highlighted the gap between the
Enlightenment ideal of equal rights
and the reality of modern society.
Her experiences in the US, where
she encountered slavery, showed
that even in a democracy founded
on ideals of liberty, some groups—
women, ethnic minorities,
and the working classes—were
excluded from participation in
shaping society. The connection
she made with these various forms
of oppression was re-explored by
bell hooks some 150 years later.
Even when slavery was finally
abolished, true emancipation was
incomplete; the political exclusion
of black people—by being denied
the vote—persisted in the USA
well into the 20th century. Black
people in the USA and Europe also
faced prejudices as a hangover from
slavery and European colonialismthat have persisted to the present
day. Sociologists such as W.E.B.
Du Bois examined the position
of ethnic groups in predominantly
white European industrial
societies, and in the 20th century
attention became focused on the
connections between race and
social inequality. Elijah Anderson
began his study of black people
and their association with the
concept of “the ghetto”; Edward
Said analysed negative Western
perceptions of “the East”; and
British sociologists such as Paul
Gilroy sought to find ways of
eradicating racism in modern
multicultural societies.Gender equality
Women likewise struggled for
political suffrage, but even after
this had been achieved they facedinjustice in societies that remained
fundamentally patriarchal through
the 20th century and up to the
present day. It had taken “first
wave” feminism over a century to
get women the vote, and the task
of the second wave, starting soon
after World War II, was to examine
and overcome persistent social
injustice based on gender.
Rather than simply addressing
the economic and political
factors underlying the continued
oppression of women, Sylvia
Walby suggested a comprehensive
analysis of the social systems that
maintain society’s patriarchal
structure, while R.W. Connell
pointed out the prevalence of
conventional perceptions—socially
constructed forms—of masculinity
that reinforce the concept of
patriarchal society. ■SOCIAL INEQUALITIES
1978
1978
1979
1979 1984 1987 2009
1987 1990
In Distinction: A Social
Critique of the
Judgment of Taste,
Pierre Bourdieu
explains “habitus,”
a sense of belonging
to a social group.In Poverty in the
United Kingdom, Peter
Townsend argues for
poverty to be defined
in relative rather
than absolute terms.In Feminist Theory:
From Margin to Center,
bell hooks argues that
forms of oppression—
of women, race, and
class—are connected.In Gender and Power
R.W. Connell says
masculinity is a
social construct
that reinforces a
patriarchal society.Richard Wilkinson
and Kate Pickett
argue that most
things are affected
not by wealth but
social equality.Paul Gilroy’s There Ain’t
no Black in the Union
Jack argues that ideas of
a fixed national identity,
ethnicity, or culture can
foster racism, and
should be abandoned.In Theorizing Patriarchy,
Sylvia Walby identifies a
system of patriarchal
social structures and
systems in which
women are exploited.In Orientalism, Edward
Said challenges the
stereotypical view of
the East he says is still
prevalent in the
Western world.
In A Place on the Corner:
A Study of Black Street
Corner Men, Elijah
Anderson begins his
research into the stigma
of being black, and its
link with the ghetto.65