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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
First off, the version I read is copyrighted 1983. Fortunately, class isn't something that changes drastically in 27 years, but I would love to read an updated version where things like cell phones and the internet existed; I'd love to see Fussell's take on our consumer-driven culture and how that's effected determining someone's class.
Class has always been a fascinating topic for me - I've long known that's it not just income or wealth. It encompasses education and profession, as well. However, I've been hard-pressed to actually name what else. Enter Fussell, who points out that anything - virtually anything - can be used to draw conclusions about someone's class. Essentially, any choice you make, can be a class indicator. Fussell stays away from the big 3 - wealth/income, profession, and education - and instead delves into the more mundane and every day - where one buys things, what kinds of collections they have, what materials they prefer (natural vs. synthetic), the types of cars they purchase, what type of reading material they have laying around, what kind of alcohol they drink, the words one chooses, and how one speaks. It was fascinating, if a bit exhausting.
The take-away is essentially: a large component of class is how much you care about how you're perceived. The topper echelons (upper and upper-middle) don't really care what anyone thinks of them and are generally secure in their status. They prefer natural materials (ie linen, wood, cotton, etc) in both their clothes and home, and may not always drive the fanciest care, because, really, they just don't care and will consume whatever makes them happy. The middle class, however, is terrified of slipping, or worse, being confused with the prole classes, and will thus consume conspiciously but awkwardly. These are the people who frequent mail order catalogs to avoid judgment from snobby store clerks (one wonders if this applies to online shopping), drive fancy cars to assert their status, and is overly obsessed with manners and social niceties. The proles - the lower and lower-middle classes - oddly enough, have some things in common with the upper and upper-middle classes. Neither carries much cash (though for different reasons), desires the spotlight, and couldn't care less what other's opinion of them are.
Fussell also discusses the emerging X class that defies categorization and is an odd mix of all the classes. They would likely be called boho or eccentric in today's term and usually have money. They parody the other classes in ironic and/or satirical ways.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book. Fussell covers class and its attenuating markers meticulousy and always with a witty, tongue-in-cheek style. Fussell uses many examples and included some fun "extras" in the back of the book, including a short quiz to test your new-found knowledge in identifying someone's likely class and even a "living-room scale" in which one can determine what class one's living room is by its contents, using a +/- scale for items found or not found within. Fussell does a delightful job of making a sometimes-stale topic feel fresh and fun.
Class has always been a fascinating topic for me - I've long known that's it not just income or wealth. It encompasses education and profession, as well. However, I've been hard-pressed to actually name what else. Enter Fussell, who points out that anything - virtually anything - can be used to draw conclusions about someone's class. Essentially, any choice you make, can be a class indicator. Fussell stays away from the big 3 - wealth/income, profession, and education - and instead delves into the more mundane and every day - where one buys things, what kinds of collections they have, what materials they prefer (natural vs. synthetic), the types of cars they purchase, what type of reading material they have laying around, what kind of alcohol they drink, the words one chooses, and how one speaks. It was fascinating, if a bit exhausting.
The take-away is essentially: a large component of class is how much you care about how you're perceived. The topper echelons (upper and upper-middle) don't really care what anyone thinks of them and are generally secure in their status. They prefer natural materials (ie linen, wood, cotton, etc) in both their clothes and home, and may not always drive the fanciest care, because, really, they just don't care and will consume whatever makes them happy. The middle class, however, is terrified of slipping, or worse, being confused with the prole classes, and will thus consume conspiciously but awkwardly. These are the people who frequent mail order catalogs to avoid judgment from snobby store clerks (one wonders if this applies to online shopping), drive fancy cars to assert their status, and is overly obsessed with manners and social niceties. The proles - the lower and lower-middle classes - oddly enough, have some things in common with the upper and upper-middle classes. Neither carries much cash (though for different reasons), desires the spotlight, and couldn't care less what other's opinion of them are.
Fussell also discusses the emerging X class that defies categorization and is an odd mix of all the classes. They would likely be called boho or eccentric in today's term and usually have money. They parody the other classes in ironic and/or satirical ways.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book. Fussell covers class and its attenuating markers meticulousy and always with a witty, tongue-in-cheek style. Fussell uses many examples and included some fun "extras" in the back of the book, including a short quiz to test your new-found knowledge in identifying someone's likely class and even a "living-room scale" in which one can determine what class one's living room is by its contents, using a +/- scale for items found or not found within. Fussell does a delightful job of making a sometimes-stale topic feel fresh and fun.
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11137711
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11137711
Has its moments, but very much a product of its time (mid-80's). An embattled left turns to cynicism and satire and sniping at the upper classes for having bad taste. And they do have bad taste, the rich, and rarely create lasting or original art, but it's not that helpful to think of Reaganism as a kind of shallow con from the vantage point of the present where we're fighting Reagan zombies to survive. It's like Fussell though the future would be like Evil Dead and it's actually more like The Walking Dead.
