Dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a fellow sociologist

I had no idea my college major sociology was held in such contempt until I joined social media. Suddenly everybody had opinions about sociology, most of them loud, wrong, and proudly under-researched. I just blinked like, damn, y’all really are dumb. Yeah, that was pretty bitchy but fuck these dumb ass people. Sick of their asses.

I’ve literally been studying people my entire life. When I was a little girl, I’d go to work with my mother during school breaks. We’d catch the train, and I would notice that everyone went through the same turnstile even though others were available. I learned early that a large portion of people were followers and to never be one.

And that right there? That’s baby-sociologist behavior. I was watching patterns before I even knew there was a word for it. Standing in the cut taking notes like the inquisitive lil gal I was.

Personally, I believe that sociology gets so much hate because it has the audacity to pull the curtain back while everybody else is trying to enjoy the show, not questioning shit.

It walks into the room and says, “That thing you thought was normal? It’s constructed. That thing you thought was personal? It’s patterned. That thing you blamed on individual failure? It’s structural.” And suddenly people get defensive. Because sociology doesn’t just study society — it studies us. Our habits. Our hierarchies. Our unspoken rules. Our cherished lies. And folks don’t like mirrors that tell the truth.

Like about social stratification. The actual definition of social stratification is the structured ranking of individuals and groups in a society into hierarchical layers based on unequal access to resources, power, and social status but mine is below.

Social stratification is the way a society stacks people into layers — like a cosmic layer cake made of power, wealth, opportunity, and status. Some folks get the penthouse suite. Others are down in the basement near the leaking pipes. Same building. Very different views.

These layers form because resources aren’t shared evenly. Money, education, race, gender, family background, job prestige — all of these become invisible elevators or trapdoors. Once you’re born onto a certain floor, it’s easier to stay there than to move. Sociology taught me that.

Some ninnies call it a “soft” science because it doesn’t always wear a lab coat or carry a beaker. But listen — dissecting power, race, class, gender, labor, education, media, family systems? That’s not soft. That’s walking barefoot through broken glass and taking notes. Sociology asks why the glass is on the floor in the first place — and who profits from selling the shoes.

And then there’s the old capitalist reflex: “If it doesn’t make money, it must be worthless.” Meanwhile entire marketing firms, political campaigns, HR departments, and media empires quietly use sociological principles every damn day. They just don’t call it sociology when it’s making them rich.

But here’s the secret: every time someone says sociology is pointless, they’re usually reacting to a sociological truth they didn’t want to hear.

A discipline that makes invisible forces visible will always catch heat. That’s how you know it’s doing its job.