Class signaling via Apple products

[firecat]

"A Macbook Pro is just as much of a status marker as a Louis Vuitton purse or a BMW."

I recoil at the notion because I think Vuitton purses and BMWs signal a different class than ones I identify with. (At least I tend to have prejudices about people who have those things—I'll assume "not like me" unless I get evidence to the contrary.) But I do think that, in California at least, there's a class I might call "hi-tech professionals" and having Mac products can signal identification with it.

FWIW, I think I'm kind of clueless about class.

Anyway, it's interesting to contemplate. What do you think?

Comments

[elainegrey]

I agree with the nuanced parsing " that 'as much of a status marker' isn't the same thing as 'marks you in the same class group as.'" Mac products stand out, and i do think they mark the user. I think there is probably a great deal of context that affects how the marker is read, but i certainly pick up on whether the computer shown is Mac or not in TV shows and movies.

I have to say all three of those consumables are not what i think of as distinctive class markers but more --- there was a term used for Starbucks lattes... conspicuous mass consumption? Other than the cash, i don't see them as as much as a class marker as impeccably tailored clothes, manicures that go beyond the mass mani-pedi options, and perfectly coifed hair. There's something about having the luxury to take the time to be tailored and groomed that i pick up on in places like Los Altos that seems much more significant than brand status. You can't simply buy that presentation, you have to have the time and access to the providers of the services.

[firecat]

conspicuous mass consumption

I like that phrase.

You can't simply buy that presentation, you have to have the time and access to the providers of the services.

Wearing tailored clothes saves time in the long run, but you have to (a) care enough to bother, and (b) understand where to find such services and how to navigate them.

But I know people of all classes who get regular mani-pedis and hair styling. A lot of sales clerks get them because they are supposed to look put together.

[elainegrey]

I think it's the (b) part that i think of as a class signifier. How do well tailored clothes save time in the long run?

I will have to remind myself when i'm feeling intimidated by someone's well coifed presentation that perhaps they aren't judging me dismissively as hoi polloi but they might be considering me a sales target.

[firecat]

For a while, my mom had her clothes tailored. It can be a timesaver because once the tailor has your measurements and your preferred styles of clothing, all you need to do is pick the fabric. You don't have to go out shopping for what happens to be on the rack this season and try on one thing after another to see if they fit. If you are a non-standard size and want to dress in form-fitting clothes, it's even more of a timesaver.

I was a bodyshy child and despised being surrounded by people with measuring tapes, so I got away from all that as fast as I could.

I try hard to act as if people I interact with are not being judgemental of me, because if I start thinking about all the ways they might disapprove of me, I'd never be able to open my mouth.