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Master Status

By: Jessica Scott

Definition of Master Status

"the tendency of observers to believe that one label or demographic category is more significant than any other aspect of the observed person's background, behavior or performance." (Everett C. Hughes)

A person’s master status is the defining social position or characteristic a person possesses that stands out the most among the others.

How Socialization Affects Master Status

• Socialization is, “the process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society”
• A person’s master status can be greatly altered and influenced by where they live, how they live, and the people around them.
• A person experiences socialization throughout their whole life from school, to home, work, and the media, and because of this people are always changing and growing leaving their status to follow.

Examples of Master Status

Master Status is a very broad category and can be related to many different aspects of a person’s life, as well as change as time goes on.

• Occupation
• Gender
• Race
• Sexual Orientation
• Religion
• Education
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Disabilities

Occupation

• Achieved status
• Depending on a person’s position and income this can be a prominent characteristic that many people focus on when it comes to others.
• People with what are deemed the better or more impressive jobs generally get treated better than those working jobs that are seen as unfavorable by the public.

Gender/Sexual Orientation

• Ascribed status, everyone has but it varies from person to person.
• This has grown over the years to incorporate more than just man and woman. This has made it a more prominent master status, but the receival of people who don’t fit exactly what others think can lead to negativity. - Ascribed status, everyone has but what label a person falls under is up to them. - Can be treated negatively depending on the person and their views. - Different roles can be put on every sexual orientation, and this can affect the treatment of people greatly.

Religion

• Achieved status
• Many people are born into religious families, but just as many people find religion through other means.
• Religious views impact how people interact greatly, whether a person has religious beliefs or not. It is a large part of society that many pay close attention to when meeting other people.

Disabilities

• Ascribed / Achieved status, not everyone has one, but some are born with them, and others get them later on in life.
• Typically a very dominant and overpowering master status that can be hard for others to look beyond.
• The ideals and treatment of people with disabilities can vary from person to person and this can affect the lives of many.