Kinship (kaugnayan ng magkamag-anak) is a social institution that refers to relations

formed between members of the society.

Descent (pinagmulan ng angkan) refers to the origin or background of a person

in terms of family or nationality. It is a biological relationship.

Principles of Descent

Unilineal descent usually traced through a single line of ancestors either from
the patrilineal or matrilineal descent but not both.

Patrilineal descent, affiliates a person with a group of relatives through his or her
father.

Matrilineal descent, affiliates a person with a group of relatives through his or

her mother.

Bilateral descent, affiliates a person with a group of relatives through either his
or her parents. Kinship is traced through both ancestral lines of the mother and the
father.

Types of Kinship

Consanguineal kinship or kinship based on blood (kadugo) is considered as

the most basic and general form of relations. The relationship is achieved by birth or
blood affinity. It is commonly called as relatives by blood. Examples are the relationship
or connection between parents and their children, between siblings, between
nephews/nieces and aunts/uncles.

Affinal kinship or kinship based on marriage refers to the type of relations

developed when a marriage occurs. The husband forms new relations with his wife and
her family likewise the wife forms new relations with his husband and his family.

The Family Code of the Philippines defines marriage as a special contract of

permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for
the establishment of conjugal and family life. Marriage is an important social institution
wherein two persons, a man and a woman, enter into family life.

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 Marriage across Cultures

Endogamy and Exogamy

Endogamy or compulsory marriage, it refers to marriage within their own clan or

ethnic group.

Exogamy or out-marriage, it refers to marriage outside their own clan or ethnic

group.

Monogamy and Polygamy

Monogamy refers to a marriage where an individual has only one spouse at a

time.

Polygamy refers to a marriage of having more than one spouse at a time. It can
be polygyny, the marriage of one man having multiple female partners at the same
time or polyandry is the marriage of one woman having multiple male partners at the
same time.

Referred Marriage and Arrange Marriages

Referred marriage happens when someone finds his/her partner through

friends, relatives or people who act as matchmakers. These matchmakers help their
single friends to find husband or wife by referring them to other single friends who are
also interested in finding a life partner.

Arranged marriage is usually called fixed marriage. It happens when marriage is

arranged by the parents of the groom and bride. In this kind of marriage, the groom and
bride are usually chosen by parents, community leaders, or religious officials to ensure
that the young people are guided through the process of finding the right person to
marry.
 Types of Arranged Marriages

Child marriage. The parents of a small child arrange a future marriage with
another child's parents. The children are betrothed to each other.

Exchange Marriage. This form of marriage involves a reciprocal exchange of

spouses between two nations, groups, or tribes.

Diplomatic Marriage: Marriages are arranged for political reasons, to cement

alliances between royal families. The monarchs of Europe were all related by blood due
to frequent diplomatic marriages. This form of marriage occurs when an arranged
marriage has been established between two royal or political families in order to forge
political or diplomatic alliances.

Modern arranged marriage: The parents choose several possible mates for the
child, sometimes with the help of the child (who may indicate which photos he or she
likes, for example). The parents will then arrange a meeting with the family of the
prospective mate, and the two children will often have a short unsupervised meeting,
such as an hour-long walk around the neighborhood. The child then chooses who they
wish to marry (if anyone), although parents may exert varying degrees of pressure on
the child to make a certain choice.

Post Marital Residency Rules (based on residence)

Patrilocal residence occurs when the married couple stays with or near the
husband’s kin or relatives.

Matrilocal residence occurs when the married couple stays with or near the
wife’s kin or relatives

Biolocal residence happens when the couple stays with the husband’s kin or
the wife’s kin alternately.

Neolocal residence happens when the couple stays or build a home

independently from the husband or wife’s kin.

Avuncolocal residence occurs when the couple resides with or near the
maternal uncle of the groom.
 Kinship by Ritual

Compadrazgo, literally translated as “godparent” (ninong and ninang). This can

be done through the performance of Catholic rituals like baptism, confirmation, and
marriage. This “compadrazgo” becomes the spiritual parents of the child or as co-
parents. The godson or goddaughter is called inaanak.

Family and the Household

The family is considered the basic unit of social organization. It is made up of a

group of individuals who are linked together by marriage, blood relations, or adoption.

A nuclear family is a type of family that is made up of a married couple (parents)

and their biological or adopted children.

An extended family is composed of two or more nuclear families in a household.

Some of the relatives are living with the nuclear family. It is an expanded household
composed of three or more generations. It may include great grandparents,
grandparents, the parents, the children and other relatives.

A blended family is a type of family where both the parents (father and mother)
have children from previous marital relationships but all the members stay in one
household to form a new family. This is also called a step family, reconstituted family,
or a complex family.

