Social status
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Social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society (one's social position).
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[edit] Status in different societies
In modern societies, occupation is usually thought of as the main determinant of status, but other memberships or affiliations (such as ethnic group, religion, gender, voluntary associations, fandom, hobby) can have an influence. For example, a doctor often has higher status than a factory worker, but in some societies a white Protestant doctor has higher status than a non-White, immigrant doctor of a minority religion.[citation needed] The importance of social status can be seen in the peer status hierarchy of geeks, athletes, cheerleaders, nerds, and weirdos in American high schools.[1][2]
In pre-modern societies, status differentiation is widely varied. In some cases it can be quite rigid and class based, such as with the Indian caste system. In other cases, status exists without class and/or informally, as is true with some Hunter-Gatherer societies such as the Khoisan, and some Indigenous Australian societies. In these cases, status is limited to specific personal relationships. For example, a Khoisan man is expected to take his wife's mother quite seriously (a non-joking relationship), although the mother-in-law has no special "status" over anyone except her son-in-law--and only then in specific contexts. All societies have a form of social status.
Status is an important idea in social stratification. Max Weber distinguishes status from social class[citation needed], though some contemporary empirical sociologists add the two ideas to create Socio-Economic Status or SES, usually operationalised as a simple index of income, education and occupational prestige.
[edit] Income and status
Status inconsistency is a situation when an individual's social positions have both positive and negative influences on his social status. For example, a teacher has a positive societal image (respect, prestige) which increases his status but may earn little money, which simultaneously decreases his status. In contrast, a drug dealer, may have low social position though have a high income. However, a drug dealer may have high status within his or her own reference group (e.g., inner city gangs) and may be indifferent to his "low status" within the larger society. For example, a wealthy drug dealer who flaunts the proceeds of his trade may have the highest social status on the "street." Thus, "status inconsistency" applies to situations where members of the in-group judge the status of members of an out-group and may not apply to cases of status attainment on all criteria within an in-group.
[edit] Inborn & acquired status
Statuses based on inborn characteristics, such as gender, are called ascribed statuses, while statuses that individuals gained thorough their own efforts are called achieved statuses. Specific behaviors are associated with social stigmas which can affect status.
[edit] References
- Michael Marmot (2004), The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity, Times Books
- Botton, Alain De (2004), Status Anxiety, Hamish Hamilton
