Table of Contents
Definition of Master Status
(noun) The primary identifying status of an individual that shapes interactions and relationships with others and dominates all other statuses.
Examples of Master Status
Master Status Pronunciation
Syllabification: mas·ter stat·us
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /mAs-tuhr stAY-tuhs/
- British English – /mAHs-tuh stAY-tuhs/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈmæstər ˈstætəs/
- British English – /ˈmɑːstə ˈsteɪtəs/
Usage Notes
- Plural: master statuses
- An individual’s master status is situational; an individual’s ethnicity or gender is not a master status within a group of people with the same ethnicity or gender but it is when that individual is a minority in a group.
- Master statuses shape an individual’s social identity, role expectations, and performances, and impacts an individual’s experience with inequality and oppression.
- Master statuses are often ascribed statuses and affect social mobility.
Related Quotation
- “[R]ace, sex, social class, sexual orientation, and disability are currently the primary axes of difference in American society—they are also what social scientists call master statuses” (Rosenblum and Travis 2012:2).
Related Video
Additional Information
- Word origin of “master” and “status” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Hughes, Everett C. 1945. Dilemmas and Contradictions of Status. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.
Related Terms
Reference
Rosenblum, Karen Elaine, and Toni-Michelle Travis. 2012. The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, Sexual Orientation, and Disability. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
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Cite the Definition of Master Status
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “master status.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/master-status/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
master status. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/master-status/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “master status.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed October 15, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/master-status/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“master status.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/master-status/>.