The Civil Rights Movement And The Feminist Movement

There was a time when social classes were most easily identified through material goods and possessions. Whether wealth was gained through inheritance or hard work, it was the luxury items that made the most visible and tangible statement regarding a person’s social status. Men could rely on a large house or expensive car to proclaim the success they had earned. It was much more common to see women adorned in jewels, designer clothes, and furs as symbols of her upper class status. The extravagance of a woman’s appearance was a reflection of the success of her husband, so it was natural to indulge her desire for expensive material possessions. Times have since changed. Gender roles and expectations have evolved just as the societal lines dividing the social classes. Where populations were once divided in two broad groups, aristocracy and commoners, social stratification has deepened and expanded. The Industrial Revolution, Post World War Two technological advances, the C ivil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement have each played a significant role in the development of the class system of modern society. The widespread use of credit has done the most to blur the lines of social status distinction, but has not stopped advertisers from relying on the conventional standards of using luxury items to offer the appearance of elevated social status. 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