Racism, classism, sexism – we’ve got a lot of isms to tackle.
One expert reckons we should add another to the list: ‘statusism’.
Statusism, says Grant J Ryan, the author of Comparonomics, is ‘prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different social status, based on the belief that one’s own social status is superior’.
While many of us are fairly confident identifying the major forms of discrimination, statusism is a bit more nebulous… because the very idea of what defines ‘status’ is up in the air.
It can encompass everything from your job title to your popularity, and, deep down, no matter how woke we may be, most of us engage in a bit of status snobbery.
It’s only natural – we use social status as a way to judge ourselves and others. It informs our ambition, our goals, our motivation.
But the problem comes when we start to treat people differently because of their status.
Grant tells Metro.co.uk: ‘As society has evolved, we have mostly decided it is not okay to treat people differently based on their race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation.
‘Why is it okay to treat people differently based on their social status?
‘Seeking, social status is common to all societies and a natural part of human life.
‘Well, racism and sexism were universal too, but it doesn’t necessarily make it right.
‘Statusism is the last great “ism” because it seems the last thing where it is socially acceptable to treat people better or worse due to some arbitrary label.’
Grant brings up some examples of statusism in action, noting how it’s considered normal to ‘worship at the feet’ of people who are rich, famous, or what we view as ‘successful’ and entirely dismiss anyone who doesn’t tick off those high-status attributes.
He asks: ‘What if people were just people that all deserved to be treated with the same dignity?
‘This is not some communist or hippie ideology that says that everyone must have the same amount of stuff and achieve the same things. It is that irrespective of perceived social status, we treat everyone with the same human dignity.’
Work is something that comes up a lot in statusism.
‘A brain surgeon is considered differently from the person who cleans the operating theatre,’ Grant explains. ‘But both are needed for the surgery to work.
‘If you think of the low-status jobs, they are typically things we would not like to do ourselves. If you think of high-status jobs, they are typically more stimulating and enjoyable.
‘Should we treat high-status folks better because they have a more enjoyable job? This seems a bit weird and arbitrary.
‘Sure, the higher status jobs may be harder to do but we would probably all prefer to do them given a choice.
‘We probably wouldn’t want to do low-status jobs so shouldn’t we treat these people even better? Well, in general, we tend not to.’
Statusism creates division means that only a select few are treated with respect.
We might not be able to get rid of the idea of social status entirely, but what we can control is how we treat people – not based on their social standing, but just as people getting by.
‘Remember, social status is a system where not everyone can win, despite everyone’s efforts,’ Grant tells us. ‘It is a mathematical certainty that half of us will be below average.
‘The only thing you can change is how you treat people in these different layers of status.
‘One way to think about whether social status is justified is to put yourself in the shoes of those who don’t happen to have the skill set to thrive in a modern economy.’
Tips for tackling statusism
Question the skills that determine our place in the world
‘There is an extensive range of things I suck at,’ notes Grant. ‘If chance had conspired that these skills were the ones that determined my place in the world, it would be a bit daunting.
‘If we take an example of one of the many things that I’m horrendously bad at – singing. No quantity of beer can dull the looks of horror on peoples’ faces when I try to sing.
‘I can’t imagine how unpleasant life would be if people judged me only on my singing ability. What if you woke up one day without the skills to have a high-status job – would you be any less of a person?
‘The skills required to thrive in a modern economy is a moving beast and an oddly random set of skills. If you happen to have skills that allow you to thrive in the current economy, there is no guarantee it will last forever so it is worth thinking about how we can make it possible for everyone to live with dignity.’
Make a conscious effort to focus on someone who’s lower status
Grant suggests: ‘In the presence of a high-status person — purposefully spend time on other people.
‘Different status is most noticeable when you meet two or three people at the same time, a high-status person and their minders or underlings.
‘After being introduced to two or three people, you are expected to direct your first social interaction with the high-status person. I’ve been actively directing it at the lowest social status person, and the uncomfortableness is evident and amusing (to me, anyway).’
Don’t ask ‘what do you do?’ right away
Is someone’s job title the most important thing about them? Does it have to influence the way you interact with that person?
Try asking other questions before the ‘what do you do for work’ go-to.
Remember tackling statusism doesn’t mean being disrespectful
‘When one is invited to Buckingham Palace to have tea with the Queen, I don’t suggest you greet her by saying “Yo, Queenie what up, girlfriend?”,’ says Grant. ‘A polite level of respect is all that everyone deserves.
‘I’m sure the Queen is lovely, but probably no lovelier than the folk serving the cucumber sandwiches.’
Question long-held ideas
Statusism is so embedded because it’s been normal for so long. If we want to change things, we’ll need to unlearn a lot of ways of thinking.
Just starting to question ideas will make a difference.
Grant asks: ‘Is bowing down to people or looking down on people based on social status acceptable? Should I be able to treat certain folks in society like inferior underlings? Should I be expected to fawn over people that can run fast, sing well, or work out a way to make lots of money?’
Call out statusism when you see it
Having dinner with someone who’s rude to waiters? Don’t let them get away with it.
Try not to seek status so much yourself
This one’s tricky, but it’s worth trying. Why do you want to have certain things? Why do you need to achieve certain markers of success? Will these status symbols actually make you happier or a better person?
Start thinking about these questions and ask yourself who you’d really want to be and what you’d actually want to do if status wasn’t a thing. It could be life-changing.
Comparonomics: Why Life Is Better Than You Think, And How To Make It Even Better, by Grant J Ryan, is due to be published by Big Idea Publishing in February 2022.
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