*A status is something that can be broken down into different possible categories, social classes and types of status's but can not be defined. A persons status can be divided into two different types:
*Ascribed Status = a status you have over which you have no control (etnicity, gender)
*Achieved Status = a status which you seek to achieve (student, worker)
*Many ascribed status's can be applied throughout the the world as they are considered as 'norms'. For example gender, everyone is born either male or female which is something they have no control over and this is something everyone has in common.
*However, there are gender elements that are considered to be achieved. for examples females can embrace their feminity by wearing makeup, dresses, etc but they could also choose to wear tracksuit and other unfeminine items. The gender personality they are born with however is ascribed a female would have no choice on her ability to understand emotions or feel maternal instincts.
*I consider myself to be a combination of both these status's i was born as a white female and brought up into reasonably well off family, which are all ascribed to me as these are things that i had no control over. As i grow older more and more of my status is more and more achieved, as it is through my ability to make decisions that has changed this and will alter my achieved status in the future.
*For example, my education is something that was initially an ascribed status is now something that is altered through my decisions to work hard at school and stay on during 4th and 4th year so that in future my achieved status could be that of a student at university.
*A persons' status is something that is very difficult to define because it is not always clear if a certain characteristic is ascribed or achieved or if it's collective to both these types of status. A status is easily alered and changed. Someones achieved status is shaped by generations of ascribed status's and depends on certain circumstances and events which could also change elements os an ascribed status.
*One example of this that may be controversial is someone in poverty as there is an endless list of possible reasons that could cause someone to end up in this type of condition. If they ae younger then this is presumably an ascribed status as it is something they have had no control over, but it is something that may have been forced upon them through their parents ascribed status's resulting in a possible lack of education and future work creating a cycle of poverty. Another reason for poverty could be if someone is born into an already undeveloped poor area of the world which would also be an achieved status for them because there is nothing the can really do to get themselves out of this situation. However in this country if you are an adult in poverty then it is likely that this is an achieved status possibley through addictions of some form. Or that is what we naturally assume showing just how judgemental we are as a nation as a whole, i must admit that i have thought this in the past. Other reasons that should be taken into account for possible causes of poverty which are often dismissed could be natural disasters or for reasons when it is not though fault of their own.
*This shows different ways status's can be ascribed and achieved but usually because of both and how we culturally assume things about people before we have taken the time to understand their circumstances and so on....
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