Status Symbols

A status symbol is exactly what it sounds like. It is a symbol of status. It denotes where you stand in the pecking order. Overtime, status symbols have been many and varied and they vary across cultures. Status symbols vary across generations and specific age groups as well. Everyone remembers some childhood fad. For me it was beanie babies, giga-pets, and pogs. For a young kid those items were status symbols and they could make or break your popularity level. Here's a look at some status symbols over the ages from different cultures.

Fair skin.
That's right. Having sun-drenched, cancer ridden skin wasn't always desireable. It used to be that girls magazines gave advice on the best ways to make your skin even more delicate and creamy. Even Mammy from Gone with the Wind gave Scarlett advice on how to avoid those pesky freckles. In India, where people tend to have naturally darker skin fair skin denoted the upper-class. It meant that these people could afford parasols and sun-hats and didn't have to work in the fields to feed themselves. Fair skin was a symbol of wealth.

Books.
Books also used to be a symbol of wealth... at least, before the printing press. Before the printing press all books had to be tediously written out by hand and copies were rare. Because of the time and intensive labor involved books were very expensive and only the very rich could afford them. Very few people even had a Bible let allow extensive collections.

Clocks.
Clocks became a status symbol right around the time that railroads starting crossing the country. Usually only big cities had one central clock and those times could vary by twenty minutes or more from another city. Cities and towns needed a way to synchronize their railroad shipments and schedules so clocks began to become more popular. People no longer met "around noon"... they met AT noon. Before clocks were widely needed, they weren't widely available and so having one was a big status symbol.

Today's current status symbols include a big house, nice cars, private education, high-end electronics, nice clothes, and even things as simple as having a housekeeper or a nanny. With super-rich old guys, trophy wives can be a status symbol.

While status symbols usually mean that someone has lots of money and plenty of connections, what it really means is that someone has lots of power. Status symbols are symbols of power and clout. However, status symbols are becoming more and more rare. With a credit culture, many people are able to obtain status symbols now that would have been previously unattainable.