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A review by bootman
Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit by Ashley Mears
5.0
I’m torn on this book. I’ve been really interested in sociological research in the realm of the wealthy and elite. This book is really interesting, but I think I didn’t like it as much because it was a lot of conversations and storytelling with minimal sociology. Don’t get me wrong, Ashley Mears is an awesome writer, but I was looking for something with more ties to social theory. There’s quite a bit in here, but you’ll go pages and pages and pages before touching on it inbetween stories, conversations, and regular commentary from the author.
What’s fascinating about this book is how beautiful women are used as a sign of status in the world of the wealthy. And when I say beautiful women, I mean models. It’s not my personal taste but it’s what’s seen as the pinnacle of beauty. Mears spends time with club promotors whose job it is to find the most beautiful women and just bring them to clubs and on trips to party so rich men can look cool.
Where the book is interesting is just seeing how these women are treated by the promotors as well as by the wealthy men. They’re treated like things, and they aren’t treated well. Meanwhile, the promotors almost act like pimps, and they have the personalities you’d expect, but they don’t seem to understand that they’ll never be the wealthy people they think they’ll be.
Overall, aside from being torn on the book, I’m still torn on how bad we’re supposed to feel for the women. On a human level, I feel terrible for them. Nobody should be treated this way. But in a world where so many are suffering and so many women are used and abused and don’t have the privilege these women have, it’s hard to put this on my priority list. Pretty privilege is a thing, and although the women aren’t treated well, they also seem extremely aware of the transactional nature of their position.
Based on something completely outside of their control (their genetics and how they look), they get to travel the world and party. They get experiences that 90% of people can only dream of. So, although I do have sympathy for them, I don’t think we need to start a non-profit organization and use resources when there are so many people suffering in the world.
Anywho, I can go on about this forever. But, if you’re interested in the topic and don’t mind a sociological book with like 70-80% storytelling compared to social theory, check it out. It’ll give you insight into the lives of the wealthy and how they signal status by using other human beings.
What’s fascinating about this book is how beautiful women are used as a sign of status in the world of the wealthy. And when I say beautiful women, I mean models. It’s not my personal taste but it’s what’s seen as the pinnacle of beauty. Mears spends time with club promotors whose job it is to find the most beautiful women and just bring them to clubs and on trips to party so rich men can look cool.
Where the book is interesting is just seeing how these women are treated by the promotors as well as by the wealthy men. They’re treated like things, and they aren’t treated well. Meanwhile, the promotors almost act like pimps, and they have the personalities you’d expect, but they don’t seem to understand that they’ll never be the wealthy people they think they’ll be.
Overall, aside from being torn on the book, I’m still torn on how bad we’re supposed to feel for the women. On a human level, I feel terrible for them. Nobody should be treated this way. But in a world where so many are suffering and so many women are used and abused and don’t have the privilege these women have, it’s hard to put this on my priority list. Pretty privilege is a thing, and although the women aren’t treated well, they also seem extremely aware of the transactional nature of their position.
Based on something completely outside of their control (their genetics and how they look), they get to travel the world and party. They get experiences that 90% of people can only dream of. So, although I do have sympathy for them, I don’t think we need to start a non-profit organization and use resources when there are so many people suffering in the world.
Anywho, I can go on about this forever. But, if you’re interested in the topic and don’t mind a sociological book with like 70-80% storytelling compared to social theory, check it out. It’ll give you insight into the lives of the wealthy and how they signal status by using other human beings.