Might dill pickles be a useful example? I had to be coerced into trying them several times before I came to find them edible, but I enjoy them now, and there’s not much if any status involved there.
I’m not sure that those factors can be fully, or even partly, separated from status signaling. For example, I expect that I could tell the difference between different kinds of pickles, and develop a favorite among the brands that exist. I have no particular reason to do so, and if I did, I wouldn’t talk about it, but if pickles became trendy, and the pickle companies started making subtly-different types to satisfy the demand for signaling tools, I probably would at least try the varieties and pick a favorite. (I have a favorite brand of mayonnaise, after all, and am that picky about which brand of Macadamia nuts I’ll eat.)
Might dill pickles be a useful example? I had to be coerced into trying them several times before I came to find them edible, but I enjoy them now, and there’s not much if any status involved there.
Dill pickles don’t have nearly the same perplexity factors that alcohol does, so I don’t think they’re a useful example.
People aren’t ultra-particular about which dill pickles they like, beyond them not looking gross.
People don’t claim to be able to discern all the differences.
The taste of dill pickles doesn’t serve as a convenient excuse for getting high.
Dill picklers aren’t regularly used to get high, and aren’t in danger of being banned or overregulated.
You get the point.
I’m not sure that those factors can be fully, or even partly, separated from status signaling. For example, I expect that I could tell the difference between different kinds of pickles, and develop a favorite among the brands that exist. I have no particular reason to do so, and if I did, I wouldn’t talk about it, but if pickles became trendy, and the pickle companies started making subtly-different types to satisfy the demand for signaling tools, I probably would at least try the varieties and pick a favorite. (I have a favorite brand of mayonnaise, after all, and am that picky about which brand of Macadamia nuts I’ll eat.)