Barack, Hillary, and Obama on the WWE

These Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama lookalikes took part in a WWE Raw match on Monday. John McCain and Bill Clinton lookalikes were also there. All three actual candidates taped a message for the show:



This could be useful for a discussion about the effort to appeal to the much-discussed blue-collar voter. The WWE crowd--and probably the need to appear "non-elitist"--has become so important that every candidate felt it necessary to take part in this.

Also, Barack Obama just wasn't funny. I'm just sayin'.

Thanks to Larry H. from The Daily Mirror (an L.A. Times blog) for sending this one along!

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the social constructedness of social groups

The way in which we divide ourselves in society, the differences that we make salient, the social groups that we invent and label are all social constructions. What makes all things masculine hang together (beer, hunting, being a CEO, eschewing baths), except that they are all things we identify as masculine? What makes limited government and the Defense of Marriage Act seem related, except that we place them both on the right side of the political spectrum? And what makes brains the opposite of beauty, except our insistence that it is so?

The videos on this website for Edina Realty, sent to us by Stacy B., capitalize on our taken-for-granted beliefs about difference of several different kinds by pairing unlikely pairs. They might be useful for illustrating the existence of these divisions and starting a conversation about the social constructedness of social groups.

Here's two examples from youtube:





Thanks Stacy!

"Class Is Forever" Rolex Ad

I found this Rolex ad in Metropolitan Home magazine. Pair with this ad series that plays on the idea of "generations" of class. Or this ad for Patek Philippe ads, also using the generations theme. Then compare to this Acura ad that ridicules "trust-fund," old-money types. It could also lead to an interesting discussion about the ways in which we use the word "class" both as an economic group and as a personal characteristic (i.e., "She has class") and the way "classiness" is here turned into something you can buy for yourself.

Old Money Is Old-Fashioned: Acura Ad

I found this ad in Rolling Stone and thought it was an interesting take on class. The text at the top says:

This isn't trust-fund luxury. This is start-up, do-it-yourself, this is gonna be the next big thing luxury. A new generation has arrived.

At the bottom it says:

Introducing the all-new Acura TSX. Forget silver-haired luxury. This is modern, i-VTEC, ELS Surround Sound luxury. Luxury that innovates, with features like the most advanced on-screen weather information and alerts. And luxury that thrills, with an aggressive new body style, a re-tuned engine, and a sport-minded suspension. The TSX with Technology Package. It's luxury for a whole new generation. See it at acura.com.

So they're playing on the idea of the self-made man--he creates the "next big thing," he "innovates." And he's young and "modern." And "aggressive." All in contrast to those who inherit wealth, who are "silver-haired" and, presumably, not aggressive or brave enough for this car. This could be useful for a discussion of social class, in particular the old-money/new-money divide, as well as different ideas of masculinity.

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Apparently Women Want What Porsche Symbolizes

Thanks Miguel! Found here.

Also in cars as replacements for sexual partners: driving is sexual stimulation, is that a hand break in your pocket?, and conflating women and cars.

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Calling All Social Psychologists

This clip, from the newly televised This American Life, shows what happens when (mostly) black women and (mostly) white men living in racially-segregated Chicago are brought together and the social rules of decorum are suspended. It is highly, highly disturbing. I'd love it if some social psychologists could comment on what we see happening here!

Tim Wise On The Invention Of The White Race

In this nine and a half minute clip, Tim Wise describes the way in which race was invented by elites in early America in order to divide and conquer the working class... and is still used to do so.



Found here via Alas A Blog.

Picture Perfect Privilege

This is a tough one, but there is something about this image advertising the Metropolitan Museum of Art that just screams privilege. Is it the perfect blonde hair? The perfect white teeth? The neat upper-class masculinity? The turtleneck? I can't quite put my finger on it!



Thanks Jason!

Masculinity Summed Up

Truthfully, I don't think I have ever seen so many symbols of masculinity mobilized in so short a time. I had to watch it three times:



Thanks a bunch to Christine who recommended this in our comments.

The Gap Between The Life Expectancy Of The Rich And Poor Is Increasing

Perhaps related to increasing wealth and income inequality in our society, the gap between the life expectancy of the rich and the poor is also increasing. This image is from a New York Times article on the topic:



Dr. Singh, who was part of the study, explains:

In 1980-82... people in the most affluent group could expect to live 2.8 years longer than people in the most deprived group (75.8 versus 73 years). By 1998-2000, the difference in life expectancy had increased to 4.5 years (79.2 versus 74.7 years), and it continues to grow.

Hungry Man: Eat like a man and be full like a man

Sexism in commercials is sadly just so, well, typical. But every once in a while a commercial comes along that goes above and beyond, like this one from Hungry Man. Take note of the ending where the Hungry Man meal crushes the feminized fruit drinks.

This commercial has multiple layers of sexism. One is obviously gendering food choices. Why are healthy foods (fruit and yogurt) feminized and unhealthy meat and potatoes in large quantities (sans green vegetables) associated with masculinity and being tough? And what kind of prescriptions about class and work are made as well? Why are these blue collar "working men" when drinking fruit shakes and health drinks are typically associated with white collar, upper class women (and men)?

As the commercial says... you are what you eat.

I wonder why a recent study found that "the gender divide starts over dinner."

