Working, Not “Summering,” on Martha’s Vineyard Summer rolling around means vacations for many. But for others it means seasonal migration to restaurant and hospitality work. When on the Cape recently, I stopped by a Black Dog store, to check to see if the clothing was still made on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. A considerable […]
Consumer culture
Vacationing Broke
Being poor can feel like you’re stuck, and when everyone you know disappears into the world when they have the chance, you realize how truly stuck you are. When you’re young, it’s simple stuff like not being able to go to day camp, anywhere on spring break, or to anything but the free stuff you […]
All Bodies Are Beach Bodies
Each year, as the chill of winter is thrown off by the warmth of spring and summer, we are inundated with advertisements on television or magazines, along with conversations in school or at work, all asking the same question: Do you have a beach body? The beach body is largely conceived of as a body […]
Class Inequality in Children’s Movies
A new study, Benign Inequality: Frames of Poverty and Social Class Inequality in Children’s Movies, from Duke University sociologist Jesse Streib reveals that almost universally G-rated movies legitimate poverty and social class inequality in a new way – by presenting them as benign. Limited Learning about Other Classes What are some of the first ideas about social […]
Tis Better to Give than to Receive?
Every year in preparation for the holidays, there’s a lot of talk about how it’s better to give than to receive. Many people say we should “give to the needy” and make the holiday about “family instead of stuff.” The idea here is that to want gifts is frivolous, shallow, and greedy. While this could […]
Fugg Off
One wintery day I settled into my seat to enjoy a snack at a Finagle a Bagel not far from my office. The shop happens to be in a wealthy suburban neighborhood just outside of a major city, and there is an interesting mix of patrons there on any given day. On this particular afternoon, […]
Cultivating the Joy of Gift Giving
When I was a little girl, we never had extravagant Christmases. As excited as we were about the gifts, my mom always reinforced that “Jesus is the reason for the season” by making a Betty Crocker birthday cake for Jesus every year, we didn’t bother to put the right number of candles on, obviously. My […]
Gifts and the American Dream
As I’ve struggled with the incredible pressure of the season to buy in order to prove our love and our worth, I’ve been helped by considering how gift-giving is shaped by people’s relationship to the American Dream. For those who are just too poor to even engage with the Dream, they may not buy much […]
‘Black Friday’ has literally consumed Thanksgiving
You can’t listen to your car radio, open your mailbox, turn on the television or watch a YouTube or Hulu video these days without being bombarded with ‘Black Friday’ mania. What was once a lazy day-after-Thanksgiving to mark the beginning of the holiday shopping season (for those who celebrate gift-giving holidays) has now become a […]
Classism is in Fashion
Ever since Miley Cyrus twerked her bum on Robin Thicke’s crotch at the MTV awards, cultural appropriation has been a hot topic. But, society has been capitalizing off of minority cultures long before Miley was even conceived. High-end designers are now adopting hip-hop and urban styles to create a new IT look that has been […]
Dependency on Music Players Gets in the Way
Having instant access to tons of music at any moment is a great thing. With the newest technology, we don’t have to wait to hear our favorite songs on the radio every hour, or carry around a few cumbersome CDs or tapes in a backpack like when I was a little kid. Now, with just […]
Brendan and the Magic Jeans
Once upon a time there was a boy named Brendan. He went to high school. He liked to sleep in. He liked to eat pizza. Most importantly, he was nice to his mother. Even though he had a steadfast circle of friends, he longed to be friends with Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole and Ralph Lauren. […]
Children and mass culture
We can’t escape mass culture. Everywhere, children and adults are bombarded: TV, movies, video, radio, books, newspapers, toys, comic books, billboards, friends and neighbors, etc., etc., etc.. Through all of these media we are pounded with messages that glorify consumerism, reinforce sexual stereotypes, and trivialize and homogenize anything if it will turn a buck. We […]
The Price of Passing
Recently, a community college newspaper offered a fashion profile of several students. I was amazed and alarmed to learn that, if they were telling the truth, they were spending $200-plus on a pair of shoes and the same for a handbag. It’s true that the recent economic downturn has sent middle and upper middle class […]
Louis Vuitton & Me
I came home one day and saw my apartment number posted on the “parcel received” board. I said to myself, “that’s weird, I didn’t order anything from eBay. ” I picked up my package, which had the return address of a student’s mother, and went to my apartment. I opened the package and omg, a Louis Vuitton […]
Jesse’s Choices
My youngest son is about to graduate high school. I am feeling a mix of emotions, as I am certain many others have felt and are feeling at this time. One of the more salient emotions for me is connected to a deep curiosity I have: did I teach him what he needs to know […]
Adjusting to holiday changes
Throughout my life, when my holiday traditions have changed, for financial or family reasons, I have found myself yearning for what used to happen. When I was young, my family would travel regularly during winter vacations: Florida, Washington DC, the Caribbean, Europe. I grew accustomed to the ritual, and was very excited about all the […]
Santa Claus, Imagination, and Class
I must have been around seven, living in far northern Wisconsin—not classy Minoqua and other Chicago playgrounds, but the dregs of the timber industry, the swamps reserved for Natives, and rocky farmland left to the last immigrants, a place where the last snow might surprise you on the last day of school—when my dad sat […]
Gifts, power and money
The holidays can be hard times. With all the hopes and expectations of the season up, disappointments have more room to play. And when we most want our attention to be on loving and giving, it can easily slide toward getting, proving and comparing. The pervasive materialism of the season, and the expectation that we […]
Lettuce in winter: When more is less
We all know what it’s like to appreciate a rare event–a fine restaurant dinner, a vacation to a far-away place, even an evening at home without the children. We savor them. We talk about the pleasures and hold them in a special place in our memories. These times are part of what makes our lives […]