Conditionally separated family is a type of family where a member is

separated from the rest of the family due to employment, military service, sickness, etc.

Transnational family is a type of a family who lives in more than one country.
They may spend part of each year from one country to the other. This is caused due to
employment or military service of parents.

Kinship of Politics: Political Dynasties and Alliances

In the Philippines, political dynasties refer to family members who are involved
in politics for several generations. Most politicians elected in public offices and
government positions are relatives.

Political alliances. Political parties tend to align or agree to cooperate to each

other for common political agenda; to ensure victory in the elections or guarantee the
passage of legislation.
Social stratification is an inherent character of all societies.
Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of
social standing.
Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of
social standing.
Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system
of social standing.

Social Stratification is Distinguished from Social Differentiation

Social differentiation refers to how people can be distinguished from one

another. People in a group may differ in skin color, hair color, race, mental
and
physical ability, and the like.

Social stratification refers to the ranking of people in a society. In closed

stratification, people cannot change their ranks while those in open social
stratification, people can change their ranks. In short social stratification is
the
separation of people into social categories and these categories are ranked as higer
or lower.
Social Stratification is Distinguished from Social Differentiation

Social differentiation refers to how people can be distinguished from one

another. People in a group may differ in skin color, hair color, race, mental
and
physical ability, and the like.

Social stratification refers to the ranking of people in a society. In closed

stratification, people cannot change their ranks while those in open social
stratification, people can change their ranks. In short social stratification is
the
separation of people into social categories and these categories are ranked as higer
or lower.
Social Stratification is Distinguished from Social Differentiation

Social differentiation refers to how people can be distinguished from

one another. People in a group may differ in skin color, hair color,
race, mental and physical ability, and the like.
Social stratification refers to the ranking of people in a society. In
closed stratification, people cannot change their ranks while those in
open social stratification, people can change their ranks. In short
social stratification is the separation of people into social categories and
these categories are ranked as higer or lower.

The individual’s position in the

social structure is called status.
The higher
or lower positions that come
about through social
stratifications are called
statuses. Statuses are not the
same. One may get different
statuses in different
ways. They can be ascribed or
achived. Ascribed statuses are
assigned or given by
the society or group on the
basis of some fixed category,
without regard to a
person’s abilities or performance.
These include sex, family
background, race, and
ethnic heritage. You did nothing
to earn these statuses; you have
no control over
these characteristics and no
opportunity or chance to choose
your family, your sex,
and your race. In the
Philippines, the children of
Ayala’s and the Zobel’s have
ascrived statuses (Zulueta, 2006).
Whereas, achieved statuses are
earned by the
individual because of his or her
talent, skills, occupation and
persevernace. These
include, degree or educational
attainment, promotion, position,
earned wealth and
the like. For example, Nora Aunor
has moved up in the social ladder
because of her
beautiful voice and singing talent.
Prestige refers to the evaluation of
status. You
have prestige according to your
status. For example, being the
president of the
Supreme Student Government of
your school, you have the prestige
of a president
whether or not you perform and
carry out well the duties and
responsibilities of
SSG president (Baleña et.al.,
2016).
The individual’s position in the social structure is called status. The higher
or lower positions that come about through social stratifications are
called statuses. Statuses are not the same. One may get different
statuses in different ways. They can be ascribed or achived. Ascribed
statuses are assigned or given by the society or group on the basis of
some fixed category, without regard to a person’s abilities or
performance. These include sex, family background, race, and ethnic
heritage. You did nothing to earn these statuses; you have no control
over these characteristics and no opportunity or chance to choose your
family, your sex, and your race. In the Philippines, the children of
Ayala’s and the Zobel’s have ascrived statuses (Zulueta, 2006).
Whereas, achieved statuses are earned by the individual because of his
or her talent, skills, occupation and persevernace. These include, degree or
educational attainment, promotion, position, earned wealth and the like. For
example, Nora Aunor has moved up in the social ladder because of her
beautiful voice and singing talent. Prestige refers to the evaluation of
status. You have prestige according to your status. For example,
being the president of the Supreme Student Government of your school,
you have the prestige of a president whether or not you perform and
carry out well the duties and responsibilities of SSG president (Baleña
et.al., 2016).

According to Max Weber, most societies would favor those with

power, prestige, status, wealth or class. According to Weber’s Component
Theory on Social Stratification, these three would determine a person’s
standindig in his/her community:

1. Power refers to the ability to influence other people. It is getting what

they want despite the unwillingness of others to give in to their desires.
2. Prestige refers to the person’s position in the society. This refers
to having a certain status that enables someone to have resources or
opportunities.
3. Wealth refers to the amount of resources that a person has
(Arcinas, 2016).

