Master status
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A master status is an all-important character trait that overshadows all of a person's other attributes.
Groups of people share common experiences, perspectives, and attitudes because they occupy certain master statuses. Master statuses are significant positions occupied by a person within society that affect a person’s identity in almost all social situations. They might include race or ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, physical ability, age, economic standing, religion or spirituality, and education level. They may also include social positions like being a parent, child, or sibling, being employed or unemployed, or disabilities, if those positions affect someone’s identity in almost every social situation.
[edit] References:
- Gordon Marshall, ed., The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), p. 315.
- Macionis, John J (2005). Sociology. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education. 142.
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