Editing Status symbol

{{Short description|Object that denotes one's social position}}
[[File:Inquilinos.gif|thumb|upright|Social status is often associated with clothing and possessions. In this scene from [[History of Chile#European conquest and colonization (1540–1810)|rural 19th-century Chile]], the foreman has a horse and high hat, while the ''[[inquilino]]'' (indebted laborer) does not.]]

A '''status symbol''' is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of [[Wealth|economic]] or [[social status]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cherrington |first=David J. |title=Organizational Behavior |page=[https://archive.org/details/organizationalbe02edcher/page/384 384] |year=1994 |isbn=0-205-15550-2 |publisher=Allyn and Bacon |url=https://archive.org/details/organizationalbe02edcher/page/384 }}</ref> Many [[luxury goods]] are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a [[Sociology|sociological]] term – as part of social and sociological [[symbolic interactionism]] – relating to how individuals and groups interact and interpret various cultural symbols.<ref>[http://learning.swc.hccs.edu/members/ruth.dunn/Three%20Paradigms.pdf The Three Sociological Paradigms]{{dead link|date=April 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, from [http://learning.swc.hccs.edu/ The HCC-Southwest College] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040805065141/http://learning.swc.hccs.edu/ |date=2004-08-05 }}, December 2008.</ref>

== Etymology ==
The term "status symbol" was first written in English in 1955,<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2023-08-12|language=en|title=status seeking – Search Online Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=status+seeking|website=etymonline.com}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> but from 1959 with the publication of the bestseller "The Status Seekers" greater distribution. There, journalist [[Vance Packard]] describes the social strategy and behavior in the USA.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2023-08-12|title=The status seekers; an exploration of class behavior in America, Longmans, 1959|url=https://www.worldcat.org/de/title/2125250|website=worldcat.org}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

== By region and time ==
As people aspire to high status, they often seek also its symbols. As with other [[symbol]]s, status symbols may change in value or meaning over time, and will differ among countries and cultural regions, based on their economy and technology.
[[File:Excellent airborne.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Military symbol of excellence]]
[[File:Cusanus schedel chronicle.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Galero]] hat, symbol of ecclesiastical status]]

For example, before the invention of the [[printing press]], possession of a large collection of laboriously hand-copied [[book]]s was a symbol of wealth and scholarship. In later centuries, books (and literacy) became more common, so a [[private library]] became less-rarefied as a status symbol, though a sizable collection still commands respect.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2023-08-12|date=2016-10-20|language=en|title=Are book collectors real readers, or just cultural snobs? – Aeon Essays|url=https://aeon.co/essays/are-book-collectors-real-readers-or-just-cultural-snobs|website=aeon.co}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

In some past cultures of East Asia, [[pearl]]s and [[jade]] were major status symbols, reserved exclusively for royalty. Similar legal exclusions applied to the [[toga]] and its variants in [[ancient Rome]], and to [[cotton]] in the [[Aztec Empire]]. Special colors, such as [[Imperial yellow jacket|imperial yellow]] (in China) or [[royal purple]] (in ancient Rome) were reserved for royalty, with severe penalties for unauthorized display. Another common status symbol of the European medieval past was [[heraldry]], a display of one's family name and history.

==Societal recognition==
{{See also|Achieved status|Status attainment|Social status}}
Status symbols also indicate the cultural values of a society or a subculture. For example, in a [[commerce|commercial]] society, having money or wealth and things that can be bought by wealth, such as cars, houses, or fine clothing, are considered status symbols. Where warriors are respected, a [[scar]] can represent honor or courage.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.missedinhistory.com/blogs/real-men-have-dueling-scars.htm|title=Real Men Have Dueling Scars|date=2009-05-04|work=Stuff You Missed in History Class|access-date=2017-12-18|language=en}}</ref> Among [[intellectual]]s being able to think in an intelligent and educated way is an important status symbol regardless of material possessions. In academic circles, a long list of publications and a securely [[tenure]]d position at a prestigious university or research institute are a mark of high status. It has been speculated that the earliest foods to be domesticated were luxury feast foods used to cement one's place as a "rich person".<ref>Hayden B 2003. Were luxury foods the first domesticates? Ethnoarchaeological perspectives from Southeast Asia. World Archaeology 34(3)</ref>

A [[uniform]] symbolizes membership in an organization, and may display additional insignia of rank, specialty, tenure and other details of the wearer's status within the organization. A state may confer [[award|decoration]]s, medals or [[badge]]s that can show that the wearer has heroic or official status. Elaborate [[color-coded]] [[academic regalia]] is often worn during [[Graduation|commencement]] ceremonies, indicating [[academic rank]] and specialty.

