Hmm...

[ksmith]

So yesterday, justinelavaworm discussed a panel she and matociquala, among others, participated in during which discussions of class were attempted/danced around/not quite followed through on. Then I saw this line in today's entry in Jane Espenson's blog:

You know how, in this country, the most visible, and most reliable, indicator of a person's social class is the condition of their teeth?

and I started thinking about outward indications of social class.

Not sure about teeth. A former manager, who came from upper-middle PacNorWet money, had one of the worst sets of choppers I had ever seen. But then, he had a casual attitude about a lot of things, including money. In a way, this casualness typed him as surely as Jane's perfect teeth.

Hands are supposed to be another indicator--their condition and the style of manicure. Shoes. Hair style. Weight.

I don't have time to go into this now, and I'm not sure what I'd say if I did except that I find it all pretty interesting.

Comments

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I recall reading something years ago about the ?lime? content in the soil being responsible for the deterioration of English teeth after about age 50. I don't know how true that is. But sterling choppers don't seem a marker, no. Is it true in the rest of Europe as well? I've seen it over here, frankly. It all depends on one's culture, and in some cases, whether or not one has a deep-seated fear of dentists.

Markers that money can buy--it's a coin toss as to whether they indicate social class or some other form of luck. But the casualness of my former manager seems to me to be more indicative of an environment where monetary concerns just didn't crop up. Attitude, and responses to various situations.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

Lime isn't constant throughout the soil - I think it might just be wear and tear and a fear of dentists! We certainly don't go in for as much cosmetic work (although we are beginning to), partly because of cost. I have an overbite, mainly corrected by a childhood retainer (that always sounds like some old family servant), and a dodgy misplaced tooth on my lower jaw. Both could apparently be corrected, according to a fomer dentist, by breaking and re-setting my jaw. At this point I decided to go for the ugly look, as we fashionistas like to call it.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I do know someone who went through the jaw breaking/resetting. The jaw was also shifted forward slightly to lessen the receding appearance. After that came the braces. Overall, the difference in appearance was visible, but not profound. I never asked her if she felt it was worth it.