Posted
Jun 2010
Sociologist Lauren Rivera knows what it takes to get behind the velvet rope. She recommends, “Know someone. Or know someone who knows someone. If you’re a guy, bring attractive women—ideally younger women in designer clothes. Don’t go with other dudes. And doormen are well versed in trendiness, so wear Coach, Prada, Gucci—but don’t show up in a nice suit with DSW shoes.” No, Rivera doesn’t write an advice column for the rich and the restless. But the Kellogg School of Management professor did infiltrate the scene to expose how people evaluate status in a glimpse. Specifically, she wanted to know how the meaty doormen positioned outside exclusive clubs—bouncers in nightlife language—determine who enters.
Sociologists have been studying the dynamics of power relations in social life for decades. French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu saw that society was not only stratified by wealth, but also by symbols of status—the valued estimation of one’s honor and worth. Status distinctions between people can create sustaining inequalities by excluding those deemed as lower status from positions of prestige. Through surveys and experiments, sociologists have identified cues people use to evaluate status. The cues include one’s social class, social circles, displays of wealth, gender, race, accent, and taste in food and art. Through interviews, one study in 1992 found that Americans consider strong moral character a sign of high status, whereas the French are more apt to deem museum attendance a telling signal.
Yet the qualities people think they look for may not be what they actually react to at the office, at dinner parties, or on the street. Therefore, answers to a sociologist’s interview questions may not reflect real life. Furthermore, when a job, date, or club access is at stake, the terms one uses to judge competence or worthiness may change. “The laboratory is a great place to parse out variables, but in real life, status is complex and the way people draw distinctions is different in a natural setting,” says Rivera, an assistant professor in Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management. “I wanted to look at how peoples’ beliefs [about status] influenced how they distributed actual rewards.”
While lingering in line at an exclusive big city nightclub, Rivera realized that the perfect situation for studying status distinction was before her.
The Perfect Set-up
While lingering in line at an exclusive big city nightclub, Rivera realized that the perfect situation for studying status distinction was before her. Soon after, she applied to work at a different nightclub, one deemed nearly impossible to enter. The clientele were labeled as “A-list,” “jet-setter,” and “wealthy svelte” by the press. Cristal champagne typically sells by the bottle for $600, and some customers buy three in a night. She accepted a job as a “coat-check girl” and occasionally took shifts as the “cigarette girl” who stands near the front of the club selling cigarettes to smoking customers. This job allowed her to cast side-ways glances at bouncers as they evaluated expectant club-goers. Once she earned the bouncers’ confidence and promised to protect their identity, she began the interviews. “Bouncers are status judges who make hundreds of status decisions every night. They do it by having hundreds of patrons line up and on the basis of very little information, they size up who will be an esteemed customer,” Rivera says.
Through conversations and observations, she found that bouncers ran through a hierarchical list of qualities to determine in seconds who would enhance the image of the club and encourage high spending. Social networks mattered more than social class, or anything else for that matter. Celebrities and other recognized elites slipped through the door. And people related to or befriended by this “in crowd” often made the cut, too. Wealth is considered to be one of the strongest indicators of status, yet bouncers frowned upon bribes even though bribes are obvious displays of money. “New Faces,” as the bouncers called unrecognized club-goers, were selected on the basis of gender, dress, race, and nationality. Sometimes the final call boiled down to details as minor as the type of watch that adorned a man’s wrist.
Bouncers weighed each cue differently. Social network mattered most, gender followed. For example, a young woman in jeans stood a higher chance of entrance than a well-dressed man. And an elegantly dressed black man stood little chance of getting in unless he knew someone special.
The fact that women ranked higher than men in the pecking order testifies to the idea that judgments of status depend on context. “In a law firm, women might be considered less competent because of societal stereotypes. In fact, social psychologists talk about how women are generally perceived to have lower status than men; however, in this context they have a higher monetary or symbolic value than men. It does show how much context matters, and how no trait is absolutely high or low status but rather hinges on the meaning people ascribe to that trait,” Rivera notes.
Unfortunately, the meaning ascribed to race in the nightclub setting was related to perceptions of safety. The bouncers (many of whom are Black or Latino) claimed that letting Black or Latino Americans in might jeopardize safety at the club. However, Rivera says she saw fights between white customers frequently. “That’s what happens when crowds of people, alcohol, possibly cocaine, and loud music mix.” A connection between African Americans and violence was not explored in this study. Nonetheless, African and Latino Americans were turned away. “In the Obama age, we tend to assume that overt racial discrimination is less common,” says Rivera. “But it was surprising how much overt racial discrimination took place and how upfront bouncers were about racial exclusion.” The enforced dress code reflected this bias. Loose clothes associated with hip-hop culture were forbidden. Rivera quoted one bouncer as saying, “You can have a thousand dollar sweat suit on…but that’s not what we want.”
