Will Barratt, Ph.D.
Roi Et Rajabhat University
Seeing social class is complicated.
Performing and displaying social class is complicated.
Some of class is visible, like positional goods, brand name objects, and obviously labeled fashion.
Some of social class is auditory, like having a prestige accent.
Some of social class is scent based, like having having the upscale perfume.
Some of social class is invisible, intangible, ephemeral, like experiences.
The material economy, the world of stuff, tangibles, things you can see or touch or smell, plays a big part in social class. The experience economy, the world of experience, intangibles, ephemeral passing experiences, plays an equally big, and different, role in the performance and demonstration of social class. The nature of experience is ephemeral, while the nature of material is, well, material.
I am going to assume here that people who wear obviously, or even subtly, labeled fashion wish to demonstrate their social status through the display of those fashion labels. Fashion labels are part of the performance of social class. Please keep in mind that there are many ways to perform social class, and I am only using labeled fashion here as a way to make sense of class performance in the experience economy. How do we translate the experience into the material so that others can see what we have done? Merchandise.
Like material things, experiences are ranked by social class. For example, theme parks are social class ranked. Vacation destinations are social class ranked. Movies are social class ranked. Live theater is social class ranked. Travel destinations are social class ranked. Camping and glamping are social class ranked.
Fraternities and sororities, and student organizations in general, are social class ranked. Transforming the experience of Greek Life membership into the visible world means wearing your letters and public displays of membership. Experiences in student life are marked with shirts, or other things commemorating the event. Like the concert goer who buys the concert shirt, the student on campus gets the participation trophy of a shirt, or a mug, or a whatever is being used to commemorate the event. A material reminder of the experience, or a trophy for display. Think for a moment about post-season college sports and the display of fanatic loyalty through branded wearables.
Any sensible college provides prospective students with branded gear. A material link to the experience. But this is not true for all colleges - taking the college tour for free stuff is discouraged at highly selective campuses, you need to buy your own Harvard hoodie. On the third hand, the concept of "commitment and consistency" (Cialdini, The Psychology of Influence and Persuasion, 1984) plays into the college manipulating the student into wearing branded gear in order to foster commitment. On the fourth hand, perhaps the purpose of any experience memento is to show off participation in the experience and to reinforce membership in the social class reflected in that experience.
Alternative forms of prestige experiences include suitable material evidence for public display. Alternative Spring Break, volunteerism, Habitat for Humanity, the Student Investment Club, Campus Green groups, and a myriad other campus activities of all types provide wearable evidence of experiences.
Class rings anyone? Campus branded bumper stickers for Mom and Dad? Campus branded credit cards for alumni?
tl;dr wear stuff to show off your prestige experiences
Roi Et Rajabhat University
Seeing social class is complicated.
Performing and displaying social class is complicated.
Some of class is visible, like positional goods, brand name objects, and obviously labeled fashion.
Some of social class is auditory, like having a prestige accent.
Some of social class is scent based, like having having the upscale perfume.
Some of social class is invisible, intangible, ephemeral, like experiences.
The material economy, the world of stuff, tangibles, things you can see or touch or smell, plays a big part in social class. The experience economy, the world of experience, intangibles, ephemeral passing experiences, plays an equally big, and different, role in the performance and demonstration of social class. The nature of experience is ephemeral, while the nature of material is, well, material.
I am going to assume here that people who wear obviously, or even subtly, labeled fashion wish to demonstrate their social status through the display of those fashion labels. Fashion labels are part of the performance of social class. Please keep in mind that there are many ways to perform social class, and I am only using labeled fashion here as a way to make sense of class performance in the experience economy. How do we translate the experience into the material so that others can see what we have done? Merchandise.
Like material things, experiences are ranked by social class. For example, theme parks are social class ranked. Vacation destinations are social class ranked. Movies are social class ranked. Live theater is social class ranked. Travel destinations are social class ranked. Camping and glamping are social class ranked.
Fraternities and sororities, and student organizations in general, are social class ranked. Transforming the experience of Greek Life membership into the visible world means wearing your letters and public displays of membership. Experiences in student life are marked with shirts, or other things commemorating the event. Like the concert goer who buys the concert shirt, the student on campus gets the participation trophy of a shirt, or a mug, or a whatever is being used to commemorate the event. A material reminder of the experience, or a trophy for display. Think for a moment about post-season college sports and the display of fanatic loyalty through branded wearables.
Any sensible college provides prospective students with branded gear. A material link to the experience. But this is not true for all colleges - taking the college tour for free stuff is discouraged at highly selective campuses, you need to buy your own Harvard hoodie. On the third hand, the concept of "commitment and consistency" (Cialdini, The Psychology of Influence and Persuasion, 1984) plays into the college manipulating the student into wearing branded gear in order to foster commitment. On the fourth hand, perhaps the purpose of any experience memento is to show off participation in the experience and to reinforce membership in the social class reflected in that experience.
Alternative forms of prestige experiences include suitable material evidence for public display. Alternative Spring Break, volunteerism, Habitat for Humanity, the Student Investment Club, Campus Green groups, and a myriad other campus activities of all types provide wearable evidence of experiences.
Class rings anyone? Campus branded bumper stickers for Mom and Dad? Campus branded credit cards for alumni?
tl;dr wear stuff to show off your prestige experiences
1 comment:
Why aren't people commenting madly? I have been studying this all my life. Too much is said about the clothes one wears, and not enough about the schools one attends. Find yourself born in Arkansas, loving opera, reading voraciously, and wondering why you don't have a nanny or a maid when obviously you should. The perplexity about why people whose manners are bad are popular, about why people who are empty-headed have mothers who pick them up in expensive cars, and why cheerleaders have status. Life can be a rude awakening.
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