Sociological knowledge is one of those that is most cruelly lacking in our mental repertoire. We want to believe in our total individual freedom so much that the meritocratic principle imposes itself as our default thinking.
When a young man becomes a professional hockey player or a young woman becomes a doctor, we attribute their success to their natural talent and personal discipline. Does someone we know die of cancer in their 60s? We can’t help but think that she smoked too much, ate poorly, or was too stressed. Do young people from working classes do less well at school than those from rich classes? It is because they work less hard and do not have the right values, we believe.
By cultivating such ideas, we ignore the fact “that society exercises a determining influence on our lives,” writes Étienne Guertin-Tardif in Why the Kevins don’t become doctors (Les Éditions du Journal, 2024, 240 pages), a jubilant introductory essay on sociology.
A college professor of this discipline, Guertin-Tardif knows how to talk about it with clarity, rigor and enthusiasm. He masters the art of “putting the world into enigmas” and then deciphering them using sociological knowledge as a tool of investigation. It’s pop sociology in the best sense of the word.
Inspired by an investigation by journalist Malcolm Gladwell, the sociologist observes the composition of the teams in the Maritimes Quebec Junior Hockey League in 2023-2024. He finds that 40% of players are born in the first quarter of the year and only 13% of them are in the last quarter. Obviously, being born in January, February or March gives an advantage to those hoping to become professionals.
The explanation is simple: as they are always the oldest in their cohort – which counts a lot in terms of physical maturity in childhood – they are generally the best and therefore receive preferential treatment. From 2002 to 2008, the cohorts mainly included players born between 1er October and September 30 of the following year. During this period, elite teams consisted of more than 35% players born in October, November or December. It’s stunning.
The same phenomenon occurs at school. Because they are the youngest in their cohort, children born in summer often perform worse than their peers and are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Because they ignore these social considerations – the division of cohorts is, in fact, socially constructed – “sports scouts tend to confuse physical maturity with talent and teachers […] have difficulty differentiating between immature behaviors and neurological disorders.
What about Kevins who can’t become doctors now? Would a first name make one unfit for academic success? Here again, the demonstration is luminous. The choice of a first name, notes Guertin-Tardif, illustrates “that society is not only found outside of us […]but first in us.”
Two things govern the choice of a first name: fashion and social class. In Quebec and France, the elite prefers old French first names linked to great figures in history, the middle classes follow the fashion of the moment and popular circles opt for Anglo-Saxon first names, with often modified spellings. . However, those who wear the latter rarely end up with a stethoscope around their neck.
Academic success, writes Guertin-Tardif, like life expectancy, moreover, is conditioned by the family environment. If both of your parents have college degrees, your chances of getting one are very good. Conversely, these same chances become very low if your parents did not finish high school.
Likewise, family income, linked to the previous element, plays a role. In 2014, 75% of medical students in Quebec came from families earning more than 25% of the median income.
As Kevin, Logan and Kellyanne most often come from working classes, medical studies are rarely for them. “Obviously,” maintains the sociologist, “this observation is linked to their social origin and in no way to their intellectual capacities. »
It is also important to point out that being born in October did not prevent Mario Lemieux from becoming one of the best hockey players in history and that there are Kevin doctors. “Nothing is impossible,” writes Guertin-Tardif, “and knowing the social forces that weigh on us is undoubtedly the best way to thwart them. »
One thing is certain: without sociology, no matter our social status, we are always a little helpless.