Stratification and Fashion - The Blurring of the Lines Between One Another

Before the Industrial Revolution, Fashion was a telltale sign of class. The rich wore beautiful fabrics that flowed and were extremely expensive. Particularly when everything for the rich was technically couture and bespoke.

The poor wore less expensive fabrics that were more of a plain and simple look showing what their lives were like, which was certainly not rich. That's not to say that they were not happy. And that's not to say that the rich were happy. Everyone is human whether they are from one class or the other, but most dream and aspire to be something else.

Now, with economic changes making material goods cheaper, the lines are blurred. (Leonhardt, Scott) (Shadowy Lines That Still Divide, New York Times). Trendy stores like Forever 21 and H&M have either taken to copying what is seen on the runway or out and out hiring couture and high-end ready to wear designers to do collaboration lines for stores such as Target, H&M, TopShop, JC Penny, etc. and anyone can look like they are from a higher class than they really are.
In fact, lower-class stores have created a world of illusion for those who want to buy into what they are selling.

For instance, H&M has had the likes of Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld design lines for them that have sold out in hours. The same kind of frenzy has happened at Target. In fact, I at one time worked at Target and during the Phillip Lim sale it was a like a feeding frenzy.

From the H&M site, here is the list of all the fashion icons/designers that have done store/design collaborations:

• 2005: Stella McCartney, Elio Fiorucci, Solange Azagury-Partridge
• 2006: Viktor & Rolf
• 2007: Roberto Cavalli
• 2008: Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons
• 2009: Matthew Williamson, Jimmy Choo, Sonia Rykiel
• 2010: Sonia Rykiel, Lanvin
• 2011: Versace
• 2012: Versace, Marni, Maison Martin Margiela
• 2013: Isabel Marant
• 2014: Alexander Wang

Some of the more popular Target Design Collaborations:

• 2002-2008: Isaac Mizrahi. This was hugely successful for both and revived Mizrahi's career.
• 2005: Fiorucci
• 2006: Luella
• 2007: Proenza Schouler
• 2009: Rodarte
• 2011: Missoni
• 2012: Prabal Gurung
• 2012: Neiman Marcus (which was almost too expensive even for Target customers)
• 2013: Jason Wu
• 2013: Phillip Lim

These kinds of collaborations have allowed other classes to have the opportunity to own something they feel is valuable: Designer clothing which = status.

This has not only happened in fashion, however. One has only to look at what Martha Stewart has been up to lately.

She started selling at K-Mart which was originally good for the lower-class shoppers or just shoppers looking for a good deal but in 2009 she realized that she did not want to be associated with that kind establishment anymore.  According to an article in Daily Finance, (Martha Stewart says K-mart is a bad thing, Daily Finance) "Stewart said she blamed the parent company of Kmart, Sears Holdings (SHLD), for letting her Martha Stewart Everyday line deteriorate in recent years. It has been kind of ripped off. I would say it has been diminished. The quality is not what I am proud of" she said.  (Cardona). Stewart has now had her own case of social mobility in the consumer world and moved onto Macy's, various craft stores and Home Depot with her line of products.

With these kinds of collaborations, it is rather hard to discern whether or not people are actually expressing their social position, or portraying the position they aspire to. If one can sew and imitate or get up before the sun rises and get to one of the opening days of stores doing designer collaborations, they can look like whatever status they want to.

 As more and more store/designer collaborations come about and people clamor for the items being sold to them, the lines will continue to blur between fashion and social status. The question is, will the illusion of riches continue to fool? Only time will tell. 

Bibliography

Works Cited

Cardona, Mercedes. "Martha Stewart says Kmart is a bad thing" Daily Finance. 16, September 2009. Web

Leonhardt, David and Janny Scott. "Shadowy Lines That Still Divide." New York Times. 15, May 2005. Special Section: Class Matters. New York. Web

Stratification: in America and the Class System

After talking at length in class and reading several articles on this subject, I would unequivocally categorize America's stratification system to be the "Class" system. For as long as I can remember there has always been talk about where a person's "class" lies in the Sociological spectrum (albeit I didn't realize then that what was being discussed was a sociological term).

Ours is the "Class" system because, while there is a separateness between the classes, i.e. upper-class, upper-middle class, middle-class, lower-middle class and lower-class, there is the belief that if one works hard enough, they can break the barriers of their class an move ahead to a higher class.

In an article from the New York Times, in 2005 entitled "Shadowy Lines That Still Divide" by Janny Scott and David Leonhardt (Shadowy Lines That Still Divide. New York Times), it is clear that "class is still a powerful force in American Life." (Leonhardt, Scott).