Still other details tipped the balance. For example, Latin Americans born in South America stood a much higher chance of entrance than U.S.-born Latinos. The bouncers said they assumed that Latin Americans were safer than American Latinos, and because they had the money and connections to work abroad, they should have money to spend. White men with no connections were often allowed in if they came draped with a few good-looking women. And, Rivera noted, that one aggressive drunk was routinely permitted entrance because he was a well-connected customer.
Divisive Decisions
Like all status cues, those used by bouncers serve to divide people. Status distinctions determine who gets what, and as such, they create inequalities. At a nightclub, the distinction between Prada and Levi’s can determine who hobnobs with the upper echelon. But in other contexts, an equally superficial distinction may, for example, determine who gains acceptance at a yacht club or Harvard. Various studies have found that people marked as low status are given fewer opportunities, encouraged less, evaluated more harshly, and often perform worse over time as a result of their frustration. In her manuscript Rivera writes, “Status distinctions between actors, which may initially occur on the basis of minor or even trivial distinctions, rapidly create powerful and durable systems of inequality.” They maintain the status quo.
“This study probably won’t change business at nightclubs,” Rivera observes. “But it might call more attention to how nuanced and complicated social status is.”
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13 Comments
Jun 9 2010
You’re kidding, right? Don’t think you had to go study the NY night club scene to discover overt racial discrimination. You surely didn’t expect changes just because we have an African American President, if anything, racial discrimination and overt expressions of same seem to have increased.
Jun 9 2010
@Michael,
Give the article a second look. Prof. Rivera’s paper is not about finding racial discrimination, but about how people draw status distinctions. Racial stereotypes are one factor, but not the entire story (as exemplified by Latin Americans having higher status than Latinos). I highly recommend reading the original paper, which includes many quotes from her interviews.
Jun 10 2010
An interesting, if topical, look at how snap judgments are made in this one context. For a more in-depth look at what’s behind so-called snap judgments, read Malcom Gladwell’s book “Blink.”
Jun 10 2010
The doormen seem to be following the Groucho rule.
“I don’t care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members. ” Groucho Marx
Curious how people of low social status always seem so content to protect those of higher status.
Jun 14 2010
I’m not sure “content” and “protect” are words I would use to describe the doormen’s actions. They seem to be doing their jobs, carrying out the explicit/implicit wishes of the club owners, promoters, whomever…
Interestingly, this morning on NPR there was a story on BP hiring out the boat owners (usually fishermen, osytermen, etc) on the Gulf Coast, which is preventing the media from giving a full assessment of what is happening out there. One of the fishermen said he felt bad being hired out by the very company that caused the spill, but he needed the money.
Overall, an interesting story, though not surprising and a sad reflection of where we are socially. The research may not be about overt racial discrimination, but it definitely highlights who we as a society deem having low status.
Jun 16 2010
i have been a doorman at the most exclusive clubs in Los Angeles for over 10 years. mostly not a bad set of observations. there is one major thing i disagree with however. Women are not being let in because of their “status” in the relative-value sense. there is a quite a lot to say about the gender roles in the private club world and none of it comes out in favor of women. This is a major site of disempowerment for women and their ease of entry should not be confused with their survival rate upon exiting. This scene is not only chauvinist it is openly hateful.
here is a little humor i put together once on the subject
http://www.facebook.com/notes/andrew-brin/gettin-in-the-club/404513882380
TO GET PAST
By Andrew Brin
09/28/2001
WGA reg# 1011715
If you want to get past the asshole doorman and through the rope to hang out with the beautiful and famous people here is a little advice:
Be prepared to accept that you are not getting in, many do and many don’t but almost nobody actually talks their way in.
If you are really famous, mostly celebrity, and I don’t recognize you or you are afraid I wont, have somebody else tell me who you are. Don’t tell me yourself. Don’t take it personally, I just don’t watch that much TV and I don’t read celebrity magazines.
Please don’t assume that because your name is really familiar to you that it will be to me. I am terrible with names.
BLING (not money)
If you are really a friend of a friend of mine make sure that my friend calls me before I am working to let me know you are coming.
If you are a friend of anybody else, including celebrities, I don’t care unless you are with them.
No cowboy hats ever…. men or women
If you are going to offer me money, don’t try to palm it, talk to me first and don’t talk to me for less than $100 per person, I’m busy even if I don’t look busy.
Don’t bother showing me you business card, I have no way of knowing if its real or not.
I am not in the entertainment industry and I don’t care if you are. Please do not tell me that you work at CAA, UTA, The Firm or any other agency or studio. The minute I hear that I assume you are in the mailroom all day or getting coffee for somebody who is already inside.
Please make sure that your latest movie has US release, I have never been to a movie in paris or moscow.
