Everyday Sociology Blog

Janet Jackson, Kamala Harris, and Questions of Race

By Janis Prince Inniss 

Sociologically speaking,  there are lots of interesting aspects of the Janet Jackson PR fiasco. In case you missed it, the international superstar caused quite a stir recently. In a long and wide-ranging interview published by The Guardian on Saturday, when asked for her opinion on the upcoming U.S. presidential election and the possibility of the country’s first Black female president, Kamala Harris, Jackson said: “Well, you know what they supposedly said?...She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.”

Charitably, this may be the best example of how the ultra-rich live dramatically different lives than the rest of us. Jackson seemed to suggest that she was told by those around her that this was the case, stating, “That’s what I heard…That’s what I was told.”

The Case for Heartbreak Workplace Support

By Stacy Torres

Recovering from my own recent romantic breakups, I drew comfort from seeing one of the hardest working women in Hollywood take a break.

This spring as I walked to my office across the street from San Francisco’s Chase Center, Jennifer Lopez’s sparkling visage peered confidently from a giant advertisement for an upcoming show. Hours later, she canceled her summer tour amid poor ticket sales and rumors of marital problems with husband Ben Affleck, "taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends," according to Live Nation’s announcement. By summer’s end, J.Lo had filed for divorce on their two-year anniversary.

Most of us nurse our mangled hearts in private—for me, preferably while swaddled in a warm blanket—not under a celebrity microscope. But we should also have access to leave and other workplace support during relationship crisis or dissolution.

Trying New Things: Sociology and Social Challenges

By Karen Sternheimer

I have been encouraging a family member who recently experienced the death of a partner to try some new social activities—not necessarily to “meet someone,” but to find new interests and stay busy in the face of grief. This of course, isn’t easy to do, and a somewhat mundane experience—swimming in a different pool than I am accustomed to swimming at—highlighted how sociology can help us understand why trying new things can be so difficult.