After realizing that
my plan is more of an experiment than an act of naturalistic observation, I'm
ready to wreak havoc on the stores of
GSP. Instead of observing how employees and shoppers react to people dressed according
to class, I will be embodying representations of the lower, middle, and upper
classes and gauging people's reactions to me based on my clothing. I plan on
going to the mall on three separate occasions during the evening, each time
wearing clothes to represent a certain social class. As the control in my
experiment, I'll first go to the mall dressed in my normal clothes,
representing the middle class. The following week I'll go to the mall dressed
in all brand-name clothing to represent the upper class, and the week after
that I'll go in sweats, worn sneakers, and perhaps a bandana, representing the lower class. I'm
going to concentrate my experimentation in Nordstrom, Lord and Taylor, and a
designer store, perhaps Coach or Louis Vuitton.
I was inspired to do
this experiment because I myself have had negative experiences in stores generally
patronized by wealthy people. Most people in those places haven't taken me seriously, whether for my
age or my clothes, while people who
"look the part" have salespeople breathing down their necks 24/7. Interestingly as well, my
friend's mom was also a victim of shopper profiling in Nordstrom; the employees
looked at her as they would pond scum when she entered in sweatpants, but they
chased her around with new fragrance samples when she entered in a fur coat. I
feel like people today subconsciously categorize each other into classes, and
my experiment will put that theory directly to the test. I will keep a special eye out
for suspicious and judgmental looks shot at me from workers, and possibly other
shoppers, and pay special attention to the kind of treatment I receive in the
stores I visit based on my appearance. My greatest hope is that I don't blow my cover!
No comments:
Post a Comment