As mentioned by Ariola (2012) in his book, one may be viewed as belonging to the upper
social strata or lower social strata depending on the following dimensions:

1. Sources of Income. There are different sources of income. These are the
inhereted wealth, earned wealth, profits, professional fees, salaries, wages, private
relief, among others. Wealth is everything that is owned by a person. Inherited wealth is
acquired since birth and without effort. Acquired wealth is achieved through ones effort
either by talent, income or by marriage. Income refers to the amount of money a
person receives.
2. Occupation. What people do for a living determines, to a large extent, the social
position of the person. Occupation may be classified into professionals, non-
professionals (clerks, drivers, etc) proprietors of small business, skilled workers,
semi skilled workers, and unskilled workers.
3. Education. Educational attainment of a person may be categorized as masteral or
doctoral degree holder, college graduate, high school graduate, elemetary school
drop-out, among others. Possession of the person of any of these educational
backgrounds may characterize the person’s status in the community.
4. Types of house dwellings. Dwellings can be categorized as permanent house
(concrete and excellent in appearance), semi-permanent house (semi-concrete and
very good in appearance and construction), temporary house (wood and fair in
 appearance and construction), and poorly constructed house (houses found in
squatter areas, or those considered below-the-bridge houses).
5. Location of residence. Power, prestige and wealth are also attached to the location of
residence. There is disparity of social status when one residence is located in
Forbes Park, White Plains, squatter area, mountainous-rugged area, in subdivision
and non-subdivision area.
6. Kinship or family. In the Philippines, when a person belongs to the Ayala’s,
Soriano’s, Zobel’s, Villar’s, that person is regarded as belonging to the upper class
(rich) status. Children of sultans and datus are hgihly regarded as rich. If a
person is from a family whose house is situated in the squatter’s area, that
person is regarded as poor or belonging to lower class status.

Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

OPEN SYSTEM
The class structure is an open system. It encourages people to strive and
achieve something. People belonging to one social class have similar
opportunities, similar lyfestyles, attitudes, behavior and possibly similar socio-
economic positions.

Upper Class – The people in this class have great wealth and sources of
income. They constitute the elite wealthy group in the society. They have high
reputation in terms of power and prestige. They live in exclusive residential area,
belong to exclusive private clubs, and may have strong political influence in the
system of government. They own several cars and properties and their
children may study in exclusive schools.

Middle Class – The people in this class may belong to the upper-middle class
which is often made up of highly educated business and professional people
with high incomes, such as doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and CEOs or to the
lower-middle class often made up of people with lower incomes, such as managers,
small business owners, teachers, and secretaries. Aside from generally
command of high income, people belonging to the upper-middle class often
have college education, live in comfortable homes, own properties, have some
money savings, and active in community activities. People in the lower-middle
class have not achieved the same lifestyle of the upper –middle class but
somehow have modest income and live in simple life.

Lower Class –The lower class is typified by poverty, homelessness, and

unemployment. The people in this class belong to the bottom of socio-economic
ladder. They may be categorized into two: upper-lower class and lower-lower
class. In the upper-lower class, people are considered as the working class or
laborers. They have acquired little education, little time to be involved in civic and
community activities. Some of them are underemployed, have many socio-
economic problems, with lttle or no luxuries at all. The people in the lower-
lower class are unemployed, or no source of income except by begging or
dependent from private and government relief. Many of them live in squatter
areas, under the bridge, in street corridors, or with no house at all. Many of them
are liabilities of society because they may be involved in drug addiction and
criminaliities.

CLOSED SYSTEMS
Closed system accommodates little change in social position. They do not allow
people to shift levels and do not permit social relationships between levels.

Caste System – It is regarded as closed stratification system in which people

can do little or nothing to change their social standing. Social contact is rigid
and clearly defined. People are born and die in their caste. Contact between
and among the caste is minimal and governed by a set of rules – especially
those who belong to the lower degree, as this will tend to bring them down.
We do not practice caste sytem in the Philippines. It existed for centuries in
India and this includes the Brahmans who are associated with the priesthood,
the Kahatryias (the warriors), the Vaishyus (the businessmen and traders), and
the Shudrus (the servants).

Estate System – It is somewhat a closed system in which the person’s social

standing is based on ownership of land, birth, or military strength. Individuals
who were born into one of the estates remained there throughout life but in
extreme cases there is social mobility, that is people could change their
status. In the middle ages there are three (3) major estates in Europe –
nobility, clergy, and the peasants.

