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I’m really enjoying the interpersonal chemistry of Smart Girl Politics as the group evolves. The natural flow of conversation from the playful girl-talk to the politics of our world is very engaging, and I feel that each participant has a unique and valuable perspective. I wanted to connect two of the topics mentioned in the podcast which can be related to social signalling. Like Kira, I am a Californian. I grew up in the Berkeley area at the end of the hippie era. (I definitely grew up as a liberal, but I’ve reformed since.) The prevalent idea of the time was that clothes shouldn’t matter whatsoever, and this resonated with me. Luckily, my mother, who grew up with even less money than I did and less support at home, reinforced the importance of presenting yourself well. I’ve come to understand that we signal to others what we are about through the clothes that we wear. Often, people have no other information about us, and it is sort of unreasonable to expect them to look past the external, although it is nice when people can take the time to do this. When you go to a job interview, you really need to wear the clothes which indicate that you are someone to be taken seriously. The business suit is sort of a uniform that simplifies the evaluation of the candidate.
Similarly, I wonder if the college degree is about signalling. Many of us who went to college realize that we didn’t necessarily learn how to do our jobs through formal education. However, I think it has become a signal, like wearing a very, very expensive suit. The prospective employer knows that you have the ability, focus and motivation to pursue a somewhat intangible goal for a number of years and complete it. It indicates that you are willing to jump through all the hoops required, many of which seem irrelevant during the process.
Okay, I took the bait. I had to Google images of the unhappy Monaco bride. While there are many photos of her smiling, there are some that betray disgust:
He’s thinking, “That bridesmaid’s hot!”
She’s thinking, “Where’s the exit?”