Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 37 replies, 38 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 1 month ago by
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We don’t. Not all of us. But part of it may be that clothes are a really good, fast way to determine someone’s class just by looking at them, especially in today’s label-conscious market. There is a lot of shame in being poor in the US, and if you can possibly hide it, you might. If you can wear designer clothes, you can masquerade, fit in where you might otherwise feel excluded or looked down on. No one knows whether you eat Ramen in the privacy of your own home, but God help us if we invite strangers to look down on us by wearing worn, unfashionable clothes in public.
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Name : J-French21277, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : unemployed, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class,Material items, no matter what your economic status is, give one self-worth. If I am poor but I wearing designer shoes, it is important to me that you think I have more than what I do. Some folks will say, ‘I don’t care what people think of me, blah blah blah’. ‘I buy designer things because it is what I want’- those are just excuses. The bottom line is homes, cars, jewelry and clothing give you a measurement of a person’s economic status. Look at the list: If you can’t afford the house, car or jewelry, clothing is next on the list.
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Name : Shionedy, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 29, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Executive, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,This is kind of a hit or miss phenomenon in my experience. My fire station is situated in a lower-income section of the city, and the clothing preference runs the gamut from rags to the hippest of the hip ‘urban’ clothing. I heard a quote (I think from a movie) that went something like ‘Once you’ve been hungry, you’ll never be full again.’ I suppose that since impoverished people don’t necessarily have the ‘real’ wealth that you or I might have (a secure job, a pension plan, insurance, maybe a house, etc.), the trappings of money become more important. Expensive clothes allow them to have the external appearance of higher income, which is probably good for self-esteem and status in a society that values such material items highly. A person in clothes from Goodwill may get treated more poorly than a person outfitted entirely in the newest hip clothing, even though the hipster may not have a dime to their name. However, I’ve never noticed a poor person wearing anything that makes me think of REAL wealth – – a Rolex watch, Armani suit, Coach handbags, or something like that. Seems to be limited to semi-expensive ‘branded’ items like FUBU jackets, Nike or Reebok shoes, etc. Also, this isn’t just a low-income earner problem. A lot of people spend a lot of money trying to look like they’re wealthy. I don’t think it’s uncommon for high-income earners to bankrupt themselves with expensive clothes, cars, and houses. Have you also noticed that there are a lot of people who put $10,000 worth of rims or stereo equipment into cars that aren’t worth $500?
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Name : Dan27363, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 31, City : Evansville, State : IN, Country : United States, Occupation : Firefighter, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,People who have less money tend to spend a lot on the way they look because then they don’t seem like they’re poor. If you wear nice clothes and nice shoes and nice jewelry then people wo’nt think you’re poor, which is something all poor people hate: having people know they are poor.
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Name : Jessica, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 19, City : Columbus, State : OH, Country : United States, Occupation : Cust Service Rep, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower class,Because they can, since welfare is picking up the tab for the important stuff.
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Name : Big-Wally, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Ft Worth, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,All the people I know who have just graduated college and have low incomes buy their clothes on sale, from thrift stores, or places like Wal-Mart. My family endured financial hardships while I was in college due to several factors including lack of jobs with sustainable income and massive downsizing of businesses in our area, resulting in layoffs. During that time I developed a passion for thrift shops. I find a lot of practically new expensive brand name clothing at these shops. Some of my friends also save up for special expensive items just because sometimes it feels good to own a couple pieces of fancy clothing. Plus, though I can’t speak for all brands, usually the more expensive brands have better craftsmanship and last longer, so you don’t have to buy as much clothing.
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Name : Marie-J, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 22, City : Green Bay, State : WI, Country : United States, Occupation : cafe worker/graphic arts degree, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class,Welfare actually doesn’t do that much. If you cared you would ask somebody. You are clearly uneducated.
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Name : teenager, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 14, City : baltimore, State : MD, Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,I think every one of the responses here does something to shed light on the subject. I’d like to mention one more aspect. I DON’T buy expensive clothes, but where I live, there’s an attitude of ‘God help you if you’re not in the country club.’ People are more likely to see (and treat) you as a human being if you dress decently and as though you do have money. So I try to dress a little closer to their standards, not because I care what they think, but because it helps to avoid some of the retaliation they dish out to those they look down on.
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Name : Daniel Gedamke, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 41, City : Stuart, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : (starving) writer, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class,
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