While this article (which was part of a three piece series) may have been written in 2005, the authors make points that from my perspective are still relevant nine years later. Discussions of mobility within the system can work and as a 65-year old real estate investor in Houston who was interviewed for the article claimed "the system is as fair as you can make it. I don't think life is necessarily fair, but if you persevere, you can overcome adversity. It has to do with a person's willingness to work hard, and I think its always been that way." (Leonhardt, Scott).

If you ask me, everyone has their own beliefs on this claim. I believe the real estate investor is dead on. There are those willing to work their butts off to get somewhere and those who expect it to fall from the sky. Sometimes a person can get lucky and move ahead, but sometimes it really does take that effort and determination to make whatever your dream is happen. And dreams are technically about social mobility no matter what that dream is.  Admittedly,  the hard work that a person  sometimes has no choice but to do can break you... and keep you running in circles to get to that higher "status" or the dream.  This would explain the low or slow mobility to cross between the classes.

The NY Times article does make mention, however, that many people feel their standard of living is better than their parents. But they also say, that most feel that there is not a level playing field with the rich having too much power. Today, we see this is still the case. For instance, the 99% versus the 1%. We know who the 1% are but how long will it take to create more equality between those lines. 

That being said, according to statistics, many American have moved up the nation's class ladder with 45 percent of respondents to a research study from this article claiming they were in a higher class than when they grew up, while only 16 percent were in a lower one. Only 1 percent claimed to be upper class, with 15 percent as upper middle class, 42 percent as middle and 35 percent working and 7 percent lower." (Leonhardt, Scott)

What does this all mean....lets look at the numbers again. Okay...lets look at one number. Only 1 percent claims to be upper class. Egads....I say. That's so screwed up. Share the wealth a little. Funny and totally off topic, but the rich often get richer and stay in their "high status" because they are less generous, ironically, then those that have less. I've always wondered why why why this is.

Now, if this above mentioned research were conducted today, where would those numbers lie?  My guess is, unfortunately about the same.

In fact, a recent study done by economists at Harvard University and the University of California (Berkeley) that appears in a February 2014 article of the Economist (Mobility Measured. The Economist), "crunched numbers from over 40 million tax returns of people born between 1971-93 focusing on mobility between generations. They measured this using correlation of parent's and children's income, and the odds that a child born into the bottom fifth of the income distribution will climb all the way to the top fifth." (The Economist).

They found through this study that American social mobility compared to many European countries is low. In fact, in a recent Gallup poll, "only 52% of Americans think there is plenty of opportunity to get ahead, down from 81% in 1998. Circumstantial situations seems to be the cause due to the widening gaps between rich and poor, which correlate to quality of schools, and parents' investment of time and money in their children." (The Economist) The economists also found five factors that correlated with differences in social mobility in different parts of America. Particularly segregation (by income or race); the quality of schooling; family structure (eg, how many children live with only one parent); social capital (taking part in community groups); and inequality in general. (The Economist).

Its maddening.

These types of numbers also correlate to the reasoning for which classes are more likely to marry and less likely to divorce. I was surprised to read in Andrew Cherlin December 6, 2014 piece in the New York Times entitled "The Real Reason Richer People Marry" (The Real Reason Richer People Marry. New York Times) that 56 percent of professional, managerial and technical workers were married (and less likely to divorce), compared with only 31 percent of service workers from a Census Bureau study. (Cherlin)

Cherlin reports that this is not the first era where there was a marriage gap like this between classes. It is the second and I find this fascinating. Here's what he found according to Census records:

     The first one occurred between 1880-1910, during the Mark Twain coined "Gilded Age". This was because of the growing industrial economy which a) increased the number of managers and executives, b) the extension of schooling increased demand for teachers and c) the quadrupling of newspaper circulation increased the demand for editors and reporters. This white-collar professional class solidified its gains in the labor market and married in large numbers. (Cherlin)

There is a terrific graphic in the article (click the link above to see it) that shows the similarities between the eras.

He goes on to say, that at the same time, independent craftsmen and artisans declined as their small shops were replaced by large factories.

Isn't this happening today as well?  In class on Friday we talked about how landlords are pushing the little mom and pop local businesses out for the bigger corporations like Starbucks, etc to move in.  How are people supposed to survive when they can't even afford to fight against the rich, upper-class?