"Generations Of Style"

This 3-page ad for Brooks Brothers uses the tagline "Generations of Style." I think it's useful because the ad naturalizes the passing down of class (both economic class and classiness) from generation to generation, thus justifying class inequality. Also notice the racial segregation in the images.

Two Excellent Graphs Illustrating Increasing Income Inequality

This first graph shows the relative increase in the incomes (inflation adjusted) of the top 1% of income earning households, the middle 60% and the lowest 20% (percentages, presumably, approximate) since 1979.

This second graph shows a more detailed picture of the relative increase in the incomes (inflation adjusted) of households in the 95th , 80th, 60th, 40th, and 20th percentile since 1949. Note how household incomes were rising at about the same rate prior to 1970, at which point those households in the 95th percentile started out growing other percentiles, those in the 20th stayed stagnant, and those in between were somewhere in between.




I borrowed these graphs from Lane Kenworthy, who also offers a truly excellent and detailed explanation of the measures.


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Glamorizing, Trivializing Homelessness On America's Next Top Model

Thanks to an anonymous poster who suggested we seek these out and put them up.

See our other post about America's Next Top Model.

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Measurement Matters

The graph below shows the different results when using two different measures of joblessness (notice how the use of two different scales on these graphs--10% and 15%--visually interrupts a fair comparison). Visit the New York Times story that accompanied this image for a historically-grounded discussion of the problematics and politics of measuring joblessness.

REQUEST: Marxist (?) Poster About The Reproduction Of The Worker

There is a poster out there somewhere that illustrates the reproduction of the worker in an capitalist industrial society. I think it is based directly on Marx. It shows all the unpaid work that women do behind the scenes that allows a man to invest his days in paid work. She feeds him, helps him relax, cleans his clothes, makes sure he can sleep comfortably and stuff, and then pushes him out the front door the next morning well-rested, in clean clothes, and with a bag lunch. If anyone can find this poster, I'd be so excited!

(Wisconsin Soc people... This poster was in the radical posters room on the 7th floor of the Sewell building at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Do you remember it?)

Downturn In Real Wages

This graph, from yesterday's New York Times, shows a decrease in real wages in the past year in the face of 4% inflation.

Correlations Of IQ With Income And Wealth

The relationship between IQ and income:

The relationship between IQ and wealth:

From Zagorsky, Jay. 2007. Do you have to be smart to be rich? The impact of IQ on wealth, income and financial distress. Intelligence 35: 489-501.

Thanks to Conrad H.

Class Inequality Superimposed On Theoretical Height

This image illustrates what class inequality would look like if our level of income/wealth were reflected in our height (click to enlarge). Class inequality was first described this way by economist Jan Pen. The image was reproduced for an Atlantic article (view here). Even though the illustration is for 1971 and Britain, it would be useful, especially if we had evidence that income inequality is greater now than in 1971 and greater in the U.S. (or wherever you are) than in Britain (which I think is true... anyone?). An excerpt explaining the illustration is included below. (By the way, what first looked to me like a dark green blob behind the tallest guy is actually the foot of the next tallest guy.)

Excerpt:

"Suppose that every person in the economy walks by, as if in a parade. Imagine that the parade takes exactly an hour to pass, and that the marchers are arranged in order of income, with the lowest incomes at the front and the highest at the back. Also imagine that the heights of the people in the parade are proportional to what they make: those earning the average income will be of average height, those earning twice the average income will be twice the average height, and so on. We spectators, let us imagine, are also of average height.

Pen then described what the observers would see. Not a series of people of steadily increasing height—that’s far too bland a picture. The observers would see something much stranger. They would see, mostly, a parade of dwarves, and then some unbelievable giants at the very end.

As the parade begins, Pen explained, the marchers cannot be seen at all. They are walking upside down, with their heads underground—owners of loss-making businesses, most likely. Very soon, upright marchers begin to pass by, but they are tiny. For five minutes or so, the observers are peering down at people just inches high—old people and youngsters, mainly; people without regular work, who make a little from odd jobs. Ten minutes in, the full-time labor force has arrived: to begin with, mainly unskilled manual and clerical workers, burger flippers, shop assistants, and the like, standing about waist-high to the observers. And at this point things start to get dull, because there are so very many of these very small people. The minutes pass, and pass, and they keep on coming.

By about halfway through the parade, Pen wrote, the observers might expect to be looking people in the eye—people of average height ought to be in the middle. But no, the marchers are still quite small, these experienced tradespeople, skilled industrial workers, trained office staff, and so on—not yet five feet tall, many of them. On and on they come.

It takes about forty-five minutes—the parade is drawing to a close—before the marchers are as tall as the observers. Heights are visibly rising by this point, but even now not very fast. In the final six minutes, however, when people with earnings in the top 10 percent begin to arrive, things get weird again. Heights begin to surge upward at a madly accelerating rate. Doctors, lawyers, and senior civil servants twenty feet tall speed by. Moments later, successful corporate executives, bankers, stock­brokers—peering down from fifty feet, 100 feet, 500 feet. In the last few seconds you glimpse pop stars, movie stars, the most successful entrepreneurs. You can see only up to their knees (this is Britain: it’s cloudy). And if you blink, you’ll miss them altogether. At the very end of the parade (it’s 1971, recall) is John Paul Getty, heir to the Getty Oil fortune. The sole of his shoe is hundreds of feet thick."

Rich Girl Angst

Found here.