This text investigates the mechanisms through which societal categories of race, class, gender, and sexuality are constructed, maintained, and transformed to create systemic inequality. Author Tracy Ore, a professor of sociology, compiles a diverse anthology of readings that move beyond descriptive accounts of stratification to analyze the structural interconnections of these identity markers. The book provides a theoretical framework for understanding how individual attitudes and institutional actions perpetuate stratified systems within contemporary society.

Educators frequently utilize this anthology as a foundational text for undergraduate sociology courses focusing on social inequality. The prose is noted for its accessibility while maintaining the academic rigor necessary for critical analysis of complex social structures.