Will it ever change? I'd like to see it all flip around and see how the upper-class would survive in the lower-class place in an alternate-reality world. It would sure make things more interesting to see who would survive through the rough patches. My guess is in the end, the lower-class would come out ahead with or without riches.
   
Bibliography

Cited Sources:

Cherlin, Andrew J. "The Real Reason Richer People Marry." New York Times. 06, December 2014. Sunday Review: Opinion. New York. Web

The Economist.com. "Mobility Measured." The Economist. 01, February 2014. Class in America. Web from Print Edition.

Leonhardt, David and Janny Scott. "Shadowy Lines That Still Divide." New York Times. 15, May 2005. Special Section: Class Matters. New York. Web





 

Society and Sustainable Living

This is totally off-topic from anything that my class has been asked to write, but after reading a recent article on the website Collective Evolution called "She Hasn’t Made Any Trash In 2 Years. This Is What Her Life Is Like," (She Hasn’t Made Any Trash In 2 Years. This Is What Her Life Is Like. Collective Evolution.com) got me really thinking about how we live our lives.

I have been trying live more sustainably, safely, using glass jars and containers for food storage and beauty products, etc instead of using plastic for the past couple years while doing my best to utilize every bit of food...i.e., if I make a roast chicken, it is used for several meals including using  the bones to make homemade chicken stock, which then turns into several more meals.

This girl, however, has taken things 110% further than I ever thought of. I never considered the fact that wrapping foods in foil and plastic wrap  would still be considered creating waste, which is not helping the environment, at all even though I recycle all that I can.

Further that, another article from Collective Evolution tells the story of a restaurant in Chicago that has become a total zero-waste restaurant (This Restaurant Hasn’t Produced Trash In Over 2 Years (http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/05/12/this-restaurant-hasnt-produced-trash-in-over-2-years/).

After reading both of these articles, Mother Earth Living included in their daily email today an article originally printed in their March/April 2014 issue called "Eating Organic on a Budget." by Linda Watson. ( Eating Organic on a Budget. Mother Earth Living)  

I have the actual magazine both digitally and in magazine form and remember thinking when I read it the first time, how valuable this information was. Then, getting caught up in life and school, I forgot about it and did not follow it at all.

I am usually pretty good at shopping inexpensively, and prefer to eat organically, but reading this article again completely opened my eyes to how I can do much better and that I should.  I was fascinated that Watson and her husband really pulled off eating meals that cost no more than $1.00 per meal. Even when she expanded that amount to $1.53 per meal for a couple (the Food Stamps allowance per person/couple), they ate well and never went hungry. What really drove this home was when she pointed out that buying good bulk rice (basmati) was less expensive than buying the cheapest rice in a box or bag.  If you know how to shop, in bulk and carefully, you too can eat good food that tastes good and is nutritious and healthy. You will feel better all around and might even end up losing a little weight in a healthy way.

All three of these articles have inspired me to try a little harder to be more sustainable, eat better, recycle more and overall create less waste. If all of society could learn to live this way, the earth would be a better, healthier place. Its got to start with me. Here's hoping it will become a trend sooner rather than later. We have to do something to save the earth and be healthier.

Self-Confidence and Society's Influence on Women

While Shipman and Kay have very valid points of which I've experienced in my own life, I'd have to side more with Valenti's observations as, I believe Professor Van Cleaf would agree.

It is clear that Shipman and Kay have done extensive research on the subject, however, they have focused more on only a woman's inner feelings (or in this case self-confidence) rather than how society may have been influential on their sense of inadequacy.

For a fairly confident individual, yes, I've considered myself a fraud when others praise me for a job well done. Yes, I've put blame on myself for situations completely out of my control. And yes, I've been bewildered at times as to why people seek me out for advice on things I am no expert on. Is it a self-confidence issue? Maybe, but where does this all stem from? Some may have had a rough upbringing or traumatic incidents that have influenced their lives and whole sense of being. For instance, I had a very needy friend in my life who didn't get hugged much when she was younger. In addition she wasn't praised and encouraged as she should have been. For example, if she helped her dad wash the car, instead of praising her for a job well done, he'd say, "don't worry honey, I'll go back over it and get what you missed." Many of my other friends would say to me "when you meet her, she seems like she's saying 'it's so nice to meet you, but why don't you like me.'" While her parents were certainly lovely people and loved their daughter very much, they didn't praise their kids enough or exhibit affection as needed. This resulted in very low self-esteem, fear of abandonment and a neediness that was intense. Later on she was also afraid to move ahead in her professional life, probably making her feel even worse about herself. I'm sure her parents were brought up the same way which could be attributed to Structural Functional Theory.