An amusing read; necessarily dated, but less than you would think, given the publication date.
I started this book while staying at a friend's house - it was on her bookshelf and she recommended it. I thought it sounded kinda....uninteresting, but, dude, I was wrong. (I can admit that.)
It's a bit dated - the book came out in 1980 - but actually not *that* dated. Many of the items mentioned were things I recognized. (Of course, I'm also a child of the 80's.)
After an entertaining tour through various things, I felt like the last chapter was somewhat of a bizarre new direction, and even a day later I'm not sure what I think about it. But overall I enjoyed it.
It's a bit dated - the book came out in 1980 - but actually not *that* dated. Many of the items mentioned were things I recognized. (Of course, I'm also a child of the 80's.)
After an entertaining tour through various things, I felt like the last chapter was somewhat of a bizarre new direction, and even a day later I'm not sure what I think about it. But overall I enjoyed it.
Occasionally funny and almost always witty. But it doesn't really contribute anything beyond stating the obvious fact that there are class divisions in the US.
This is an odd book, it makes you feel guilty to discuss class in America because it is generally a taboo subject (unless discussing "the 1%"). Still it has some interesting and accurate observations, and although some of it is outdated the section on college/university is still relevant. This book would probably be useful for marketers.
He divides the classes as follows: Top out-of-sight, Upper, Upper middle. Then middle, High proletarian, mid-proletarian, low proletarian. Destitute, bottom out-of-sight (e.g., those in institutions like prison).
In general, uppers are extremely Anglophile, and like clothing made of natural materials. They and the proles are comfortable with their class, while the middles are the ones who are insecure about their class and trying to maintain/improve it.
p.119 "All these heraldic and clan appurtenances register the depth and pathos of the feeling of unimportance which is the bugbear and stigma of the middle class." "One way the catalogs recognize the middle class's need to argue its deep if not potentially archaic roots is to offer it the opportunity to accumulate valuable 'collections' to pass on as heirlooms to future generations."
p.122 "If the middle class buys for its morale and the upper for laughs, proles buy to pay their respects to technology and art."
p.123 "One surefire prole stigma in catalogs is the Christian emphasis." Also unicorns!
p.124 Popularity among middle and proles of having their catalog purchases personalized, "the assurance they derive from knowing that they are not as anonymous and replaceable as society, in its dealings with them, seems to imply."
p.128 "In the absence of a system of hereditary ranks and titles... Americans have had to depend for their mechanism of snobbery far more than other peoples on their college and university hierarchy."
p.133 "It was still about 13% [attending college], the other 30% attending things merely denominated colleges. These poor kids and their parents were performing the perpetual American quest not for intellect but for respectability and status."
p.134 "Despite appearances of open access, the truth is... 'The educational system has been effectively appropriated by the upper strata and transformed into an instrument which tends to reproduce the class structure and transmit inequality.' "
p.147 "The two top classes...have very few ideas. One of the few is that capital must never be 'invaded,' as it likes to put it. Another is that a jacket and tie are never to be omitted. But other than those, it has no very extensive stock of beliefs. It doesn't even believe in culture, like the upper-middle class." "The middle class, on the other hand, has lots of beliefs. ...Just as it hopes to fend off criticism by keeping its kitchens spotlessly clean, so does the middle class with its bowels, lest some shameful dirtiness be inferred. ...Other middle-class beliefs are that one ought to be a professional at all costs, ...that you are judged by your luggage; and that you should dress up for traveling."
p.148 "Proles being more interesting than the middle class in almost every way, we'd expect their beliefs to be too. ...But it's primarily in its bent toward superstition that the prole mind differs from the middle-class version."
p.180 Class X. Outside the paradigm, bohemian or creative types. Usually self-employed, doing autonomous work. Independent-minded, comfortable dress, dress down, like good food, understated.
He divides the classes as follows: Top out-of-sight, Upper, Upper middle. Then middle, High proletarian, mid-proletarian, low proletarian. Destitute, bottom out-of-sight (e.g., those in institutions like prison).
