as “middle-class”?

What do you mean if you say that you’re “middle-class”?

■ The term “middle-class” is now more substantively ambiguous than it

once was, both socially and academically. In other words, class has
undergone such rapid social and empirical change, that its meaning is
often difficult to pinpoint.
Complicating Class

■ While many individuals consider themselves to be “middle-class”, closer

examination often reveals that this is despite meaningful differences in
individuals’ backgrounds, opportunities and life chances
– This makes the operationalization of “class” very challenging for researchers

■ Bringing it all together  Why might our social understanding of sex, gender
and race (as we discussed last week) lag behind empirical knowledge,
whereas our social understanding of class is just as messy as our empirical
understanding of class?
Race, Class and Gender – Using
Intersectionality
■ The relationship between socio-demographic factors (i.e. structural
opportunities based on our unique positionality) helps us paint a more
accurate picture of what people’s lives look like
■ Academically, intersectionality is a framework that helps us
accomplish this
■ Socially, where you are and who you are in the world, shapes your
ability to see others where they are and for who they are
Race, Class and Gender – Using
Intersectionality
■ Think about connections to the beginning of the term 
Intersectionality allows us to see experiences, attitudes and opinions
as attached to the people who propose them (Epistemology!)
■ Intersectionality also allows us to see life outcomes as a combination
of effort (agency) and opportunity (structure)
QUESTIONS?
Announcements

■ Tutorials next week are the final offerings for the semester
■ Office hour appointments to review Term Test 2 can be made next
week. Please consult the syllabus for details on teaching team office
hours.
What’s next?
■ Final Exam (Wednesday ■ Clara Benson (BN) – 320 Huron
December 19th) – 7:00-9:00pm Street
LECTURE SECTION ROOM
■ Remember to bring your T-CARD!!
LEC2501 BN 3
LEC5101 A - LA BN 2N
LEC5101 LE - W BN 2S
LEC5101 X - Z BN 3
Final Exam
■ 70 Questions (half lecture, half textbook)
– Multiple choice/True or False

■ 2 hours to complete the exam

■ This exam will cover:
– Lectures Week 11 (Intersectionality I),Week 12 (Intersectionality II),
Week 13 (Deviance, Crime and Punishment)
– Chapter 7 (pgs. 210-219), Chapter 8 (pgs. 246-252, pgs. 266-280),
Chapter 9, Chapter 6
Final Exam - Resources

■ Quercus (practice questions will be posted at the end of next week)

■ Review Sheet (posted at the end of next week)
■ Student Resources from Oxford Publishing
(http://www.oupcanada.com/higher_education/companion/sociology
/9780199006823.html and http://oupcanada.com/studyroom/)
– Quizzes, Activities, Flashcards
 IN PREPARATION FOR THE
FINAL EXAM – ASK YOURSELF:
If a society is interested in TRUE equality, which approach should it take:
equality of opportunity or equality of outcome?

Note: When tackling this question, think about how socio-demographic

factors combine to impact people’s life chances (i.e. intersectionality)
Ask Yourself: Equality of Opportunity
A type of equality many people have
in mind when talking about a “fair
society.”
• The assumption here is that
where you start at birth should
not prevent you from attaining
the adult social status “you
deserve”
• Under this condition, people can
use their natural abilities and
personal achievements to attain
appropriate rewards rather than
rewards based on race, sex,
social class at birth, etc.
Ask Yourself: Equal Opportunity
■ Differences in adult
success/performance will truly
reflect talent, intelligence, and
ambition, rather than ascribed
characteristics
■ For example, everyone should
have equal opportunity to
complete post-secondary
education to obtain the degree
needed for the job at hand.
■ A system that allows individuals to
do this is called a meritocracy
Limitations (Equal Opportunity)

Problem: Implementation
■ How do we compensate people for being born into a poor family?
■ How do we level the playing field for the job application process so
race, class, and gender (for example) do not interfere?
■ How do we give everyone a “fair” chance to use their natural skills?
■ Are we required (and is it actually possible) to equalize all differences
in socio-demographic background?
Ask Yourself: Equal Outcome

■ Completely equal rewards for

everyone, regardless of effort,
ability, background etc.

■ Limitations:
– Problem: There is no
incentive for people to work
hard, or at all.
Conclusion
■ So:
– Since our current society is an unequal one (i.e. one in which
individuals have different opportunities for success based on race,
class, gender, etc.) the dilemma we face is how to create a more
equal one
– Equality of opportunity helps prevent divergent outcomes on the basis
of ascribed characteristics (but is difficult to implement because not
all characteristics at birth can be equalized)
– Equality of outcome allows ascribed disadvantages to persist, but may
de-incentivize work ethic
– Worth consideration: How your opinion on this debate unfolds is also,
quite likely, related to your own socio-demographic background
[Remember: intersectionality helps us understand different
standpoints, even our own]