Would you pair up with someone just for status?

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The truth is unless there are very good reasons not to majority of people would pair up with someone just for status if they have this opportunity, but would never admit it even to themselves, to them it wouldn't feel like "just for status".

What people think of when they say they would never do it are cases of obvious "gold digger" or "trophy" spouses, but in reality that means lowering your social status, being looked down upon at for the rest of your life, this is something many people actually wouldn't do.

Got evidence for those sweeping claims?

Just Hungry for evidence today? You sound like Fnord? always with the "got proof? "wheres you proof?" "Prove It"

I thought what smart hulk was talking about was basic human anture and self evident sociological fact.



Marrying Up by Marrying Down: Status Exchange between Social Origin and Education in the United States
Christine R. Schwartz, Zhen Zeng, Yu Xie
Sociological Science, November 28, 2016
DOI 10.15195/v3.a44
https://sociologicalscience.com/articles-v3-44-1003/

Now of course the education factor is the leverage to marry up in this study. But i believe it generally applies to all people. If you're Low status,( aka poor) barring great incompatibility, you will upgrade your status, if the opportunity arises, and is fairly agreeable. It's funny but money , wealth, status makes people do funny things. An average looking person all of a sudden becomes a lot more appealing, if they have status. You're gonna tell me this isn't a phenomenon?

Funny thing is though people can lease cars on a lower wage than I make and drive around in a shiny BMW, whereas I drive a tiny 8 year old hatchback.

Status isn't necessary about money. It's about what looks good to others. You can fake it... If you don't mind drowning in debt.

Do you care what others think - Of your car, of your partner etc?

No; this is a recipe for disaster. I've seen many people who have nice cars/houses, but are unhappy in their marriage, or even worse, being abused.

Nope, the concept of "status" means absolutely nothing to me.

I'm an everyday bloke who wears normal clothing, lives in a normal house and drives an everyday car. I don't need or want anything to make me look "important" in the eyes of others. I can think of nothing worse than being in the public eye. I have a beautiful partner who whilst absolutely gorgeous is also disinterested in anything showy. We have a great lifestyle with minimal stress. We have friends over for BBQs and the occasional group lunch. One of them likes experimental Asian cooking, he always brings along one of his dishes, very interesting to talk to and the best company. I've had a ball trying his food and a good yack over lunch several times. He's not showy or in any way prestige driven either. Maybe I'm just self absorbed and enjoy the company of people I like.

Sure we could spin our jobs and lifestyles as something prestigious and be all showy. We could buy expensive cars which depreciate in no time. We could draw attention to ourselves and strut around like movie stars. But we much prefer to be everyday people and also associate with down to earth people.

Right now I'm sitting on the front verandah on a Saturday morning watching the world go by with my laptop and drinking coffee. Would I want it any other way? Nope!

You sound like my kind of people.

I really think the showiest of people have low self esteem. They seek external validation.

How often brits are willing to pair up with Indians for instance?

Yes. If it weren't for the desire to look better in the eyes of my friends and family I never would have started dating. I prefer to spend most of my time by myself.

Just because it seems obvious to you doesn't mean it's true. And comparing me insultingly to another user isn't a convincing argument.



That study is locked behind a paywall, but even the abstract doesn't support the claim that many people are pairing up "just for status". Firstly, status could be part of the reason without being the sole reason, and secondly, their findings suggest that people are marrying partners who have a mix of higher and lower status markers in different domains. And thirdly, the majority of people don't live in the United States, so a study that solely studied people in that one country can't really tell us about the majority of people.

People pair up because they want to pair up.

The reasons are numerous. Status, not being lonely, being in love with that person—and also, a combination of all these things.

And other reasons too numerous to mention in one post.

No.

I couldn’t care less about what other people think. I also despise opportunism.

I honestly don't give a s**t about societal status and what society tries to convince me was important or meant success in life in addition to that.
It’s not my important and not how I define success to start with.

The concept of "status" needs to be clearly defined. Everybody has their own idea , it's too ambiguous a term.

I couldn’t date someone like that. There’s more to life than status and having the latest trends that will eventually go out of season.

It makes no sense to me. Status has never been something I've been concerned with, so I cannot understand when people take this path.

I realise than now, but I'm enjoying reading everyone's different interpretations and thoughts.