SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Can you identify the theoretical perspectives below?

“The system certainly isn’t perfect, but most of the time it works well for most people. People have been mistreated in the past, but our system allows them to act to change that; look at all the once-poor immigrant groups that are now solidly middle class.”
"The system is stacked against us. The rich people make the rules, and they make rules that keep their money while we have to pay. Ordinary working people don’t have a chance; the rich just get richer and the poor get poorer.”
“The problem is that people have such low expectations. They believe that they will never have a chance to amount to anything, so they don’t even try. They give up, drop out of school, and raise their children with the same sense of hopelessness. Change those perceptions and you begin to change society.”

LEVEL OF ANALYSIS

MACRO: society acting on the individual
MICRO: societal characteristics as reflecting the thought and perceptions of individuals
how is social order possible?
Different sociological perspectives try to answer this question from different angles (different set of assumptions about how the
world operates).

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM

Emphasizes harmony, consensus and cooperation
macro perspective
society as an organism
what are the functions that any part serve?
how is a pattern related to other parts of the system? (sociologists’ job)
cannot deal with power and social change adequately
Merton (latent and manifest functions)

CONFLICT

emphasizes competition over the control of scarce resources (wealth, power, prestige)
macro perspective
conflict is inevitable and can be beneficial (leads to social change)
sociologists’ job is to identify competing interests and show how those in power maintain their position
cannot adequately address or explain social harmony and cohesion

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

micro perspective
structure of society is determined through social interaction
social life depends on how actors interpret their roles and what audiences they play to
change occurs when actors improvise on the basic script
individuals subjectively define and interpret their interactions which influences their behavior
sociologists’ job: observe and record the social drama in detail
pays attention to unspoken signs/meanings
fails to link data on face-to-face interaction to larger social events

Applying Sociological Imagination: Rape and Theoretical Perspectives (Kendall 1996, Sociology in Our Times)

Rape as a Personal Trouble: when we consider the victim as the responsible for what happened (i.e. “she asked for it.”) even though many individual experiences may be largely beyond our own control.

Rape as a Public Issue: How is rape a societal problem? An average of one rape every 5 minutes nationwide is reported. Considering only 16% of all rape victims report the crime to the police (National Victim Center, 1992), we can see how rape is a public issue, not merely a personal problem for the victim. Rape, then, is in part a product of society and not just a personal problem.

Different perspectives can explain issues in a couple of different ways because each perspective encompasses several branches of theoretical arguments. For example, we can list neo-Marxism as well as feminism under Conflict perspectives.

Rape in Structural Functionalism

     •    how do they explain it?: functionalists emphasize the importance of shared moral values and strong social bonds to a society (stability is important). Under rapid social change or other disruptive conditions (such as industrialization, rapid urbanization), moral values may erode–> people might become uncertain about how to act–> crime rates may increase. Rapid social change might erode the traditional functions of the family, schools, religious organization–> these institutions become less effective to create a sense of
shared moral standard. For example, higher rates of rape may occur in areas that have high rates of divorce, high rates of geographic mobility, or high rates of tourism (Baron and Straus, 1989).
     •    what do we do about it?: We need to foster higher levels of shared values and morality (Institutions like family, religion, education are not doing what they are supposed to do- teaching a strong sense of commitment to society and respect for others) The criminal justice system needs to be swift and harsh to prevent these kinds of acts. Acts such as rape shows that society
lacks “law and order.”
    •    criticism: the assumption is that shared values and beliefs are equally beneficial for everyone. For example, SF does not criticize the values that might contribute to the victimization of women or values that may have
inherent class, race, gender, age biases.

Rape in Conflict

     •    possible explanations:
               •    1) Patriarchy and rape: A feminist perspective on violence against women suggests that such acts reinforce patriarchy. Unequal bargaining power in sexual encounters in patriarchal societies–> transactions between men and women become potentially coercive in nature. As traditional male privilege decreases violence has increasingly   become a tool to keep women “in their place” (Sheffield, 1987). Fear of violence forces women to change their way of living–> deprived of some of the basic freedoms (running at night etc.)
               •    2) Racial Oppression and rape: Slavery–> rape of African-American women by white men was virtually institutionalized (yet alleged rape of white women by African American men in postslavery –> lynching was justified). Historically most men executed for rape were African American (89% since 1930). Criminal justice system treats African American men more harshly when the victim is a white woman (LaFree, 1980, 1989). Even though African American women are more likely to be raped than white women, they are less likely to report it. When they do, their cases are less likely to result in conviction.
               •    3) Class Oppression and rape: Larger issues are sexism and racism in the system which are reinforced by a class system that benefits the powerful. Laws on rape historically have had a class bias–> laws protected the upper-class white men because such an assault on their wives and daughters were assaults on their status (women as sexual property of men). Historically, the rape of working class women and women of color has been of little concern to the courts (Davis, 1981)
     •    criticism: no attention to social stability and shared values.

Rape in Symbolic Interactionism

• rape as socially learned behavior: Any discussion of physical abuse of women needs to include societal beliefs (macro level) about appropriate gender roles. In a patriarchal society, men are taught (in a micro setting such as the family or peer groups) to be aggressive and dominant while women are encouraged to be dependent and passive. The mass media reinforces these beliefs. Sexual violence may become a display of real masculinity
• criticism: focusing on the micro level –> ignoring the larger social context could cause us to overlook important macro issues. [ overheads page ] [ 301 page ]