IST 494: Integrative Studies Capstone

by Dominque Johnson

Have you ever looked around and noticed that everyone looks different? People are different races, have different color eyes, hair, etc., and dress differently. People are unique, and do what makes them feel good. Some people drive new cars and some people drive old cars. There are short people and there are tall people. Some have blond hair, others have black or brown. Everyone’s appearance is different. It just depends on how the person wants to look. SO they wear what they feel is right for themselves. Human Beings are all equal, but when it comes to appearance we differ so much. However, do you feel that what a person wears, can determine what class they are in? Author Paul Fussell, of Class: a Guide through the American Status System believes you can. In his book he states,

“The wearing of clothes either excessively new or excessively neat and clean suggests that your social circumstances are not entirely secure. The upper and upper-middle class like to appear in old clothes, as if to advertise how much of conventional dignity they can afford to throw away, as men of these classes do also when they abjure socks while wearing loafers. On the other hand, the middle class and the proles make much of new clothes, of course with the highest possible polyester content. (58)

This paragraph is interesting to me because to some degree I agree with Fussell. I look around and see some of the key points he is making in his book.  On the other hand again everyone does not dress the same. Whether, you are in the upper, lower, or middle class you are an individual first. So for Fussell to say that these trends exist among the different classes, he is just going of stereotypes. This paragraph should be acknowledged because I believe some people can actually relate and agree to what he is saying. Some of the ideas he presents will actually make sense and seem like they are very much true.

This paragraph supports everything that he is saying in the book. The text presents ways in which class is determined. Whether it’s because of how you look, how you dress, what kind of car you drive, who you hang out with, you are always going to be put in a category that ultimately determines your class. In the book Alison Lurie says she finds cleanliness “a sign of status, since to be clean and neat always involves the expense of time and money. So this would contradict what Fussell is saying. However as I kept reading she completely agrees with Fussell. Lurie also goes on to say “But laboring to present yourself scrupulously clean suggests that your worried about your status slippage and that you care terribly about what your audience thinks, both low signs” (Fussell 58). So what I got from reading both Fussell and Lurie’s viewpoints was that people in the upper class do not care how they dress they have the money but it is just not that important how they look. However, people in the lower classes want to make themselves look good all the time. They feel like they have to because they want to show off or don’t want people to see them in the lower class. This moment influences the text as a whole because it demonstrates that how you look and present yourself can determine your class. Everyone is divided up into groups already because of stereotypes that the world holds.

            In our society we are all equal, but there are stereotypes that divide everyone up. Just because you drive a car and dress nicely then you must have a lot of money and be wealthy. Also you are a part of the upper class, because that is how are culture works. On the other hand if you dress casually, and drive a used car then you are in the middle or lower class. We are all split up into groups that our culture feels defines who we are. I believe the text supports what our culture says about class. We are all individuals but we are split up because of they way we act in our everyday lives. However, I disagree because when you split up people into groups make sure that everyone in the group follows the trend that you have designated to that particular group. In most cases some people do not. For example, say you have an African American man that’s tall. He dresses casually most of the time. He looks like this http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTb_n9PGhL.FIA.YqjzbkF/SIG=16c6uur91/EXP=1265208957/**http%3a//www.eugenef.com/free-digital-photography/professional-models-wallpaper/men-photography-wallpaper/sesean-african-american-model-wallpaper/african-american-model-male-urban-4.html. According to, Fussell this man would probably be classified as being in the lower class. This is because he is dressed nice and his appearance is good. So it would seem that he is dressing nice to show off or impress everyone around him. I believe this is false he dresses this way because it makes him feel good. However, society feels that he does this for different reasons. Why couldn’t he be in the upper class? You never know he could be from a wealthy family and have lots of money. You cannot judge his status by the way he looks this is wrong and I believe it is stereotyping. On the other hand say you have a White female that looks like this http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTb_qUP2hLkEoAuXyjzbkF/SIG=12427jcfl/EXP=1265209620/**http%3a//www.flickr.com/photos/dgilder/3844672156/. She is dressed somewhat casual. Does this mean that she has lots of money and is very wealthy but just doesn’t care to wear her best clothes? Or does it mean that se dresses the way she wants to? Everyone is unique in their own way and they dress in what it comfortable to them. So when you judge people by there appearance you are stereotyping. Even though I agree that some of the trends that Fussell points out seem to be accurate and true. It still falls back on that people are individuals first. So we do what is right for us. When it comes to appearance, don’t judge a book by its cover!!! So just because a person looks a certain way this should not determine what class they are in.

by Kellie Barnes

While reading Fussell’s Class: A Guide Through the American Status System one phrase that stood out to me was exactly what my title is, “Social class should be exterminated!”  You read this sentence and you want to agree right away but then you get to think about it, do we really want it to be exterminated?  Yes of course no one likes to be judged based on appearance or class and that is why we would want to get rid of it, but what if you are in the middle or upper class?  Fussell says that you reveal a great deal about what social class you are from by the way you respond to the subject of social class being brought up. He said that upper-class people like the subject to be brought up because if it does then the better off they seem to be.  Middle-class people seem to be nervous about it because of slipping down the rung or two. Then of course the lower-class don’t seem to care because there is little they can do to alter their class identity.  Fussell also said that the middle-class was the class that seemed sensitive about and class-scared to death.  This made me laugh a little because I have seen that before. Many would think I am middle-class and I will admit I do care whether or not I would be considered the lower-class. What if you worked hard to get there and you want that status to go up?  I really think this statement makes you think about how it would affect you individually if it really was exterminated.  I am not saying that this is the way I think about it but just showing both sides of the argument.  Social class is a very touchy subject that a lot refuse to bring up and Fussell laid it all out for everyone.  He is making us realize what we are all really thinking. 

This moment of the text was at the very beginning but already made me realize what I was in for while reading the text.  It made me realize that social class is part of our society.  That it is looked upon by everyone but never spoken of.  It will always be there.  It is embedded in our minds which characteristics or backgrounds go with what social class.  This moment in the text shows how things haven’t really changed in regards to status or class even in contemporary culture.  These things take many years to fully get out of our heads to not judge people based on appearance or how much money they have.  I don’t think it will ever end.  So for this statement about how social class should be exterminated is simply just a statement.  It is the idea how if it were to end then as a society we wouldn’t judge people on the simple things in life.  It sounds perfect right?  I actually agree with a lot of what Fussell had to say about social class.  It opened my own eyes on how I sometimes judge people for no reason at all but maybe by the way they look or act.  I know I am not the only one that has ever done this but I have been raised in a society that this is how you know where some people stand “class” wise.

In our society you are either seen as upper-class, middle-class, or lower-class.  I did however find a picture that had four middle classes.  This picture was interesting. It shows the top class, struggling middle, satisfied middle,  and anxious middle.  Earlier I said that I considered myself middle class; in this picture I guess I would be struggling middle.  This is where I would identify myself mostly with the lower class.  Looking at this would you identify yourself with either one of these?  In this carton picture it shows a couple leaving another couples home, and he is telling his wife how he didn’t talk about schools and the housing market.  This ties into what I said how people are afraid to talk about anything that is below them.  Both of these pictures show how we relate to the outside world and our interpretation of social class.

People will always judge people.  So it will not be exterminated completely however if you make an effort to stop judging people based solely on appearance or money then that is always on step closer to the bigger outcome.  This text has opened my eyes in a lot of ways and I will take that step because I do know that you do not fully understand someone unless you talk with them personally.  Social class is just another thing in our society that will always lead to strong opinions either way.