I’m generally more interested in music than TV or movies
If I tell you the fire marshall has shut us down, he has.
If I tell you we are at capacity, and it looks empty, that means I am waiting for other people that I know are coming. Feel free to wait but don’t try to keep talking to me.
Don’t wave your hands or yell out my name (especially if your not sure you have it right).
I see you.
Even if I seem rude, do not get an attitude with me. I am trying to be polite and kind but some people are just not getting in, you are probably one of them.
Don’t bother threatening me, its part of my job not to be intimidated and I usually have very big security guards very nearby even if you don’t see them.
When I ask you whose guest list you are on, tell me.
If you are on a guest list you know it and I know that. If you are not on the guest list, tell me.
Offer me sex… and mean it. I know the difference.
Dress your best, I don’t really care that much about what style or if you are trendy, but I can usually tell if you are looking your best.
Men will never get past me in shorts and sandals.
Men should never come in groups, I don’t care how many models you have with you.
Groups of women should not bother putting the pretty ones in front, I can see you all and I don’t like beautiful women who think they have a better chance than the others.
I don’t want to hold your wallet, cell phone, keys or your friend or spouse while you just go inside to look for someone. Most people are shallow or desperate enough to give all these things up to get inside. You’re probably one of them in my mind.
If you have to use the restroom you should have thought of that before you left home.
If all your “friends” are inside and your not, take it up with them not me.
Don"t tell me you “should” be on the list if I have looked and your not. Its only your opinion and I don’t have time for theory.
Jun 16 2010
I’m impartial here. I’ve never been to really swanky clubs, but I do know you don’t have to go to NY to study social statuses and stuff like that.
Girls get into clubs because it looks good. The more girls, the more guys will buy drink for them. Who wants a club full of single, loser guys hanging around all night?
Jun 16 2010
@ Michael Lesniak: yes, no matter how silly it might look to you, you have to make a “scientific study” to come to a scientific conclusion, otherwise the outcome are just opinions.
Jun 16 2010
As a former manager of numerous clubs in NYC (and a former grad student) the researcher might want to start from a very simple set of indicators.(ie. and not limited to)
- Club capacity of patrons
- Kind of music on the night
- (sadly) expected etho-cultural group(s)/ economic/sexual orientation expected
- Expected income of bar sales for the night (including bottle service)
- Expected take on tickets at the door (and the split with a promoter)
- What night it is - ie. Thursday, Friday, Saturday etc.
- NUMBER of security guards on staff for the night (you’d be surprised how this fluctuates), and the intangibles that is noted in the article above.
It would be fun to collect this information from a series of clubs (ie. in NYC). To be honest, pass this along to a class of grad students for their statistics papers - boy they’d learn stats pretty quick!
(I will admit I’ve not read the researchers original article yet)
Let me know if I can be of help!
Jun 16 2010
Addendum to my previous post (and again, without reading the original article):
Many decisions security guards make at a club are predicated on what ‘type’ of night the club is having - ie. latino, A-list, black, gay, etc. night. (Clubs in NYC are not meant to be the same) In many cases bouncers will base their decisions on who to let into the club on what the club has booked/requires. Primarily, those reasons are financial (who will spend the most), ‘balance’ in club (ie. guys to girls), and safety. Yes, the rationale can and will get mixed up.
Jun 22 2010
though this only further reinforced my complete disinterest in ever actually going to a club, I’m left wondering how the selection process works on “gay night”. after years living in the bible belt, avoiding overt expression of my sexuality to avoid harassment/attack, the idea of trying to convince some random doorman I really *do* like guys is rather amusing…first time I’ve ever thought of a situation where being gay might be enough of a status boost that people might *doubt* you when you told them.
interesting research.
Jun 24 2010
This article has stimulated some interesting discussion here and elsewhere on the web. I’ll single out two discussions I found interesting. First, the comments by Rob Horning in his “Marginal Utility” blog in PopMatters:
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/127047-bourdieu-and-bouncers
Second, in the comments to Robin Hanson’s blog entry in Overcoming Bias (http://www.overcomingbias.com/2010/06/club-discrimination.html), journalist Steve Sailer points to an older study, also ethnographic, of power relations at the entrance of a nightclub. The study set in a nightclub in Munich focused on the differing tactics, including smiles and nods, used by female and male club patrons (in a subordinate role relative to the doormen) to gain entry. For those interested in the subject, the full citation is:
Salter, Frank, Karl Grammer and Anja Rikowski. 2005. “Sex differences in negotiating with powerful males.” Human Nature, September, 16(3): 306-321 [online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12110-005-1013-4].
Feb 16 2011
I suppose that the gender difference is related to supply and demand. Most night clubs are attended by more men than women, hence night clubs are more eager to let women in than men.