Class signaling via Apple products
18 Apr 2012 12:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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?
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?
no subject
Date: 18 Apr 2012 08:39 pm (UTC)I mean, the cheapest you can buy a new MacBook Pro is over a thousand dollars, so there's definitely a status thing going on there, as much as with the Louis Vuitton bag or the BMW -- but also as much as owning a pristine 1970 Plymouth Barracuda. Maybe you bought the BMW used, maybe you spent forty years babying the car you inherited when your older brother joined the military, maybe you got a busted MacBook off Craigslist for $250 and fixed it yourself, but wanting and having these things does indicate voluntary membership in the group of People Who Want A [BMW|1970 Barracuda|MacBook Pro].
no subject
Date: 18 Apr 2012 08:56 pm (UTC)That makes sense.
I can't imagine anyone carrying a Vuitton for any reason other than that it's a Vuitton. And I know people who swore they had a BMW because it was the best car available. I also know people who leased one when they couldn't really afford it because it was de rigeur for their profession. I don't know if that means Vuitton is more of a status markers than the other things, or if I just don't know squat about Vuitton. (In contrast, I know that Coach bags are status markers and also pretty high quality. Of course, "I only buy The Best" is a status marker in itself...)