A cura di @Perodatrent (modificato)

Tressie McMillan Cottom, una sociologa statunitense, proveniente da una famiglia povera afroamericana, dà la sua spiegazione del perché persone di classe sociale bassa sono costrette a spendere denaro per vestirsi in modo elegante.

I learned that there was a price we had to pay to signal that we were worthy of engaging. It meant dressing well and speaking well. It might not work. It likely wouldn’t work, but on the off chance that it would, you had to try. It was unfair, but, as my mother always said, “Life isn’t fair, little girl.”

Why do poor people make stupid, illogical decisions to buy status symbols? For the same reason all but only the most wealthy buy status symbols, I suppose. We want to belong… because belonging to one group at the right time can mean the difference between unemployment and employment, a good job as opposed to a bad job, housing or a shelter, and so on.

Immagine da pxhere.