Question

What is meant by ascriptive status?

Answer 1

Ascribed status is the social status a person is assigned at birth or assumed involuntarily later in life. ... The practice of assigning such statuses to individuals exists cross-culturally within all societies and is based on gender, race, family origins, and ethnic backgrounds.

Answer 2

Ascriptive status is the person's social status that is assigned either at birth or later in life assumed involuntarily.

• It refers to a position or a status which is neither earned nor even chosen but is assigned.
• Age, eye colour, race, and ethnicity are indicators of ascriptive status. The status can be difficult to change and rigid.
• Such positions are filled regardless of effort and desire. Throughout an individual's life, such rigid social designators remain fixed and are inseparable from the positive or negative stereotypes associated with one's appointed status.