In many cultures around the world, diverse [[visual markers of marital status]] are widely used. [[Coming of age]] rituals and other [[rites of passage]] may involve granting and display of symbols of a new status. [[Dress code]]s may specify who ought to wear particular kinds or styles of clothing, and when and where specific items of clothing are displayed.

== Body modifications ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2017}}
[[File:Nuku Hiva Warrior1.jpg|thumb|Warrior tattoos]]
The condition and appearance of one's body can be a status symbol. In times past, when most workers did physical labor outdoors under the sun and often had little food, being pale and fat was a status symbol, indicating wealth and prosperity (through having more than enough food and not having to do manual labor). Now that workers usually do less-physical work indoors and find little time for exercise, being tanned and thin is often a status symbol in modern cultures.

[[Dieting]] to reduce excess body fat is widely practiced in Western society, while some traditional societies still value [[obesity]] as a sign of prosperity. Development of [[muscle]]s through [[exercise]], previously disdained as a stigma of doing heavy [[manual labor]], is now valued as a sign of personal achievement. Some groups, such as extreme [[bodybuilder]]s and [[sumo wrestler]]s use special exercise and diet to "bulk up" into an impressive appearance.

Ancient Central American [[Maya society|Maya]] cultures artificially induced [[strabismus|crosseyedness]] and [[head binding|flattened the foreheads]] of high-born infants as a permanent, lifetime sign of noble status.<ref name=Mayan>{{cite web|title=Maya Culture|url=http://www.authenticmaya.com/maya_culture.htm|work=Guatemala: Cradle of the Mayan Civilization|publisher=authenticmaya.com|access-date=2012-04-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507011502/http://www.authenticmaya.com/maya_culture.htm|archive-date=2012-05-07}}</ref> The Mayans also [[tooth filing|filed their teeth to sharp points]] to look fierce, or inset [[precious stone]]s into their teeth as decoration.<ref name="Mayan" />

== Material possessions ==
The ownership of luxury residences in exclusive locations has historically been considered one of the ultimate status symbols worldwide. Among the most coveted and recognized destinations globally are [[Portofino]], a renowned location on the [[Italian Riviera]], characterized by prestigious properties overlooking one of [[Europe]]'s most exclusive natural harbors; [[Lierna]], offering a privileged view of [[Lake Como]], historically associated with high aristocracy and international economic elites; and [[Monte Carlo]], in the [[Principality of Monaco]], a key hub for [[finance]], [[Luxury goods|luxury]], and global high society.  