I, on the other hand had very loving, affectionate parents who praised me continuously except for one thing. I have been heavy for much of my life and the one thing that I heard most was, your face is so pretty, if only you were thinner you could, you would... There can be any number of endings to that sentence, just fill in the blank and you will get the idea.
Where does everyone get this idea of what a woman should be, how she should look, what she can do? From society and their screwed up sense of misguided entitlement for men.
That's not to say that there aren't men that have self-confidence issues. They may just deal with them differently than a woman or strategically hide those feelings from their adoring public.

The bottom line is that most self-confidence issues come from what society tells us to believe and the fact that as a society many are completely gullible and clueless and simply adopt the roles we are told to buy into about what role each gender should play, be or do in life. Unfortunately, societies as a whole would have to become more adaptable and accepting to a change in gender role mentality in order to turn this mindset around. One day an alternate reality version of today's society could become a true reality but the time and effort it would take is a daunting task that the world may never be ready for.

Privilege and Rights

Today I read and article in the Washington Post by Lindsey Bever that Brittany Maynard, the 29-year old girl who was diagnosed earlier this year with terminal cancer and given 6 months or less to live, took her life yesterday.

This woman and her family picked up and moved to Oregon where they advocate for Death with Dignity allowing terminally ill people who meet a certain qualifications are allowed to be prescribed lethal drugs to end their life and thus keeping their dignity in the face of a debilitating terminal illness.

 While this subject may not be necessarily fall under the class discussion of privilege, it hit a nerve and I think it is an important subject to cover. It should be a privilege as well as a right to be allowed to decide not to wither away to nothing while in severe pain

Oregon's Death With Dignity Act is the first of its kind making it legal for doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients. If I was told that I has a short time left to live because of a terminal illness and that the pain would be excruciating, I would want a choice. It should be not only a right but a privilege. It seems strange that we can decide to put our animals out of their misery if they are severely ill or injured, why shouldn't we be able to.

The article seen here: Brittany Maynard, as promised, ends her life at 29 by Lindsey Bever. Washington Post

It is a heartbreaking story on what a human's rights should be. It doesn't mean that I could be as brave as Brittany was and end my life in this manner if I was in her shoes, but she did what she felt was best for her and her family and for that I respect and applaud her.

Privilege

After reading White and Male Privilege by Peggy McIntosh from 1988, my class was asked to write about privileges we have experienced in our own lives. Right now with so much stuff happening, its hard to feel privileged at all. However, I do agree with her discussion of male and white privilege. Do I feel that I have experience this in my life? I guess at times, yes.

I have definitely felt this with my professional life. Ironically, at my theater job (subscription, patron and donation sales), my boss made a remark about how it is easier for a man to be successful in this job than women. What he meant was that because of a man's voice, people are more apt to agree to purchase a subscription, join the club or just simply donate. Of course then, the man making more sales than a women, is also making more money in the long run. Is it because of the deeper voices? Maybe they sound more commanding or convincing. I never thought of it much before, as I can be pretty convincing myself, but I can see how a male voice can command a person do do something more than a woman's voice.

Another instance, and completely opposite of the experience above is that  while television is expanding what it will allow every year, there are definitely more shows featuring white people than any other race. This happens with toys, too. at least in the U.S.

With so many diverse friends and acquaintances from all walks of life, however,  I have not thought of privilege as deeply as maybe I should.

More recently I think I have more privilege because of my age than my race or belief system. I am much older than most of the kids in school, but I think I am allowed privilege mainly because I am a responsible person and serious about why I am in school, where I plan to be and diligent about working hard to get there. This come with age and determination, experience and learning to respect others.

Going forward, I will certainly be more aware of the different privileges that I experience, white, age, and more. It is a shame that we, as a society, do not have more equality between race, creed, age, etc. and even more sad is that I may not see it ever change.  

Clothing, Protests and Revolutions

This is a post in response to to Abi Ishola's Scripts and Sightings Post " Headwraps, Hoodies, and Denim: How Clothing has shaped Protests and Revolutions." Ms. Ishola has written an excellent post  on the powerful influence clothing can make for calls to action no matter whether it is about protesting a serious political issue or just demanding change for a better existence.

While this post first focuses on the social media outcry in response to the recent kidnapping of the 200 Nigerian girls from their school in Chibok by the Nigerian Islamic terrorist group, Boka Haram, I was also struck by her additional accounts of public protest using fashion and clothing.

