How Societal Structures Disadvantage And Marginalize Individuals And Groups In Society

HOW SOCIETAL STRUCTURES DISADVANTAGE AND MARGINALIZE INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS IN SOCIETYAccording to Hicks (2014) a social structure refers to the distinctive, stable arrangements of institutions whereby people in a society interact and live together. They include a group of people that interact together on a consistent basis with the most basic example being a family. The society as a whole is made up of different levels of social structures from family, communities, ethnic groups, cultural and religious groups, social-economic classes, and many others. As King (2005) notes, social structures can be broadly categorized into social institutions, statuses and roles and social groups. Social institutions can further be categorized as traditional to include family, religion, education, government and economy, and emergent to include sports, mass media, science, and military. Social groups on the other hand include primary groups such as family members, close friends, and peers and secondary groups include schools, churches, and corporations. Social structures can also be categorized into statuses and roles to include ascribed status such as race, age, gender, and class, and achieved status such as occupation, education and income level. Social structures are made of social rules and norms that must be followed