These residences, in addition to providing a high level of [[privacy]] and [[security]], serve as genuine symbols of power and prestige, often linked to [[noble dynasties]], prominent [[entrepreneurs]], [[financial leaders]], and influential figures on the international stage. The value of such properties is not merely determined by their strategic location or [[architectural]] features but, more importantly, by their function as instruments of [[social representation]] and [[status assertion]], as access to them is often restricted even for those with immense [[wealth]].
[[File:4679viki Zamek w Krobielowicach. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg|thumb|left|Hunting trophy of an aristocrat]]
[[Luxury goods]] are often perceived as status symbols. Examples may include a [[mansion]] or [[penthouse apartment]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winter |first=Ian C. |title=The Radical Home Owner |year=1995 |isbn=2-88449-028-0 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=47}}</ref> a [[trophy wife]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=Classism and Feminist Therapy: Counting Costs |last=Hill |first=Marcia |author2=Esther D. Rothblum |publisher=Haworth Press |year=1996 |isbn=1-56024-801-7 |page=79}}</ref> [[haute couture]] [[fashion]]able clothes,<ref name="HecklerTill2008"/> [[jewellery]],<ref name="Russell2010">{{cite book|author=Rebecca Ross Russell|title=Gender and Jewelry: A Feminist Analysis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wx11yQK3J3QC&pg=PA89|access-date=10 September 2013|date=5 June 2010|publisher=Rebecca Ross Russell|isbn=978-1-4528-8253-6|page=89}}</ref> or a [[luxury vehicle]].<ref name=murray>{{Cite book |title=Doing Business in China: The Last Great Market |last=Murray |first=Geoffrey |publisher=China Library |year=1994 |isbn=1-873410-28-X}}</ref> A sizeable collection of high-priced artworks or antiques may be displayed, sometimes in multiple seasonally occupied residences located around the world. [[Private aviation|Privately owned aircraft]] and luxury [[yacht]]s are movable status symbols that can be taken from one glamorous location to another; the "[[jet set]]" refers to wealthy individuals who travel by [[Business jet|private jet]] and who frequent fashionable resorts.<ref>Merriam-Webster. [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jet%20set Jet set]. Accessed 2013-10-02.</ref>
[[File:George v L Meyer private library in Hamilton Massachusetts.jpg|thumb|Personal library of a wealthy American, 1919]]
Status symbols are also used by persons of much more modest means. In the [[Soviet Union]] before the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]], possession of American-style [[jeans|blue jeans]] or [[rock music]] recordings (even pirated or bootlegged copies) was an important status symbol among rebellious [[teenager]]s. In the 1990s, foreign [[cigarette]]s in [[People's Republic of China|China]], where a pack of [[Marlboro]] could cost one day's salary for some workers, were seen as a status symbol.<ref>J Brooks. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1337922/ American cigarettes have become a status symbol in smoke-saturated China.] 1995.</ref> [[Mobile phone]] usage had been considered a status symbol (for example in [[Turkey]] in the early 1990s),<ref>Yusuf Ziya Özcan, Abdullah Koçak. [http://ejc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/18/2/241 Research Note: A Need or a Status Symbol?] 2003</ref> but is less distinctive today, because of the spread of inexpensive mobile phones. Nonetheless [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] products such as [[iPhone]] are common status symbols among modern teenagers.<ref name="Greyling">{{cite book|author=Alexander Greyling|title=Face your brand! The visual language of branding explained|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWa_Z7B-nnoC&pg=PA94|access-date=10 September 2013|publisher=Alex Greyling|isbn=978-0-620-44310-4|page=94}}</ref><ref name="Baaghil2013">{{cite book|author=Said Baaghil|title=Glamour Globals: Trends Over Brands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QHfxZO5AGkC&pg=PA50|access-date=10 September 2013|date=9 January 2013|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-1-4759-7167-5|page=50|author-link=Said Baaghil}}</ref>

A common type of modern status symbol is a prestigious [[luxury brand]]ed item, whether apparel or other type of a good.<ref name="HecklerTill2008">{{cite book|author1=Donna D. Heckler|author2=Brian D. Till|title=The Truth About Creating Brands People Love|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6DhNprFiz6UC&pg=PA23|access-date=10 September 2013|date=10 October 2008|publisher=FT Press|isbn=978-0-13-270118-1|page=23}}</ref> The brand name or logo is often prominently displayed, or featured as a [[graphic design]] element of decoration. Certain brands are so highly valued that cheap [[counterfeit good]]s or knock-off copies are purchased and displayed by those who do not want to, or are unable to, pay for the genuine item.

==See also==
{{Portal|Society|Psychology}}
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Badge of shame]]
* [[Belongingness]]
* [[Conspicuous consumption]]
* [[Fashion accessory]]
* [[Identity performance]]
* [[Narcissistic supply]]
* [[Occupational prestige]]
* [[Positional good]]
* [[Relative deprivation]]
* [[Social stratification]]
* [[Veblen good]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Vance Oakley Packard: ''The status seekers: an exploration of class behaviour in Amerika.'' Harmondsworth, Pelican books, 1963. {{OCLC|762112945}}
* [[S. I. Hayakawa|Samuel I. Hayakawa]]: ''Symbol, status, and personality''. New York, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1963. ISBN 9780156876117
* [[Pierre Bourdieu]]: ''Distinction: a social critique of the judgement of taste.'' London/New York, Routledge, 1984. ISBN 9780674212800

{{Narcissism}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Status Symbol}}
[[Category:Social status]]
[[Category:Narcissism]]