Importance of Understating Diversity in Today’s Society

Xenia Caballero

Sociological Perspective

SOC-G101-1015-Spring2020-Principles of Sociology

Connecticut Community Colleges

Importance of Understating Diversity in Today’s Society

The need to explore people’s diversity is generated by the necessity to analyze and interpret why certain people behave in a particular way and what their intentions are. The culture and group one belongs, as well as the institutional influences forge the identity of a person. The importance of understanding diversity is that it allows for people to comprehend the core social values that are developed in a certain group of people by their organizations. By doing so, it will influence judgment when dealing with them. As sociologists, we are required to make sense of the social world, from the past, now and the future. This paper discusses the importance of understanding diversity as an element of the foundation of sociology-social interactions among humans.

A dominant culture or the culture that is most powerful in a society sometimes tends to undermine or deny the existence of other subcultures within the same society. The lack of proper understanding and acknowledgment of these cultures generates prejudices. Usually, the dominant culture creates norms or cultural expectations for how society should behave in certain situations. When people act according to the cultural expectations of their subcultures, society sometimes reacts in a manner that is not appropriate even when they are not in direct conflict with the dominant norms. When this happens, we start experiencing hate, racial discrimination, stereotyping, profiling, and other forms of rejection.

Understanding diversity and acknowledging other beliefs, language, values, and norms, or the basic elements of sociology enable proper integration especially in this country where we have a diverse society like no other part of the world. Integration becomes possible when society acknowledges its diversity. Social ills such as prejudice can be eliminated by looking beyond the obvious elements of dissimilarity in order to appreciate each person’s individuality. The importance of understanding diversity, in general, is that it helps with the understanding of factors causing discrimination. A sociologist should lead in the way of acknowledging the fact that people cannot and do not fit into easy and simplistic categories.

Sociology helps in understanding society and its diversity by discussing the issues that cause discrimination or the things that constitute diversity. These issues include race, class, heterogeneity, gender, and homogeneity. Homogeneity is when a group of people (a homogenous society) shares values, ideas, and ways of living. Sociology teaches us that despite the differences, all people are homogenous in a way or the other. Individuals share certain features, no matter the background. Sociology also identifies three categories of a homogenous society, those that are ethnically, religiously, and culturally homogenous. Ethnicity is the most dominant type of a homogenous society where people share the same culture, skin color, and facial features. Heterogeneity is the exact opposite of homogeneity

Society is becoming more heterogeneous each day, making it a very important actor because people should be able to understand the differences between themselves in order to be able to accept each other. In spite of these differences, there are similarities. Class, for instance, affects people emotionally and economically because usually the relationship between people from different classes is antagonistic and those at the advantageous exploit and control the rest (classism) or is perceived to be so. Sociology helps us understand that class does not mean classism, and the intention behind classifying people is not to discriminate.

Sociology helps us understand that despite the features that define a person’s race, all people are genetically homogenous. It allows us to view race as a source of belonging and not a reason to victimize. In addition, it recognizes its importance to make an individual feel a sense of belonging. It helps people know that they are not the only ones who look different and should not, therefore, look different. Race is not an element of superiority. By identifying and defining race, class, heterogeneity, and homogeneity sociology enhance our ability to understand diversity.