Sociology of Race Gender and Inequality
Exam Structural Racism Intersectionality
Social Mobility Prep 2026/2027 –
Complete Exam-Style Questions exam
questions+ answers + rationiles
ALREADY GRADED A+
Question 1
Define structural racism and distinguish it from individual prejudice. Provide one
empirical example.
Model Answer:
Structural racism refers to the macrolevel systems, social forces, institutions,
ideologies, and processes that interact to generate and reinforce racial inequality
across multiple domains (e.g., housing, education, employment). Unlike individual
prejudice—which involves personal biased attitudes or overt discrimination—
structural racism operates through seemingly race-neutral policies (e.g., zoning
laws, credit scoring) and historical legacies (e.g., redlining) that produce disparate
outcomes. For example, decades of Federal Housing Administration policies that
denied mortgages to Black families in the mid-20th century created concentrated
poverty and wealth gaps that persist today, regardless of contemporary
individuals’ attitudes.
, Rationale: Tests students’ ability to move from micro/interpersonal to macrolevel
analysis. The example shows historical policy producing contemporary
inequality—a hallmark of structural racism scholarship (Bonilla-Silva, 1997;
Rothstein, 2017).
Question 2
Explain intersectionality as theorized by Kimberlé Crenshaw. Why is it critical for
studying inequality?
Model Answer:
Intersectionality is a framework that examines how multiple social categories
(e.g., race, gender, class, sexuality) simultaneously interact to produce distinct
experiences of privilege and subordination. Crenshaw (1989) originally used it to
show how Black women’s experiences of employment and domestic violence
were erased by single-axis frameworks that focused only on race (which centered
Black men) or gender (which centered white women). It is critical for studying
inequality because additive models (racism + sexism) fail to capture qualitatively
unique forms of marginalization—for example, how a Latina immigrant’s labor
market outcomes are shaped by the intersection of racialized gender,
documentation status, and occupational segregation.
Rationale: Assesses conceptual precision and application. The “additive vs.
intersectional” distinction is a common exam pitfall; model answer clarifies that
intersectionality is not simply multiple oppressions but a qualitatively
new position.
Question 3
What is social mobility, and how do structural barriers differ from individual
explanations of mobility patterns?
Model Answer:
Social mobility refers to movement within a society’s stratification system—either
intergenerational (between parents and children) or intragenerational (across
one’s career). Structural barriers are enduring institutional arrangements (e.g.,
school funding tied to property taxes, occupational licensing, nepotism networks,
Exam Structural Racism Intersectionality
Social Mobility Prep 2026/2027 –
Complete Exam-Style Questions exam
questions+ answers + rationiles
ALREADY GRADED A+
Question 1
Define structural racism and distinguish it from individual prejudice. Provide one
empirical example.
Model Answer:
Structural racism refers to the macrolevel systems, social forces, institutions,
ideologies, and processes that interact to generate and reinforce racial inequality
across multiple domains (e.g., housing, education, employment). Unlike individual
prejudice—which involves personal biased attitudes or overt discrimination—
structural racism operates through seemingly race-neutral policies (e.g., zoning
laws, credit scoring) and historical legacies (e.g., redlining) that produce disparate
outcomes. For example, decades of Federal Housing Administration policies that
denied mortgages to Black families in the mid-20th century created concentrated
poverty and wealth gaps that persist today, regardless of contemporary
individuals’ attitudes.
, Rationale: Tests students’ ability to move from micro/interpersonal to macrolevel
analysis. The example shows historical policy producing contemporary
inequality—a hallmark of structural racism scholarship (Bonilla-Silva, 1997;
Rothstein, 2017).
Question 2
Explain intersectionality as theorized by Kimberlé Crenshaw. Why is it critical for
studying inequality?
Model Answer:
Intersectionality is a framework that examines how multiple social categories
(e.g., race, gender, class, sexuality) simultaneously interact to produce distinct
experiences of privilege and subordination. Crenshaw (1989) originally used it to
show how Black women’s experiences of employment and domestic violence
were erased by single-axis frameworks that focused only on race (which centered
Black men) or gender (which centered white women). It is critical for studying
inequality because additive models (racism + sexism) fail to capture qualitatively
unique forms of marginalization—for example, how a Latina immigrant’s labor
market outcomes are shaped by the intersection of racialized gender,
documentation status, and occupational segregation.
Rationale: Assesses conceptual precision and application. The “additive vs.
intersectional” distinction is a common exam pitfall; model answer clarifies that
intersectionality is not simply multiple oppressions but a qualitatively
new position.
Question 3
What is social mobility, and how do structural barriers differ from individual
explanations of mobility patterns?
Model Answer:
Social mobility refers to movement within a society’s stratification system—either
intergenerational (between parents and children) or intragenerational (across
one’s career). Structural barriers are enduring institutional arrangements (e.g.,
school funding tied to property taxes, occupational licensing, nepotism networks,