ETHNIC SYSTEMS
General Characteristics This type of social stratification is based on
national origin, laguage and religion. Ethinicity sets segments of society apart and
each group has a sense of identity. People interact more freely with those
people belonging to the same ethnic category. During the Spanish and
American colonial systems in the Philippines, the colonizers perceived themselves
to be occupying the upper social class than the Filipinos or the natives whom they
called as Indios. Immigrants usually belong to a lower status than the
inhabitants. The Gaddangs, Itawis, Ituweraw, Ilonngots, and other ethnic
minority groups are considered inferior than the others.
SOCIAL MOBILITY
Social mobility refers to the movement within the social structure, from one social
position to another. It means a change in social status. All societies provide some
opportunity for social mobility. But the societies differ from each other to
extent in which individuals can move from one class or status level to
another. Thus, people in society continue to move up down the status scale. This
movement is called ‘social mobility’. For example, the poor people may become rich,
the bank peon may become bank officers, farmers may become ministers, a
petty businessman may become a big industrialist and so on. At the same
time a big businessman may become a bankrupt and ruling class may be turned
out of office and so on.

KINDS OF SOCIAL MOBILITY

Social Mobility refers to the movement upward or downward among the social
positions in any given social stratification. It may be upward (vertival) mobility
and downward (horizontal) mobility. Vertical mobility refers to the movement of
people of groups from one status to another. It involves change in class,
occupation or power. For example, the movement of people from the poor
class to the middle class. Horizontal mobility is a change in position without the
change in status. It indicates a change in position, within the rage of the status.
A change in status may come about through one’s occupation, marrying into
a certain family and others. For example, an engineer working in a factory
may resign from his job and join another factory.

Geographical Mobility is otherwise known as physical mobility. It may be a

vluntary movement of people from one geographical area to another due to change
in residence, communiting fro home to office, making business trips, and
voluntary migration from one country to another. It may be also a forced
migration which include forced relocation or residence, eviction, dispossession
of unwanted people, and transportation of slaves.
 Role Mobility is the individual’s shifting from role to role. Every member of a
society has roles to play. Different situations call for enactment of various
roles. For example, the father is the bread earner of the family but may be a
teacher in school, or the leader at home or a follower in the school or office. A
daughter may be submissive at home but very active and active as a campus
student leader. A teacher may have varied roles such as being a mother, a
wife, a guidance counselor, a community leader and many more (Ariola, 2012).

THEORETICALPERSPECTIVE AND ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL STRAT

Social stratification can be examined from different sociological perspectives—
structural-functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic-interactionism.

Structural-Functionalism recognizes that all societies maintain some form of

social stratification, and therefore, social stratification must have important
functional consequences. According to Davis & Moore (1945), different aspects of
society exist because they serve a needed purpose. They argued that the greater the
functional importance of a social role, the greater must be the reward. The theory posits
that social stratification represents the inherently unequal value of different work.
Certain tasks in society are more valuable than others. Qualified people who fill
those positions must be rewarded more than others.

Conflict theory focuses on the creation and reproduction of inequality. Conflict

theorists are deeply critical of social stratification, asserting that it benefits only some
people, not all of society. Conflict theory’s explanation of stratification draws on
Karl Marx’s view of class societies and incorporates the critique of the
functionalist view mentioned above. Many different explanations grounded in
conflict theory exist, but they all assume that stratification stems from a
fundamental conflict between the needs and interests of the powerful, or “haves,” in
society and those of the weak, or “have-nots” (Kerbo, 2009). The former
take advantage of their position at the top of society to stay at the top, even if it means
oppressing those at the bottom. At a minimum, they can heavily influence the law, the
media, and other institutions in a way that maintains society’s class structure.

Symbolic-interactionism is a theory that uses everyday interactions of individuals

to explain society as a whole. Symbolic interactionism examines stratification from
a micro-level perspective. This analysis strives to explain how people’s social
standing affects their everyday interactions. Consistent with its micro orientation,
symbolic interactionism tries to understand stratification by looking at people’s
interaction and understandings in their daily lives. Unlike the functionalist and
conflict views, it does not try to explain why we have stratification in the first place.
Rather, it examines the differences that stratification makes for people’s lifestyles
and their interaction with other people. In most communities, people interact
primarily with others who share the same social standing. It is precisely because
of social stratification that people tend to live, work, and associate with others
like themselves, people who share their same income level, educational
background, or racial background, and even tastes in food, music, and clothing. The
built-in system of social stratification groups people together. This is one of the reasons
why it was rare for a royal prince like England’s Prince William to marry a commoner.
Symbolic interactionists also note that people’s appearance reflects their perceived
social standing. Housing, clothing, and transportation indicate social status, as do
hairstyles, taste in accessories, and personal style.