In general, uppers are extremely Anglophile, and like clothing made of natural materials. They and the proles are comfortable with their class, while the middles are the ones who are insecure about their class and trying to maintain/improve it.
p.119 "All these heraldic and clan appurtenances register the depth and pathos of the feeling of unimportance which is the bugbear and stigma of the middle class." "One way the catalogs recognize the middle class's need to argue its deep if not potentially archaic roots is to offer it the opportunity to accumulate valuable 'collections' to pass on as heirlooms to future generations."
p.122 "If the middle class buys for its morale and the upper for laughs, proles buy to pay their respects to technology and art."
p.123 "One surefire prole stigma in catalogs is the Christian emphasis." Also unicorns!
p.124 Popularity among middle and proles of having their catalog purchases personalized, "the assurance they derive from knowing that they are not as anonymous and replaceable as society, in its dealings with them, seems to imply."
p.128 "In the absence of a system of hereditary ranks and titles... Americans have had to depend for their mechanism of snobbery far more than other peoples on their college and university hierarchy."
p.133 "It was still about 13% [attending college], the other 30% attending things merely denominated colleges. These poor kids and their parents were performing the perpetual American quest not for intellect but for respectability and status."
p.134 "Despite appearances of open access, the truth is... 'The educational system has been effectively appropriated by the upper strata and transformed into an instrument which tends to reproduce the class structure and transmit inequality.' "
p.147 "The two top classes...have very few ideas. One of the few is that capital must never be 'invaded,' as it likes to put it. Another is that a jacket and tie are never to be omitted. But other than those, it has no very extensive stock of beliefs. It doesn't even believe in culture, like the upper-middle class." "The middle class, on the other hand, has lots of beliefs. ...Just as it hopes to fend off criticism by keeping its kitchens spotlessly clean, so does the middle class with its bowels, lest some shameful dirtiness be inferred. ...Other middle-class beliefs are that one ought to be a professional at all costs, ...that you are judged by your luggage; and that you should dress up for traveling."
p.148 "Proles being more interesting than the middle class in almost every way, we'd expect their beliefs to be too. ...But it's primarily in its bent toward superstition that the prole mind differs from the middle-class version."
p.180 Class X. Outside the paradigm, bohemian or creative types. Usually self-employed, doing autonomous work. Independent-minded, comfortable dress, dress down, like good food, understated.
funny
slow-paced
This is a generally amusing and sometimes insightful book on the markers of American social class in the 1980s and early 1990s; it's unfair to call it "outdated," when even this edition is now nearly 30 years old. I can't imagine much of anyone, regardless of class, thinks a purple polyester pantsuit is stylish these days--but really, even some of the fashion-related markers Fussell mentions do still hold.
It's an interesting book, and even if it sometimes contradicts itself (is L.L. Bean upper middle class, or the classless "X" category Fussell celebrates in the closing chapter? Is the "X" category really so classless, when it assumes self-employment in a "creative" field the person loves? Is that novelty thimble collection hopelessly middle class, or is it high prole?) it invites the reader to consider what behaviors and tastes are, deliberately or not, class markers. These markers are certainly stereotyped--and not always kindly, though I think the implication is that a particularly well-educated prole or intellectually curious member of the upper class or morally courageous child of the middle would likely chose to transcend class and become "X" to overcome the stereotypes.
Fussell himself states that his look at class aims to disregard race and gender in considering class in the United States. If he included these factors, the result would have been a lot more complicated; without, the result is essentially a system of categorizing white men (and occasionally women, but frequently in the role of wife rather than independently) by taste, style, attitude, and educational attainment.
I don't think it applies as neatly to younger generations today, reading it in the 21st century, but that doesn't make it entirely irrelevant. It's still thought-provoking, and still offers a framework for considering class markers in American society. It still invites the reader to consider why a politician or a product being aimed at a particular class-audience would be presented a certain way, and how that audience might be expected to respond.
And who is the intended audience for the book? Upper middle, I suspect, aspiring to X--by its own argument, the upper wouldn't read, the middle would be too anxious to read about class at all, and the prole wouldn't be concerned with reading a book when there's television to watch.
It's an interesting book, and even if it sometimes contradicts itself (is L.L. Bean upper middle class, or the classless "X" category Fussell celebrates in the closing chapter? Is the "X" category really so classless, when it assumes self-employment in a "creative" field the person loves? Is that novelty thimble collection hopelessly middle class, or is it high prole?) it invites the reader to consider what behaviors and tastes are, deliberately or not, class markers. These markers are certainly stereotyped--and not always kindly, though I think the implication is that a particularly well-educated prole or intellectually curious member of the upper class or morally courageous child of the middle would likely chose to transcend class and become "X" to overcome the stereotypes.
Fussell himself states that his look at class aims to disregard race and gender in considering class in the United States. If he included these factors, the result would have been a lot more complicated; without, the result is essentially a system of categorizing white men (and occasionally women, but frequently in the role of wife rather than independently) by taste, style, attitude, and educational attainment.
I don't think it applies as neatly to younger generations today, reading it in the 21st century, but that doesn't make it entirely irrelevant. It's still thought-provoking, and still offers a framework for considering class markers in American society. It still invites the reader to consider why a politician or a product being aimed at a particular class-audience would be presented a certain way, and how that audience might be expected to respond.
And who is the intended audience for the book? Upper middle, I suspect, aspiring to X--by its own argument, the upper wouldn't read, the middle would be too anxious to read about class at all, and the prole wouldn't be concerned with reading a book when there's television to watch.