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

[elisem.livejournal.com]

It might be interesting to post the two-headed question: "What's a status symbol, and do you have any?"

[firecat]

Oh yeah!

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

We declared ourselves yuppies when we bought the Art. (The Art is a metal sculpture that hangs on the wall and cost, er, somewhere between $100 and $500, I forget. We found it at one of the Art & Foodstuff Festivals, and brought it home on more or less a whim.) We bought it because it looks cool, and because we could afford it. Really the looking cool is the main part, but it does, inevitably, carry the message "We could afford this!" (as does our house, which I would say is the other main status-y thing we've got). At the time we got it, feeling comfortable spending that much (a) on something entirely decorative and not in any way practical and (b) without planning ahead & saving up for it was very new, and definitely felt like a change from our previous status, so we noticed the status-related aspects of the purchase more than we might notice the status-related signaling of a similar purchase now.

I think anything one has signals something about one's status, though, whether it's elderly socks with thin spots in the bottom or a school t-shirt or a wedding ring (this is all stuff I've got on right now), so I think I may not be understanding the "status symbol" concept quite the same way as some of the rest of the folks in this discussion.

[graymalkin13.livejournal.com]

it does, inevitably, carry the message "We could afford this!"

See, I'm not unaware of class politics, but I don't understand why that's an issue or a problem. Who's looking? Why is it any of their business? What gives them the right to judge you? Why should you spend time second-guessing your apparent class status? Who is hurt because you own something decorative?

I think anything one has signals something about one's status, though, whether it's elderly socks with thin spots in the bottom or a school t-shirt or a wedding ring

Absolutely!

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't think about the class signaling of stuff I have very often, because it doesn't much feed into why I have stuff.[1] But I've had enough experiences where other people have reacted to signals I wasn't intending to send that I try not to be entirely unaware of them anymore.


[1] There's an exception here around clothing, especially clothing I'm intending to wear to work. Part of what I want my work clothes to signal is "professional", which is in part class-tied. I'm not in a position where the actual or apparent cost of the clothing is relevant, but reasonably good fit and lack of stains and certain style issues are. Having the money to buy clothes that fit well, replace or repair them when stained or damaged, and choose styles that work for me is not universal. (On the top end here, I have fairly recently discovered the joys of alterations and wow, does that make my pants-wearing life better.)

[graymalkin13.livejournal.com]

I've had enough experiences where other people have reacted to signals I wasn't intending to send that I try not to be entirely unaware of them anymore.

I get this. I think I've experienced this, though possibly not in the same way you have. I am heavily tattooed and for the last 30 years have been wearing unusual ("gothic") clothes. People who live in a more conventional world, such as medical personnel, have been startled and put off by my appearance and I've had poorer (no pun intended) treatment from such people. The situation improved a bit when I stopped coloring my hair. Now it's gray and that seems to help people with conventional expectations relate to me a little better.

I spent 7 years in an extremely conservative town, where I was apparently the only woman who had visible tattoos. While I was there, I bought and carried a high-status purse (with no visible designer logo and a handsome design), specifically to signal that I wasn't to be treated as a freak. When I moved to a more enlightened city, that bag went into my closet, never to be used again. I hope.

I completely understand what you say about work clothing. When I worked in the corporate world, I chose my clothes carefully and toned down the "gothic-ness." But people still noticed that I was "weird." I was lucky to be in a department where a bit of eccentricity was acceptable and my ability to do my job well bought me credibility.

Hurray for alterations! :)

[firecat]

but it does, inevitably, carry the message "We could afford this!"

I personally wouldn't read that message just from seeing the piece of art, unless you were standing there telling me how much it cost. You could have gotten it at a yard sale for $5 for all I know. I'm not sure how common my viewpoint is.

I think anything one has can be interpreted as sending a message about status. But the message received seems to vary a lot. But for some things I guess it varies more than others.

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, cost is one of those signals that's going to be received very differently. I would not particularly notice the BMW or the brand-name bag as Fancy Expensive Things unless they were pointed out, so if someone was trying to signal with the Fancy Expensive-ness of them that would be mostly lost on me.