For instance, the 1976 "Soweto Uprising" about the protest in regards to the Afrikaans Medium Decree declaring Afrikaans as the official language for instruction in school. After further research I totally understand and agree with their cause, however, I was surprised that the account of this protest on the blog post and reports in the news are slightly contradicting. According to the BBC (www.bbc.co.uk), it was not the police that started the violence that day, but it was angry youths that began the protest throwing stones and bottles at the police. Ms. Ishola's account claims the police started the racial violence. Who is really to blame for the violence, death and destruction that happened that day?

After my research, my first question to Ms. Ishola is “which account is correct and if the youths protesting were actually to blame, then what made them think that throwing stones and bottles at police and invoking the violence was the way to get their message across? Did they not think the police would retaliate?

The unfortunate reality is that the solidarity of wearing school uniforms was completely obliterated by their actions that day, albeit it did get the attention of the media and the world. But to what end...over 700 kids lost their lives that day. If you are going to play with the big boys, you have to learn to play the game first before breaking any rules.

A perfect example of how a peaceful act can speak more loudly is the account of four African American men on February 1, 1960 sitting at the all white’s lunch counter of F.W. Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. demanding to be served. These men drove their point home about ending segregation at the lunch counter by dressing and acting professionally to change people's perceptions.

According to the New York Times (The Learning Network, New York Times), this demonstration garnered a lot of attention and inspired the movement to spread throughout North Carolina to Virginia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee, eventually involving fifteen cities. Typically, reactions varied because sometimes groups of white men would heckle, elbow, jostle and shove the protestors, but in the end, it was a successful movement.

In response to this very successful movement, my second question to Ms. Ishola is whether or not it was actually their clothing or was it the peaceful manner that they protested with that eventually pushed the issue and making strides towards equality? If they had come in a different mode of dress, yet still acted peacefully, would Woolworth's been more apt to call authorities and force them to leave or would they have achieved the same outcome? Besides believing originally that this was just some college prank, why were the police not brought in to stop the demonstrations? Weren't these men technically breaking the law according to the states that the protests took place in?

In addition, the quiet protest of the African American residents of Huntsville Alabama boycotting the stores that they normally purchased dresses and suits for Easter Sunday spoke volumes.  By not shopping and wearing Blue Jeans, they certainly got their point across by hitting the retailers where it hurts most…their pockets.

In response to this boycott, I ask Ms. Ishola, do you think this protest/boycott would be successful today and if so, being that jeans are more prevalent today than they may have been then would people today have the discipline to withstand a boycott like this?

Another movement that has garnered much attention is a protest that has been initiated to stop brutality against opposition in Venezuela bringing an immense amount of media attention opposing the government and their actions. The movement is called #BetterNakedThan and has gotten people to pose naked in their facebook and twitter posts as a criticism of their government. For instance, According to a blog post by Elias Groll on blog.foreignpolicy.com “Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denied that he used excessive force to put down intense anti-government protests, which left as many as 39 dead” (Groll). According to the Huffington Post,

 “President Nicolás Maduro and opposition politicians agreed on Tuesday to hold talks in an attempt to defuse the crisis, in which at least 39 people have been killed, the Associated Press reported.”

The #BetterNakedThan protest tactic was started after several masked male government supporters stripped a student of his clothing and beat him up because of a confrontation with anti-government protesters at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas (Groll).

According to BBC Mundo, this campaign started with advertising executive, Ricardo Cie who was outraged by the footage of the student being beaten and got some friends to post nude photos in solidarity with this student. (Huffington Post)

From there the movement took off with many Venezuelans posting images with captions such as:

- Better naked than humiliated and silenced by the violence in our Venezuela.

- Better naked than without hope.

- Better naked than dead, without education, without food, without culture, without dreams.

- Better naked than to allow the continued restriction of my rights.

- Better naked than with hatred and no future.

  

While this protest is the polar opposite of protesting with articles of clothing it is just as relevant and protesting without clothing and adding the captions that are with them… just as powerful and unforgettable.

Sources

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/16/newsid_2514000/2514467.stm

Groll, Elias, http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/04/09/now_venezuelans_are_taking_off_their_clothes_to_protest

Alfred, Charlotte,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/09/venezuela-better-naked-than-photos_n_5119259.html?utm_hp_ref=world, The World Post, April 9, 2014

http://www.nytimes, The Learning Network, New York Times, Feb. 1, 1960: Black Students and the Greensboro Sit-In, February 1, 2012