I guess there is a continuum between “I am doing this because I genuinely enjoy it, and as a side effect it also sets me apart from those who can’t afford it” and “I actually hate this; the only good thing is that it sets me apart from the losers”. Even different people from the same social class may be at different positions—for both of them it is a symbol of their social class, but one of them likes it, and the other hates it.
Take away people’s ability to control their public image, and their incentive to do so, and guess what? They’ll stop trying!
I guess there is a continuum between “I am doing this because I genuinely enjoy it, and as a side effect it also sets me apart from those who can’t afford it” and “I actually hate this; the only good thing is that it sets me apart from the losers”. Even different people from the same social class may be at different positions—for both of them it is a symbol of their social class, but one of them likes it, and the other hates it.
Makes sense.