Social Inequalities: Race, Class, & Gender

Many viewpoints arise on the topic of social inequality. Some may say that social inequality is “getting better” or nearly nonexistent in this day and age, because many Americans like to deny the fact that inequalities still exist in a country that is supposed to be accepting of all. On the discussion of social inequalities, many white males may either feel blamed or targeted, or they may deny that it exists all together because they have never experienced it. When white women are addressed on the subject of inequality, they may think of themselves as a prime example since women tend to be discriminated against due to being the “inferior” gender in society. When African American and other minority men and women alike are addressed on the subject, they perhaps feel the most victimized having endured the greatest struggles of inequality for many years. The truth of the matter is, social inequality has not disappeared and is far from it. Race, class, and gender differences affect the behaviors, lifestyles, and mindsets of Americans and the future generations. Let us first consider the classic game of Monopoly. In Monopoly, players compete with others, receive a salary, pay taxes, buy property, occasionally receive awards, and on some strokes of bad luck, go to jail. On a basic sense, the game seems more like the game of life, and looking at it in a broader spectrum it very well could be. Now imagine a skewed game of Monopoly. Take away the level playing field for all players and instead, instill a social pyramid into the game. Give one player the privilege of being blue, entitling them to the most expensive properties on the board, the largest salaries received, the leeway to either move up one space or back one space on any given roll, and the most favorable chances of getting out of jail quickly given special instructions. Next give a player the role of being a red player, receiving the second largest salary, the second most expensive properties, the ability to