I don't know if you watched Girls, but I think almost all of the things that you listed here are perfectly captured by the characters. Now that I think on it, this is basically the entire theme of the show:
Low status: Marnie
Medium status: Shoshanna and Ray
Medium-high: Elijah
High status: Adam and most especially Jessa
Hannah's role is to float and bounce around, aspiring to Jessa's level but only sometimes achieving it, ricocheting back down to medium, and trying to stay out of low. Also if you haven't watched this show you really need to, you would love it more than you've ever loved anything in your life (not joking).
Though I'd argue it's impossible for a heterosexual male to go very far above 25 without losing respect from other men. It's a different social game entirely.
Tbh the main reason you want guys getting married is so there isn't an incentive for guys in their thirties and forties to act like this.
I scored 24 and I'm pretty conversant with high status environments, albeit no fashionista. I think you'd really have to try to play the courtier aggressively to climb higher.
Unfortunately a lot of the things you write as high status genuinely require you to be high status/have power. Or just harm you a lot if you do not have the ressources/power to act that way. Can’t easily fake status
How is status defined here? Just wealth + network? How much people like you? It’s likely my stemcel training coming out but when people talk about status it’s very hand-wavy. I’m sure there could be intelligent people who have written about power dynamics that disagree with things on this list.
Ironically attempting to rigorously quantify status might be the lowest status thing you could do in real life, but fortunately for us formalizing things is helpful for arriving at accurate descriptions of the world and so the tradeoff seems worth it.
the wealth creation status hierarchy is totally different
the thing is we're approaching post-scarcity and for everyone basically competent the feminine status hierarchy quickly becomes more salient--to such an extent that opting out of masculine status hierarchies entirely is now an option for more cognitively feminine men
Performatively fasting is medium status; bottle service is a very expensive and ephemeral way to purchase status (it's sort of temporarily high status but in practice is medium status but flashy Tony Soprano high status)
I think eating has been understood as something inherently kind of shameful and vulnerable, which is why breaking bread with someone is ultimately an act of vulnerability and then cooperation and even friendship.
There's theological ramifications to this as well.
But in terms of status, I do not ever see the Queen eating, if you catch my drift
Inviting someone to break bread with you (or otherwise to share a meal with you) implicitly puts them at your status level - or at least invites them to consider that they could be, if you are courting them - which is why it is a good place to play these sort of social / mating games.
You would see the King or Queen eating - generally to performatively signal that everyone else was allowed to start, and also of course to denote rank by proximity. But especially these days - overeating codes as low status, it's no longer popular to be Idi Amin or Kim Jong-un or William Taft (or, if you prefer, Robert Baratheon.)
"High Status: Texting everyone like they're an Uber Eats driver" — The truest of them all.
I don't know if you watched Girls, but I think almost all of the things that you listed here are perfectly captured by the characters. Now that I think on it, this is basically the entire theme of the show:
Low status: Marnie
Medium status: Shoshanna and Ray
Medium-high: Elijah
High status: Adam and most especially Jessa
Hannah's role is to float and bounce around, aspiring to Jessa's level but only sometimes achieving it, ricocheting back down to medium, and trying to stay out of low. Also if you haven't watched this show you really need to, you would love it more than you've ever loved anything in your life (not joking).
I don’t think I wanna be high status now…
(fuck my guileless puritan-cavalier temperament)
The goal is to reach a point where you don't have to think about this
*experiences convenient autistic satori of simply never thinking of any of this at all*
Yes, I realize that's not *quite* what you said... ;)
Fair point
Did I effectively obfuscate self-aggrandizement Mr Bismarck?
This will be effective in doing a number of things to thwart our treasonous and venal ‘high-status’ ruling elites at both macro and micro levels.
Dead-on accurate
(Proving I’m a mid)
Missed opportunity to frame this as an Status Online Assessment Quiz:
Low Status answer = 0, Medium Status answer = 1, High Status answer = 2
0 - 20 points - You are low status.
21-50 points - You are medium status.
51-70 points - You are high status.
I got 6 points, so I'm low status. Also, based on my assessment of what Walt does, he has 18 points and is also low status.
That sounds right
Though I'd argue it's impossible for a heterosexual male to go very far above 25 without losing respect from other men. It's a different social game entirely.
Tbh the main reason you want guys getting married is so there isn't an incentive for guys in their thirties and forties to act like this.
I scored 24 and I'm pretty conversant with high status environments, albeit no fashionista. I think you'd really have to try to play the courtier aggressively to climb higher.
I think I’m at a 31, which sounds right. But I much prefer reading low status writers. High status writers make me want to bang my head against a wall
Substack gold.
Hate it, but true.
Unfortunately a lot of the things you write as high status genuinely require you to be high status/have power. Or just harm you a lot if you do not have the ressources/power to act that way. Can’t easily fake status
That or be a good actor OR have a life optimized around avoiding consequences
Satus is about signaling
Embodied Machiavellianism and Psychopathy is High Status if you have the logic to balance its extremes.
Got it.
What's a Catspaw?
A minion (unless to you that means a little giggling yellow blob) or a pawn or an expendable henchman.
How is status defined here? Just wealth + network? How much people like you? It’s likely my stemcel training coming out but when people talk about status it’s very hand-wavy. I’m sure there could be intelligent people who have written about power dynamics that disagree with things on this list.
Ironically attempting to rigorously quantify status might be the lowest status thing you could do in real life, but fortunately for us formalizing things is helpful for arriving at accurate descriptions of the world and so the tradeoff seems worth it.
the wealth creation status hierarchy is totally different
the thing is we're approaching post-scarcity and for everyone basically competent the feminine status hierarchy quickly becomes more salient--to such an extent that opting out of masculine status hierarchies entirely is now an option for more cognitively feminine men
Is eating low status
My hunch is yes but I'll ask the master
Eating is low status
Taking pictures of your food and putting them in Instagram is Medium Status
Being on Ozempic but never admitting to it and only eating the occasional salad when no one is looking is High Status
Eating or conventionally dieting is low status
Performatively fasting is medium status; bottle service is a very expensive and ephemeral way to purchase status (it's sort of temporarily high status but in practice is medium status but flashy Tony Soprano high status)
Dining or having a private chef is high status
I think eating has been understood as something inherently kind of shameful and vulnerable, which is why breaking bread with someone is ultimately an act of vulnerability and then cooperation and even friendship.
There's theological ramifications to this as well.
But in terms of status, I do not ever see the Queen eating, if you catch my drift
Inviting someone to break bread with you (or otherwise to share a meal with you) implicitly puts them at your status level - or at least invites them to consider that they could be, if you are courting them - which is why it is a good place to play these sort of social / mating games.
You would see the King or Queen eating - generally to performatively signal that everyone else was allowed to start, and also of course to denote rank by proximity. But especially these days - overeating codes as low status, it's no longer popular to be Idi Amin or Kim Jong-un or William Taft (or, if you prefer, Robert Baratheon.)
Actually sort of
Omg, is this play about me…. Dickhead.
Lotta gold in here
"High status: just Italian things"
Well played