Introduction
Social stratification is an intrinsic part of almost any human society. At the same time, the hierarchical organization of society based on particular features presupposes the existence of social norms, stereotypes, and structural forces that impact people’s behavior. This essay aims to describe social stratification and evaluate how the dimensions of ageism and sexism affect older individuals and shape their lives.
Main Body
In general, social stratification may be defined as placing different groups of people with the same features in different societal positions. In other words, stratification refers to how society views people based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, sexuality, or socioeconomic status (Funk, 2016). In turn, stratification by age, which implies the perception of a particular age, may be closely connected with ageism or the discrimination of individuals based on their age.
Similarly, the stratification of gender associated with social norms referring to people by their gender may lead to sexism or prejudice related to gender. Ageism substantially impacts the lives of seniors as old age is frequently associated with the inability to process information, slow reactions, and physical decline (Wister, 2019). As a result, older people often face employment or workplace discrimination.
At the same time, inequalities based on age and gender frequently coincide, and older women may face lower pay rates in comparison with older men. In addition, older women are commonly regarded as less attractive and inappropriate for relationships than older men or younger women. In general, in societies where old age is negatively perceived, seniors are impacted by severe mental, physical, and financial problems due to ageism and sexism (Reid, 2023). As a result, they may want to leave their group – for instance, when an older woman dyes grey hair or does plastic surgery, she aims to hide her age.
Conclusion
To conclude, assessing social stratification and its dimensions is essential as it allows us to understand how people’s behavior may be affected by belonging to a particular group in the social hierarchy. The lives of older people are substantially affected by society’s perception of old age and gender. If they are negatively perceived, leading to ageism and sexism, seniors face discrimination in employment, salaries, and personal life. This discrimination may lead to people’s willingness to leave their groups and be associated with younger age.
References
Funk, L. (2016). Choices and constraints in aging: Theoretical approaches and sociological contributions. Oxford University Press.
Rein, S. (2023). Ageism and age discrimination. HelpGuide. Web.
Wister, A. V. (2019). Social structures, social inequality, and the life course. In Aging as a social process: Canada and beyond (7th ed.), (p. 166-178). Oxford University Press.